Thatch Treatment for Hout Bay homes and businesses

Hout Bay is a valley town with a working harbour at one end and horse paddocks and leafy plots further up. Fishing boats, stables, a river and mountain on three sides make for a wider mix of pests than most Atlantic Seaboard suburbs.

Timber pests in Hout Bay: what we see

Thatched lapas, timber decks and old roof timbers can carry wood borer. Beetle certificates are standard on property sales here, and we check thatch and timber roofs carefully.

Housing ranges from big family homes on large plots in the upper valley, to townhouse complexes, holiday homes near the beach and older cottages closer to the harbour. Many homes have thatched lapas, timber decks and outbuildings. Stables, workshops and harbour-side warehouses and fish processing buildings carry their own rodent and fly problems.

The valley is ringed by the Karbonkelberg, the Sentinel, Chapman's Peak and the back of Table Mountain, with the Disa River running down to the beach. Winter rain is heavy and the valley floor stays damp. The harbour, the river mouth and the paddocks all feed flies, gulls and rodents.

A note from the field

A technician looking at a thatch roof checks the wall plates first. That is where rodents get in and where they nest, warm and dry, against the top of the wall.

Tell-tale signs

1. Fine powder dropping from the poles or laths onto floors and furniture below.
2. Birds pulling reed out of the roof or nesting under the eaves.
3. Tunnels or loose patches in the thatch where rodents have been moving.
4. Small round exit holes in the poles, especially in the paler sapwood.

Our process, step by step

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.

Prevention that actually works

• Do not store firewood or boxes against the walls under the thatch, as they give insects and rodents cover.
• Fit bird netting or wire at the eaves if birds keep pulling reed or nesting there.
• Have open thatch ceilings in lapas and lodges checked once a year, since problems are easy to see early.
• Have electrical wiring in the roof inspected regularly, especially if you have had rodents.
• Ask your thatcher to check the poles and laths for borer whenever the roof is being repaired or re-combed.

Pricing, honestly

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.

Questions we get asked in Hout Bay

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