One of the most common pests experts have to deal with for property owners, are termites. They are more than a nuisance pest as these can cause real damage to properties that can become very costly to repair. It is important if you spot or suspect you have a termite problem to straight away looking at termite treatment in Melbourne options.
What are termites?
Termites are small insects and as well as eating a diet of plants, soil and other natural materials also eat wood, which is why they are a problem inside buildings. There are different types of termites with the one most commonly responsible for termite damage to buildings being dry wood and subterranean termites. It is not just homeowners that need to watch out for them. Any property owner, commercial buildings, theatres, stores and so on, can have problems with termite infestations.
Types of termite treatment options
There are three main options when it comes to termite treatment in Melbourne and some can be tried by yourself while others are best left to the professionals. Those three main options are;
- Liquid termiticide – A trench or holes are dug around the perimeter of the property that should be around six inches deep and six inches wide. Then pour the liquid into the trench. A general guide is a person needs 12 gallons of liquid per 30 feet of holes or trench. This is a method of treatment for subterranean termites as they come in from below ground so if you have a perimeter of protection they cannot get in. It is the most commonly used treatment method and has been used for many years. But it does mean applying chemicals, it is not a natural method of treatment.
- Baiting system – Baiting means using treats that they like to eat like cardboard, paper, and wood combined with a poison that is lethal for termites. The termites will come out to forage for food and carry it back to the nest. There are different poisons or formulas, some cause a slow and steady decline in termite numbers and some take out a whole colony fast. There are a couple of difficulties with this termite treatment in Melbourne. First of all, you need to have a bait that is appealing enough that they choose that over what else they were eating. Then getting the strength of poison right so that the termites do not die too close to the bait, as that then warns other termites away from it. As well as using baiting as a treatment option you can use it as a preventive step too.
- Fumigation – Fumigating the whole property is sometimes just the best option to choose as you can take out all of the termites at once, great if you have more than one nest. It can reach into all the crevices and crannies and is a very effective treatment option. But this termite treatment in Melbourne requires professionals to handle it. They cover the structure with a large tent, pump in their gas that kills the pests and then they can offer advice on prevention and damage control too. They can pump in chemicals or they might do a heat treatment option where hot air is pumped in. The latter suits people concerned with the use of chemicals.
Costs of treatments
How much the treatment efforts cost depends on several things. How large the property is, whether you choose to do it yourself or hire experts, and which method you use. The chemicals used as well as other fees may also apply. The fumigation process tends to be the more costly one, but it is the more effective one. Talk to a few professionals and get some quotes and at the same time talk to them about other concerns you might have such as natural treatments over chemical-based ones.
Conclusion
Termites are not just annoying to have around. Left to their own devices they can multiply and lead to serious structural damage that could cost you huge sums of money to fix. Choose the most effective termite treatment in Melbourne you can find so you do not have to deal with that kind of serious damage.
