Serious Termites in Beecroft
This is an email received through our termite identification service.
Beecroft is a leafy suburb in Sydney that is a haven for serious termites – here is an answer to Glenn’s question.
I have a large tree (I think it’s a Stringy Bark) that looks healthy in all regards. The lower trunk is around a metre diameter and the bark is infested with termites as far up as about 20 feet. There is no nest up in the branches. This tree is huge, at least 20 metres high and I am concerned that the termites may be inside the trunk. If they weaken the tree it will fall on my neighbour’s house. My priority is to save the tree.
Thank you for any advice.
Glenn
District: Beecroft Sydney NSW
Hello Glenn,
It was good to speak with you and to sort out your termite threat.
This email is to confirm the main points we covered.
That is a Schedo soldier and worker and there’s a very good chance they are from a nest inside the trunk if it is hollow. The tree does look healthy but by about that size, the chances are the tree has developed a narrow pipe up the inside which could contain a nest.
Of course, the nest maybe somewhere else.
They don’t build mounds so it almost certainly is below ground level.I Have Three Suggestions:
1. Drill the tree and flood it with a bifenthrin solution as shown on our website.
As you drill the hole you’ll know there is a pipe if there is a loss of resistance. Use grass to see if termites are in the hollow, or wait an hour or until next day to see if they’ve blocked up the drill hole. Reopen the hole and flood in about 30-40 litres of the solution. (It won’t kill the tree).
2. Irrespective of there being termites in the hollow (if it is hollow) or not, the leafy Beecroft suburb is a haven for serious termites and you’d be making a major defence effort by spreading TermiTraps around to intercept scouting termites over the next decade. If there is no hollow or if there are no termites in it, you can be sure there is a nest somewhere close by that has found the outside of the stringy bark to their liking. The question is: where else are they eating?
3. Inspect your home thoroughly and carefully just in case they have begun their recycling effort and you haven’t noticed yet. Here is a link to help you do it: Termite inspection
Ion Staunton
