Buying on the Darling Downs
Old pine and the furniture beetle
Business Queensland says the common furniture beetle lives in Queensland's cooler upland areas, naming the Darling Downs, and mainly attacks European pine that has been in service for more than 20 years. It leaves exit holes 1 to 2 mm across and gives the timber a honeycombed look inside.
Termites come with the house anyway
Toowoomba's cooler climate doesn't rule termites out. The Coptotermes and Schedorhinotermes termites that tunnel into homes inside enclosed mud galleries occur throughout Queensland.
Fire ants in the yard
Toowoomba Regional Council says fire ants nest in open ground, as domes or flat patches of loose soil with no obvious holes, and travel in soil, mulch, turf and potted plants. If you see a nest like that at an open home, keep clear and report it to Biosecurity Queensland.
Two inspections, two licences
Queensland splits the job in two. The QBCC says only a licensed residential building inspector can do the pre-purchase building inspection, and only a pest controller holding the right licence can do the termite inspection.
Some people hold both licences and can do the two at one visit, which the QBCC allows. If yours doesn't, you're booking two people, and that's normal.
What the termite report should tell you
- Whether termites are active now, and exactly where.
- Any termite damage found, old or new.
- What termite management system the house has, if any, and how to keep it working.
- Whether the inspector thinks the property is at risk of termite attack.
- Whether borer was in scope, and anything found in floors, framing or old pine furniture.
- Which parts couldn't be reached, like a locked shed or a crawl space with no access.
What you can check at the open home
You can
- Look for small round holes and fine powder under old pine floorboards or skirting.
- Note mulch or garden beds built up against the walls.
- Check whether timber, sleepers or offcuts sit on bare soil near the house.
- Find the meter box and photograph any termite notice inside.
- If you spot mud trails or soft timber, show the inspector and leave it untouched.
Leave to a pest business
- The termite inspection itself, including the roof space and under the floor.
- Telling active borer from old holes.
- Recommending any treatment, in writing, before you settle.
Where we'd start with pre-purchase pest inspections in Toowoomba
Make the contract subject to both inspections, as the QBCC suggests, so you can act on what they find. Book them for the same week, ask the termite inspector to include borer, and turn up on the day. Tap Buying a home with the suburb.
Want someone to look at it?
Tell us what you've seen and your postcode, and a local pest business that handles exactly that calls you to talk it through.
