Thatch Treatment for Newlands homes and businesses

Newlands sits on the wet side of Table Mountain under big oaks and pines, and that moisture drives a lot of what we see here. Squirrels in roofs, fishmoths in cupboards and borer in old timber are bread and butter for us in this suburb.

Timber pests around Newlands

Old timber floors, roof beams and built-in furniture in Newlands homes are prone to wood borer, and damp makes it worse. Beetle certificates are routine when these houses sell.

There is a real mix: large older homes on generous plots, Newlands Village cottages, newer cluster homes and apartment blocks closer to Main Road and the sports grounds. Many of the older houses have timber floors, wooden ceilings and roof spaces that stay cool and damp. Leafy gardens and big trees overhang roofs, giving squirrels and rats a direct route in. Some homes have thatch outbuildings or pergolas.

How to tell you have a problem

1. Fine powder dropping from the poles or laths onto floors and furniture below.
2. Small round exit holes in the poles, especially in the paler sapwood.
3. Birds pulling reed out of the roof or nesting under the eaves.
4. Droppings on beams or along the top of walls under the thatch.

From the technician

Borer damage in thatch is often blamed on the reed, but the reed is rarely the problem. It is the poles and laths holding it up that the beetles are after.

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.

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.

Keeping them out afterwards

• Do not store firewood or boxes against the walls under the thatch, as they give insects and rodents cover.
• Keep trees and creepers trimmed back from the thatch so rodents cannot step straight onto the roof.
• 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.
• Have electrical wiring in the roof inspected regularly, especially if you have had rodents.

How much will it cost?

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 Newlands

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