As a leading company in the pest control industry, Channel 7 News approached Conquer Termites to offer an insight into the reported increase in termite infestations due to last year’s summer of rain.
It was a devastating time for the homeowners that were affected by the January flood waters. For many, however, it seems somehow even worse as repair work reveals home after home now infested with termites. Many homeowners were completely unaware that they had termites.
Most of these homeowners were completely unaware that they had termites in their homes. Many had even had prior Termite Management Systems installed on their properties, some as little as a year before. Needless to say, on top of spiraling costs of repairing their homes, having to live elsewhere in the meantime, and replacing what they’d lost, termite damage just seemed almost too cruel.
The sad fact is though, that in many of South East Queensland’s flood stricken areas, soil treated with termiticide would have simply been washed away by those once-in-a-generation floods. Given their utter dependence on moist soil and humidity, and really the only creatures enjoying that summer of rain were the termites.
Even as the flood waters receded and the floods themselves began to fade from the consciousness of most of us, the biggest problem is the residual moisture left in the soil. All of this extra moisture has enabled termites to forage even further from their colonies than they normally would, looking for any cellulose material to feed on (trees, wood, your home…).
The Queen Termite (who can actually lay easily over 1000 eggs a day!) knows that conditions for foraging are ideal and therefore starts laying still more eggs (up to 2000 a day!), creating extra termites needing to be fed. If that colony of termites is near your home, and has grown so much larger, it is going to do far more damage to your property than a colony would in a ’normal’ year.
And the floods along with the drawn out clean up have created the perfect storm for termite infestation. Moist soil, high humidity and debris or building materials left up against your home have created the ideal environment for subterranean termites to make their way into your home.
And certainly, due to the skyrocketing reports we are getting, this does seem to have been the case in Brisbane and South East Queensland this year.
Remember, as temperatures start to rise, humidity soars, and experts predicting a reasonably wet summer, NOW is the time to take control and beat the termites. Call a qualified Pest Control Technician out to your home now for a thorough termite inspection. Conquer Termites offers a free half hour check if you are concerned and just need some reassurance.
And of course, there are things that YOU can do to help protect your home. Remove any mulch, tree branches and building materials from up against your home (you ideally want at least a 30 or 40cm gap between your structure and any of these materials). Fix any leaking taps, air conditioning or hot water systems. Don’t make conditions any more appealing for the termites than they already are. Check downstairs and make sure that you don’t have any stored boxes or furniture up against the walls or frames, or blocking access that could be vital in a Pest Inspection.
If you have been affected by flood waters around your home, then we strongly recommend you get a professional inspector to check if your treatment has been disturbed.
If you want professional advice and a no obligation quote to treat your home, then Conquer Termites is your best bet.
Find us here on our booking page, on Facebook or on Twitter (@ConquerTermites). Or call us direct 1300 417 007
Let’s use the coming weeks and months to get ready for a wet summer and make sure we make our properties as uninviting to termites as we possibly can!
