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- About Termite Traps
- How & Why
How and Why the System works
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First, the bigger picture...
There are around 300 species of termites marauding around Australia but less than 10 of them eat houses.
The ones that do are of the subterranean type.
This means they nest in the ground and come from the ground to eat any cellulose (wood, cardboard, books, cotton, etc.). If they have to, they build a tunnel. In fact whenever they are above ground, they use a mud-like mixture of regurgitated food to block any cracks, splits, joints, etc., which allow light to penetrate into where they are busy.
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These are the principles of using their instincts against them...
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Our subterranean termites nest, live and forage for food sources through the soil.
It makes sense to put something they’d like to eat in the soil surrounding our homes. (Like a TermiteTrap in your garden).
The TermiteTrap with its clear cap at the top and a cardboard cartridge with a purpose-left hole also at the top means the termites can’t help themselves; they find the Trap because they are always looking, and then they just have to block up that hole so you can see this ‘mud’ mixture as you walk by, recognising it as their “we’ve arrived” signal.
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That’s two instincts used against them. Now for the third...
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As the cardboard is easy to harvest, workers turn up in large numbers to take this cellulose back to their nest.
Once you’ve recognised their attack, you add the chemically impregnated moist cellulose for them to take back to the nest... which destroys it.
Termites are social. The royal couple produce eggs that hatch into nymphs that develop into either soldiers, workers or reproductives.
There are more workers because they build and maintain everything and feed every one else by chewing off a gutful of wood and mostly bringing it back to the below-ground nest. Soldiers are fed wherever they are.
That’s a termite’s working life... and death!
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In summary. . .
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The few pest termites that cause 99% of the $billion worth of damage to Australian homes each year have the same habits.
They nest and forage through soil outside homes before they get inside to do their devastating damage.
They cover their tracks and almost always leave some tell-tale ‘mud’ signs which you should look for regularly.
If you find these signals outside or inside, you can add a cache of the chemical cellulose without disturbing them too much and they will carry it back to kill off their colony.
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Essentially, you have helped them self-destruct!
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How many TermiteTraps and feeders?
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There are 6 TermiteTraps in a carton. $220 delivered by post to anywhere in Australia.
Six Traps should be enough for a small suburban block of 400-600 sqm.
Consider buying a second carton or third if you have a bigger block or more structures.
The more you put around, the more likely and the sooner you could expect to intercept foraging scouts from a nearby colony.
To increase the buffer zone around your home, don't forget to talk to your neighbours about protecting their homes with TermiteTraps
The polypropylene Traps are UV protected and will last at least 10 years. They are already loaded with cardboard and are at work, ready to intercept scouts, the moment you ‘plant’ them in your garden.
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Colony Killer Termite Bait
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The Colony Killer Termite Bait is in 10 feeders in a carton for $275.
Due to government registration conditions, the carton of 10 can’t be broken up to sell or be sent separately. Large colonies will require multiple feeds. Just keep feeding them until they stop. The 10-pack will be enough to kill a big colony or a couple of small colonies.
Unopened feeders have an extended shelf life.
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How safe?
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There is only ordinary corrugated cardboard in the TermiteTraps, and no, they don’t entice termites closer to your home.
If termites find a TermiteTrap it is because they were in the vicinity searching for another food source, anyway.
The Colony Killer Termite Bait contains an insect growth regulator (IGR) that is not toxic to mammals such as humans, our pets and birds. If your pooch somehow manages to get to a feeder and eats the lot, it just becomes expensive dog food and the termites miss out.
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Some statistics
- Industry experts agree there is an 80% chance of a subterranean termite nest being within 25 metres of every home on mainland Australia (not Tasmania).
- A recent CSIRO survey reports 32% of Aussie homes have a history of termite attack and this is borne out by Archicentre.com.au, who declare that a third of homes inspected prior to being sold had some evidence of termites, which translates into fewer buyers remaining interested. If they do, they’ll probably offer you up to $50,000 less.
- The average cost of treatment and repairs is around $8000. That’s the average; recently a man told me he had refinanced his home to borrow $70,000 to have his home treated and repaired? Why would you continue to gamble your house with termites when a carton of TermiteTraps and a Colony Killer pack totals only $495 and as the Traps will weather at least 10 years, all the extra you'd be up for is the cost of bait—and then only because you have termites to kill.
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The weaknesses?
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No one seems to give an unconditional guarantee on termite control so how can you be sure the DIY Colony Killing System works as claimed?
And what is the biggest weakness in this system?
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The Traps
The weakness is that you can’t make the foraging termites find the TermiteTraps in your garden. All you can do is put them in your garden and hope... actually it is better than that because a basic instinct or habit of subterranean termites is their need to get food from many sources (not have all their food in one basket).
No guarantee, but success is at the very least a high probability.
(The treatment is almost foolproof once termites have done the ‘hard’ part in finding the TermiteTrap).
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The Feeders
The weakness of feeding the termites where you find them in say a window frame, a post in a shed or in some stacked timber is that usually you find these termites by accident and some of their carefully temperature controlled and dark environment is damaged.
Damaged areas too extensive for them to quickly and easily repair are abandoned; they seal off the area back closer to their nest even though it sacrifices thousands of their soldiers and workers.
If you have caused such damage, there is no way you’ll be able to feed them there, you’ll have to find some live termites back closer to the nest... or find where they are somewhere else.
However, if you are gentle and if you look before you move timber, you’ll probably notice the signs we are going to cover in the Inspection part of this website and the How-To Guide... and treatment with the feeders will be effective.
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Inspecting
I’m not going to label you as the weak link in the Inspection process because you will generally do the job as well or even better than a professional.
How come?
Yes, the professionals have more experience, have maybe thermal imaging cameras and moisture meters, etc., etc. But not all of them are as diligent as you will be, simply because it is your home. They are protected by a set of exclusion clauses in the paperwork that let’s them off the hook if they don’t shift toy boxes and cupboards/wardrobes or if they don’t shift things in a packed built-in linen press/wardrobe. As it’s your home you are inspecting; I’d expect you to make an effort in these areas. (Your spouse will not accept any “I didn’t... because...”)
Neither you or the professionals will be able to see timber studs and noggins behind plasterboard walls nor see the all the roofing timbers covered with insulation... so they won’t do a better job than you in those areas.
By the time you’ve downloaded and read our How-To Guide, you’ll have an idea how to rate yourself in the do-everything-yourself category.
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So, who’s the inventor? What would he know?
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Ion Staunton started his biological interests in high school, became a pest technician complete with cobwebs in his hair and mud and dust on his overalls from treating termites. He topped his Tech course then studied entomology at UNSW, became a TAFE teacher without a text book so he and Phil Hadlington, OAM, his first teacher, wrote the first... and the first correspondence course. 
This was way back in 1961. He became the founding Secretary of the NSW and national pest industry associations, set up the first one-stop-shop for pest technicians to buy their chemicals and equipment where he also ran technical and business training sessions... and he almost retired... but UNSWPress then asked him to revise and re-write three text books, so he did. When a friend asked him how to check for termites around his home, Ion devised what is now the patented TermiteTrap and also a termite feeder that can be used by homeowners in the Traps or in treating termites already inside the house or other structures. After 40+ years of serving the professionals he has switched to providing a do-it-all-yourself system for ordinary homeowners.
That’s why you’re here reading his information.
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What about a guarantee?
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If, when your TermiteTraps arrive by AusPost e-Parcel service, you decide they are not what you expected or you don’t think they are suitable for your needs, you can return them for a full refund.
No argument from us.
Just phone to say you are returning them and we will arrange the repayment.We cannot guarantee that termite colonies will always find one of your TermiteTraps before they find a way into your buildings but the probability of success is high to very high.
And yes, we could have saved you a couple of extra dollars by getting the TermiteTraps and Feeders made in China. But you’re already saving maybe $thousands... And it’s a good feeling to buy Australian... Isn’t it??
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Download your Free copy of our Termites How-To Guide.Its for homeowners who want to save money by doing everything themselves...without poisons or spraying... who want to defend their home and property... Safely. In this 13 page ebook, you'll learn:
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