Review of Remedial and Preventative Methods to Protect Timber in Service from Attack by Subterranean Termites in Australia

With the phasing out of organochlorine compounds as termiticides in Australia in 1995, consumers and the building industry moved to adopt alternative termite control strategies. These include chemical barriers (organophosphates, synthetic pyrethroids, nicotinoids, and phenyl pyrazoles), physical barriers (graded granite stones, stainless steel mesh) use of termite resistant building materials (metal and plastic termite shields and adhesives), and installing a slab construction that conforms with Australian Standard AS 2870-1996. The latter requires vibration of the concrete during slab formation, regular inspections, preventative action such as keeping garden beds, mulch, or stacked firewood away from exterior walls, or, a combination of all of the above methods. The use of preservative treatment of timber as a second line of defence has gained momentum in Australia in recent years. This has arisen from the decline in availability of wood species with naturally durable heartwood. Shorter rotations for forest crops and higher quantities of non-durable sapwood and heartwood of species used in construction have accelerated this trend. Increasingly termite control is adopting integrated pest management (IPM) based on ecological knowledge of termites and minimization of environmental impact of treatments. These include adopting a mix of alternative strategies in termite control that include chemical and physical barriers, and combinations of the same, bait and dust toxicants, treated timber and emphasize building practices that are designed to ëbuild out termitesí and ensure ëwhole of houseí protection of timber in buildings against termites for the reasonable life of the building