Termite Poison AND Other Common Misconceptions

Termite Poison and other common misconceptions. Here we cover the most common ones around:

Top 5 common misconceptions about termites

  1. Termites can be treated like common household pests with surface termite poison                         

    Termite Facts like this one cause problems in later correct treatment! They cannot be treated or removed with common fly sprays and termite poison sprays. If you have found Termites, don’t disturb them, you can NOT get rid of termites without killing the queen. We do this by getting her workers to feed her our specially formulated QueenKiller, Sometimes referred to as Termite Bait. QueenKiller is in fact not a poison and is classified as nonhazardous. Simply attach a sachet to the activity so they believe it is part of their environment. Then they will feed this to the Termite Queen to kill her and prevent the colony from rejuvinating itself. 

  1. Subterranean Termites Live in our environment 

    It is unlikely to ever see termites as they live in a closed, high moisture environment in the ground and within timber and mud tubes in our homes. The environment that they like is very different to ours, yet they love timber so they live in the ground building tunnels to timber. 

  1. All Termites that eat our homes will eat pieces of timber that have been in the ground for months in preference to our homes

    The few species of termites that will enter your home have a preference for certain timber at certain conditions, we have replicated this environment and the timber in the TermiteMansion. Those TermiteMansions act as your monitors with specially made timber inserts as the food source. Inferior termite monitors that allow timber to get wet and mouldy will not hold termites for treatment.

  1. Termites are related to ants.

    This is an old misconception. We now know that actually they are more closely related to cockroaches, however we all still referr to them as white ants. 

  1. They fly around between houses eating.

    The winged termites you sometimes see are the young reproductive’s of a mature nest. Now to survive and start a new nest they need both moisture and food in the right condition together in order to start a new colony, these are conditions rarely found in your home.

And here are some more misconceptions

Termites will not occur if black ants are about.

Termites are at war with ants but have a number of very successful protection mechanisms allowing them to live in very close proximity to various ant species.

Can be spread via firewood

In some very very rare cases, termites can be transferred if the Queen is present and it is a very young nest. For example we know of one case where an old ironbark post was stored outside and contained a queen and young colony, which then transferred an whole colony to a multi-million dollar renovation.

Termites are tiny and can hardly be seen.

Subterranean termites are generally as big or bigger than common black ants.

Termites are completely white

Subterranean termites range in colour from opaque to white to dark brown depending on species and role in the colony.

Termites do not eat hardwood.

Subterranean termites have been found eating almost all timber including ironbark and variously treated timber. Termites do have preferences for certain timbers at certain conditions but this can vary greatly.