Working together, Chermside’s Nick Akroyd, Teneriffe’s Chris Kirk, and New Farm’s Keiron Liddle developed a mobile application called Termite Buster. This innovative app can detect termites simply by placing the smartphone close to the wall. By doing so, the app can help prevent further damages.
The Silent Destructive Crawlies
(Photo credit: Apple Realty/Flickr)
Termites are the “silent destroyers” that secretly hide and thrive in our homes, without showing immediate damages. They consume cellulose that can be found in wood and plant matter. They also consume paper, plastic, and drywall. Houses, regardless of the construction type, can provide a habitat for termite infestation.
There are different types of termites that can live in house foundations, furniture, and shelves. Spring is the time that the winged termites mate, and then locate a new breeding site to create another colony that will eventually spread in your homes. The queen termite can lay millions of eggs each year.
Early Prevention by Detection
Termites bang their heads when distracted. Pest-control professionals bang walls and other parts of your home and place their devices near it. The disturbed termites will send out signals that spread throughout the colony by vibrating their heads and making sounds that the pest-control professional’s devices can detect.
The Termite Buster app can do the same. It can detect the sounds that the termites make through the smartphone’s built-in microphone. In just a few minutes, you will know if there is a potential termite activity in your home.
“The app takes those recordings to a cloud and analyses them to distinguish whether there are sounds of termites,” Chris said.
The phone app is designed to help the householder to monitor their houses at any time of the day, preventing more damages.
“We are not trying replace a termite inspector or pest controller. We are making (the app) so people can check for termites as often as they want,” Chris said.
Other ways to prevent termites from invading your homes are eliminating moisture problems and removing termite food sources, such as placing screens on outside vents and getting rid of stumps and debris near your home.
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