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My Place Housekeeping Maintenance Pest Control
My Place Housekeeping Maintenance Pest Control
Insects like termites have been on planet Earth much longer than we have but there are some steps you can take to protect your property.
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Best offence With household pests the best offence is good defence. This means making your house - especially the kitchen - unattractive to insects by cleaning up food spills immediately, keeping hard-to-reach areas reasonably clean and removing clutter that can hide pests. Don't expect a 100 per cent success rate because insect breeding rates are very rapid and they are highly capable of evolving their behaviours, appearance and resistance to chemicals. Compared to them, we are very recent arrivals on earth.  Cockroaches The strategies you can use to manage cockroaches and other domestic insect pests are based on depriving them of the food, water and shelter they need to survive. This means:
 Natural methods Artificial pesticide treatments vary in their effectiveness. Why not try some of the safer alternative methods first.
 Termites You will need to give special attention to termites which in many developed countries cause more damage to homes than fire, storms, earthquakes and cyclones all put together. Termites feed on cellulose which is found in wood and wood products. Ground termites need only a source of food, a consistent supply of moisture and a moderate climate. They can also attack paper, vinyl and fabrics. They consume wallboards, stairs, door jambs and windows, cupboards, skirtings and can damage furnishings, books and a range of stored goods. Australia's ground termite species (also known as white ants) are voracious. A single colony can severely damage almost all the timber in a home in three months. And they flourish on our ignorance and lack of vigilance. We can, however, manage the risks they pose. Termite habits Because termites die once exposed to air they build mud tunnels up to 50 metres long to travel from one place to another. These tunnels are often visible and can be found running up brick pillars, over concrete slabs and across the fence. These are highways into your home. A regular visual inspection will help identify their presence. Other less obvious routes might be through construction joints, retaining wall joints and cracks, floor gaps and plumbing, electrical or other slab penetrations. Once established in a home termites eat away at the woodwork from the inside. Everything might look fine from the outside, but an experienced termite inspector can detect them just by tapping the timber. Ground termites sometimes create secondary nests above the ground called aerial colonies, which can survive if a water source is available. Common water sources include roof leaks, plumbing leaks, leaky showers or tubs and toilet leaks. Aerial infestations must be located for effective control. Evidence of termite activity includes:
 Termite control Since most of us live in an area where termites are active, there are some steps we should take to minimise their threat.
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