Knowing your enemy
The Gold Coast’s four problem termite species.
Not all termites are equal — different species build different nests, prefer different timbers, swarm at different times, and respond to different treatments. Here are the four that cause 95% of Gold Coast home damage.
1. Coptotermes acinaciformis (the big one).
~75% of Gold Coast home damage.
- Habitat: Subterranean. Nest typically 20–200m from food source. Builds large central nest at base of tree, in stump, or in retaining wall void.
- Diet: Anything cellulose — structural timber, hardwood flooring, weatherboards, fence posts. Capable of penetrating concrete cracks >3mm.
- Swarm time: September–November on the Gold Coast, dusk to early evening.
- Signs: Mud tubes (textbook diagnostic), drumming sound from walls, soldier head with paired curved black mandibles.
- Treatment response: Excellent — standard Termidor or Sentricon both effective.
2. Schedorhinotermes intermedius.
~15% of Gold Coast home damage.
- Habitat: Subterranean, smaller colonies than Coptotermes. Nest often in tree-roots or buried timber.
- Diet: Slightly more selective — prefers softer hardwoods and treated pine.
- Swarm time: October–December, night-time.
- Signs: Similar to Coptotermes (mud tubes), but soldiers have an asymmetric mandible — one large “hook” and one smaller.
- Treatment response: Good. Standard liquid + baiting both work; slightly longer to colony kill than Coptotermes.
3. Heterotermes ferox (the “wood-soil” specialist).
~7% of Gold Coast home damage.
- Habitat: Subterranean, smaller colonies. Often nests directly in damp ground-contact timber rather than separately.
- Diet: Soft, damp timber — fence posts, retaining wall sleepers, sub-floor bearers in poorly ventilated spaces. Less damaging to structural framework.
- Swarm time: January–March.
- Signs: Damage to outdoor timber. Soldiers are small (4–6mm) with rectangular heads.
- Treatment response: Easier — colonies are smaller and more concentrated. Targeted application often sufficient.
4. Nasutitermes (the “nose-cone” soldier).
~3% of Gold Coast home damage (mostly fence-level).
- Habitat: Builds visible arboreal nests (the “basketball in the tree” you sometimes see in eucalyptus). Subterranean colonies less common.
- Diet: Bark, weathered timber, hardwood deadwood. Less attracted to fresh structural timber.
- Swarm time: November–February.
- Signs: Visible arboreal nests in mature trees on or near the property. Soldier has a distinctive long “snout” (nasus) that ejects defensive chemical.
- Treatment response: Limited need for chemical — targeted nest removal often sufficient. Visible nests can be physically removed by arborist.
Why species ID matters.
- Treatment chemistry choice. Coptotermes and Schedorhinotermes respond identically to standard Fipronil; Heterotermes can be over-treated when targeted local treatment is sufficient.
- Treatment intensity. Coptotermes is the deepest-tunneling and most aggressive — treatment must be most thorough. Heterotermes is localised — treatment can be targeted.
- Inspection focus. If you have established Coptotermes in the neighbourhood, your inspection focus should be foundation perimeter and slab penetrations. If Nasutitermes is the local species, focus on garden trees and dead wood removal.
- Insurance. Some insurers respond differently to different species — claims involving Coptotermes structural damage typically attract more rigorous documentation.
Where we work.
Found termites? Want to know the species?
Bring us a sample (sealed in a small ziplock). Free species ID at the time of quote.