Termite Check or Termite Inspection?

Many customers in the Gosford and Central Coast area ask us for a termite check or a termite inspection.

It’s important to know that there are pests other than termites that destroy timber. There are three pest capable of damaging timber; Termites, Borers and Wood Decay Fungi.

A Timber Pest Inspection is designed to look for signs of all three of these pests. It is very important to distinguish the difference between a timber pest or termite inspection and a termite check.

What does a timber pest inspection include?

A timber pest inspection will cover all readily accessible areas of your property – Internal, external (grounds, trees, fences etc), roof void, sub-floor and outbuildings (sheds, garages etc).

Timber pest inspections take approximately 2 hours to complete on an average sized 3 bedroom home and our Timber Pest Inspectors will build a detailed written report on

• any visual evidence of timber pest activity and the extent of the activity and/or damage located
• a summary of any timber pest/s identified and a brief description of the potential damage they could to cause to your property
• how susceptible your property is to Termite attack by looking at elements in the environment of your property which will make it more conducive to infestation
• recommendations for improving the environment around the property, making it lest suitable for Subterranean Termites and other timber pests.
• recommendations for a management plan to attack any current infestation and aid in reducing any risk of future infestations.
• report on any pre-existing property management plan and make recommendations to ensure its effectiveness, whilst educating you on its maintenance requirements.

What does timber pest damage look like?

Timber pest damage varies depending on the pest and the species of the pest found. We often find a lot of evidence of timber pest damage that the customer was not aware of such as the damage in the picture below. The customer was not aware of the extent of the damage until the wall lining was removed.

Damage inside a wall

Not only timber is damaged by termites, this is the back of a power point removed in an investigation.

You can clearly see the mud built by termites which could lead to electrical faults or fires.

Termite damage in a power point

Below is a picture of Wood Decay Fungi attacking an uncovered pergola.

This pergola is at the stage where it needs to be replaced but we do have treatments we can apply to prevent growth of this pest and preserve the timber.

Wood decay damage to pergola

What Conditions Around Homes Attract Timber Pests?

In conjunction with inspecting for timber pests, we are also assessing the environmental conditions in and around your home that make your premises more susceptible to attack from timber pests.

Conducive environmental conditions play a major role in encouraging timber pests onto your property. Many home owners would not realise the relationship of the environment around the home and timber pest activity. The environment plays a major role in timber pest attack. This timber in ground contact example of a conducive condition. Timber in contact with the ground is should be removed where possible replaced.

Timber like this encourages termites

One thing that timber pests need to thrive is moisture. All unnecessary moisture sources around the home should be rectified so that the ground around the home is as dry as possible. The photo below highlights excessive moisture problems.

Moisture encourages termites

Almost every home on the Central Coast will have environmental conditions that do encourage termites and other common timber pests. The last thing you want is to encourage them to visit your home.

What’s the difference between a termite inspection and termite check?

As mentioned, a termite inspection or timber pest inspection is a comprehensive inspection for signs of timber pest activity and environmental factors that could increase the chance of these pests entering your home.

A termite check typically does not cover these aspects and often includes a brief look around your home with little attention to underlying factors. Always ask your pest control technician what an inspection will include.

Still Concerned?

If you’re concerned you might have a timber pest problem, contact Amalgamated Pest Control Gosford for advice.

During these colder months, there is a belief out there that there’s no need to have a pest control treatment done on your home at all, as it’s winter and there are no bugs around.  In reality, there are some pests that aren’t too concerned with the weather outside, because it’s inside that they make their homes.  Inside, where humans like to use heaters to keep warm.  Inside, around your kitchen where there are warm electrical appliances such as fridges, dishwashers and the like.  Inside, where there is plenty of food and water at their disposal.

One pest that will infest your home this winter are German Cockroaches.  The vast majority of German Cockroach infestations occur in kitchens or indoors where humans live. They seek out cracks and crevices to hide, normally close to a food and water source, preferably in areas providing warmth where they will hide themselves during the day.

This means the early stages of an infestation usually goes un-noticed. If you are seeing them in the day time, it usually means the infestation is well established. This cockroach can live up to its full breeding potential through the winter months, making it a significant winter pest. Infestations usually start in an area such as a kitchen, where food and water is abundant, and move out from there.

German Cockroaches under the sink

This photo shows a common place that German Cockroaches love to hide – below the kitchen sink. In cupboards such as this, there are almost always cracks and crevices for them to hide, and very often the household bin may even be in these cupboards.

The only way to prevent cockroaches from living here is to effectively treat all of these cracks and crevices using the techniques that we here at Amalgamated Pest Control use, which is what allows us to provide a 12 month service warranty for this pest. If they come back, so will we.

Once populations become too large for the kitchen, they spread out, and if not managed will infest the whole home, taking up hiding places in living areas and bedrooms. This photo below was taken from the bedroom of a home that had a large infestation. You can see that they have made the gap between the blinds and the timber their home.

For German cockroaches to spread into areas other than the kitchen, bathroom and laundry, the infestation needs to be very well established. If you are seeing them in bedrooms, living rooms and the like, you will need professional help to bring the already well established population under control.

German Cockroaches above the blinds

The ability of cockroaches to affect the health of humans is well known, and is the foremost reason why we do not want them in our homes. Something that is not as well-known is their ability to damage and break electrical appliances. Electrical appliances provide a dark, warm and protected place for cockroaches to live and breed, which is why they often seek out items such as televisions, fridges, toasters, alarm clocks and other similar products.

This television pictured here was ruined by German Cockroaches, as they damaged the electronics and the television had to be replaced.

German Cockroaches infesting the television

German Cockroach Prevention Tips

• Seal any cracks and crevices in your cupboards and other areas that German Cockroaches may want to hide, take out their hiding places.
• Ensure your rubbish is in tightly sealed garbage bins. Empty the inside garbage regularly.
• Clean regularly, wipe down surfaces to clean crumbs straight away. Deny them as much food as possible. Pay attention to ovens, stoves, benchtops, tables and chairs, sinks etc.
• Sweep and Mop the floor regularly. Remove sticky residues from the floor. Ensure that when you do mop the floor you do not leave any excess water. You need to deny them any water, as they can live for a long time without food but only several days without water.
• Store food in sealed containers.

When all else fails, call Amalgamated Pest Control for your Guaranteed Gone Solution to German Cockroaches. Our 12 month Service Warranty on cockroaches means if the pests come back, so will we.

With the colder months upon us, there is one unwelcome house guest in particular that is waiting to get into a nice warm home to raise their families.  Rats and Mice will attempt to enter homes from now and continue throughout winter.  This time of year is what the Pest Control industry refers to as ‘Rodent Season’.  The fact is, rodents are breeding all year around – they breed just as much in summer as they do in winter.  The difference in the colder months is that now our homes provide a fantastic warm place for rodents to continue to live during winter.

External conditions are starting to become less attractive for Rats and Mice.  This image shows a Norway Rat (often simply called a brown rat) about to enter a home.  These rats prefer to burrow, but have actually started to nest within the home due to the weather getting colder.  These are warm blooded mammals, and the warmth of an insulated roof space or cavity is much more appealing than a hole in the ground outside in the cold.

Norway rat entering home

Just like humans, rodents like to live in warm environments.  Rats and mice find their way into a structure through small holes, make their way through the wall cavities and exploit almost any area inside your home.  The roof void, wall cavities and other confined voids in and around your home make excellent nesting areas.  Apart from being a nice warm place to nest this time of year, once in your home food and water is more easily accessed, often directly from your very own kitchen.

Apart from the obvious threat of disease, rats will also cause a lot of damage.  Rodent’s teeth continue to grow throughout their lifetime, and if they do not continuously gnaw to keep them in check, their teeth will become too large and essentially useless to them.  Interestingly, the name Rodent comes from a Latin word which basically means to gnaw.

Wall damage from rats

Some of the damage caused by these pests will be noticeable and repairable, like this hole made in a wall by rats, giving them further access to wall cavities and other areas of your home.

Some damage, however, is a lot harder to spot, like these internal electrical wires that have been chewed back to bare copper.

In cases like these, you will most likely not notice anything at all until there are problems with your power, or even worse, a potential fire. Remember, rats and mice will always be gnawing on something, and it’s well documented that they have been the cause of many fires.

Electrical wiring damaged by rodents

There are things that you can do around your home that will help make your property less attractive for rodents to live.

1. Ensure all of your household garbage is in tightly sealed bins which rats and mice cannot access. This helps to restrict their access to food as much as possible. Rodents are opportunistic feeders – while they have their preferred food sources, they will still eat almost anything.
2. Alter your building so that Rodents cannot gain entry. Look for access holes that rats can use, such as where pipes enter buildings, gaps under external doors, etc. Sealing these and other similar points will make it harder for rodents to enter. Using a gutter guard can also be helpful to stop them entering the roof via the gutters.
3. Trim excess trees and shrubs from around the perimeter of structure especially trees that overhang the roof. This will both take away harbourage areas and make accessing the roof a little bit harder for them.

When all else fails, other control measures will need to be implemented. Here at Amalgamated Pest Control, we are the experts at assessing all of your options and presenting the available solutions to you.

What will you do for me?

If we are called to your home because you suspect or know you have a rodent problem, the first thing we will do is conduct a full rodent inspection. We look at all areas of known activity, internally and externally, including the roof void and the sub-floor. This inspection allows us to identify the rodent species, any nesting areas, travel routes, and where they are getting food and water from.

With this crucial information, we can than implement a control strategy best suited to the problem and the property. We will also provide you with important recommendations on things you can alter or fix to manage the environment and make it less appealing to rodents. Once management has been implemented, we will keep coming back to check the bait/trap placement until the problem is controlled. We will also point out all the proofing measures that can be undertaken to keep rodents out in the future.

Remember – if the rodents come back, so will we.

If you even think you may have a rodent problem, call us here at your local Amalgamated Pest Control today.

Spring is well and truly here on the Central Coast and that means it’s time for many of those nasty pests that we all hate to come out and invade our homes.

Spring Pests

Birds and Bird Mites will pose an immediate threat from here on. Ensure that birds cannot gain entry to your roof spaces and other areas of your home. Keeping birds out must be a priority. Birds carry Bird Mites which are tiny and can be in there thousands in a bird nest. The problem with these pests is that once the baby bird have grown up have left the nest these Bird Mites will disperse through your home in search of a new blood meal, the occupants of the house. Bees and Wasps are another pest of spring that will invade homes. Paper Wasps build a nest in areas such as under eaves and other similar places. They will usually construct their nests on northern and western facing areas, as this is the direction the sun moves. Sometimes they can be concealed in foliage. If you see paper wasps, it’s recommended that you leave their removal to a professional as their sting can be very painful and each wasp can sting multiple times. Bees will start to swarm.  Swarming is a natural part of the reproductive lifecycle of bees. The warmer weather and increases of nectar and pollen in the environment cause the colony to increase in population, leading to overcrowding of the hive. This over-population is what prompts the bees to begin to swarm and reproduce. The swarm will usually come to rest in a cluster on reasonably nearby objects such as trees, shrubs and manmade objects such as signs, fences and buildings. The swarm will usually stay clustered it the desired area from anywhere between a few hours up to two days. After this time they will move on to a new site to and permanent nesting site. When bees are in this swarming state, stay away from them and do not interfere with them. Contact a professional to assess the situation and take the appropriate measures that may be required. Do not attempt to remove the resting swarm yourself. During spring, certain pests will start to pose an increased threat to our homes. These pests can include cockroaches, ants, spiders, ticks, mosquitos and many more.

Spring Pest Checklist

Some of these pests there is not too much you can do to prevent them coming to your property. But for pests like cockroaches, ants, spiders and mosquitos, there are some measures you can take to make your home less susceptible to them

• Prevent their Entry: Ensure that your fly screens are properly fitted and have no holes in them. This will stop insects that fly in to your home.
• Reduce Clutter: Have a spring clean.Many pests love cluttered stored items as it provides very good hiding places for them. The big the problems is that if insects like to harbor within clutter, that’s where spiders such as Redbacks will hide. That’s were there food will be
• External Walls an Eaves: Check these areas for wasp’s nests and spiders. If you find a wasp nest – don’t attempt to remove it yourself, their stings are painful. Spiders commonly found on external walls are black house spiders. While these spiders aren’t the most harmful, they do attract other spiders that love to eat them such as the toxic White Tail Spider. Spiders can be easily controlled by Amalgamated Pest Control with a 12 month service warranty.
• Trees and Foliage: Keep trees and foliage trimmed well back from the external walls of your home. This is commonly how ants and other pests will access your home. If you have had a pest control treatment at your home this is especially important as ants will bypass the barriers will place and access you home
• Clean Out Gutters: Guttering that is full of leaves and other matter can mean that water is built up within and not flowing away as it should. This will be a good source of water for ants, mosquitos and other pests.
• Garbage Bins: Keep your bins sealed. Inside and out. If pests are able to access your outside bins, they will. There is plenty of food for them in there. Pest like flies, cockroaches and ants will take advantage of bins.
• These are just some of things that you can do to make your home less susceptible to invasion of spring pests.

We will treat your home for pests such as cockroaches, ants and spiders and provide you with a 12 month service warranty which means you can be assured that through spring and into summer, you and your property are protected against pests. If the pests come back within the service warranty period, so will Amalgamated Pest Control.

Still concerned?

If you believe or suspect that you have a spring pest problem, contact Amalgamated Pest Control Gosford for further advice.

(02) 4346 4042

Well winter is finally upon us and while things may slow down for some pests in ‘pest world’ not so with many other.

Winter Pests

During winter we get increased threats from rodents, but our favourite ‘general pests’ are still active. Termites keep munching, cockroaches keep on creeping and ants keep on crawling.

This year there a new mosquito on the loose that is a spreader of chronic disease – and this mosquito doesn’t mind the colder weather. You might even discover that some of the favourite winter woollies that you pull out of storage may have been damaged by some ‘pest’ as well, nothing much you can do about that now – but there are things to do before you store the winter clothes away before next spring.

Winter Pest Checklist

Here’s a checklist of things to do this winter to keep you pest problems to a minimum:

Tidy the Clutter:

• Discover all the ‘hidden stuff’ you forgot you had – and re-stow it or throw it! If you have a lot of stuff – then its important to re-inspect/move it on a regular basis to discourage rats and mice from setting up an undetected camp.
• Remove Cardboard and Fabric. If you need a box – think of things other than cardboard. Plastic or metal containers are much better, this can discourage rodents and cockroaches.

General Storage:

• If you’re storing something a rodent would like – then put it in a sealed box or container that they can’t get in to.

Remove any food sources:

• Don’t encourage rodents to stay by giving them an easy meal. (for example, don’t leave uneaten pet food lying around). Ants are also attracted to left over food.
• Seal of entry points into the building. Especially for rodents you need to seal up any holes with small gauge mesh or similar material that a rodent cannot gnaw through, and seal the bottoms of doors with automatic weather seals or weather strips. A rat can gain entry through a hole as small as 12 mm in diameter and a mouse only needs a hole no larger than 6 mm in diameter. Don’t just look down – Look up. Often rodents get in via the roof, eaves or other less obvious entry points.

Rodent Traps:

You can use snap traps to catch the odd rogue rat or mouse, but don’t use cheese as the bait – its really doesn’t work that well – things like peanut butter or cotton wool are far more effective.

Inspect your home for any containers that hold water:

• This is really for mosquitoes. Make sure that water containers are emptied. This includes pot plant reservoirs. Make sure that water tanks are screened. Any container that holds water (where levels rise and fall) will encourage mosquitoes to breed. Keep an eye out for drains that hold puddles, car tyres and old buckets that everyone forgets about. Clean up the garden and make sure there is nothing around the house that holds permanent water that will rise and fall.

Screen your home:

• Make sure that all your windows and doors are properly screened so that you have a safe retreat from these mosquitoes and cockroaches.

Eaves and Walls:

Check your eaves and brickwork for wasp nests and spiders. Wasps can be prevalent even during winter.

Bins:

• Keep bins away from the immediate vicinity of the home. Keep them as clean as possible and wash them out regularly. Keep bins well sealed. They are a great breeding environment for flies and can encourage rodents.

Trees and Foliage:

• Foliage against the house can create a highway for ants, rodents, spiders and termites. Make sure that bushes and shrubs are kept well away from the walls. Trim off any tree branches that overhang the roof and gutters, yet another highway for ants and rodents.

Still concerned?

If you believe or suspect that you have a winter pest problem, please contact Amalgamated Pest Control Gosford for further advice.

(02) 4346 4042