Termites
Termite Control
Termite Control Melbourne | Inspections, Barriers and Baiting
Worried about termites in your walls? We inspect, treat and barrier homes across Melbourne with thermal and radar detection. Call 0435 073 966 for a free quote.
Tell us what you have seen
Termites are the one pest where waiting is genuinely expensive. Tell us what you have found — damaged skirting, a mud trail, a soft architrave — and we will tell you whether it needs someone this week or this month.
Request a callback
Choose your service, add a few details, and we will call you back with a quote. Open 24 hours — we answer after hours.
Most termite damage is found by accident, months too late
Termites do not chew from the outside in. They eat the inside of a timber member and leave the painted surface intact, which is why the first sign is usually a skirting board that gives under a thumb, a door frame that sounds hollow, or a bubble in the paint that turns out to be a gallery.
That is also why a visual-only inspection is close to worthless. We use thermal imaging to find the heat and moisture signature of an active nest behind plaster, and Termatrac radar to confirm movement inside a wall without opening it up. If someone quotes you an inspection and turns up with a torch and a screwdriver, you are paying for a look, not an inspection.
Why termites are the one pest worth acting on immediately
This is the only pest on this site that can cost you six figures.
Not insured
Standard Australian home policies exclude termite damage as a maintenance issue. The repair bill is yours, in full.
Structural
Termites eat load-bearing timber from the inside. By the time damage is visible, bearers, joists and studs may already need replacing.
It is fast
An active Coptotermes colony can contain hundreds of thousands of workers feeding continuously. Damage compounds over months, not years.
Sale risk
A timber pest report at sale that finds active termites can collapse a price or a contract. Finding it first is always cheaper.
Which termite you have decides what the treatment is
Victoria has five building-damaging groups and they are not equally dangerous. Generic national copy treats them as one problem; they are not.
| Species | Where it turns up | Risk to your house | What it changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coptotermes | Subterranean, nest in or near the building, often in a tree stump or under the slab | The serious one — responsible for the great majority of building damage in Victoria | Full treatment and barrier. Responds well to baiting. |
| Coptotermes frenchi | Similar habitat to its cousin | Damaging, but far less responsive to baits | Usually pushes the job towards a chemical barrier. |
| Coptotermes lacteus | Distinctive domed mound in paddocks and bushland | Will not attack a well-built, well-maintained building | Often needs no treatment at all — we will tell you so. |
| Porotermes adamsoni | Dampwood termite, common in the drier foothills around Melbourne | Attacks timber already affected by damp or decay | The real fix is the moisture source, not just the termite. |
| Heterotermes ferox | Fence posts, palings, landscaping timber | Rarely structural, but a warning that pressure exists on the block | Treat the fence, inspect the house. |
What termites actually look like in a Melbourne house
None of these are subtle once you know what you are looking at, and any one of them is worth a call.
Inside the house
- Skirting or architrave that gives under thumb pressure
- A hollow sound when you tap a door frame or window reveal
- Blistering or rippling in paint or plaster that is not damp
- A door or window that has suddenly started sticking
- Small pinholes with a gritty mud plug in them
- Discarded wings on windowsills after a warm, humid evening
Outside and underneath
- Mud tubes running up brickwork, piers or the inside of the subfloor
- Mud packed into the joint between a fence post and the ground
- A tree stump or buried timber that is soft and full of galleries
- Damaged decking, pergola posts or retaining wall sleepers
- A clicking sound in a wall on a quiet night — soldiers signalling
- Leaking taps, hot water overflow or poor drainage against the slab edge
A colony sends out winged reproductives on warm, humid evenings. Wings indoors mean a mature colony is nearby — often on your own block.
Termites need moisture. A leaking shower recess, a blocked subfloor vent or an air conditioner draining against the slab is very often the reason they chose your house over the neighbour’s.
Termites are cockroach relatives, not ants. Ant spray does nothing to them, and spraying a mud tube usually just makes the colony reroute somewhere you cannot see.
What we check the timber for
Not everything in your floorboards is a termite, and the difference decides whether you need a $200 inspection or a $1,500 barrier. We identify before we quote.
What we will tell you that a quote alone will not
Termite work has the widest price spread in this industry, so here is where the money actually goes.
A $99 inspection is a sales visit
Melbourne termite inspections genuinely cost between $260 and $525 from the established firms. Ours start at $200 because we would rather you used us for the treatment, not because we do less.
What a cheap inspection skips is the equipment. Without thermal imaging and radar, a technician can only report what is visible — and the whole point of termites is that the damage is not visible until it is severe.
A steel-framed house is not termite-proof
CSIRO work found attack rates are essentially independent of frame type. Termites do not need to eat the frame — they will happily eat skirtings, architraves, door jambs, flooring, cabinetry and the paper facing on plasterboard.
We have seen steel-framed homes with five figures of damage. If someone told you a steel frame means you can skip inspections, they were wrong.
Disturbing them makes the job harder
The instinct on finding a mud tube is to break it open or spray it. Both make things worse: the colony abandons that route and rebuilds somewhere you will not find, and you lose the one thing that lets us trace the nest.
Leave it exactly as it is and call. If we can follow an active workings back to the nest, the treatment is more effective and often cheaper.
Our pricing sits below the Melbourne market, openly
Melbourne chemical barriers run $2,100 to $5,800 and baiting systems $2,625 to $5,800 with annual servicing on top. Ours start at $1,500 and $1,400 respectively, and we publish that rather than making you ring around.
The variables are perimeter length, access, construction type and how far the infestation has already gone. You get the exact figure in writing after the inspection, and it does not move.
Our four-step termite programme
Inspection first, always. Nobody can price termite treatment honestly without one.
Inspection
Full internal, roof void, subfloor, perimeter, fence and tree inspection using thermal imaging and Termatrac radar, with written findings and photographs.
Identification
We confirm the species and find the nest or entry route. This decides whether baiting or a chemical barrier is the right answer.
Treatment
Live workings are treated first so the colony carries the product back to the nest, rather than being driven into hiding.
Barrier and monitoring
A chemical barrier or in-ground baiting system protects the building going forward, with annual inspections to keep the warranty live.
What termite work costs
Melbourne inspections run $260–$525 and barriers $2,100–$5,800 across the established firms. Ours are below that and published openly. Every price is a from price — the figure depends on perimeter length, access and construction, and it is confirmed in writing after the inspection.
Termite inspection
Full thermal and radar inspection of the building, subfloor, roof void and grounds, with a written report. Pre-purchase inspections from $250.
Baiting system
In-ground and above-ground baiting with monitoring and servicing — the usual choice where the nest cannot be located.
Chemical barrier
A full perimeter chemical barrier using Termidor, with an 8-year product warranty.
Clear written quotes.We beat any written quote by 5%. Commercial, strata and end-of-lease jobs are quoted on inspection.
8-year barrier warranty, and an honest annual inspection
Our chemical barriers carry an 8-year product warranty, and baiting systems are warranted while they are being serviced. Both depend on an annual inspection — not as an upsell, but because a barrier that has been breached by new landscaping or a plumbing repair cannot protect anything, and neither we nor you would know without looking.
Termite Control questions we get asked
If yours is not here, call 0435 073 966 — we will answer it on the phone without booking you in first.
Call 0435 073 966How much does a termite inspection cost in Melbourne?
Melbourne termite inspections typically run $260 to $525. Ours start from $200, and pre-purchase inspections from $250. That includes thermal imaging and Termatrac radar, a full inspection of the building, roof void, subfloor and grounds, and a written report with photographs. We beat any written quote by 5%.
How much does termite treatment cost?
Across Melbourne, chemical barriers run $2,100 to $5,800 and baiting systems $2,625 to $5,800 plus annual servicing. Ours start from $1,500 for a barrier and $1,400 for a baiting system. The exact figure depends on perimeter length, access and construction, and it is confirmed in writing after the inspection.
I found mud tubes. Should I break them open?
No — and please do not spray them either. Disturbing active workings makes the colony abandon that route and rebuild somewhere you cannot see, and it destroys the trail we use to trace the nest. Leave it exactly as it is and call us.
Are termites the same as white ants?
No. Termites are relatives of cockroaches, not ants — the name ‘white ant’ is just an old misnomer. It matters practically: ant sprays and ant baits do nothing to a termite colony.
My house has a steel frame. Am I safe?
No. CSIRO research found attack rates are essentially independent of frame type. Termites will eat skirtings, architraves, door jambs, flooring, cabinetry and the paper on plasterboard regardless of what the frame is made from.
How often should I have an inspection?
Annually for most Melbourne properties, and that is also what keeps a barrier or baiting warranty live. If your block has had termites before, or has old stumps, retaining sleepers or heavy garden beds against the house, more often is sensible.
Do you do pre-purchase timber pest inspections?
Yes, from $250, with a written report you can put in front of a conveyancer or use in negotiation. It is the cheapest insurance available on a Melbourne property purchase.
Which termite species is actually the problem in Victoria?
Coptotermes is responsible for the great majority of building damage in Victoria. Coptotermes lacteus, the one that builds the domed mounds in paddocks, will not attack a well-built and well-maintained building — so part of our job is telling you when you do not need a treatment.
Is the treatment safe around my family and pets?
Yes. Barrier products are applied into the soil around the perimeter and baiting stations are locked and installed in the ground. We will tell you what to keep off and for how long, and adjust the plan for vegetable gardens, chickens, fish ponds or bores.
Will you find termites if they are behind the plaster?
That is exactly what the thermal camera and radar are for. Thermal imaging picks up the heat and moisture signature of an active nest through the wall lining, and Termatrac radar confirms movement inside the cavity without opening it up.
Other services that often come up with this one
Found something that looks like termites?
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Get your free quote
Tell us what you have seen or heard. We will call you back with a quote before any work starts.