Termites cause plenty of damage in Australia these days. When they start to make their homes in the built environment, they can undermine foundations, cause damage to structural woodwork and even make properties fall down, in the worst cases. Therefore, you should seek the advice of a professional pest control expert if you suspect that there are already termites in your home or there is a colony of them close to it. Only with effective pest control measures will you be able to rid yourself of the problem of unwanted termites. That said, pest control is often just as effective if you take preventative action rather than reacting to their presence. What should you be doing to make sure your home doesn't become the site of unwelcome termite guests?
Clear Old Wood
To begin with, subterranean termites tend to like to make their nests beneath old, rotting wood. As such, if there is a tree stump that is close to your home, the best thing you can do is dig it out and remove it completely. Equally, piles of firewood that have been left adjacent to your property should be raised off the ground or put in a place that is further away from the building where the presence of these creatures will do less damage.
Repair Concrete
Another problem can arise if subterranean termites are able to work their way into concrete. To prevent this, make sure you repair any concrete parking areas, driveways or tracks so that they cannot access any cracks they would otherwise find. Termites can eventually force concrete apart once they've crawled into fissures. Indeed, they can even get down into the footings of buildings from nearby concrete, something that would be extremely expensive to put right due to the underpinnings that might be needed.
Protect Woodwork
An effective pest control measure that is a good idea if you have wooden weatherboarding is to simply keep it better maintained. Wood termites are able to borrow into most sorts of timbers. However, they find ones that have been recently painted varnished much less palatable. Therefore, giving your weatherboarding a fresh coat of paint is a highly effective anti-termite measure. The same goes for wooden window frames, decking and other exposed beams. Once a year is often adequate for protecting a home's woodwork from termites and the damage they might do if they were able to start hollowing them out from within.
For more information, contact a pest control service near you.
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