Natural Termite Prevention - How To Prevent Termites From Coming Into Your House In The First Place
Termites is all house owners nightmare. Termites can cause awful devastation to any wood structures to the extend of irreparable. Termite treatment is unavoidable once termite infestation occurs. Termite treatment can be both expensive as well as troublesome. The chemicals used are also very enviromental unfriendly. Therefore, for any smart home owners, taking precaution is essential to avoid all the headaches. What can you do to prevent termite from coming to your home.
First and foremost, there are also some things you can do yourself to take away the termites food source and prevent infestation before it happens. These include:
* Repair structural and plumbing leaks.
* Pull all mulch and landscaping back at least 6 inches from the foundation.
* Remove piles of trash and debris from around the home.
* Keep firewood stacked away from the structure.
* Make sure downspouts are long enough to direct water away from the foundation.
* Keep gutters clean.
* Avoid direct wood to ground contact when building porches or decks.
Beside that, you can avoiding contact of susceptible timber with ground by using termite-resistant concrete, steel or masonry foundation with appropriate barriers. Even so, termites are able to bridge these with shelter tubes, and it has been known for termites to chew through piping made of soft plastics and even lead to exploit moisture. In general, new buildings should be constructed with embedded physical termite barriers so that there are no easy means for termites to gain concealed entry.
If you must use timber, use those which is naturally resistant to termites such as Canarium australianum (Turpentine Tree), Callitris glaucophylla (White Cypress), or one of the Sequoias. Note that there is no tree species whose every individual tree yields only timbers that are immune to termite damage, so that even with well known termite-resistant timber types, there will occasionally be pieces that are attacked.
You can also try using natural plant defense agaist termites. There are many plants have developed effective defences against termites and in most ecosystems there is an observable balance between the growth of plants and the feeding of termites. Typically defence is achieved by secreting into the woody cell walls, anti-feedant chemicals such as oils, resins, and lignins which reduce the ability of termites to efficiently digest the cellulose. Over the years there has been considerable research into these natural defensive chemicals with scientists seeking to add them to timbers from susceptible trees. A commercial product, "Blockaid", has been developed in Australia which uses a range of plant extracts to create a paint-on non-toxic termite barrier for buildings. In 2005, a group of Australian scientists "discovered" (announced) a treatment based on an extract of a species of Eremophila that repels termites. Tests have shown that termites are strongly repelled by the toxic material to the extent that they will starve rather than cross treated samples and when kept in close proximity to the extract become disoriented and eventually die. These scientists hope to use this toxic compound commercially to prevent termite feeding.
Last but not least, it is a good idea to conduct regular inspection by a competent termite inpector. Eventhough you have taken all the natural termite prevention measures, it is always better to be very sure that your house does not have these unwelcomed guests.
Termites infestation is a huge headache for any home owners. Have you taken all the steps you can to prevent termites from infesting your home? Find out various termite treatments and make the informed choice of using the best way to get rid of termites from your home at PestControlTermite