Imizamo Yethu Thatch Treatment

Imizamo Yethu climbs the slope above the Hout Bay valley, with homes packed closely together on the hillside. Rats, cockroaches and flies are the everyday pests, and the steep ground makes stormwater and refuse a constant challenge.

Imizamo Yethu: what drives timber pests here

Timber used in informal structures can carry borer and termites, though it is usually replaced before it becomes a big problem. Brick homes with pine roof trusses can be checked if you are worried.

The area is a mix of informal structures built from zinc and timber, brick houses and some newer formal housing projects lower down. Homes are very close together, often sharing walls or sitting just a metre apart. Gaps in zinc and timber walls let rodents in easily, and they move quickly from one home to the next.

It sits on the slopes below the mountain, with fynbos and steep rock above. Winter rain runs downhill fast and can carry litter into drains, while the South-Easter blows debris around in summer. The slope also means water collects in low points and blocked channels.

A note from the field

Cables running through thatch should be in conduit. Rodent damage to a bare cable in a thatch roof is a fire risk that is easy to prevent.

What gives them away

1. Small round exit holes in the poles, especially in the paler sapwood.
2. Droppings on beams or along the top of walls under the thatch.
3. Tunnels or loose patches in the thatch where rodents have been moving.
4. Insects such as cockroaches or spiders falling from the ceiling.
5. Fine powder dropping from the poles or laths onto floors and furniture below.

How the treatment works

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

• 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.
• Have electrical wiring in the roof inspected regularly, especially if you have had rodents.
• 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.

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.

Spraying the underside of your own thatch with a garden insecticide does very little for borer, which lives inside the poles, and soaking thatch in products not meant for it can do more harm than good. We would leave borer and rodent work in thatch to someone who does it regularly. Keeping the roof clear of overhanging trees is the one thing every owner can do themselves.

Questions we get asked in Imizamo Yethu

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