How to get rid of termites?

This is a common question asked by homeowners when they find termites, in the hope they can get rid of termites themselves. Unfortunately, in most cases it’s best to call a termite professional. Here’s what you should and shouldn’t do if you find termites…

If you find termites in the house…

… the first thing to remember is what not to do!

If you find termites in wood or some of their mud tubes

• Try not to disturb them further after the initial discovery
• Don’t spray them with insecticides
• Don’t break open wood / mud tubes to investigate

Spraying them with insecticide will kill the termites you spray – they are pretty easy to kill – but it won’t kill the nest! What’s more the area you spray will become repellent to the other termites, which often means they will move to another (yet unseen) area of your home.

Termites are also quite timid, so breaking open their mud tubes can frighten them out of the area.

If termites move away from the area of termite damage, it can become harder to treat them.

First of all, get a termite inspection

If you think you have termites, the first thing to do is to get a professional termite inspection. This will determine whether you do indeed have termites and if you do, what species is present, how they are getting into the building and the areas of activity / damage. This then allows a suitable termite treatment to be proposed.

There is a tried and tested process to get rid of termites. Details of the process are specified in the Industry Code of Best Practice for Termite Management and Australian Standards 3660 and all professional pest control companies are expected to follow this process. Not only is it proven to deliver results, but it is a requirement by the industry insurance companies, which ensures you as the customer are protected.

There are 5 key steps in a treatment process:

• Comprehensive termite inspection
• Quote and termite treatment proposal
• Eliminate active termites from the building
• Install a termite management system to provide long term termite protection
• Annual termite inspections

Critical information required for a successful termite treatment

To eliminate active termites from a building it is necessary to determine all the entry points, areas of activity and know which species of termite you are dealing with. This information determines the details of the termite treatment and which products can be used and where to apply them.

When installing a termite management system (soil treatment or baiting system), it is important to understand the construction elements of the building and the impact of soil type.

What about do-it-yourself termite treatments?

There are 3 key reasons why we advise against do-it-yourself termite treatments

1. Lack of knowledge
2. Lack of equipment
3. Lack of insurance

Treating termites is not straight forward – it’s important to know about termite biology and behaviour and which products to use and when. As every termite attack is different, it’s important to problem solve and design the termite treatment to meet the requirements of the situation, something that requires experience (i.e. It can’t be learnt from Google!). Additionally, when it comes to soil treatments, it is not possible to apply the treatment correctly without understanding building construction.

Inspecting a property and applying a termite treatment (especially a soil treatment) requires a range of expensive equipment. It simply isn’t cost effective for a homeowner to buy the equipment themselves for a one-off treatment.

Importantly, when you’re protecting what is probably your most valuable asset, your home, it’s essential to guarantee you’ve eliminated the termites and installed the long-term protection system correctly. If you get this wrong, it is a very expensive mistake. A good termite professional is unlikely to make a mistake, but even if they do, their insurance will ensure you are protected and not out of pocket.

If you find termites in the yard…

If you find termites in the yard or garden it is of course very tempting to give them a quick spray. This isn’t the same “no-no” as spraying termites in the house. However, if you spot termites in your yard, you definitely should get your house inspected for termites. If you haven’t killed the termites in the yard, you can show your termite inspector the live termites in the yard and they will be able to identify the species, and it will help in their assessment of the termite risk for your property.

Termite inspections and treatments require specific training, licensing and insurance. So, if you need to get rid of termites, give Serial Pest Control a call…