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Termite Issue
Home Owners
From a home owner's perspective, the termite issue has impacted pretty heavily. We've seen marriages break up, and under some pretty severe pressures, and in many cases, completely without any fault of the home owner. In others, the home owners have contributed quite heavily to the termite issue at their home.
Areas in which the home owner can impact are primarily in disturbing a chemical barrier against the home. Please note that there is a big difference between chemical barriers installed prior to July, 1995, and after.
The older style chemical barriers were very forgiving from a treatment perspective, and would kill termites up to a metre from where they had been applied. Termites will freely work within 10mm of the newer chemical barriers, and they can easily be compromised (dogs digging against the home, underground Cable TV added, plumbing repairs, adding a garden, or another concrete slab against the home, or storing materials against the home that form a bridge for termites to cross to the home).
The left picture shows a timber retaining wall brought hard against a rendered brick home. The soil moisture will break the CCA treated timber down in time, and termites will have a hidden pathway to the home. The right picture shows timber sleeper off-cuts stored against the home, that form a bridge across termite barriers that termites can use to enter the home.
Home owners should also be aware that their homes need to be inspected at least each year. In some instances, home owners have been told by the Building Services Authority that their claims are diluted because the annual inspections have not been carried out.
In summary, a home owner's responsibilities include having at least annual termite inspections of their homes. If a chemical barrier has been used, the home owners must be expected to reinstate the barriers at the expected protection period of the termiticide used (there should be a termite treatment notice in the electricity meter box). For more information on this issue, please visit our Which Termiticide page. Home owners must reinstate the termite barriers if they are disturbed. There is a big difference between treatments done properly, and not. For more information on that issue, please visit our Termite Treatments page.
The different bodies above in red are links to further information on each one. Please follow the links. © Mark Porter 2002
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