Wet brings twin woes of termites, rot

PROPERTY


The recent unusually wet and warm weather on Australia’s east coast is likely to cause a significant increase in damage to houses by termites and timber rot, Archicentre, the building advisory service of the Australian Institute of Architects, warns.
Archicentre Queensland spokesperson Angus Kell said that Archicentre pest inspectors had already seen the beginning of ideal conditions for breeding of termites and for accelerated timber rot.
“Borers can be a silent destroyer with the first indication of a problem being when the vacuum cleaner head hits the skirting board which turns into dust.
“Termites and timber rot, which is actually a fungus both flourish in warm moist conditions and Archicentre’s inspectors had noted a dramatic increase in the moisture content of soil under houses during the course of pre-purchase house inspections.”
Mr Kell said that home owners should take action to dry out sub floors by increasing ventilation, removing debris and generally allowing more air to circulate.
“Termites activity slows down in the winter, but new nests may be being established now which will lead to problems next spring.
“Home owners with concrete floor slabs should now be looking for early signs of termite attack such as mud tubes on the edges of concrete slabs and damaged skirtings and architraves.”
Archicentre undertakes more than 20,000 reports each year and the statistics indicate that in some suburbs one in five homes could be affected by termites and the annual cost of damage to Australian homes is more than a billion dollars.