Not that any other industry is particularly fond of the little buggers, but those in the restumping business are seriously averse to termites. It’s like many years ago, restumpers and termites got into it and kicked off a permanent war where one cannot survive if the other does.

We’ll have to get to the root of that problem another time. Today, we tackle the problem of termites themselves. What are they? What havoc do they impede on residential and commercial properties? And above all, how do we eradicate them so that the value of homes and businesses is not impacted.

Termites are eusocial insects. They were once separate from cockroaches, but that is no longer the case. They are a truly successful group of insects on planet Earth. Their colonies have impeded every landmass except for Antarctica. So if you’re looking for a permanent way out, that’s the place to go. That being said, we don’t offer restumping services on continental Antarctica…yet. The colonies range in size. We’re talking as small as a few hundred, to as large as several millions. The queens especially, have notably long lifespans, up to 50 years. Many confuse termites for ants but there is one detailed difference. Ants undergo a full metamorphosis. Termites go through incomplete metamorphosis. They proceed from egg to nymph to adult. (Gross) Fun fact of the day? Some cultures view them as diet delicacies… Hey, we’re not a judgmental company! To each, their own.

One place we don’t recommend that you chow down on termites—at home, when they’re fresh and young. What kind of damage do termites cause to your home? Termite colonies will burrow down in the very foundations of your home, where the ground is the darkest and most moist. They’ll use underground tunnels that they nibble through, before they traverse the hollow core of a timber stump within your foundation. By tunneling through this core, they can build a mud tunnel all the way up to the underfloor of your home. From there, the rest is history. They’ll take advantage of any access to wood that they can find and munch right through it. They’re a chaotic problem to have, ever growing, ever spreading.

Never fear! Part of the mission of Restumping Melbourne is to educate our valued customers. While we will take the work off of your plates, it never hurts to be in the know about the services that we offer or why we’re doing the work that we’re doing. So, a few helpful tips from us:

• Don’t store firewood on the ground- instead, make sure that you have a special container, or closed area for it.
• Make sure that the battens aren’t attached to your floor framing.
• Maintain under-floor ventilation.
• Don’t allow sardens to build up over your battens.

Afraid that some of this lingo may be jibberish…? Never fear, look out for next post around the restumping lingo that you need, to be in the know.