Do you know that you are being eaten out of your own house at this very moment? Termites are tenacious little creatures that can eat your home inside out. One in ten homes in Australia are being steadily destroyed by termites. It is costing us billions of dollars in repair each year. Recently, a new home invader has been discovered. On top of the termites attack all across the country, we now have a new kind of termite threat to contend with – the West Indian Termite or the cryptotermes brevis.
Recently, a couple residing in Brisbane, Matt and Jean, found out that their home is deluged with this horrid pest. They will need to move out in order for the fumigator to do their work. Their entire house will be covered with a tent and will be saturated with sulfuryl fluoride solution in order to kill the West Indian termite colonies in their home. Jean swore that she used to hear things in their wall, but Matt couldn’t because of his hearing problem. Now, she’s horrified by how large the colony has grown.
Glenn Dubois, a termite control expert, has spent 40 years tracking these pests down and terminating them. However, he swore that he has never seen anything like the West Indian Termite. Unlike other kinds of termites, they do not live in ground nests.
What they do is create colonies inside your home. They build their nests inside the very timbers that hold your home together. Termites, including exotic ones, usually swarm during hot nights. When you see wings of termites around your home or in your home, it is virtually certain that they have colonies close by. Unfortunately, it is hard to and them with an untrained eye. You need to get a timber pest inspection to know for sure. Often the damage is hard to and until your home is about to collapse.
West Indian Termites were found mostly in Queensland, but it can now be found everywhere. People in government housing homes have reported termite attacks. Fortunately for some homeowners, the infestation was treated before it got out of hand. Otherwise, they would have been forced to leave their homes and live elsewhere. The government wouldn’t have been able to provide housing for them. These families may have to live out on the streets.
It’s quite alarming to hear these little creatures working away behind the walls of your home, steadily building their colonies and creating these little scratching sounds. So, when you’re sitting there, drinking your cup of coffee – it might be worth your while to listen to these sounds. If you hear them, book a termite inspection immediately! Make sure that there is no infestation in your home.
Average households spend about $5000 on termite removal or termination. However, if you could detect the problem early and treat them before they get out of hand, you will likely spend less than that amount to clear your home of termite pests. There are a lot of things that you can do in order to prevent the problem. If you are buying a new home, get a pre purchase inspection and see if there are physical or chemical barriers in place. If you are building a new home or renovating an existing one, get a building and pest inspection as well. Your inspector will tell you if there are adequate installations in place. An annual pest inspection will help prevent the problem as well.
The value of your home may have gone up since you bought it. But if your home is infested with termites like the West Indian termite, its value will likely go down. Your whole house may be torn down if the damage is terminal. Before that happens, get a timber pest inspection.
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