Tradie's sinister find uncovers expensive $4,000 mistake in Aussie home
A sinister discovery made by a tradie inside an Australian property has prompted an urgent warning to homeowners as the cooler months set in.
Termites can pop up in unexpected places and wreck havoc on Aussie homes, even those with brick structures. Now, pest controller Jhy Carroll has warned residents that while it may look aesthetic, keeping wood meant for burning inside the home can come with expensive and destructive consequences.
One Currumbin Waters family learned this lesson the hard way after discovering an infestation of termites beside their fireplace. "These termites were introduced into the home through the firewood," Carroll from EBS Queensland told Yahoo.
He warned residents to "keep all your firewood outside away from the structure and only bring in what you need as you use it."
While it's generally unlikely that termites hiding in firewood could be in the home for long enough to establish a colony, "they can still cause extensive damage to the structure," he said.
In this instance, the skirting boards by the built-in firewood storage area were infiltrated by termites, costing the homeowners thousands.
"To treat the activity and to put in a termite baiting system to this job was about $4,000 total," Carrol explained. The system was placed around the property to protect it from further termite attack in the future.
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According to the Australian Museum, termite colonies are formed during warm, humid weather, typically in spring and autumn.
Carroll previously told Yahoo, there are two main ways to prevent termites, one is with a chemical barrier and the other is an in-ground baiting system.
"Chemical barrier treatment consists of digging a trench around the external perimeter of the home and chemically treating the soil area," he said.
While in-ground systems are also installed around the external perimeter of the house, they include a bait that the termites feed on to "eliminate the colony".
Those in the industry almost unanimously urge homeowners to get termite inspections every year or two, typically costing a few hundred dollars. If treatment is required, however, that can range from between $2,000 to $8,000.
Speaking to Yahoo News last week, pest controller Christopher James warned that "nobody's immune to termite damage".
"When you've got a brick home, a double brick home, it doesn't really matter too much," the Sydney-based exterminator said. "A brick home still has a timber structure roof. It'll still have doorways, windowsills, eaves that can be eaten".
"Because they are a subterranean species, they can come in from underground undetected. They can travel over brick, through brick, wherever they need to go to get to the next piece of timber."
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