Termites In Australia -
Information, Inspections & Treatments

Termites live in large nests. For subterranean termites (the main pest species in Australia) this is generally underground or sometimes in trees. For drywood and dampwood termites, they live in the wood they are consuming. Many species have one main nest, although if they are feeding at a food source a long way away from the main nests, they will often set up satellite nests or bivouacs.

Some species create multiple nests which all orginate from the same original colony. Schedorhinotermes commonly have multiple nests as part of the same colony, making it very difficult to get compete control of infestations. Similarly extensive drywood termite infestations tend to consist of multiple small sub-nests as they exploit the food source.

Termites don’t like to travel. It’s far safer and more efficient to find a food source close to their nest. However, they are perfectly capably of travelling up to 100 m from their nest to a food source. And with over 80% of homes in Australia estimated to be within 25 m of a colony, it is very likely your home is within range of a termite nest!

Termites have a soft cuticle which makes them very susceptible to drying out. It’s one of the reasons they tend to attack areas of home which have a moisture problem. They prefer to travel underground, but when they need to come above ground to access a food source, they need to protect themselves from drying out and from predators. The mud tubes provide a nice, humid highway, protected from predators!

For the same reason, they will sometimes completely cover a food source with mud sheeting, so they can feed underneath, safe and sound.

They will also bring mud into walls and structural wood elements of buildings. Not only does this help to keep their environment moist, but they use this mud as structural support so they can go about eating your home without it collapsing (at least for a while!).

Termites eat cellulose. The main pest species eat wood, but will also cardboard and papers (which are made from wood and contain cellulose).

Some species, such as the cathedral termites in the top end of Australia, don’t cause any damage to homes as they are grass harvesters and other species actually use plant material they collect to grow a fungus, which they harvest and eat.

However, although they only eat cellulose material they can cause damage to other materials and are known to chew through cabling. In addition, their activity and their habit for bringing in mud and moisture to electrical areas can cause electrical problems and even house fires.

They are one of the few animals that can digest cellulose and they can do this due to the unique microbes in the termite gut. These gut microbes vary between different species and are considered one of the main features that drove their evolution.

There is certainly a random element to the way termites search for food. Often the nest will be established near a large food source, but when they start searching for food, they generally do so in a random manner fanning out along foraging paths in all directions from the nest. However, moisture is one of the biggest drivers in determining which way they go – a dry soil is a tough environment for a worker. For this reason, areas of moisture or sites of water leaks tend to be the more likely entry points around buildings.

In the natural environment, wood feeding subterranean termites are attracted to moist soil which is a bit cooler than the surrounding area. Such an environment would be created by a fallen tree… or a building… your home!

Why they attack one home and not another is not just a question of luck. Buildings are actually designed to prevent termites gaining entry without being noticed. So, IF the building and been constructed correctly (with appropriate termite protection) and IF the property owner hasn’t made any modifications (to home or garden) to create a weakness in this design and IF the property owner gets regular inspections, the chances of them getting in without being noticed and causing damage is very low. The chances of a termite attack are reduced further if the areas around and under the building are kept dry.

If they are attacking your home it means there is a weakness in the design (a potential entry point) and a source of moisture (leak or drainage problem). Regular inspections and good home maintenance are musts.

Termite workers typically consume around 5% of their body weight in wood per day. Although this is a tiny amount of wood, when you have a million or so workers in a large colony, a large nest attacking your home can easily consume 100g or wood per day. Over the course of a year that’s 36.5kg or wood, which starts to become a significant amount of damage. Find out how they worked out how much termites can eat.

If they continue eating un-noticed for a couple of years, the damage is likely to be so severe that the home may need to be demolished. Even from the “average” termite attack, damage repair bills of $10,000 and above are quite common.

The giant northern termite, Mastotermes darwiniensis, found in the Northern Territory, some northern parts of Western Australia and Queensland, is a different beast altogether. They are significantly larger than other pest species (workers are 12 mm long v 7 mm in the largest of the other pest species), can exist in colonies of several million and have voracious appetites. Homes that come under attack from the giant northern termite can be all but destroyed in as little as 6 months!