You know summer is only a few weeks away or is already here when ....

[Ian Robinson]

You look at the kitchen window and turn on the outside light and discover millions of flying termites are attracted to it ....

This happened here last night (between 10pm and they disappeared by about 2am) , I actually saw some flying about in the kitchen and lounge room , on landing on my computer screen , so I investigated and found the kitchen light has attracted them , so the inside lights went off , and the outside porch light went on ..... looked like their were thousands of them .... woke in the morning to find dead termite in the sink , on the benches , on the floor (lino and carpet) and all over the window cill)....

Must still be a colony in the ground nearby (on in the old timber framed shed the guy down the back has - in his house , he is housing comm) .

None in my house ( is off ground on brick piers) and I am under often enough (can see easily of there is trail going up the bricks) , never has been.
I should warn the new folks next door though .... as they have been into that house previously and done damage.

[Glenhuon]

Could still be, and probably were from your own property. I've seen them emerge from a step outside an all brick house.

[mithrandir]

SWMBO found termites in an interior wall as she was tidying up the day before we left for an overseas trip. I got a panicked call at work. I told her not to touch and call the exterminators, who came the same day and put in the poison the workers take back to the nest (arsenic based IIRC).

When we came home they did a thorough inspection of the whole house, drilled and poisoned under the slab and could not find any exterior entry point. That just left patching the wall to me.

We get them to do annual followup inspections. Nothing found in the last 10 years.

[mozzie]

yep its that time of year open the pod ready to view and out they come just after dark madly cover everything up
mozzie

[Ian Robinson]

Nope , there are steel caps on all the piers and on the 2 foundation brick walls , I've looked no sign of the beggas bridging it. No cavity brick walls in my house .... is timber frame on brick piers.

They've at again right now , the magpies and other birds are having a feast .... definitely coming from down the back and looks like they are launching from the really scrawny and scragglely looking poplar tree near their back corner ....

[TrevorW]

Bushfires alsready out of control in NSW

[telecasterguru]

Just came back from Tassie today and had to put on a jumper and rain coat to go to the airport. Got out of the plane in Sydney and 42 Degrees. Summer hasn't really set in everywhere yet.

Also just had a new kitchen put in the house as white ants had feasted on the cupboards.

Frank

[Ian Robinson]

45 degrees C in my garage , and it hasn't been shut up to hold the heat in either .

43 degree C at 4pm on my front patio (is shady there).

Needless to say , the aircon has been running all night and all day , set to 24 degrees C and low fan speed , so it's nice inside the house.

Actually got a bit chilly inside so I went outside for a thaw out , didn't stay outside for long .... was toasty.

[mithrandir]

21:30 and the temp outside is below 30 for the first time today.

Yesterday was high 30s. Friday 43 at home, 47 in the car park at work.

[BerrieK]

Yup! I spent the afternoon and evening clearing stuff up outside, packing the kids off to my parents' place, watering as much of the yard as I could, chatting to the nice SES folks who came to the door (actually I was moving horses when they got there so I guess they came to the paddock), watching all the water planes go back and forth, wishing my hubby wasn't overseas with the army at the moment, hoping that the fire 3kms from my home didn't stay out of control, and trying to work out if I could squeeeeeze the scope in the ute with all the other stuff (nope :sadeyes:).


Thankfully it all turned out ok. http://www.centralwesterndaily.com.au/news/local/news/general/wind-strikes-a-blow-to-firies-containment-bid/1684291.aspx


Ian, I hope that the nasty little termites keep to themselves. Glad to hear you have a nice airconditioned sanctuary to escape the heat.

Kerrie :)

[TrevorW]

Glad all OK Kerrie

[coldspace]

You know summers here when,

At our airconditioning buisiness we went from about 5 to 6 enquiries a day 3 to 4 weeks ago to about 50 to 60 now :help:. Phones ring every 5 to 10 minutes. Looks like many people will have to just wait now. Only the smart ones get installs done through winter.

Matt.

[Waxing_Gibbous]

The Echidna eats the ants and termites, the frogs eat the slugs, the Maggies eat the lawn grubs, the Eagles eat the rabbits and the grass never stops growing so we have to whipper-snip 2 Ha every 3 days to keep track of the snakes. It's 41* one day and 18* the next and the weather people trot out their catch-all forecast: "Fine with a chance of showers" which about as useful and usually as accurate as "Ducks with a chance of a Tornado".

[Ric]

I know what you mean Peter, I mowed about the same size around the house yesterday.

Have you ever noticed how it always rains after mowing and it grows back twice as fast.

Cheers