This Healesville couple had to demolish their home after termites tore it apart. Experts say the wood-eating pests are thriving in the east

Healesville couple Clare James and Mark Boulet demolished their home in 2023 after termites destroyed the main structure.

The decision came after a year of deliberation and multiple expert opinions. 

Now, local pest control experts say hotter, wetter weather is creating ideal conditions for more homeowners to face similar devastation.

🪳 What are termites? Termites are a type of cockroach that eat a variety of decaying plant material to source their main source of energy – a carbohydrate called cellulose.

• More than 3000 species of termite are recognised globally and 300 of these call Australia home.

• However, only about 20 cause damage to buildings. A mature termite colony with 300,000 to one million workers can consume about 50 grams of wood per day.

🪵 Mass destruction: When Clare and her husband Mark bought a house in Healesville in 2007, they thought it would be their “forever home”.

However, their dream came crashing down in 2019 when they discovered their house was showing signs of termite damage.

A termite inspector initially dismissed it as dry rot. But only three months later, more spots of decay appeared.

• 🗣️ “Your fingers could just go straight through the paint, into the wood,” James told the Eastern Melburnian.

🪓 No doubt: The couple called another inspector, who removed wall panels and revealed the termites had essentially eaten through the house’s main structure.

• 🗣️ “They kind of rained out of the wall, like a waterfall,” James said.

🥶 Freezing wait: Still paying off their mortgage and unable to secure a home loan for a rebuild, the family found ways to get by, including surviving a winter without heating.

• 🗣️ “We knew to fix the heating was going to cost thousands of dollars and the house was going to come down anyway,” James said. “It felt like the house was sort of in palliative care mode.”

A pest’s paradise: Recent national reports have pointed to hotter and wetter periods – and more erratic jumps between these conditions – in Melbourne.

The CSIRO’s 2024 State of the Climate report also highlighted rising temperatures and altered rainfall patterns. 

These hotter and wetter conditions speed up a termite’s metabolism and reproduction cycle, creating an ideal environment for colonies to grow and spread.

• A 2022 international study examining termites and wood decay found that termites in regions with temperatures of 30°C consume wood seven times faster than those in regions with temperatures at 20°C.

• Meanwhile, flooding or more humid conditions can trigger termite swarming, where a colony moves from one house to another.

😷 Local control: Bayswater Pest Control owner Mark Okur said hot weather followed by rain was “ideal for termites”.

• 🗣️ “Once it gets over 20 degrees, that’s when termites start becoming more active and the nest will naturally grow in numbers,” Okur told the Eastern Melburnian.

🗓️ No quiet periods: Tom’s Pest Control spokesperson Stefan Barker said suburban growth, combined with milder winters, had created “an environment where more termite colonies can establish and thrive”.

• 🗣️ “Traditionally, termite activity was more seasonal, with a noticeable slowdown during the colder months,” Barker said. “However, over the past two years in particular, our team has continued to attend active termite jobs throughout every month of the year.”

🏗️ A bitter end: Because their insurance did not cover termite damage, James and Boulet rolled their mortgage into a new home loan to demolish and rebuild in March 2023.

• 🗣️ “I found it very distressing having the house knocked down,” James said.

🏡 Moving forward: Their new home has termite-resistant protections, but James still plans regular inspections and has removed any possible wood around the outside of the house where colonies could enter, such as mulch coverings.

• 🗣️ “Termites are everywhere,” she said. “They're an important creature to have in the environment, but you just don't want them in your house.”