TERMITES IN MASTERTON

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 November 1941, Page 6

TERMITES IN MASTERTON

LANSDOWNE HOUSE FOUND TO BE/INFECTED. CLEANING UP OR DEBRIS ADVISED. Native termites have been found in a residence in Lansdowne. This is the first occasion on which the presence of this pest has been known in a building in the Wairarapa district. In this.instance, the infestation was of a fairly serious nature. In other parts of the North Island the presence of termites, both native and Australian, has been known for some years. As regards the Australian species, which are most destructive to wooden buildings, it appears that one or more species are fairly well ’established'in the Auckland and New Plymouth areas, though termites also are reported from Dannevirke. So serious is the destruction of property by these pests that recently legislative action was taken by the New Zealand Parliament to meet a possible contingency arising from any serious outbreak. Termites are not the’ only agency by which buildings suffer. The common borer and the longhorn are also most destructive to houses and other wooden buildings.

Owners of property would be well advised to clean up the surroundings cf their buildings by removing all debris likely to. harbour termites or other similar pests. In this direction special attention should be paid to the area underneath houses. Half-dead and fully dead macrocarpa trees are, it is stated, a decided menace, as- they attract both termites and the longhorn beetle. By taking precautions.it is possible to reduce the risk of infestation;