Recently we were called to a property after the new owners had moved in. The home had been constructed on a concrete slab footing and had many concealed areas and restrictions limiting a standard pest inspection.
A thermal image camera inspection was made on the property and live termites were discovered. Photo 2 shows an open wardrobe area in a bedroom when viewed normally. Photo 1 shows the same area when viewed with a thermal camera. The bright blue area indicated a higher temperature on the wall surface and areas below. After seeing these images, we removed insulation material in the roof void above and found termite activity and damage to the wall top plate.
If a thermal imaging camera inspection had been carried out on this property originally, it is likely an anomaly would have been found. Insulation would then have been removed to check further for suspected termite entry or a recommendation for an invasive inspection through wall linings would have been made.
