There is a huge market for DIY in Australia. Bunnings has built a billion dollar empire based on the Do-It-Yourself concept which see’s every man and his dog renovating their homes themselves. Often, once the renovation has begun, the professionals are called in to rectify or complete most of the work as the homeowner realises that they either don’t have the time, knowledge or skill set to do the job properly.

Well this is the case with many DIY Termite Baiting projects, where the homeowner goes online and buys some fancy home termite bait kit, with special termite viewing windows and a bag of inferior bait… Disastrous, is a word used for this situation. These self proclaimed DIY Termite Bait kits mostly resemble a poor version of a professional product without any of the research and testing undertaken by the professional manufacturers.

Clever marketing and fancy ‘ebooks’ spruiked by some ‘Industry Leader’ are all too common hooks to get you to buy an inferior termite protection product, which is more likely to attract termites closer to your home to feed. These clever sales tactics would have you believe that baiting and eradicating feeding termites is a simple 1 step process, when in fact, it’s far from simple…and far from 1 step. Different termite species act and feed differently. Some are robust and can withstand a moderate level of disturbance without vacating a station, while others require only the slightest movement of their environment before they’ll run a mile from the termite bait you’re attempting to feed, and start chewing on your garage wall. It’s a minefield that you need to go into with all of the right information.

The Termicure ‘Active’ packs are a professional termite bait station, combined with the latest innovation by DowAgroScience, the Always Active Termiticide Rod.

Unlike every other DIY Termite Bait on the market, the installation of the Termicure ‘Active’ stations and rods will start to eradicate termites from the minute they begin feeding on the rods. The poison contained in the rods is the thing which attracts termites to feed, whilst providing them with a food source which the entire colony becomes dependent on, eventually taking the colony down. There is no clumsy amateur installation of termite bait, which will usually either contaminate the station, or simply scare the termites off to feast on another piece of framework located somewhere in your home.

DIY TERMITE BAITING IS A SCAM unless you are either extremely lucky, or you’re using the Sentricon Termiticide Rods.

Professional Termite Management Specialists still use conventional baiting methods, where a bait matrix is mixed and fed to active termes attacking a station. This process requires continual 2-3 weekly monitoring and adding more bait as the colony feeds. Wiping out a termite colony could take up to 12 months of feeding. In between all of this, there are many factors which could spook the feeding termites…causing them to run, and the process fails.

The beauty of the termiticide rods, is that there is nothing else which needs to be added to the station. Once a rod has been at least 50% consumed, you simply add another rod. By this point, the colony is unable to feed on any other food source, so they simply hook into the additional rod until colony destruction.

The termiticide rods have revolutionised the Termite Industry, and finally provided homeowners with a viable option of protecting their own property from termites.

Click here to purchase your Professional Termite Baits, prepared and packed for DIY Termite Protection.

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Creating a physical barrier by exposing the slab edge around a building is an excellent method which is a simple DIY Termite Protection concept, which simply exposes the main area where termite entry is likely to occur (the perimeter), so that their presence can be seen, and professional treatment arranged. With a slab on ground home, this is basically just lowering landscaping levels around the perimeter so that the edge of the slab can be clearly seen. A minimum of 75mm clearance from the next surface is the minimum I would run with. Even more if you can manage it.

DIY Termite protection via the installation a baiting system is an excellent option, with the right products. Traditional termite baiting concepts require 3 stages.

1.Installation of termite bait stations, and attractant materials (timbers).

2.Monitoring of installed stations

3. Treatment of active stations when termites have been identified. This treatment is done with an insect growth regulator, which affects the termites ability to malt, and can take up 12 months, with application of the bait matrix, and increased monitoring at 2 weekly intervals.

The conventional way can be extremely successful, however it is extremely time consuming once the eradication process begins, and there are many parts of the process where human error can cause termites to vacate the stations, and continue on to other areas of your property. Even experience termite professionals can have issues with termite baiting, through the simple nature of the process.

The Termicure ‘Active’ System is perfect for DIY termite protection, with only two simple stages…

1. Installation of termite bait stations with Termiticide Rods.
2. Check the stations every 3 months, and install an additional termiticide rod once termite activity has been identified. The poisoning of the colony has already begun. There is no need for mixing termite bait matrix’s or continual feeding.

The termiticide rods contain the materials to both attract, and eradicate an entire termite colony. Sold only as a professional product, it’s become a world leader in legitimate DIY termite protection, which is non toxic for humans or domestic animals.

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With extensive experience within the industry as a business owner, employer, and technician, it is often easier to offer your customer the treatment which suits the business or technician best. There are 3 main methods of termite protection. 1-a physical barrier such as Kordon or Termimesh which is installed at time of construction, and provides a physical product designed to force termites into the open. 2-A chemical soil treatment (perimeter barrier) which kills termites on contact as they forage through the ground in search of food. 3-Termite Baiting systems, which attract foraging termites for an automatic ingestion of termiticide (termiticide rods) or for a bait matrix application.

Put simply, an existing home is usually limited to the chemical soil treatment or termite bait installation.

Now, most slab on ground homes will benefit most from the installation of a chemical soil treatment, because it creates a chemically treated zone around the most likely areas where termite entry occurs-the perimeter. This process involves trenching of the perimeter where soil abuts the slab edge, and drilling abutting concrete pathways and driveways for injection of chemical into the soil below. This creates a continuous treated zone which kills termites. This is very labour intensive, backbreaking work, and for a pest control business, it requires a fully qualified professional to be on site during all treatment.

Termite Baits on the other hand, is a far less labour intensive form of termite protection. Instead of trenching and drilling an entire perimeter (75 lineal metres is an average house perimeter), a termite bait installation simply requires an unqualified person to dig approximately 25 holes, with baits to be simply installed into. This process does not require a termite professional, so labour costs are down, however it is rarely found that these costs are reduced for the homeowner, which is why DIY Termite Baits are so popular with homeowners. The service and maintenance of termite bait systems is also something which Pest Control Operators will often use an unqualified labourer for. Again, this is cost cutting.

Now this is not how all Pest Control Operators work, but it is common. A good way to see if your pest control operator has your interests at heart, is whether you are offered the installation of a termite barrier or a baiting system. If you own a slab on ground house, and there are no significant obstructions, then the best method will almost certainly be a termite barrier (chemical soil treatment), but if you’re offered the installation of a baiting system, then you could be talking to a lazy termite professional who is more interested in profits than the wellbeing of your property.

Get some other opinions and do your research. Facebook reviews are often a good source of customer feedback, so do your research.

Always get the opinion of a professional, but speak with a few to get the feel for what the common consensus might be when it comes to protection. A little research can go a long way to saving you thousands.

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Physical Termite Barriers rely on a physical product which cannot be penetrated by termites, forcing them to the building exterior, or to a place where they can be seen, and consequently treated. Products such as Kordon, Termimesh and Homeguard are all examples of Brisbane Termite Protection.

Visual barrier are not as common as one would think, but Coral Homes are renowned for it throughout the Brisbane Termite Protection circles. A slab which protrudes at least 75mm from the perimeter walls, with a horizontal inspection zone is their ‘signature perimeter termite management system, which does not always please the eye, but certainly does the trick if you are a vigilant homeowner. This is not common, and most exposed slab issues are caused by termites crossing the inspection zone where landscaping has been installed to the building exterior, or because tenanted properties are not always cared for like an owner occupier.

Chemical barriers, create a chemically treated zone about the perimeter of a building which kills termites. This is an effective tool which works 24hrs day and night, and requires no real maintenance. Termite Baiting Systems are also a common post construction termite management method, and are popular, because they can be installed and successfully managed by the homeowner.

Brisbane termite protection options are quite varied, although if your home has not been built with physical termite protection, then either a termite barrier (chemical), or a Termite Baiting System are your common and most effective options.

A termite barrier will need to be installed by a Brisbane Termite Protection specialist, where an ‘Active ‘ Termite Baiting System can be installed by the homeowner for less than half of the cost of any other suitable method.

Contact us at info@termicure.com.au for more detail.

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Bunnings Termite Baits, or more accurately, the product Bunnings currently stocks as a termite bait, is simply a monitoring tool. Wedges of timber installed into the ground which are palatable food source for foraging termites. Research has shown that the most common treatment methods used for termite eradication, are simply not possible with the termite baits currently on the shelves at Bunnings. We are not going to mention the brand of the product, but we’ll give you the rundown…

Sold as a ‘…Termite Bait Systems Termite Detection-6Pack’ the product is a simple piece of timber cut into a wedge shape for easy installation into the soils around the home (simply hammer it into the ground). There are two holes drilled into the top which create  ‘windows’ which are mudded up by termites when they eat their way through to the holes. A clever plastic cap seals the top.

This product has been around for at least 10 years, and I’ve seen it on site at multiple homes around NSW and Qld. They are great for monitoring the presence of termite, but for successful treatment of termite, with the aim of colony eradication, they are almost a complete waste of time and money.

Due to their simple design, they are cheap to manufacture, and have been cleverly marketed. The issue only arises when the timber wedges become active with live termites, and treatment needs to be undertaken. Now conventional termite baits are an inground station, which create a cavity, which termites enter to feed on timber inserted into the unit. When activity has been found, a termite bait matrix is added and the activity feeds on the bait matrix until certain conditions indicate that the colony is in decline. Major Professional Termite Baiting systems which use this method are Exterra, Termitrix, the original Sentricon, and the Original Termicure termite baits.

Recent advancements in the industry have seen the introduction of the Sentricon ‘Always Active’ Termiticide rod, which removes the step of having to add a bait matrix for colony eradication. The Termiticide rod provides an attractive food source to attract termites, and eradicate the colony in 1 step.

Other, less successful methods of termite colony eradication with termite baits is with the application of a termiticide liquid or foam applied to the station. The problem with this method, is that the foam rarely contacts enough termites to take out the colony.

Finally, there is termite dusting. This is the method which I believe is the most viable for the Bunnings termite baits. Dusting can be successful in certain situations, however termites produce humidity within their workings, and when those workings are inside a damp piece of timber, inserted directly into the ground, the humidity and moisture content within the workings can significantly effect the dust. The dust is fine, much like talc powered and is applied using a hand puffer. Now if you can imagine talcum poweder picking up moisture as it is blown through tiny tunnels in the ground, you’ll probably figure that it’s likely to clump, and not gain the desired travel required to gain contact with any significant number of termites. Dusting is a fine art at the best of times, and is a skill which takes years to perfect. Even then, moisture is the enemy of dust treatments which is why it is not used as often as other methods.

Please don’t misunderstand us with our assessment of this product which is stocked and offered on the Bunnings website at time of writing this. This its can be successfully used to monitor termites on your property. The point being, that if you were going to monitor them, would you not want to eradicate them as simply as you can once you found termites in them?

That’s where we come in. The Termicure ‘Active’ Packs provide all you need to monitor and eradicate termites and protect your home

If you have an issue at your home, or are curious about what options are suitable for you, then please email us at info@termicure.com.au and we’ll help you through or put you in touch with a local expert who can provide you with alternative options.

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For example, many Gold Coast Termite Protection ‘specialists’ will encourage you to install a fully service termite baiting system, which is fine if your home is built on a hill, with multiple split level sections and concealed slab joins or inaccessible areas, but if your home is slab on ground, then it’s lily that your pest manager is simply swaying your opinion to suit their own agenda. with a slab on ground home, the most common point of entry for active termites, is via the perimeter, in which case, a chemical soil treatment to the perimeter of the building would provide you with the best all round termite protection.

Many Gold Coast Termite Protection ‘specialists’, simply have not invested in the expensive spray rigs to undertake chemical soil treatments, so they’ll offer a termite baiting system and rely on their sales skills to sell it to the customer as the best option.

A termite baiting system does not require any specific training or qualifications. Guidelines do need to be followed in order the achieve a good level of coverage, but this information is quite simple to obtain. The basic principle is that termite bait stations should be placed at 3 metre intervals about the ‘drip line’ of a structure. A good explanation of termite bait placement is provided in the installation and maintenance guide in every Termicure ‘Active’ Pack.

Termite Baiting system installation CAN be a cash cow for termite professionals, however when done correctly, and properly maintained, they can provide an exceptional level of termite protection to specific structures and homes.

The basic principle of termite baiting is to provide attractive food sources at specific intervals about the property, which encourage them to feed and in turn, feeding on an impregnated food source capable of full termite colony eradication.

For further information, or assistance in making the right decision, just send us an email at info@termicure.com.au for a qualified, and professional perspective.

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