PEST AND TERMITE INSPECTIONS
Buying a property on the Sunshine Coast? It is essential that you get a combined building and pest inspection test completed first, to make certain of the level of termite activity or any damage.
Termites normally avoid open air and bright spaces, and so they usually make their colonies underground, or within wooden materials where they can be hidden out of sight. This is why it is often difficult to visually tell the extent of termite damage. And so, it is highly necessary that you get the property professionally inspected by a pest or termite inspector who is conversant with the likely areas that the creatures can hide, or the conditions that can foster their spread.
The pest and termite inspection services that we offer entail a visual inspection of those places that are readily accessible for evidence of termite activity, workings and/or damage. We inspect the interior and exterior of the property including any available roof cavities and areas below the floor. We then document the findings of our inspection in a pest report which we send to your email the very next morning, alongside recommendations and referrals to plan an effective termite treatment.
Sunshine Coast Pest Inspection Defined
A timber pest or termite inspection involves a timber pest inspector carrying out a total visual pest and termite inspection of all the areas in a property that are available and accessible to the presence of termites and termite damage. The results of the inspection, as documented in the pest report, include the conditions conducive to termite activity, the risks involved, and some recommendations on managing termites.
Requirements of a pest / termite inspection
The inspection is a visual examination and assessment of any areas of the building that are readily reachable and conducive to termites. It covers the interior and exterior parts of the building as well as available cavities in the roof and floor.
Subsequent to the inspection, the results are compiled in a pest or termite report that is sent the next morning to the client via email.
The time involved
Thorough pest inspections usually take about an hour to complete, but this may vary depending on the size and conditions of the property, such as level of clutter, storage of personal items, and so on.
The cost involved
Depending on your location and the size of the plot to be inspected, the cost of a pest or termite inspection will vary. For an accurate quotation, get in touch with us or take a look at our inspection prices page to get an approximate idea of the price.
What termites look like
Subterranean termite colonies are made up of three distinct castes – the reproductives, the workers and the soldiers.
They are normally creamy white in colour, and appear translucent, and very similar in shape, colour and sixe to a grain of rice.
The reproductives, also known as “swarmers”, have two evenly sized wings, and are often confused with flying ants. The workers look very much like the reproductives, except that they have much larger heads and huge mandibles for crushing.
Distinguishing between termites and ants
There are some marked differences between termites and ants. Firstly, an ant is shaped like an hourglass, narrowing down between the abdomen in the rear and the thorax at the fore. Termites are shaped like cigars, without the narrow bit in-between. If they are winged, ants have larger fore wings and smaller hind wings. Termite reproductive, on the other hand, have both pairs of wings of about the same size. Ant wings also have fewer veins than those of termites.
Additionally, ant wings have a stigma (or a dark spot) on the foremost edge of the fore wing, which is absent in termite wings.
The antennae of ants are arched, as opposed to the straight ones possessed by termites. Finally, while termites feed on the wood they tunnel through, ants do not.
Termites can be found within the walls or roof cavities of your home.
Termite Treatment
Subterranean termites can be dealt with in a number of different ways:
- Chemical treatments are the most widely used. The aim of the treatment is to set up a lasting termiticide barrier between the colony (normally in the ground) and the wood in a property.
- Also rising in popularity are in-ground baiting systems that entail placing cellulose (wooden material) baits at deliberately chosen locations around the premises.
Could the damage be hidden?
Of course! A major property of termites and their colonies is that they tend to hide away from open and bright spaces. This means that they are more likely to stay hidden underground or within wooden materials. As such, visual identification or location of their infestation simply by looking at the finishings and trimmings of walls during inspection, is almost impossible.
Prevention of termite infestation
The present accepted method of prevention of termite attack on buildings is to get a pest inspector to visit the property and add a termiticide into the foundation areas. Building and construction science constantly comes up with new and improved ways to prevent infestation. A property owner may also add some adjustments to the building after the construction is complete, to make the building less susceptible to the attack of insects that destroy wood. Some conditions that foster termite infestation include contact between wood and earth at supporting posts, the presence of cellulose debris and form boards under the building, inappropriate drainage from the building, and insufficient ventilation under the building. Fixing these issues will decrease the risk of infestation to a very large extent.
Is treatment still necessary in the absence of live termites?
If there are indications that there was a termite infestation, and there is no evidence of a termite treatment, it is possible that there may be active termites in parts that are not accessible to the inspector. In such a case, more investigation is necessary. Treatment is essential whether or not live termites are found.