Thermal detector – does thermal termite detection work?

It is correct that a thermal camera will find termites, but only if there is a full colony hiding in your walls.

A thermal detector only detects differences in temperature, and thus will need a large group of termites with the minimum mass being the size of a basketball to detect them with a thermal camera.

A large group of termites will often show other signs that they are hiding in a wall by putting flight holes into a wall where they will fly from.

They will also mud up or barricade any holes or breaches in a wall and these signs are very obvious even to the general public who know nothing about termites.

But, can a thermal detector, or infrared camera, find all termite infestations?

While thermal cameras can find some obvious colonies of termites, they are not very good at finding the start of termites as the workings will be giving off no thermal readings.

On a hot day the walls of your home are warm, and if the walls are the same temperature as the colony then you will not be able to see anything.

This is why in Adelaide, although the all of Jim’s pest technicians have thermal devices available to them, they will tend to use a moisture meter first.

Fail safe way of finding termites, NOT using thermal termite detection

The most effective way of finding termites is without a doubt the use of a moisture meter. This device actually takes a penetration reading of up to 3cm inside the wall and measures the amount of moisture in the walls.

Termites with either be hanging around a water leak in wall or be bringing moisture in from outside to help sustain the colony and this is what a moisture meter will detect.

If a moisture meter is used correctly it will detect a small mud tube or small amount of workings even before they become visible and before they cause any structural damage to you home.

All Jim’s Termite & Pest Control technicians have been trained extensively on how to use moisture meters on walls and know it is the most effective way of finding termites as they know it will not miss the very early stages of termites.

Thermography course and why this is important to use a Thermal Camera

Today just about anyone can buy a thermal detector, or infrared camera; you can even get so called thermal camera apps to go on your smart phone.

If you are going to use anything technical effectively then you should at least do a thermography course to learn how the device works and when to use it. You also need to understand the limitations of the device and when it shouldn’t be used.

The sad truth of the matter is that if you ask most pest controllers offering thermal imaging inspections to find termites and ask them if they have done a thermographers course they will more than likely say no, some will even say “what’s that?”

It is a big risk to you and your Adelaide home to trust a professional using such a device that has not received any training on how to use it. It would be like buying an air balloon, going to a field and inflating it.

Why do some pest controllers rely on a thermal detector camera?

The reason some pest controllers in Adelaide rely on thermal cameras is for two reasons. Firstly they can claim to do inspections very quickly as they only need to walk in a room and look through the camera.

Secondly it is a sales gimmick as it sounds really incredible that someone can look through my walls and find termites. In reality the only way a pest controller can look through a wall is to put a hole in it and insert a camera.

What to do if you need an experiences, qualified termite detector?

If you want a local pest control expert who is very experienced at finding termites and will not just give you a fancy sales pitch but will actually use the best devices available to detect termites in your walls then please call Jim’s on 13 15 46, or use the contact form here to get in touch.