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Concrete floor vs. Wooden Floors Termites will eat anything cellulose,
which can be cardboard, books, cupboards, carpet, carpet edging, wooden furniture
and any wood that is untreated. They forage randomly looking for new food sources.
Termites will follow a pheromone trail to a food source. This random foraging
is only random to a point. When the termite locates a moisture zone or
encounter a physical barrier such as plumbing, they are more likely to travel
in or along side the areas. Termites can mark sites as potential food sources,
but they may not begin feeding on that site until a later date. Concrete floor houses Some home owners with
concrete floor houses are under the misconceptions that there is nothing to
attract termites to their house. This is untrue. Termites travel through the
soil and build their nest in the soil. So for the termites to gain access to
a concrete floor house they can be more secretive and enter the cavity walls
in an attempt to access the roof timbers where they can cause substantial
structural damage. They may access other food sources in the house like book
cases, kitchen cupboards, door frames, window frames and skirting boards. If
there is not a sufficient termite barrier in place termites can attack the
building or goods inside the building by coming up any cracks in the concrete
slab. This is because there is often a moisture gradient coming off a
concrete edge, this together with soil materials make travel for the termites
easy. Concrete floor homes can be more attractive to termites in some case
because they can act like a humidicrib. Termites have been known to build
their nests under a concrete slab. Wooden floored houses Wooden floored homes can be
harder for termites to access undetected. Most wooden floor houses have
subfloors that are accessible. This allows Stewarts Pest Control Operators to
inspect the soil under the house and detect any termites that are attempting
to gain access up the stumps. These houses may have problems if the soil
level is to close to the beams and access is unable to be gained or if the
ant caps are not sufficient. An ant cap that is not sufficient or is not on a
stump at all, allows termites to go up the centre of the stump in to the
house. There is more food (wooden flooring) as such for termites to feed on,
which means when and if termites have infest a house they can be more difficult
to remove. How
a Subterranean Termite Barrier treatment is done
Equipment
needed to do termite inspection work Warning
on following up inspection work Difference
between Flying Black Ants and Alates (Flying Termites) |