Thread: Headed for the sky - new pictures and Termite advice wanted

Hey Markit looking great!!!! Wish I had the funds to start building, land is there just lack of funds. Good thing value doubled since 2007 :mrgreen:

Would love to come take a look next month when I'm there again. Expect to arrive in Padangbai on march 6th.

Originally Posted by Markit

No as*holes or Jehovah's Witnesses.

Just a 36 year old dutch guy with a few cold beers, don't worry :mrgreen:

Have just received a long and wordy offer from the local termite guy which boils down to 90k IDR/square meter. I told him for that price I could hire somebody to catch the termites individually but nevertheless I would be very grateful for advice as to what you all do against the beasties.

The 'local termite guy' should know what he's talking about. Just having had a quick look at your photos, (very good, by the way), the 'termite guy' might be smelling extra money for himself than anything else.

I've never heard of a good termite infestation. In an ideal situation, steps to prevent termites should be taken at the earliest stages of building a new house. (The chances are that you or your builder didn't consider that.)

There are many kinds of termites. (You didn't mention which kind you have.) I think they're all bad news when it comes to cohabitation with humans and their buildings.

There are many possible chemical interventions with varying degrees of toxicity, (both for the termites and the humans). Along with various degrees of 'success' in getting rid of the buggers.

If your termites are already eating your wood, you'll probably need to employ some liquid poisons (like sodium borate). That's a bit like applying a band-aid to a gun-shot wound.

You really need to locate the colony or colonies you have and destroy them. If they're already under concrete foundation slabs, that makes life much more difficult (for you). 'Termite baits' can help - the termites carry the poison back to their colony.

My old house in Australia was attacked by termites many years ago. At the time, I went for the no-holds-barred approach and kind of nuked them with industrial-strength termicides. My strawberries died soon after, but my bananas, bamboo, lemongrass, lavander and habanero chilis didn't blink. My house is still standing. Now, how to get rid of the funnel-web spiders?

If you have any good bakso-sellers in your vicinity, (the 'illegal' ones that still use borax), you could try covering your property in bakso-balls. I'm not sure how much bakso spreads over a square meter of land.

Good luck...

:lol:

Originally Posted by Markit

There's an open invitation to anyone wanting to come have a look - just PM me and we can organize.

No as*holes or Jehovah's Witnesses.

Would be very keen to take a look. Will be in Bali end of March. Can't PM as I am new to the forum. Sorry.