{"id":2791,"date":"2017-11-01T10:58:26","date_gmt":"2017-11-01T00:58:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ppmmagazine.com.au\/?p=2791"},"modified":"2025-10-13T11:58:57","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T00:58:57","slug":"termites-in-action-november-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/termite-treatment\/termites-in-action-november-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"TERMITES IN ACTION \u2013 NOVEMBER 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Locating a live nest and finding a termite queen is always a satisfying moment, so finding seven queens is something quite special!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<div class=\"hr-thick\"><\/div>\n<h2>The architects<\/h2>\n<p>Termites are well known for building their shelter tubes and creating mudding over feeding areas, but what designs would they create if left undisturbed in an enclosed area, protected from light and predators?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chris Schmid<\/strong> from Abolish Termite and Pest Management came across a range of spectacular patterns in an enclosed void under the stairs in a Coomera property on the Gold Coast. Apart from the nest material, there are intricate tendrils and half-dome shelters on the concrete slab. Why termites build such structures is a bit of a mystery. \u201cDefinitely one of my more exciting finds,\u201d said Mr Schmid.<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-2791 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-medium'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Chris-Schmid-1-300x169.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-2795\" srcset=\"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Chris-Schmid-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Chris-Schmid-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Chris-Schmid-1.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-2795'>\n\t\t\t\tTermite activity hiding in enclosed space under stairs\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Chris-Schmid-4-300x169.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-2798\" srcset=\"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Chris-Schmid-4-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Chris-Schmid-4-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Chris-Schmid-4-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Chris-Schmid-4.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-2798'>\n\t\t\t\tFine \u2018tendrils\u2019 of mudding\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Chris-Schmid-3-300x169.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-2797\" srcset=\"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Chris-Schmid-3-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Chris-Schmid-3-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Chris-Schmid-3-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Chris-Schmid-3.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-2797'>\n\t\t\t\tWall studs provide a good start for mudding structures\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Chris-Schmid-2-300x169.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-2796\" srcset=\"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Chris-Schmid-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Chris-Schmid-2-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Chris-Schmid-2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Chris-Schmid-2.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-2796'>\n\t\t\t\tHalf-dome structures on concrete slab\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<h2>Multiple queens<\/h2>\n<p>Finding the queen is on the \u2018bucket list\u2019 for most termite professionals. Although<strong> Andrew Critchley<\/strong> of Instinct Pest Management in Darwin has been lucky enough to find queens before, he really struck gold with this <em>Microcerotermes<\/em> find.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2792\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2792\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2792\" src=\"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Andrew-Critchley_1440x810-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Andrew-Critchley_1440x810-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Andrew-Critchley_1440x810-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Andrew-Critchley_1440x810-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Andrew-Critchley_1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2792\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Seven <em>Microcerotermes<\/em> queens in the one nest<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Digging up the nest around a wire fence, Mr Critchley found a plank of wood at the base, and the queens were just sitting there: four queens in one chamber and another three in a chamber close by. \u201cI\u2019ve searched hundreds of nests and only located a couple of queens in my career, and many pesties will never find one, so I\u2019m pretty stoked with this find!\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>I spy<\/h2>\n<p>During timber pest training, it is always emphasised to \u201cinspect each structural timber in turn.\u201d When entering a subfloor or roof void, if it\u2019s hot or you\u2019re running late it can be very tempting to speed up the inspection. But this can easily result in missing potential termite activity.<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-2' class='gallery galleryid-2791 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-medium'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Rick-McPherson-225x300.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-2-2793\" srcset=\"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Rick-McPherson-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Rick-McPherson-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Rick-McPherson.jpeg 1512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-2-2793'>\n\t\t\t\tSome termite activity can be hard to spot\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Rick-McPherson-2-225x300.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-2-2794\" srcset=\"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Rick-McPherson-2-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Rick-McPherson-2.jpeg 720w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-2-2794'>\n\t\t\t\tDon\u2019t forget to peel back carpets too!\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p><strong>Rick McPherson<\/strong> from Premium Pest Control in Melbourne highlighted the benefits of taking your time over a termite inspection when he spotted this very small sign of termite activity in a sub-floor in Frankston. \u201cThat inspection took one and a half hours with two techs. Inspect every crack, crevice, timber join and concealed area.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Locating a live nest and finding a termite queen is always a satisfying moment, so finding seven queens is something quite special!\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2792,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Locating a live nest and finding a termite queen is always a satisfying moment, so finding seven queens is something quite special!\u00a0","_seopress_robots_index":"","_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[320],"tags":[],"company":[],"pest":[150],"pesticide":[],"product-service":[],"class_list":["post-2791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-termite-treatment","pest-termites","wpbf-post"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2791"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2791\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40699,"href":"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2791\/revisions\/40699"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2791"},{"taxonomy":"company","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/company?post=2791"},{"taxonomy":"pest","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pest?post=2791"},{"taxonomy":"pesticide","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pesticide?post=2791"},{"taxonomy":"product-service","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product-service?post=2791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}