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Do you know what's in your walls? |
This termite is a pest of forest trees, forming pipes and so degrading logs for various timber uses. The pipes it forms are filled with a mud-like material.This species will attach timber in contact with the ground, such as poles, fencing and weatherboards, but it does not attack buildings unless there is timber-soil contact allowing access to other timbers. While dampwood termites can tunnel below ground from dead roots of trees to wood in soil, it does not produce the external plastering and runways so characteristic of the pest species of subterranean termites.
The termites require damp and decaying wood to initiate its attack, and infestations are mostly encountered in older houses where wood is in contact with the ground and there is poor ventilation or leaks from plumbing.The species can spread to sound timber, but poses little hazard once the wood is isolated from the ground and conditions become dry. The use of dust treatments is not indicated, nor are soil treatments required other termite species are present. The elimination of damp conditions and the removal of decayed wood in contact with the soil significantly reduce the chances of infestation for this species.
