It is always better to prevent a problem before it occurs, rather than having to solve it later. This is especially true when it comes to pest control. When I called in a local pest control company to deal with an infestation of termites, I asked them to give me all of their best advice about how to prevent pest problems. The contractors gave me lots of useful info about the steps I can take to deter a range of different pests from setting up home in my property. I hope you find the articles I have published here useful.
Are termites invading your apartment block? Are you unsure if your upper-floor apartment will be next on the list? You are right to be worried. Despite their many limitations, termites generally don't let height get in the way of a good meal. So, even if your apartment is on the 25th floor, nearby termites could one day find and invade it.
That might come as a surprise to many people. After all, termites live underground or in mounds on the ground. Why would they go to so much trouble to reach an upper-floor apartment when there is plenty of wood at their level?
Drywood Termites Can Fly
Although there are over 350 species of termite in Australia, the two you should fear the most are drywood termites and subterranean termites. Drywood termites are winged. This means that they can access an upper-floor apartment with little effort. Once inside your apartment, they will seek out an item of wood that has some kind of opening, like a screw hole or crack.
Your apartment will be most susceptible to drywood termite invasion in the warmer spring months after rainfall, when the air is humid. This is when termite reproductives leave mature termite nests to find a mate. A drywood termite king and queen could select your apartment as a nesting site. And, within a few months, your apartment could be home to a growing termite colony.
Subterranean Termites Build Satellite Colonies
For this species, making their way up to an upper-floor apartment is quite a challenge. After all, subterranean termites cannot fly, unless they are of the reproductive variety that leaves the nest in spring. Fortunately for them, and unfortunately for apartment owners on upper floors, subterranean termites can build satellite colonies high above the ground, almost totally cut off from their nest.
However, they only will do so if there is sufficient moisture, humidity, darkness and food available. For instance, if termite foragers leave the soil to forage into the lower floors of an apartment block, and they sense the presence of moisture and moist wood nearby on the upper floors, they will investigate.
Using lift wells, plumbing pipes, bin chutes and electrical conduits, subterranean termites can make their way unseen to the upper floors. Leaky pipes and faulty waterproofing, which creates humidity and moist wood will keep these foraging termites well-fed and hydrated as they seek out a place to form a satellite colony. That colony could be in a room on the 20th floor or higher!
So if other rooms in your apartment block have termites, your room could be next. Don't wait until the termites are knocking at your door. Call a pest control company to arrange for a termite inspection while your apartment is intact. You could save yourself thousands of dollars in property damage.