Termites are social insects that live in colonies/nests. The colony is broken into three distinct groups:
- Reproductives - the most important member being    the queen;
- Soldiers who defend the colony [photo, left]; and
- Workers [photo,right].

Workers represent approximately 80% of the colony and it is workers who may forage in range of up to 100 meters from the colony looking for food, who are responsible for structural damage to property. Typically in a Canberran suburban setting these nests will be in trees, particularly large mature natives. Termites can also however nest in old tree stumps, power poles, and occasionally even wall cavities and enclosed subfloor areas of houses where there are plumbing faults and/or poor drainage, leading to high levels of moisture. The photo below shows the typical entry point into a structure. Note how termite shielding (ant caps) do not prevent termites. At best all they do is force the termite mud leads to be exposed (since termites can't eat through metal.) Or, as shown in the photo left, the termites will simply exploit any poorly sealed joints in the shielding. Once over the termite shielding, termite damage may spread to bearers, floor joists, timber flooring, wall framing, interior skirting boards, and even roofing timbers.

For a house built on a concrete slab termites typically enter directly over the slab edge. Generally this is due to high levels of garden beds, mulch, pavers, concrete pathways, decking, and so on. A minimum of 75mm slab edge exposure is required as part of termite protection. This is rarely seen in practice, however, even for new housing. It's also not uncommon to find termite entry directly through the slab, via penetration pipes or cracks. Once through the slab termites will trail under flooring material until they find a food source such as skirting boards or internal wall frames.
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Typically the inspection will take two hours and involves: Checking foundation piers and walls for termite mud leads; Tapping to test the integrity of timbers (skirting boards, door frames, floor and ceiling joists, etc); Sound testing of interior walls (to check if termite mud is present); Use of a Moisture Meter to detect (moist) termite mud in wall cavities; And a detailed written report.

During the inspection process we are looking mainly for termite mud leads (as seen in the top photo above), and damaged timber (as seen in the photo below.) The inspection generally takes a couple of hours simply due to the size of the areas needing inspection, and also progress is slow because we're often crawling our way around under low subfloors, or in roof voids with a low pitch. There are plenty of companies out there however doing one hour (or less) inspections.

At the end of the inspection we will write out a report and discuss any findings. We will only write a quote if we find active termites. We will always suggest treatment to the Australian Standard AS 3660. However, we will use bait/baiting systems if you object to the use of chemical soil treatments. We will never issue quotes as "preventatives" on the basis that "no you don't have any termites but your area is at high risk" etc. If you want a bait system installed, we're happy to do so, but we just charge a standard $990 price. - Refer to Treatment Options or Services for more information.

There are THREE options for a treating a property for termites:

1. Chemical Soil Barrier Treatments to Australian Standard AS 3660. This involves treating around all footings using an approved termiticide: (i) Trench, flood, and backfill around piers and walls under the house. (ii) Trench, flood, and backfill along all exterior walls. (iii) Drill, and inject, and re-cement external pathways at 200mm centers. (iv) Pull up pavers, trench, flood, backfill soil, and reinstall pavers. And, if the house is on a concrete slab, we need to (v) drill at 200mm centers down one side of every internal wall. Termite eradication takes about 4.3 weeks on average using Termidor termiticide. Termidor has a residual life in soil of 8 years. Even with the higher initial expense (compared to baiting systems), it provides better protection at a lower price in the long run. The treatment will take 2 to 3 days to complete.

2. Limited chemical barrier. We carry out the same treatment as per a full chemical barrier, but only treat those areas of the house either currently with termite activity, and/or highly susceptible to attack. The treatment will generally be completed within one day.

3. Baiting Systems do not meet the Australian Standard (AS 3660) for protection of property against termites. However, they can lower the risk through the elimination of nearby termite colonies. The system relies on first monitoring using inground stations. Once termite activity is found, bait is then added. As termites feed on this bait the colony begins to die out. We can also apply bait using an above ground station directly onto termite activity. However, this is not our preferred method of treatment as the process can take many months. During this time termites will continue to feed on your house.