Termites Eating Bait in Picton
Termites, also known as white ants, will enter a house whether it is old or new, in Picton, Sydney or anywhere else, built from hardwood or softwood, they just need the conditions that are attractive to them. I have been told over the years by locals that there are no termites in Picton! So I decided to start documenting whenever I found them, after seeing these termites eating bait in Picton.
Some of the things that will attract termites to a house are moisture from a variety of sources, Cellulose their preferred food, in the form of timber, paper, cardboard, books, mulch etc and easy access into the timbers of the house, sometimes via high soil levels in a garden bed against the home.
In this video termites had entered the home through the gap between the original sandstone footing blocks. They had attacked several flooring timbers (Cypress Pine) in various rooms of the house. We installed termite bait in a termite bait station in a cupboard where there was termite activity in the flooring inside. Over several weeks we fed the termites a total of 300gms of bait and they rapidly consumed it. The video shows a comparison of fresh termite bait (in inset) and the bait bag that was about to be changed which contains termite mudding, many termites but importantly the caste of termites in this bait bag was soldiers! not a worker was to be found which is one of the signs that colony collapse is imminent.
The second part of this video which was also taken in Picton at the same address, shows a piece of fire wood that termites had started to attack and are still active in. We have a termite bait placed under this piece of timber which they have just started to feed on. Note the termites on the top of this timber are both worker and soldier castes which leads us to surmise that these termites whilst the same species are from a different colony.
Termite bait takes some time to work but is a very sure way to kill the colony which reduces the risk of further termite attack. Further measures are needed to ensure no future attack takes place like the placement of in ground and in concrete where necessary monitoring stations.
If you have a house then a termite inspection is a normal part of the maintenance, you should have one carried out each 12 months. Make sure you find a competent, licensed and qualified termite inspector with local knowledge, as termite species and habits vary from region to region.
If you would like to learn more about termites visit our Definitive Guide to Termite Detection, Treatment and Prevention in Australia
Pestgo has experienced trained and licensed technicians to carry out this work now! 1800 111 616