Pest inspector - what do you think?

We have had a vacancy in a terrace house for a couple of months, but have a tenant moving in tomorrow (yay!)

Thought we better book in a pest inspection/treatment and the only time they could do it in the two weeks we had available was this afternoon.

The pest inspector found live termites in a stump in the backyard. Stump was so rotten/eroded/eaten he was able to pull it out & remove it. Has treated the area and says it should be fine. The deck (also wooden ) was built around it so we have a hole to patch there as well. No evidence of termites in the building, but he has some doubts about a very large (1m across & 2m tall) stump which is over the back fence - not on our property.

The other thing he pointed out to us is that the roof space is open to the adjoining terrace. We do have a vague recollection that they may have originally been one property before being split, but should there be a wall dividing the roof space? The building would be early 1900s.

 

Yes there should be a full height separation between terraces to prevent fire getting into the adjoining ceiling space. Fire regs were pretty basic at the time but so were many other building regulations eg windows, ventilation, sanitary requirements, running water, cooking facilities etc.

I'd be considering a bait station in the yard as termites can travel 50 odd metres from their nest.