TERMITE INFESTATION !

 

 If you own a conservation building with timber floors, you might encounter termite infestation.

 

Most termite infestation here in Singapore concerning shop-house are usual cause by earth bound termites which bore their way from the ground up.

Interestingly their teeth is tougher than concrete and some metals.

Learn what they will and wont eat here.

Termites eat up wood because wood has sucrose and cellulose. cellulose is like the sweet thing inside sugar cane or bamboo. It is easy to chew and savory for the termites.

 

IMAGE FROM NEW SCIENTIST

 

It can inspire termites to bore their way through concrete and bricks to reach the cellulose in timber.

Having understood their desire and sense of purpose we then now need to understand what conditions they thrive the best. According to pest controller Rentokil it says that they thrive and grow very well in our tropical climate with high humidity and rainfall.

 

The wet wood termites live within subterranean nest that is below the floor slab and may have sub nest. Their nest therefore may not be directly under your building but could be more in the immediate region in the estate. Since they have sub nest, the main nest therefore could be way deeper than you think.

Image by Walter Tschinkel

 

Enormous network of termite ant nest by Chris Packham

In my simple experience over conservation buildings plagued with termite infestation, it usually happens to building that has been unoccupied for sometime where there is peace and quietness for the insect to get on with their work.

The lack of human involvement also means humans do not regulate the ventilation and humidity inside the building.

As it seems, this is nature’s ways of taking back their material that man has manipulated.

Poisoning the termites may not be the best option. Sometimes keeping them busy with easily available food will move them away from your building structure.

Containers with easier to consume food for termites will keep them busy away from your structure

 

termite bait plated at the perimeter of house

 

 

 

different vendors interpret the bait differently, some are pre-made beads others allow you to add your own scrap wood

 Of course then there is the dry termite that leaves little bits of sand everywhere. This usually involves cabinets and doors. This type of termite does not involve the earth as a base much.

Invasion of termite from the ground can be minimized by the use of steel mesh that is laid with the floor slab. These woven mesh have holes smaller than the termite so they cant press through. The density of the stainless steel is also made more dense than their teeth.

woven stainless steel mesh

woven mesh with protective layer

There is also Dry Wood Termites

 

Dry wood termite leaving sand like fecal residue 

 Dry wood termites live inside the wood instead of in the ground and leaves a fecal residue that looks like sand.

  dry wood termite nest

Dry Wood Termites can be eradicated by the use of termite pesticide.