Termites Myths Busted

Busting Termite Myths.

MYTH: All Termites are white.

Not true. Termites range in colour depending on the species and their role within the colony. They can range from dark brown to white to opaque.

MYTH: Termites can be treated like common household pests with surface spray or a standard pest control treatment.

Spraying for termites — Termite myths like this one can cause big problems when trying to effectively treat & remove termites from your home.  Using surface spray will kill the handful of termites that you can see, however it will have no effect on the colony itself. The same goes for professionally applied pest control treatments. These General Pest Treatments are scientifically designed to treat common household pests such as ants, cockroaches, spiders & silverfish. They are not designed to treat termites or eliminate their colonies.

Disturbing termites in such a manor will force them to retreat, minimising the effectiveness of remedial treatments carried out by your pest control technicians. If you have found Termites, don’t disturb them, cover the hole or area to minimise light and air movement and call in the professionals.

MYTH: Termites can’t attack a house built on a concrete slab.

There is a saying in the pest control industry. “There are two types of homes in Australia, Homes that have termites & home that will get termites”.

Over time, concrete slabs move and develop cracks. Termites can then squeeze through these cracks and tunnel to the wooden framework, skirtings, door frames, architraves and roof trusses. As long as we continue to build homes with wooden frames, Termites will continue to see our homes as a food source.

MYTH: House & Contents Insurance covers termite damage.

Time to pull out your home insurance policy and read it very carefully. In most cases, your insurance company will NOT cover the cost of Termite damages. The main reason is pretty simple. Insurance companies think termites are preventable, which means your insurer considers it a maintenance issue. Most policies, as a rule, don’t cover things that are considered ‘maintenance issues’ and are more likely to cover damage that is considered accidental. Most of the time homeowners do not realize or find this out until after the fact that there is thousands of dollars to be had in repairs.

This in mind, prevention is key. Regular Termite Inspections & maintaining Physical or Chemical Termite Protection is a critical element of sustaining your home.

MYTH: I don’t see any Termites in my home so therefore I don’t have any.

We receive so many calls from customers who have assumed their properties were pest free, until they find termites; knocking a skirting board whilst vacuuming, cleaning the windowsills and putting their fingers straight through, or in one case, tiles collapsing under their feet. Just because you can’t see them, doesn’t mean they are not there.

Termites don’t live in our environment. They are predominantly subterranean and prefer to live in tunnels or mudding below the surface or within the walls of a house, so it’s unlikely you would see them inside your house them until it’s too late.

The most effective pest control is actually preventing the issue before it becomes an issue, and proper inspection of your house on a regular basis is the best way to prevent pests from the beginning.

 

MYTH: A clean house will never get pests.

To some extent this may be true for some of the common household pests such as ants, cockroaches, flies, maggots etc. Ensuring food preparation areas are keep clean and free from food crumbs and scraps will help prevent infestations of those pests in these areas.

A clean home will definitely not stop termites from attacking. Removing clutter however, may make detection easier and therefore minimise damage.