Ever thought that you may have termites? You may already have them and not even know it. That’s because termites live in areas that you cannot see. Termites cost home owners and business owners thousands of dollars in repairs if not treated and collateral damage to property. Our team takes care in performing an inspection throughout the property location to ensure that there is a confirmed infestation of termites. Typical signs of termite infestation include:

• Discarded wings found in window sills, in and around light fixtures, attic, or even throughout the property
  
• Wood that sounds hollow when tapped
• Live, swarming or flying termites in your home
• Sand like mud tubes

If your home or business is troubled by TERMITES, give us a call today for your FREE TERMITE Quote and Survey.

Subterranean termites cause a lot of damage each year to homes, historical structures, and commercial buildings. In addition to buildings, termites also consume valuable books, documents and photographs. A great deal of their success can be attributed to their cooperative behaviour. Subterranean termites are social insects. This means that they live in family groups called colonies.

Subterranean termites live beneath in the ground, hence their name. They forage by digging a network of tunnels within the soil and come in contact with food sources in the process. The foraging range of a single termite colony is difficult to predict. Some larger colonies may forage over areas the size of a football field. However, depending on the season or weather, they may not forage over their entire range at all times. Also, several smaller colonies may cover a greater foraging distance than one large colony.

Termite Interception

MTBS baits termites effectively by taking advantage of the fact that termites continually forage for food in the earth around their nest. Depending on the species, points of termite interception may be located either in the ground around the structure or within the affected building above ground if termites can be located there. If a food substance is placed at each interception point and there are colonies nearby, the termites will eventually find the food source and consume it at one or more interception points.

Avoid Termite Disturbance

MTBS In-ground stations are large in size; this facilitates the inspection of the stations for termite activity without causing disturbance to termites. Should termites be found inside the stations, introduction of the bait matrix into the stations can be carried out easily without disturbing the termites as well. Termites do not like to be disturbed and may even leave the station when disturbed. The bait matrix used is designed to be palatable (attractive) for the termites, as such, when the bait is introduced, the termites switch from feeding on the Interceptors to feeding on the bait.

Using the correct toxicant

The type of Active Ingredient (A.I) used is important in determining effective colony elimination. If the A.I is fast acting, the termites that find the bait inside the stations would consume it and die immediately. Other colony members that now arrive at the bait station looking for food would find their nest members dead. These new members would quickly realize that the bait was causing the deaths of their mates, and as a result avoid consuming the bait, i.e. bait shyness. Thus the A.I used in the MTBS bait is of the slow-acting type. Termites consuming the bait are thus able to leave the station before being affected by the A.I. These termites then deliver the food (Bait) back to the other colony members. Being slow-acting, the rest of the colony would not be able to learn to avoid consuming the bait because they cannot connect the link between the deaths of colony members with consumption of the bait.

MTBS IN GROUND STATION WITH TERMITES FEEDING THE BAIT

MTBS ABOVE GROUND STATION WITH TERMITES FEEDING THE BAIT

Thermography is a technology that actually allows us to see thermal energy or heat! If you saw the movie "Predator" or "Predator 2", you saw the real infrared video footage! It was used as a screening function for SARS as it picked up anyone with fever.

Advantages of using Thermal Imaging for termite inspection instead of the cheap and conventional methods

Due to the sensitivity of the thermal imaging instrument, temperature variation as little as 0.1 Degrees Celsius can be detected. So whilst a termite infestation is going on underneath a wooden structure and is not visible yet to detect, it can readily be detected with thermal camera. The image on the left could be a termite infestation or a broken roof tile that let sunlight shines through. It narrows down the possible areas of infection and thereby saves time and cost.

Thermal imaging is totally non-destructive and non-intrusive. There is no need to poke holes in a surface to determine if there is damage beneath it. Due to this, termite treatment can be carried out more efficiently because any disturbance along a termite foraging path could lead to a worse situation such as the termites starting up a Satellite Colony or change of feeding route, which could cause more damage to wooden structures in the premises.

Other technologies, for example acoustic meters, require a more or less flat surface and physical contact. It is very difficult therefore to ensure a thorough inspection has been conducted, as certain areas may be inaccessible i.e. false ceilings. As thermal imaging is non-contact and an object may be viewed and analysed from a distance, this barrier is removed.

Visual inspection is hard to see anything however with thermal imaging; we can clearly see the damage done.