Termite risk on commercial and strata property in the west
The Inner West has one of the largest concentrations of older industrial property in Melbourne. Warehouses and factories in Sunshine, Braybrook, Brooklyn, Tottenham and Spotswood sit on the same moisture-holding clay as the houses around them, and many were built with timber trusses, hardwood floors on joists over earth, and timber-framed offices tacked on over the years. Add pallets stacked on bare ground, formwork left under a slab extension, treated pine sleepers around the car park and a line of gum trees along the rail corridor, and the site is as attractive to subterranean termites as any weatherboard in Yarraville.
Strata property brings a different problem. In the 1990s and 2000s townhouse and apartment complexes filled in old industrial land across Footscray, Maidstone and West Footscray, and more recently warehouse shells in Footscray and Spotswood have been converted to residential lofts. Common property, party walls, landscaped courtyards and shared subfloors mean termite risk is spread across many owners, and nobody in particular is watching for it.
Coptotermes acinaciformis is the species we find on almost every commercial site with activity, with Nasutitermes exitiosus mounds turning up in yards and under paving. Both are subterranean, both work unseen, and damage from either is excluded from standard property insurance in Australia.
Who this service is for
Property managers with a portfolio of buildings, owners corporations and strata committees, warehouse and factory operators with timber stock or structures, food businesses that need pest management inside a food safety program, developers converting older buildings, and purchasers or lenders wanting a documented inspection before settlement. In each case the requirement is the same: a competent inspection, a written record that stands on its own, and a plan that can be acted on without shutting the business.
What the inspection covers
Scope and access
A commercial inspection follows AS 3660.2 and AS 4349.3 and covers every accessible structure and area on the site: buildings, roof voids, subfloors, external walls, yards, loading docks, gardens, fences and outbuildings. We inspect stored timber, pallets, formwork, sleepers, hoardings and service trenches, because those are where activity on a commercial site usually starts. Where racking, stock or plant prevents access to a wall or floor, the report says so, with a recommendation on how to make it accessible before the next visit rather than a vague disclaimer.
Tools and method
The visual inspection is backed by moisture meters, a thermal camera for large wall areas, sounding of timber, and where warranted a borescope into wall cavities or under floors. We look for live termites, mud tubes and workings, moisture sources such as leaking roof sheeting and blocked box gutters, timber in contact with the ground, and conducive conditions that make a future attack more likely.
Reports that work as records
A commercial report needs to be read by people who were not on site, and it may be read again years later. Ours identify the property and the date, list what was inspected and what could not be, set out the findings with photographs and a site plan, rate the risk, and give specific recommendations with priorities. For an owners corporation that means a document that can be tabled at a committee meeting, attached to the minutes and used to brief the next manager. For a warehouse operator it means something a landlord or insurer will accept. For a lender or purchaser it means a dated, signed timber pest inspection that answers the questions a due diligence checklist asks.
Reported in the same format each visit, a scheduled program builds a running history that shows the property was being properly managed.
When treatment is needed
Treating activity around a running business takes planning. Under AS 3660.2 the options are the same as for a house: direct treatment of workings by dusting or foaming, a chemical treated zone in the soil around the building, or a baiting and monitoring program. Which one fits depends on the tenancy.
A warehouse with a concrete apron on every side and forklifts crossing it all day is often best served by baiting stations cored into the slab edge, checked on a schedule, with no trenching and no drilling across the operating area. A food premises has constraints on where and how termiticides can be applied inside, so external treated zones and sealed bait stations are the workable tools, documented so they fit alongside the food safety program. A strata complex needs the treatment plan mapped against lot and common property boundaries so the committee knows who is paying for what. Our termite treatment proposals for commercial sites set all of this out before work starts.
Scheduled programs and how they run
AS 3660.2 recommends inspections at least annually, and on high-risk sites, timber stock on the ground, buildings near the Maribyrnong River or Stony Creek, a history of activity, a six-monthly interval is often the right call. We agree the interval with you, book the visits in advance, send reminders, and report in the same format each time so the records are consistent across changes of manager, tenant or committee.
Between visits, a few site practices cut the risk considerably: keep pallets and timber off bare earth and away from walls, remove formwork and offcuts after any slab work, keep garden beds and mulch below the slab edge, fix roof and gutter leaks promptly, and report any sign of mud tubes or damaged timber straight away rather than waiting for the next inspection.
Arranging an inspection
Whether you manage one building in Footscray or a portfolio across the western suburbs, the starting point is a conversation about the site, the tenancy and what the records need to do for you. Our technicians hold the licensing Victoria requires for pest management. Contact us to arrange a free quote for a one-off inspection or a scheduled program.