How to proactively protect your property from termites
- Posted By Nikki Montaser
If any of your investment properties are at risk of termite infestation, then it's time to be proactive. The best way to prevent termites is by first understanding what attracts these pests in the first place. Here, we share some of the things you should do to protect your property so it's kept termite-free at all times.
Remember what attracts termites
Termites like to eat timber and cellulose material such as newspaper. They love to nest in warm, dark places, and this is why the internal structures in a home can be prone to termite infestation. It's essential to ensure the soil around your property isn't retaining too much moisture and to repair all leaks.
Termite clues
While termites are small and difficult to notice with the naked eye, they can leave clues. These include mud tubes on your walls, nests and small holes in your trees, damage to external trims and skirting boards, tapping sounds in the walls that increase at night, and mud-mound nests outside the property or in your garage and other dark areas of the home.
Keep your land clean and clear
Termites love to nest in damp soil and internal structures within the home. Preventing termites from nesting in these areas starts with keeping the gardens and lawn clean and tidy. Make sure you keep plants and shrubs trimmed pack and that all soil is well-drained. While tenants are responsible for gardening, owners will need to take care of more significant garden maintenance - items that need addressing yearly or less often, such as tree trimming.
Block tempting entry points
Termites often find their way into properties through wood and soil that's in contact with the home. Try to limit any wooden trellis structures leaning against the property and don't keep fencing, spare timber or firewood next to the property. Any cracks in the walls or the foundations of your property should be repaired as soon as possible.
Get a professional to help
Investing in getting the help of a professional to check your property for termites and identify any at-risk areas that may attract them will be much cheaper than needing to pay for fixing a termite infestation problem down the track.
Frontdoor conducts routine inspections of all our properties. However, it is important to remember that we are not qualified builders or pest control experts. We can arrange for annual termite checks for you with a highly recommended company. Please ask us today!