Chemical insecticide can be applied as a barrier to protect properties from termites. The chemicals you can choose from fall into two categories, repellent and nonrepellent. The repellent has an odour and repels termites, but they will die if they pass through it. The nonrepellent is odourless and tasteless and is more effective than the latter as it is slow acting and inevitably destroys the whole colony.
There are several ways that chemicals can be applied.
Drill and inject.
This is done by drilling through paving or poured concrete at 100 mm maximum from the slab or footing edge. The spacing can vary on the chemical used, from 200mm to 300 apart. It can damage the paving, electric gas, and water pipes.
Drilling and injecting chemical into the ground to form a continuous chemical barrier to the perimeter of the building. Flooding.
Chemical can also be applied by flooding a trench made for this purpose. This can be done by removing the pavers or in garden beds against the walls.
Flooding a trench with chemical to form a complete chemical barrier.Reticulation.
A termite reticulation system can also be fitted to the perimeter of the house. There are very definite benefits to installing a reticulation system, especially if you’re about to lay down poured concrete on your house perimeter or fitting pavers.
Reticulation pipe installed on a house perimeter before paving.This system is specially designed to emit an equal amount of chemicals along the entire pipeline. This is an excellent option when you have a new property and have not installed your costly brick paving or exposed aggregate walkways.
Nonchemical methods.
There are several types of termite monitoring stations on the market. The theory behind them is the same, to get Termites feeding at this point so they can be treated. The stations are buried in the ground around the structure they are protecting, usually no further than 3 meters apart. These stations are filled with an attractant, be it timber or bait that the termites will be attracted to. The stations are inspected at regular intervals to monitor any activity. When activity is found in the timber, strips are replaced by a termiticide. Some of these systems have a bait already impregnated with a termiticide and eliminate the termites at the start of feeding.
There has been a great deal of research into these systems in recent years. The main problem is that the baits have not been attractive enough and have not achieved the desired effect. The latest and the best on the market is now available after many years of trials in Australia. This product has the added advantage that it is compatible with the nonrepellent fipronil chemical. This means that both can be installed in tandem, giving you more protection in areas that are more vulnerable to attack.
This protection system would work perfectly on new or old homes alike for several reasons:
No damage to paving. The stations can be installed in the side gardens of the walkway. If they are fitted to concrete paving, a coring drill will be used to minimise any damage, and a flush cap will be fitted.
No chemical against the house. For those who are apprehensive about chemicals.
Easy to monitor. The stations are tamper-proof with a unique key to open them for easy access.
Good coverage to perimeter. The stations cover the whole area. On other systems, sections of the house might not be protected due to design or split levels, leaving those areas vulnerable to attack.
Comments