I’ve just been given a quote to replace the chemical termite barrier around my 4 brm slab on ground house: $5,850!! + $25 for each monitor bait + $40 per two months to check them + + +…
I’m feeling pretty disheartened by it right now. I’m going to put both those slab on the ground houses on the market tomorrow, and maybe think about buying more termite proof designs instead, eg steel or concrete stumps etc.Sigh…
Jim.crikey Jim, thats enough to make an investor quake in their shoes. We had termimesh installed in our house and 6 years on had termites found in the house, little buggers got in over 2 weeks at xmas and we caught them straight away – only got into one door frame but just 2 weeks was enough to give me heart failure! HG
Hi,
I know of a house on the Qld Gold Coast – on a slab of concrete and riddled with termites. Thank God I did a pest report. Talking to the pest inspector, he said the little buggers have been known to go thru concrete slabs ! He did say that it was certain types of concrete mix. Does that mean u should get a concrete mix check as well ? Scary stuff.Thanks for that HG, I always been just a little suspicious of having just a physical barrier around the edge of the slab. It’s fine until your slab develops a microfine crack, which is all the little blighters need. There is some interesting reading about that in the Termite Action Group website: http://www.termiteactiongroup.com/
They say that the Queensland Building Codes Board has made it mandatory to include a concrete mowing strip around the property, which enhances the chemical barrier. Unfortunately they didn’t make it mandatory for a physical barrier as well, so nearly all builders are now using physical barriers only to save the cost of the mowing strip. According to the TAG, the only effective stand alone barrier is the chemical barrier, and it alleges that the exclusive use of physical barriers only is the biggest time bomb about to hit the building industry.
I’m just dismayed by the cost of the chemical barrier though. The quote I received includes drilling inside the house, but it’s still a bit rude asking me for nearly a whole year’s worth of rent. (and it will only last 5 years, no doubt!)
If you are relying on a physical barrier alone: “Be afraid, be very afraid”
Jim.Hi Doogs,[
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I attended The City of Monash Buisiness Awards Lunnch yesterday and a nominee was speaking about his companies newly invented product. This cheaply detects termite nests etc , it uses thermal imaging.This may help you for the next property.
The website address is http://www.termicam.com.auRegards
Bryce Inglis
[email protected]
http://www.ipal.com.auThanks Bryce, it looks interesting. I’d still like to be able to keep them out though, not just be able to detect them when they’re in. Can’t beat steel or concrete stumps!
Regards, Jim.Re: cracks in slabs
We have a large factory in Perth, with lots of cardboard boxes for packing. That’s the termite equivalent of “next maccas 3km”. After frequent incursions, we had to have the whole slab drilled and injected. When we raised the boxes off the floor they ate the kitchen instead.
BTW, if you have a shed, veranda, factory or anything else with a non-reinforced slab (lines scored across it) then it’s MEANT to be able to crack. Sort of like granting planning consent for the future termite freeway!!
We had a chemical treatment done in the last couple of months on our PPOR, cost us $4000 with an annual visit ($300) to come and re-do the chemicals. We did not have termites, however next door did as did the house 4 doors down – their treatments were $7000+ each.
The chemicals that they use under the slab these days lasts an initial 5 years, and then you basically have to have something else put in place to protect against them. In older houses the chemicals allowed to be used at the time had life-spans of 20 to 100 years. Due to concerns of leaching (which I am told, they did not do), we have to move to inferior chemicals and have them re-applied all the time.
Good for the pest companies, not so good for the home owner.
We have 2 houses that will probably need treatments (just for protection) in the next 12-18 months. The treatment will be tax deductable, but still will come out at $1500+ each after tax. No choice really, just a cost have having to hold an investment property in Brisbane where termites are everywhere.
Hey Doogs,
Was the quote you were given for a termite baiting system?If so you could check out http://www.exterra.com.au
Cheers
CrystalHi Jim, the guy from termimesh came out after we had the attack (gee you have to be dilligent – all it took was the 2 weeks we were away over xmas and they were in) and said there was nothing wrong with the barrier – it had performed exactly as it should have – to make them come up the outside of the house where you can see the trail and get it treated! If you read these barrier systems warranties they say you have to do a weekly check along with an annual check by a professional or its void! We put gravel or concrete paths all around the house – no garden beds or dirt up against the bricks and the buggers came from a tree on vacant land next door – under 10m of pavers and 20m of soil to come up just next to the laundry door – then they travelled under the termimesh barrier looking for a place to get in and found it about 12m away in a sliding door frame – the tree is gone now – building ip3 next door at frame stage – fixed their little free meal ticket! HG
Thanks for your responses. LOL JackAdder. (the Exterra website says that a crack of one millimetre is all the termites need.)
HG, you have to marvel at the persistence of the little ‘mites, exploring, probing and testing for 6 long years before they finally found your little gap.
Double2, the treatment quoted was for a chemical barrier, applied both outside in the normal manner, and also inside the house, through the slab to the inside of the foundations. They suggested normal baits as a supplement, which they would just dust with arsenic if they were intercepted. This same company is also authorised to install the Exterra system, but they told me that it should be just used as a supplement to the chemical barrier, despite the advertising blurb, both in the Exterra website and the pest controller’s website, that Exterra saves the need for a toxic chemical barrier. I’ve yet to get a formal quote on Exterra, but they told me it would be roughly $1500. It would be a shame if a new innovative and effective termite treatment is stifled because the operators make more money out of traditional methods. I assume that the Exterra system requires ongoing monitoring and replenishment with associated ongoing costs, so I’ll find out and report back.
Regards, Jim.PS has anyone else fallen victim to the Escape key? All your hard earned typing evapourates in a milisecond! I draft my posts in Word now. (and it comes with a spell checker!) (I only touched the Esc key because I accidentally bumped the “Alt” key, but I touched Esc twice and Zap goes the post!)
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