Termites have been found at our house, and we've received a quote of $3400 to do a full inspection and treatment. This includes installing barriers under the house (its on stumps), and drilling holes in the paving and concrete to inject control chemicals.
Whilst I know a full inspection definitely needs to be done, the quoted cost was a bit of an initial shock. Will be shopping around, but thought I'd ask on here if anyone has had success in dealing with termites? House in in SE Melbourne.
Yeah sorry mate it was close lol , just off the top of my head at the time…
not quite true, most municipalities are designated as termite prone and required to be built with termite treatment; that being said end caps, penetration caps and maintainable chemical barriers are all forms of treatment.
So new homes may have counter measures that aren't as obvious as a chemically blue coated frame or steel frame.
I've seen newish homes get punished with termites, so what you mention may stall them for a bit but there warriors, they've been doing it for a very long time. Most where untreated pine, hardwood. If the council's had to pay for the damage you'd see them demand a different method, steel, treated etc…
Hard to say, depends on how hard it is to deal with your sub-floor (if it has enough clearance to get under etc,)
The materials don't cost much but labor can be intensive, so you're really just being quoted someones time and effort as the bulk of the cost.
I know a good cheap mob in melbourne, not sure they do existing but you can call and find out I'll send you the details.
Sounds about average price. Please don’t try to DIY. You don’t have the equipment or know how.
If your home is on stumps then the inspection will be very easy and you yourself could check once a month for any termite activity.
These expensive termite barrier systems and bait stations require constant maintenance. You will be paying a fee every year or so on top of the initial payment for them to come out unfortunately.
I'd just get them to poison the termites and setup your own system.
You could make your own bait stations with some pvc pipe if you wish, but they are more commonly used for slab on ground homes where its difficult to spot termite entry.
I suggest to install some physical termite barrier protection around the stumps. We use to use termimesh.
Hope this helps :)
Sadly these posts about termites always get a heap from ill informed commenters. Just because you can get under a house doesn’t mean you are sufficiently trained to find termite ingress. A termite barrier can sit undisturbed for years and requires no maintenance. And finally, Termimesh is only available to licensed installers unless you want to buy some imitation stuff off eBay.
Yeah mate the difference in pricing is staggering, I was quoted around 2k cash a year or so ago… If your a bit of a handy man you can do it yourself, look up Ian Stanton …
What's amazing to me is there still building houses out of untreated pine knowing these areas are a minefield with termites,I notice the occasional building being built with treated studs etc ….
Goodluck