How to Get Rid of Termites: Brisbane Signs & Action Guide
Quick answer: If you find termites, do NOT spray or disturb the area. Call a licensed operator within 24 hours. DIY termite treatment causes colonies to scatter and makes professional treatment harder. Active termites in Brisbane cause significant damage within months. Annual inspection from $280 is the most cost-effective prevention.
The four things to do immediately when you find termites:
- Do NOT spray the area with any product
- Do NOT knock on, scrape, or cut open the affected timber or mud tubes
- Do NOT move furniture or stored items away from the affected area
- Call a licensed pest operator: 0406 178 471 (same-day response)
Why You Must NOT Disturb the Nest
The first instinct when finding termites is to spray them or expose the workings. This is the worst action you can take, and the reason is specific to termite colony biology.
Termite workers are in constant chemical communication with the colony. When any part of their tunnel system is disturbed by vibration, light, air movement, or chemical disruption, they detect it immediately and transmit alarm signals through the colony. The workers in the exposed area retreat, and the colony seals the disturbed section. The colony then continues foraging through alternative routes that are now unknown to you and which the pest control operator cannot assess because the original signs have been disturbed.
A professional needs to see the workings exactly as you found them to accurately assess the colony's extent, species, point of origin, and treatment requirements. A disturbed termite finding is genuinely harder and sometimes more expensive to treat than an undisturbed one. Take a photo from a distance and do nothing else until the operator arrives.
Recognising Termite Activity in Brisbane
Brisbane properties experience termite activity year-round with peak foraging during the warm wet season (October-April) and a secondary swarming period in spring (September-November). Signs that warrant immediate professional inspection:
Why DIY Termite Treatment Fails
Retail termiticide products available to consumers do not work for active termite infestations. Three specific reasons apply.
Colony scatter from spray application
Applying spray to active workings repels the foragers and causes the colony to abandon the exposed tunnel section. The colony does not die; it retreats to its nesting site and resumes foraging through new access points. The new access points may be in walls, subfloor timbers, or roof void areas that were not previously affected, meaning the damage footprint expands rather than contracts after DIY spray treatment.
Retail products cannot reach the nesting site
Coptotermes acinaciformis, the dominant termite species in Brisbane, nests in dead Eucalyptus root systems, wall voids, or subfloor soil, often 2-5 metres from the visible foraging workings. Retail spray applied to surface workings cannot penetrate to the nesting site at any concentration. Professional treatment uses foam or dust injection into the actual workings to deliver termiticide directly to foragers who carry it back to the colony, or uses baiting technology that exploits the colony's food-sharing behaviour to distribute lethal doses throughout the nest.
No professional-grade products without a licence
Termidor SC (fipronil 100g/L) and Altriset (chlorantraniliprole) are not available without a pest management licence. Imidacloprid-based termite baiting systems at professional concentrations are similarly restricted. Retail products cannot replicate the performance of these formulations.
Professional Treatment Options
Foam or dust injection
Termiticide foam or dust injected directly into active workings. Foragers carry the active ingredient back to the colony. Colony elimination typically occurs within 2-8 weeks of treatment.
Chemical soil barrier
Termidor HE or Altriset applied as a continuous treated zone in the soil around the building perimeter. Termites tunnelling through the treated zone are affected and carry the active ingredient back to the colony.
Termite baiting system
In-ground stations containing cellulose matrix with slow-acting active ingredient placed around the perimeter. Foraging termites find the stations and recruit colony members, distributing the active ingredient through the colony.
Annual AS 4349.3 inspection
Full property inspection with thermal camera, Termatrac radar, and moisture meter. Identifies active termites, existing damage, conducive conditions, and barrier status. Written report within 24 hours.
Brisbane-Specific Urgency: Why Time Matters Here
Brisbane's subtropical climate means Coptotermes acinaciformis forages year-round with no winter dormancy period. A colony foraging in a Brisbane wall frame operates continuously 365 days a year. The damage progression rate in Brisbane is faster than in Melbourne or Sydney, where cooler winter temperatures slow termite activity significantly.
The practical implication: a Brisbane homeowner who notices a warning sign and waits 2-3 months to book an inspection may be waiting while the colony completes an additional quarter-year of continuous damage. There is no benefit to waiting after termite activity is suspected. The inspection cost ($280-$380) is trivial compared to the damage progression value of a 2-3 month delay.
What Happens at a Professional Termite Inspection
An AS 4349.3 timber pest inspection covers all accessible areas of the property: internal rooms with specific attention to wet areas, wall junctions, and floor margins; subfloor framing timbers, stumps, and bearers; roof void including rafters, wall plates, and ceiling joists; external perimeter including garden beds, stumps, fencing, and any timber structures within 50 metres. Detection equipment includes a Termatrac T3i (microwave radar that detects movement in wall cavities without drilling), thermal camera (identifies moisture differentials and heat signatures associated with termite activity), and calibrated moisture meter (quantifies subfloor and wall moisture at levels correlating with termite risk).
The written report issued within 24 hours documents all findings, photographs, moisture readings, and recommendations. It includes an assessment of the current barrier status and a recommendation for barrier installation or repair if required. Full details at the termite inspection guide and our termite treatment cost guide.
Immediate Action Steps if You Find Termites Now
Do NOT spray, disturb, or expose the workings
Step away from the affected area. Do not tap, scrape, cut, or spray. Do not move furniture or stored items away from the area. Disturbance causes colony scatter and makes professional treatment harder.
Take a photo from a safe distance
Document what you have found: mud tubes, hollow timber, swarmers, frass, or blistered surfaces. Note the exact location (which room, which wall, which timber). The photo helps the inspector prioritise where to start.
Call a licensed Brisbane operator within 24 hours
Call 0406 178 471 for same-day response. Provide the location and a brief description. An AS 4349.3 inspection is the essential first step before any treatment decision is made.
Keep the area undisturbed until the inspector arrives
Keep children and pets away from the affected area. Do not do any renovation or building work in the vicinity. The inspector needs the workings in their current state to accurately assess the colony and determine treatment.
After inspection: follow the treatment recommendation
Active colony treatment followed by barrier installation is the standard treatment sequence. Do not defer barrier installation after active colony treatment: a property with a treated-but-eliminated colony and no barrier is immediately re-vulnerable to new colony establishment.
How to get rid of termites: key points
Found termites? Call now for same-day inspection
AS 4349.3 inspection, thermal camera, Termatrac. Written report within 24 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
More guides: Termite guide • Termite inspections • Termite treatment cost • Get a quote
Related: Complete termite protection guide • Pest control cost Brisbane • Signs of a pest infestation