One of the downsides of buying an old house is that they usually dont have termite barriers installed when the slab is laid. The alternative is to have a chemical 'barrier' laid, but I have three big objections to this :

1. The toxicity of the chemicals
2. Termites are great survivors - lay chemical once, and chances are that they'll be immune to it within 6-12 months
3. The possibility of these chemicals leaching into my soil / groundwater etc.

I intend folowing the commonsense tips - no landscaping along the sides of the house, minimal junk stored under the house, attention to any drainage issues etc - but I know that termite attack is a very real possiblity anywhere in Rocky. Is there any alternative to the chemical route ?

Ta,

Artie

If I didn't already know that this suburb is well known for termites, that several houses in this short street have had termite home invasion and that a few of us have gotten rid of termite-ridden sleeper walls, I might call them monitoring stations, or even, depending on your view, termite attracting stations :) But I'll keep 4-6 in place in various locations and check them monthly. Three have been *treated* already. This pest controller doesn't attempt to push barriers and is quite encouraging of home made stations. Ideally one would get the neighbours involved too. There's a magic figure of 50 m for travel from a nest.

The age of your house might mean that more potent chemicals were used under the slab: maybe the council would have this info?

Sometimes wonder that if they have the big three (food, moisture and shelter) in the yard, why would they want to come into the house? But that's probably back to ostrich mentality.

Cheers
Rose

I have a couple of quotes for the 'barrier' : both around the $1000 mark. Given that any strategy still requires diligence and regular inspections (I favour the screwdriver method), I think I will go with the traps.

Its ironic that the very thing which has caused us so much grief - the drought - has probably kept the little darlings at bay. My favourite horror story is the one about the early white settlers building brick homes in the belief that termites couldnt eat brick - they ate the *mortar* instead !

Happy trails,

Artie