SA Footy

Just wondering if anyone can give me any advice on what to do about discovering Termites in the back yard?

Six months ago I put up a Permapine Trellis at teh back of the yard but I used Oregon Posts, I coated the posts in Copper Napthanate and painted them with Acrylic paint then cemented them into the ground. I noticed last night the Trellis leaning over and upon closer inspection discovered that Termites were eating into the base of the posts.

The trellis fell over easilly and I removed the permapine Trellis which was fine and left the posts in a pile in the back of the yard next to the cement bases.

I rang through to a pest control firm and this is what I am having some concern over, They didnt appear to worried about the Termites being in the post and said that its normal for Termites to live in the ground, all they wanted to know was how close it was to the house which is not that close because its at the back fence.

They are sending the bloke out on Tuesday to do an inspection and I am to be given a quote for having the house done, one of my workmates says to expect the quote to be $1000 and that the material that they use is rubbish and it has to be re-done every five years.

Anyway just hoping that someone might have had the same problem and can advise me of what they did to rectify it, if there is no Termite Activity near the house, do you feel the treatment is value for money anyway? Should I be getting the old posts and cemented holes sprayed to kill the existing termites?

PM Punk Rooster, it is his line of work.

The spray they will use is called Biflex. Its not as strong as the old stuff but still works. The quote will not be a $1000.00 it will be around about $450 at most. If you have an concrete or brick paver footpath around the perimeter of your house, the company may advise that termite traps should be installed.

There are plenty of companies around that will do inspection for nothing and tell you if you got a problem or not e.g. Adelaide pest control, Murray pest control, Complete pest control. Work is tight at the moment so i suggest you go to all companies for an inspection and quote.

One way to see if they are near or in your house is to inspect the exposed slab edge perimeter to your house. If you notice little brown tunnells going up from the ground to a weephole in the brickwork or stonework, you have problems. If not, then the only way termites can get in is through slab penetrations (drains etc.) unless you own a house built on strip footings.

If you are going to replace the trellacing, use creosote treated timber. Those little pricks of termites dont like this.

Thanks for your advice it really is very much appreciated, to say this has been worrying me over the last 24 hours is an understatement!

The chap comming tommorow is doing a free inspection, yet considering that they are active in the fence post holes I think it might be a good idea to get it done anyway, yet I am hoping that it wont be to ridiculous in price, so it helps to hear another opinion on what it should cost!

See Punk,

He'll burn em.

Seriously, He's the Man..

Hello Sojourner... we used Lawlors who use the spray technique rather than the baiting and have found them very reasonable for price and great for old fashioned service... we have a big house and were quoted anything from 3k - 6k for bating and then Lawlors came along and blew them out the water with a 1800 quote for old style spraying... that was nearly two years ago (3 months after we moved in) and they came out last month for yearly inspection and advise still no suspicious activity .. yay

Ive been through the process several times and have spent almost 10k on buidling repairs and about 3 or 4k on termite treatment so I've had a bit of experience in this area.
Spraying was a complete waste of time, its the old school way of treating them and unless you can be assured of a heap of toxic spray all draining directly into the next I wouldn't even consider that way of treating them these days.
I had an elcheapo termite man (acreddited) come out to start with, he sprayed everywhere, where they were active, where they weren't. Result was they were back within a few months and the money spent on the spray was a waste of time.
Unluckily for me so too was a few k worth of repairs.
Baiting is the only way to go, the termites love the bait, they take it back to their next and kill off the nest. You'll find that termite companies that deal with the bait will insure against further infestation as long as you are prepared for regular inspections but they insure you for thousands of dollars.
When we went the "cheap" route it only cost us about $900 for the spray and a few visits but this was a complete waste of time.
After the extra repairs we learnt our lesson and went the more expensive route through a better firm (Adelaide Pest Control, now owned by Rentokill), I think it was over $2k but that also included inspections for 2 years, treatments for 2 years and insurance if they came back. They also put little stations right around your house and check them regularly as well as doing a thorough check inside and out.
Talk to Punky, my biggest regreat was I didn't go through his company in the first place, I initially saved about $500 but it eventually cost me about 4 or 5k.
You wont get much of a discount but you will get peace of mind.
If you have any other queries and can't get onto Punk feel free to PM me.
I will now pay about $700 a year every year for a full check, mainly for the insurance point of view and peace of mind.

Trust me, DO NOT GO THE CHEAP SPRAY OPTION. This is now ancient history in the way to treat termites and IMHO should be made illegal with the amount of cash it cost us, spraying them with Pepsi would have probably done more damage.
The spray option will only be pot luck if it hinders them.

Also make sure your wet areas are all sealed tight, we had a lot of moisture which attracted them inside but have since redone the bathrooms. We had a concrete slab and there was no evidence around the exterior of them coming in, we got holees drilled around the outside of the house and treated with spray through the elcheapo man to start with, this did nothing as they came up directly from underneath for us and straight through our concrete slab.

yeah and dont get the dodgey guy up here from queensland to inspect your house for termites, and there being none BEFORE he gets there, he tends to carry a few in his pocket and when he does his inspection he comes out saying the house is full of them when it wasnt before he was there. people have set cameras up and caught him on today tonight etc

Sojourner wrote:Just wondering if anyone can give me any advice on what to do about discovering Termites in the back yard?

yes

Sojourner wrote:I rang through to a pest control firm and this is what I am having some concern over, They didnt appear to worried about the Termites being in the post and said that its normal for Termites to live in the ground, all they wanted to know was how close it was to the house which is not that close because its at the back fence.

Termites being in soil is a common occurrence- they are subteranean.
Having your house treated with liquid chemical application will keep them at arms-length.

Sojourner wrote:They are sending the bloke out on Tuesday to do an inspection and I am to be given a quote for having the house done, one of my workmates says to expect the quote to be $1000 and that the material that they use is rubbish and it has to be re-done every five years.

you'd do well to ignore your mates "advice"- how much training & experience has he had dealing with termites?
The liquid chemical product (Premise) is a superior product to the old organo-chlorines- more environmentally friendly (water based, no hydro-carbons), no odour, & termites cannot detect where it has been applied.
Using a product like Biflex is ideal for pre-slab construction (as you can treat all areas), whereas Premise is the ideal chemical post-construction.
Termite baiting is preferred option, as you are eliminating the colony, not keeping it at "arms-length".

Sojourner wrote:Anyway just hoping that someone might have had the same problem and can advise me of what they did to rectify it, if there is no Termite Activity near the house, do you feel the treatment is value for money anyway? Should I be getting the old posts and cemented holes sprayed to kill the existing termites?

why is protecting your biggest assett not value for money? You would fix your car if it wasn't behaving as it should, why is the house any different?

Anyway, feel free to PM any questions you may have.

Lunchcutter wrote:Hello Sojourner... we used Lawlors who use the spray technique rather than the baiting and have found them very reasonable for price and great for old fashioned service... we have a big house and were quoted anything from 3k - 6k for bating and then Lawlors came along and blew them out the water with a 1800 quote for old style spraying... that was nearly two years ago (3 months after we moved in) and they came out last month for yearly inspection and advise still no suspicious activity .. yay

good to hear that treatment worked, but playing the %'s, that style of treatment is out-dated.
If you treated 100 houses like that, you could expect problems in 60 of them- ask Wedgie...

Punk Rooster wrote:

Lunchcutter wrote:Hello Sojourner... we used Lawlors who use the spray technique rather than the baiting and have found them very reasonable for price and great for old fashioned service... we have a big house and were quoted anything from 3k - 6k for bating and then Lawlors came along and blew them out the water with a 1800 quote for old style spraying... that was nearly two years ago (3 months after we moved in) and they came out last month for yearly inspection and advise still no suspicious activity .. yay

good to hear that treatment worked, but playing the %'s, that style of treatment is out-dated.
If you treated 100 houses like that, you could expect problems in 60 of them- ask Wedgie...

Amen Punky, as I said before my biggest regrest was not listening to you beforehand and going for the cheap option.
Going for the cheap option probably cost me 4 or 5k in the end.
Not so cheap.
Lesson learnt and I hope others learn by it.

Sojourner wrote:Just wondering if anyone can give me any advice on what to do about discovering Termites in the back yard?

Six months ago I put up a Permapine Trellis at teh back of the yard but I used Oregon Posts, I coated the posts in Copper Napthanate and painted them with Acrylic paint then cemented them into the ground. I noticed last night the Trellis leaning over and upon closer inspection discovered that Termites were eating into the base of the posts.

The trellis fell over easilly and I removed the permapine Trellis which was fine and left the posts in a pile in the back of the yard next to the cement bases.

I rang through to a pest control firm and this is what I am having some concern over, They didnt appear to worried about the Termites being in the post and said that its normal for Termites to live in the ground, all they wanted to know was how close it was to the house which is not that close because its at the back fence.

They are sending the bloke out on Tuesday to do an inspection and I am to be given a quote for having the house done, one of my workmates says to expect the quote to be $1000 and that the material that they use is rubbish and it has to be re-done every five years.

Anyway just hoping that someone might have had the same problem and can advise me of what they did to rectify it, if there is no Termite Activity near the house, do you feel the treatment is value for money anyway? Should I be getting the old posts and cemented holes sprayed to kill the existing termites?

Contact Jason Roe, Customised Pest Control 0438344007
Tell him you want a "posters price" from safooty.net

Thanks for all the help!

The chap that came out yesterday was from "All State Pest Control", they want $1300 to spray the house and further payments of $99 to recheck the house later on. They did however confirm that there does not appear to be termite activity in or near the house though which is somewhat of a relief!

I spoke with the chap that used to own the home and he says he had a similar termite attack in the same spot four years ago in a dead tree stump, he had the house done then fully which should last for five years.

I am going to get another two firms into quote and give me their advice, so hopefully I can get the right treatment organised for the existing problem then we will look at what the house needs doing to maintain it!

Anyway thanks again it really is much appreciated!

Looks like I need some assistance now ... have a termite mound in a some old firewood in the backyard.

Punky, a PM is coming your way.

I'm a little relaxed about having a double brick house on a concrete slab, but I am aware the little buggers could run tunnels up to the roofing timbers and or get into kitchen cupboards or skirting via slab breaches.
I've had some tradies I trust have a look around in the ceiling while up there recently for other work, and I looked under several kitchen cupboards myself while doing some updating.

Psyber wrote:I'm a little relaxed about having a double brick house on a concrete slab, but I am aware the little buggers could run tunnels up to the roofing timbers and or get into kitchen cupboards or skirting via slab breaches.
I've had some tradies I trust have a look around in the ceiling while up there recently for other work, and I looked under several kitchen cupboards myself while doing some updating.

WHAT !

You're telling me you've never had Alaskan white ants or Hungarian mountain mites as pets before ?

smithy wrote: WHAT !
You're telling me you've never had Alaskan white ants or Hungarian mountain mites as pets before ?

Definitely not.
Dogs, cats, and birds, yes, even a tortoise and lizards in my childhood - and farm animals in my farming days - but never insects.