Termites are present in the soil, actively looking for wood to eat all the time. To stop them from getting into our houses we use termite barriers. This can be chemical or physical or a combination of both depending on how the house was built.
Houses in Queensland were traditional built on wooden house stumps to separate them from the ground with metal ant caps on top of the stumps to prevent termites from entering the house. After stumps the houses were built on a brick base to keep the timber off the ground. When builders started building on concrete slabs they use a chemical poison in the soil under the concrete slab and around the perimeter of the house, to prevent termites entering.
In 1995, chemicals used in the past was discontinued because they were extremely poisonous to people, animals and the environment. Since then a different variety of procedures have been used to prevent concealed termite activity from entering homes.
What the homeowner needs to understand is how their house is protected from termite attack and what they must do to maintain that protection.
You can not leave this to someone else, you must be proactive and have your annual inspections. Be involved and present when the inspector is on site because you need to understand what it takes to protect your house.
It’s not one answer that suits all houses, as you can see it depends on the type of construction of your house.
Nature Fresh on 1800 075 300, is happy to give you advice, do an inspection or give you a free quote on how best to protect your house.
