How Do Termites Get Into Your Home

There are many ways termites can gain access to a home and we will discuss this shortly.

Firstly, the best way to prevent termites from gaining access to your house is to understand what might attract them to the dwelling.

Termites live in underground colonies and are always foraging for food and your home may be a great source of food for a termite colony.

The most conducive condition for termites to gain access to a house is water leaks and timber in contact with the ground. Water leaks and timber in ground contact in or around the home are for termites like a magnet to metal.

Leaks, damp areas and timber in ground contact may be occurring in and around your home and you the homeowner may have no idea that termites are in an advanced state of attack.

We describe some issues below on how termites are attracted to a home.

Leaking showers. Many leaking showers go undetected.
Down pipe and guttering leaks.
Hot water units and air conditioning overflow pipes discharging close to the house creating damp conditions.
Water tank overflow pipes not connected to an approved outlet.
Roof leaks.
Damp subfloor soil.
Poor exterior surface drainage.
Leaking/dripping taps or pipes.
Poor subfloor ventilation.
Ground contact garden/landscaping timbers close to the home.
Trees and excessive vegetation near the house.
Stored items against the home such as cardboard, firewood, sheds, and even exterior kitchens.
Rising damp.

Any of the above issues increase the likelihood of concealed termite attack.

Now let us look at how termite entry to the home occurs

Termites may enter the dwelling through cracks in the foundation wall or concrete slab. These cracks can be as little 0.5 of a millimetre and are common in most homes due to soil movement and or poor articulation of the exterior walls.

Wood that is in contact with the ground and bridging(attached )to the dwelling. (Timber decks and fence posts in contact with the ground and house being the most common occurrence).

Through pipe penetrations in the house slab. These pipe penetrations are situated in kitchens and all wet areas and penetrate the concrete slab into the ground. These penetrations are protected from termite attack at construction time however poor installation of the protection method can result in major termite attack.

Weep holes and ground floor vents covered by earth soils, patios, and pathways etc.

Poorly installed ant-capping or Termite Physical Barriers.

Termites can also build mud tunnels/Tubes on the exterior walls and try to find cracks or even exterior pipe penetrations where they can get in.

Any structure can be attacked by termites.

If you are buying a home or simply want to get the home you live in or lease checked, Premier Building and Pest Reports will report on all conducive areas around and in the home that will attract termites to the building. We also have several specialist equipment applications that can detect moisture in or concealed within the home and a termite radar that can detect concealed termite movement. All these applications are used by our inspectors during a Building and Pest Inspection and or a standalone Termite inspection.

Premier Building and Pest inspections are a small family-owned operation providing a service that you do not find at the top of web search engines where large companies throw all their resources at to generate singular jobs done by sub-contractors that clients only become disappointed with the outcome. We are fully QBCC and QLD Health licenced and insured by Rapid Solutions.