Thatch Treatment in Electric City

Electric City is a tight grid of family homes on the Blue Downs side of the Cape Flats, where most yards hold a main house, a backyard room and a washing line within a few metres of the boundary wall. A rat problem here is rarely one household's problem, so we usually end up talking to the neighbours as well.

The local picture in Electric City

Brick homes here seldom have borer trouble, but the pine in wendy houses and roof purlins can be attacked. The beetle certificate inspection on a sale covers roof timber, so it is worth a look before you list.

The original houses are small brick units, and over the years most have grown sideways and backwards with extra rooms, carports and wendy houses. Every add-on leaves a join between old and new roof sheeting, and those joins are where roof rats and pigeons find their way in. Wendy houses sitting straight on sand give rats a dry floor to tunnel beneath. With walls almost touching, a cockroach colony in one kitchen does not take long to reach the next.

Tell-tale signs

1. Insects such as cockroaches or spiders falling from the ceiling.
2. Tunnels or loose patches in the thatch where rodents have been moving.
3. Birds pulling reed out of the roof or nesting under the eaves.
4. Fine powder dropping from the poles or laths onto floors and furniture below.

From the technician

Pale, fresh powder means activity; dark, compacted dust in old holes usually means the beetles left long ago. That distinction saves a lot of unnecessary treatment.

For holiday rentals and lodges, insects falling from an open thatch ceiling are the kind of thing guests photograph. An annual check before the busy season is cheap insurance.

How we handle thatch treatment in Electric City

We start by inspecting the underside of the roof, the poles, the laths and the eaves, looking for borer exit holes, frass and rodent or bird activity. Affected poles and laths are treated with a borer spray or injection designed for timber, applied to the wood rather than soaked through the thatch. For insects living in the thatch, we use a targeted residual treatment on the underside, keeping it as light as will do the job. Rodents are handled with traps and tamper-resistant bait stations placed at wall plates and entry points, and we advise on bird netting or proofing at the eaves. Fire safety of the thatch itself, such as retardant treatment, is a separate specialist job and we will tell you if it looks overdue.

Want the full step-by-step? See how our thatch treatment service works.

Stopping a repeat visit

• Ask your thatcher to check the poles and laths for borer whenever the roof is being repaired or re-combed.
• Have open thatch ceilings in lapas and lodges checked once a year, since problems are easy to see early.
• Fit bird netting or wire at the eaves if birds keep pulling reed or nesting there.
• Keep trees and creepers trimmed back from the thatch so rodents cannot step straight onto the roof.
• Have electrical wiring in the roof inspected regularly, especially if you have had rodents.

What affects the price

The price depends on the size of the roof, how much of the structure is exposed and how many poles and laths show borer activity. A small lapa with an open underside is a very different job from a double-storey home with a closed ceiling. Rodent and bird work is added where needed, and timber that is too damaged to treat has to be replaced by a builder or thatcher.

Adult borer beetles emerge mainly in the warmer months, so fresh powder and holes often appear from late spring into summer. Rodents move into thatch most during the wet Cape winters when it offers dry shelter. Treatment can be done at any time of year, though a dry day makes inspecting the roof easier.

Frequently asked questions

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