Damaged architrave
Late Sunday evening after enjoying dinner at my mother in law’s I was asked to check some suspicious bubbled paint in the bathroom, my gut told me it was termites but I suggested that it could be wood rot or excess moisture to help keep everyone positive. As I peered into the holes in the bubbled paint, I confirmed my initial theory - termites had eaten through the entire door surround.
Close up
Letting my curiosity get the better of me I peeled back the architrave to expose the damage and saw that there were numerous empty tunnels covered by speckled light brown frass (termite poop). At this point there was no sign of activity which I thought was quite interesting, I traced the damage around the door to the other side and found a hollow where I could hear a distant humming sound. I tell people every day that the best thing to do is to leave them be, and yet, again my curiosity got the better of me.
Live termites found here
I poked my finger in and lifted out a small white insect with a slightly discoloured abdomen. A termite… one of many…probably hailing from a nest not too far away.
Termite on my iPhone
I decided I best leave it to the experts now and so took a few pics to share, took a guess at the species (Schedorhinotermes spp) and scheduled in one of my techs to visit the very next day to do a full termite inspection and initial termite treatment using Termidor.
I guess we’ll have to count our blessings that we got on to these relatively early as they really can do a lot of destruction for such an insignificant looking pest. It was only just over 12 months since the previous termite inspection too! The whole bathroom door surround will need to be replaced by a builder and we will likely need to install a termite barrier to prevent this happening again in the future.
If you find something you suspect might be termites give Conquer Termites a call to discuss on 1300 417 007 or email info@conquertermites.com.au.