Building Inspections, Home Inspections, Termite Treatments and Termidor
Termites have a 200 million year evolutionary history closely related to
cockroaches. They can be found right throughout Sydney. A knowledge of their
biology is crucial for building and home inspections.
Termites forage for food over a large area (approximately 100 metres) in search
of timber and operate and live in a central nest or colony. The worker termites
partially digest the timber before returning to the nest to feed the colony.
This can cause considerable damage to our homes and bank accounts, as many
Sydneysiders will attest, and can happen in a matter of months.
Termites are social insects, and there are multiple castes within the colony.
Alates
On a warm, humid evening, large numbers of winged male and female termites, the
"alates" or "primary reproductives", are released by the colony. A small number
survive the flight, drop their two pairs of distinctive, equal sized wings, pair
off, mate and, if they can, find a suitable locations and start a new colony.
Queen
As the other castes take over the running of the colony the young queen of most
species becomes "physogastric". Her abdomen distends to many times its original
size and she becomes and egg laying machine, laying up to 1000 eggs a day. She
is confined to her royal chamber, tended and fed by the workers and regularly
fertilised by the king.
Nursery
The eggs are removed from the royal chamber and transferred to a nursery by the
workers. Here the brood (the eggs and nymphs) develops into the other castes that
the colony requires for development and survival; workers, soldiers and primary
or secondary reproductives.
Soldiers and Workers
Soldiers and workers are blind and sterile termites. The workers carry out the
work of the colony and are responsible for gathering the food the colony needs.
In most species, the heads of the soldiers are uniquely armoured and equipped to
allow them to defend the colony against attack, notably from ants.
Termidor Termite Treatments
Until Termidor was released, protecting those homes involved chemicals that are
repellent to householders as well as termites - and which have to be applied in
a perfect, unbroken barrier.
Termidor has quickly established itself as the most effective and convenient
protection for homes with no built-in barrier.
This type of termite protection doesn't depend on a repellent barrier and
actually eliminates termites rather than just repelling them. This is because
termites cannot detect Termidor. It has the added advantages of low toxicity and
no odour. In fact, Termidor is a soil termiticide that does not require
occupants to leave the house while the treatment is carried out.
The first undetectable termite trap
Older chemical treatments create a repellent barrier that termites won't go
through, but will try to find a way around. While they are usually effective,
they have three main drawbacks: applying them creates a repulsive smell that
lasts for a day or two and can be difficult to live with; they deter termites,
but do nothing to reduce the colony; and even a gap of a few centimetres in the
barrier can cause the treatment to fail.
Termidor supersedes those barriers with an extremely efficient in-ground trap
that termites can't detect the Treated Zone.
Far from being repelled by a barrier, termites forage into the Treated Zone and
are killed in one of three ways:
Termites that ingest or contact enough Termidor can be killed outright.
Those that only receive a low dose of Termidor become dysfunctional. The stop
feeding and grooming each other, neglect their environment, become diseased and
die. Many affected termites then find their way back to the colony. Other
termites then receive a lethal dose through normal social interaction or
cannibalism.
Long-lasting protection
Since the launch of Termidor in 1998, over 100,000 homes have been successfully
treated in Australia. Pest Managers using Termidor have found local call backs
to be almost nonexistent, and there has not been a single product failure.
Termites infested houses which were treated in pre-release trials from 1995
onwards, remained termite-free for at least seven years.
Minimal environmental impact
We all want to protect our most valuable assets and eliminate termites from our
homes, and we want to do it with as little environmental impact as possible.
Whereas the termiticides used as barriers are rated Schedule 6 POISON, Termidor
is in the Schedule 5 CAUTION and is the only soil treatment that is not
classified as hazardous according to the criteria of WorkSafe Australia.
Although Termidor is lethal to termites, its specific mode of action is much
less hazardous for humans, pets and wildlife. Termidor has the same active
ingredient as a market-leading veterinary product applied to cats and does to
control fleas. The active ingredient is also widely used on food crops.
As well as being highly effective, it is also easier to live with during and
straight after treatment. Studies have shown that it produces no airborne
residues so it is possible to remain in the house while it is treated. With
other soil treatments you must leave your home for a few hours.
The Termidor Termite Elimination Program
When it comes to protecting your home from termites, you have too much to lose
to rely on any one other than an experienced Pest Manager using this proven step
by step approach:
A thorough inspection to find out whether termites are present, locate and
treat their nest if possible, and identify likely trouble spots.
A check of the drainage and ventilation under and around your home and any
other structures, with remedial action if necessary.