Thatch Treatment for Parklands homes and businesses

Parklands grew fast from bare dune land into rows of townhouse complexes and family homes, so many pest issues here come from the sand and open veld that still surround parts of it. Ants, mice and windblown flies are typical.

The local picture in Parklands

Newer homes have little old timber, but roof trusses and wooden decks can still be inspected for borer. Beetle certificates are still required on sale.

Most homes are newer brick houses and townhouses in complexes with shared walls and gardens. Light roofs and modern building methods keep things tidy, but gaps around pipes, vents and garage doors let mice and insects in. Complexes share refuse areas, which can attract rodents. Some estates have ponds and open spaces with water features.

Ants and mice are the most common calls, with fleas in summer. Mosquitoes breed around ponds and water features. Egyptian geese and pigeons cause mess in estates.

What gives them away

1. Insects such as cockroaches or spiders falling from the ceiling.
2. Droppings on beams or along the top of walls under the thatch.
3. Small round exit holes in the poles, especially in the paler sapwood.
4. Fine powder dropping from the poles or laths onto floors and furniture below.
5. Rustling or scratching in the roof at night.

Borer in the poles and laths weakens the timbers that carry the weight of the thatch, which is heavy, and serious damage can mean replacing structural members. Rodents nesting in thatch chew electrical cables, and in a thatch roof that is a fire risk to take seriously. Insects dropping from an open thatch ceiling are a nuisance in homes and a real problem in guest lodges and restaurants. Bird nests in thatch can bring mites into bedrooms below.

A note from the field

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.

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.

What happens when we come out

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

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.

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.

Thatch Treatment questions from Parklands

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