 Notorious for their sneaky nature and feared for the unmistakable property damage they bring, invasive termites are considered some of the most devastating pests in the world. Left to fester, a termite infestation could spell irreparable structural damage to your home – as these terror “white ants” eat away at your wooden walls and foundation from the inside, jeopardizing the integrity and safety of your property by burrowing tunnels and holes.
Almost undetectable in the early stages, insidious termite colonies can set up camp and thrive in your home – going unnoticed for extended periods of time before any serious destruction becomes apparent and visible. By then, it may already be too late. Studies show, that at least 1 in 3 Australian homes will be marked and decimated by termites in its lifetime. However, this is something that can actually be remedied early on, as 50 percent of properties with active destructive infestations could have been protected from these pest invasions early on, if only proper precautionary measures were adopted. Way before extermination and early detection, the key to stopping these unwelcome guests dead in their tracks – and keeping their destruction to a minimum – are long-lasting deterrent defense systems, or barriers that not only repel and dissuade termites, but also poison entire nests. These enable you to skip hassle pest control jobs and costly house repairs, all together. Now you must be thinking, “Is my home in dire need of an effective pest-obstructing termite barrier?” Before deciding on your choice of termite barrier system, here’s what you first need to learn about them. There are two distinct main types of termite barriers: Chemical barriers and physical barriers. Adopted as early as in the construction process of newly-built properties, physical termite barriers integrate different deterrent structural elements below the surface or around the perimeter of your home to create a complete and impenetrable barrier. These incorporate a wide variety of physical blockades that can prevent the concealed entry of termites into your home – often coming in the form of stainless steel mesh barriers, metal sheeting, thick plastic membranes, specially-impregnated foam, or even sand and basaltic particle barriers impassable by termites. On the other hand, as the name suggests, chemical barriers employ an active termiticide that will wipe out entire termite colonies upon contact. A defense system that can be retrofitted into both new and already-existing properties, chemical barriers establish a chemically treated zone that will fully encase the perimeter of your building or structure. This strategically positioned termiticide zone is saturated with slow-acting pesticidal agents to disrupt the natural path of these “white ants” – their formulation specifically designed so that when even just one termite makes contact, it will bring the chemical back to its colony and eradicate the entire nest. Despite being devastatingly noxious to termites, chemical barriers pose no harm to humans, pets, native animals, and plant life. However, these two types of termite barriers have increasingly been adopted in conjunction with each other – a tandem of both chemical and physical barriers proving most successful in limiting the movement of pests and colonies into new properties and homes. Here’s four reasons you should mull over incorporating a termite barrier into your new or pre-existing home. 1. Effectively Prevents Entry Given even the slightest hint of a chance, nuisance termites can easily through the cracks and gain easy entry into your home. A termite barrier – whether it be a physical or chemical blockade, or a combination of both – is guaranteed to not make the task of infestation easy for colonies, effectively stalling their perilously access to your property. Early defense systems and preventative measures – like these barriers – can provide a “safety bubble” for your home, letting you breathe easy knowing that your home has a smaller possibility of being exposed to the grave and wanton destruction of termites. 2. Fast and Ease Expert Installation With the prevalence of the termite problem, more and more homeowners are opting to incorporate both physical and chemical barriers, as early as in the design stage of constructing their new homes – integrated below a property’s concrete slab or into the immediate perimeter of a home. For structures that are already standing, however, the installation and introduction of a chemical barrier may not be as difficult as you think. Adding a chemical barrier is still a very labour-intensive job, but most experts can accomplish the task in a day. The process requires the digging of a trench barrier to fully surround and encase your house or property. From there, the exterminator will spread an unbroken layer of liquid chemical termiticide into the soil. This creates a continuous treated soil zone called a chemical termite barrier. The trench is then filled again with soil. More convenient and reliable reticulation systems are also now being introduced. These build a chemical termite barrier that can regularly replenish the soil with the termiticide, via access holes, so the pest protection can last for years. 3. Deters and Kills Entire Colonies The termiticide used in chemical barriers carry two functions: Repelling termites sending them away from the barrier, and destroying termites and entire termite colonies. Most commercially available termiticides nowadays boast of a “transfer effect” – wherein when even just one termite comes into contact with the active agent, it will not only ingest the chemical, it will also cover their body with the pesticide and unwittingly take back the poison to their nest – eradicating the entire colony. This is effective because these get rid of all the pests that may potentially eat away at your home, instead of just sending them away to try a different path. Besides tunneling up from under your property, termites can also fly. This means ideally poisoning the entire nest is best scenario. 4. Long-term Protection and Security Chemical barriers have a viable lifespan of up to 8 years – physical barriers even longer. Coupled with the annual inspections and retreatment, companies often offer when installing both chemical and physical termite barriers into your home, they could potentially assure you long-term defenses against pesky and malevolent termites. Also notably, these barriers utilize termiticides that are entirely eco-friendly and will not pose any harm to your family, your pets, and plant life. Don’t wait for the termite problem to come knocking on your door. Take the necessary steps and precaution now to save you from toxic exterminations and costly annual repairs in the long run. Safeguard your dwelling with effective chemical and physical termite barriers.
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 Irksome pests are a constant in any homeowner’s life – the inconveniences they bring ranging from irritating nuisances, to property damaging, to outright dangerous. These pesky critters come as unwelcome guests, disturbing our home life and routines with their bothersome presence.
North Brisbane’s temperate climate has particularly proved conducive for a handful of these troublesome pests to thrive. The mild and predominantly warm weather we enjoy, also favorable for them to multiply and set up camp in our backyards or even inside our homes. Here are nine of the most common pests in the region and the potential harm they bring to our homes and properties. 1. Bees and Wasps These flying insects may seem largely harmless and undisruptive if left at arm’s length, especially because they pose an important role in our local ecosystem as pollinators. However, the trouble comes when bees and wasps start to build their nests and hives too close to our homes. Bees and wasps typically prefer building their nests outside, perched on sturdy tree branches out of harm’s way. Every now and then however, a stray colony will build their nests in open wall cavities and windows of your house – posing imminent danger to you and your family if the swarm were to be disturbed. These nest are often tiresome and high-risk to remove, requiring expert pest control services to manage. 2. Rats and other Vermin Aside from their propensity to munch away at untucked away food, rats and mice pose a threat for being carriers of a handful of diseases that can be deadly to humans. These rodents can potentially contaminate your food and water sources with harmful pathogens if they are left unchecked for an extended amount of time. Aside from the health risks they bring, these vermin may also cause exponential property damage – rats being known to chew through wall insulation and panels, in some instances even perilously cutting internet lines and electric cables with their teeth. 3. Termites Termites are terribly insidious pests, their infestation sometimes going unnoticed for long periods of time. Nearly undetectable by the naked eye in its early stages, termite colonies can cause some serious structural damage to your home in the long-run. These pesky critters are known to eat away at your wooden walls from the inside – jeopardizing the integrity and safety of your property by burrowing holes and rendering wooden walls and fixtures hollow and rotting below the surface. 4. Cockroaches Similar to rodents, stubborn cockroaches carry plenty of harmful diseases that may pose a risk to your wellbeing. Thriving in damp and dark places, roaches spawn offspring with ease leading to a prevalence of cockroach infestations in even the most well-kept homes. Attracted to food particles and crumbs, cockroaches are naturally attracted to foodstuffs leading to higher risks of contamination. 5. Spiders These eight-legged critters are often feared due to their intimidating appearance, but it’s their predisposition to spinning their webs in air vents, house corners, wall cracks, and backyards that make them a particular nuisance. 6. Ant Naturally seeking food, ants are prone to raiding your pantry and cupboard before setting up camp inside your home. What makes these small insects even more bothersome though is their stinging bite, intensified by their tendency to move together in small droves. 7. Bed Bugs Prone to sneaking into your home undetected by hitching a ride on your clothes or luggage, pesky bed bugs have proven to be some of the most difficult pests to shake off. These small oval-shaped blood-suckers are known to reproduce exponentially, hiding in dark places and crevices out of reach in your home before striking. Unwelcome bedfellows, bed bugs have been seen to particularly favor living under beds, in box springs and headboards, or tucked away in the corners of your sheets. Nocturnal critters, they’re sure to bring discomfort while you sleep and patchy and itchy rashes once you rise in the morning. 8. Silverfish Known for their destructive feeding habits, these bristled insects will make your skin crawl. Silverfish appear as teardrop-shaped critters with a pallid grey color, immediately recognizable because of their long tendrils and antennae. Feeding on sugars and carbohydrates, these minute creepy-crawlies are known to feast on everything from wallpaper to cereal boxes to wall insulation and clothing. 9. Possums With more residential spaces encroaching on their natural habitats, possums have shown a tendency to wander into suburban and commercial areas and wreak havoc. Seeking warm and dark spaces, these oversized rodents have been found to climb onto roofs and sneak into the ceilings of homes for shelter. With their unwanted intrusion comes the destruction of roofing and insulation, as well as dangerous damage to live electrical wires and unsightly fecal matter. Still being a protected species in Australia, contact your local pest control service providers immediately for their assistance in addressing any unwelcome possum problems. Pests are a dime a dozen in North Brisbane, the damage and inconvenience they bring varying from one case to another. With this in mind, it’s best to hand the task of pest control to the professionals. We cover this range of pest at home and commercial properties. For any pest control needs please contact us your local pest control expert or exterminator today.  Termites are some of the most insidious pests a homeowner may face in their lifetime.
Almost undetectable in the early stages, termite infestations can lead to some serious structural damage to your home in the long-run – as these pesky critters eat away at your wooden walls from the inside, and jeopardize the integrity and safety of your property by burrowing holes. Termites have been seen to thrive particularly in North Brisbane in Australia, especially during the region’s hot and rainy summers – when wooden fixtures like door posts or window frames get damp and become susceptible to the attack of these nefarious pests. Most of the time, you may not become aware of an infestation until visible destruction has already been done and it’s too late. The key to stopping termites dead in their tracks and keeping their destruction to a minimum is early detection. Having a keen eye for signs of presence from these malevolent colonies may help you stop termites from making any irreparable damage to your homes very early on. If you notice any of these tell-tale signs of infestation, immediately contact your local pest control company. These experts will conduct a thorough sweep of your home, to look for any hidden termite colonies, and help you remedy your serious termite problem. Be on the lookout for these warning signs that your home may be under attack. 1. Visible Water Damage or Peeling Paint Coupled with termites’ predisposition to damp and cold places, visible water damage can be a telling indication of moisture build-up and/or the underlying presence of a feeding colony of pests. This is a very visible early sign of termite infestation. When you notice the bubbling or peeling of paint in some areas of your walls, be on the lookout for seemingly hollow or soft surfaces as termites may have already decimated the wood behind this layer, causing it to swell, stain, and discolor. 2. Pesky Mud Tubes Mud Tubes are small and brittle vein-like tunnels that termites build to connect their underground nests and colonies to their food sources – in this case, potentially your home. Made of soil and wood debris, these enclosed environments are fairly easy to spot – mostly between 1/4 to 1 inch in diameter. These intrusive mud tubes can often be seen crawling over flooring or snaking up concrete walls and foundations to reach wooden surfaces, enabling termites easy access to the property they can break down and devour. These invasive tunnels can be extremely troublesome, because if you destroy them yourself, a colony can easily rebuild it in a matter of a day. 3. Fine Frass or Termite Droppings Frass or termite droppings come in the form of fine pellets often found in mounds beside compromised wooden fixtures which may have visible exit holes. The presence of these frass particles is a sure sign that your home has been compromised by termites. Termites leave behind these sawdust-like mounds of fecal matter in their wake, as they consume your wooden walls below the surface. Be on the lookout for these powdery banks of frass because they’re an obvious sign that you have a serious termite problem on your hand. 4. Clicking Sounds You heard that right! Termites may be some of the smallest critters but their swarms do emit quiet clicking sounds, produced when larger soldier termites repeatedly bang their heads against wood just below the surface. Worker termites so produce low chattering sounds as they munch away at your hardwood floor or wall paneling. These minute noises may be hard to notice at first, but hold your ear close to any questionable surfaces and you just might hear their low mumbling sounds. 5. Tiny Discarded Wings The sighting of Flying termites, or swarmers, is a serious sign of early infestation. Flying termites are pests that have left their colony in search of a mate to establish a new nest –which may spell disaster for your home. As termite swarms are seen to congregate during times when there is much less human activity – hence the difficulty in spotting them – a more telling warning are small piles of discarded wings. When a termite sheds its wings it’s an indication that they’ve set up camp and decided to nest near or inside your home. 6. Hollowed Out Wood Lastly, probably the most obvious sign of termite infestation is seeing hollowed out portions of wood. May it be your wall panels or your wooden cupboard or your baseboards, discovering wooden surfaces that have been gutted should immediately alert you to contact your local termite control and extermination expert. It’s fairly easy for termite damage to go unnoticed for quite a long time, but what is vital to combat the irreparable structural damage of these malevolent colonies is early detection. Regularly inspect your property and keep an eye out for this tell-tale signs. Once you do see a couple of these warning signs, notify your local experts immediately. |