Are termites starting to call your home or property home? If they are, then don’t panic, but act swiftly and decisively, because if you dilly-dally, then these critters can easily engulf your home, and turn it into a rickety wreck! According to pest control experts, termites are active all year round, so there’s actually no bad time to begin preparing your defenses against these voracious wood-chewing pests. Here are a couple of simple yet potent strategies for effective termite treatment Brisbane.
Use Your Flashlight
One of the best, and easiest ways to check for the presence of termite sin your home or property would be to get a good working flashlight, and head down to your basement, yard or crawlspace.
Take a very close look around for any signs of damage or termite infestation (like mud tubes), and pay close attention to the edges and corners. And, if you come across wood that you suspect may have been chewed by termites, try the old thumb test.
This DIY termite treatment Brisbane technique consist of pressing your thumb into the wood, and if it breaks or gives then you have a serious problem. Another termite spotting method would be to search for small piles of grass, along with other signs that termites have been at work there.
Ventilation & Sealing are Key to Moisture Control
Without proper ventilation in basements and attics, condensation can easily build up and seep into the wood, making it a wonderful habitat for termites. In addition, condensation also causes mildew and rot.
Without the proper sealing, and moisture barriers, moisture can eventually build up behind your home’s walls. By sealing the walls, and proper ventilation, termites will have few good reasons to explore these areas, and begin to call it home.
Bait the Termites
Have you spotted (or suspected) termites in your yard? Well, the last thing you want is for these critters to eventually find your house, and call it home! In these occasions, termite baits are a must-have item.
According to veteran termite treatment Brisbane experts, termite bait stations work like a repellant, drawing these critters away from your home or property, and helping to destroy their nests before these can do so much damage.
Inspect Your Foundation
Also make sure you carefully inspect your home’s foundation several times a year. Take a slow walk around your home’s foundation and carefully check for any signs and symptoms of termite damage.
By doing so, you will be able to formulate a plan of action, in coordination with your local termite treatment Brisbane specialist. While termites do not eat concrete (because it’s just too hard for them), they do however create mud tubes which are signs that the critters are trying to scale up your home’s foundation in search for tasty wood items. So, if you see mud tubes, then it’s time to do closer inspection, and time to craft effective DIY techniques.
Trim Shrubs & Trees
While living vegetation in your home or property is can definitely help to create a more natural environment, it can be a problem in terms of countering termites. So, our friendly and seasoned termite treatment Brisbane experts suggest that you trim shrubs and trees, or plant them away from your house. But, if you already have nearby trees, don’t quickly cut them, but instead make sure that no limbs are close to your home.
Create Some Space Between Soil & Wood
Another effective termite Brisbane strategy would be to create some space between soil and wood, preferably an 18-inch space. This means that in any place where you have wood that you want protected (particularly the siding and decks), you should at least try to separate it from soil by at least 18 inches.
This would be more than enough to keep termites at bay, or totally uninterested. The easiest method would be to use a gravel bed, which can effectively serve as a do-it-yourself termite control strategy, and it also creates good drainage at the same time.
Dig a Trench and Apply a Termiticide
If you’ve finally won over one harrowing termite problem, don’t rest on your laurels because these nasty critters could easily stage a comeback. So, to make sure that they never come back again, dig a trench around the problem area or zone, and dill it with a foam-based non-repellent termite insecticide.
When I say “non-repellent” what I mean is that you are using a pesticide which doesn’t drive the termites away from it, but instead moves through them and kills them. This strategy should bode well for stopping repeat termite encounters.
Use Heat to Kill Termites
One of the best termite treatment Brisbane strategies is to use heat to effectively kill these critters. If you can heat up an area to at least 120 degrees for at least half an hour, then the termites there will be killed.
This serves as a very cost-effective way for do-it-yourself termite treatment Brisbane without using potentially hazardous pesticides. But, you should never try this near wiring and plastics, because the heat could melt the wiring or plastics and eventually cause a major fire hazard.
Don’t Place Wood Piles Near Your Home
For termites, piles of wood will look like one juicy piece of meat, or one big slice of cake. These will also serve as effective springboards into your home or property. Thus, for effective termite treatment Brisbane and prevention, keep any wood piles at least 20 feet away from your house or property.
This includes mulch piles, firewood and nature’s wood pile, which is the tree stump. This move should be one of the quickest, and most potent, termite treatment Brisbane methods to employ.
Finally, use Termiticide on safe wood structures. These help protect wood that has not yet been located by termites. Use the termite chemical repellents around fences, decks, shed and similar areas to prevent termites from finding them, and eating them!