Termite inspections for Byron Bay homes

A termite inspection is a careful look through the parts of a house that termites use to get in and feed, finished with a written report. In Byron Bay the usual habit is one inspection every twelve months, the interval that Byron Shire Council’s sample Termite Risk Management Notice quotes from AS 3660.1. When you send an enquiry here, it goes to an independent local timber pest inspector, and that business sets the price and does the inspection.

This page is about the routine check on a house you already own or live in. Buyers need a different report, explained on the pre-purchase timber pest inspection page. If you have already found live termites, skip ahead to termite treatment in Byron Bay, because the job changes from looking to treating.

Why book a termite check every year on the Byron coast?

Termites feed out of sight. CSIRO notes that some species build protective tunnels to travel between the nest and their food, and the wood-feeding Coptotermes colonies can hold millions of termites. By the time a skirting board sounds hollow or a door frame goes soft, the colony has usually been eating for a while.

Byron Shire Council describes a mean annual temperature of 23.7 C and high rainfall from January to May, with March the wettest month. Warmth and damp suit termites, and a yearly look gives an inspector the chance to find mud tubes or a breached barrier before the damage spreads into framing.

The council’s sample notice puts it plainly: a termite protection system needs regular maintenance, and the inspection is there to make sure termites have not bridged or breached the system and entered the building. A barrier installed when the house was built is not a reason to skip the check.

Where is your Termite Risk Management Notice?

Houses built with a termite management system should have a notice recording it. Byron Shire’s sample Termite Risk Management Notice asks for it to be covered in a durable material and fixed somewhere prominent, such as the meter box or a kitchen cupboard. It records:

1. the method of termite risk management used
2. the date it was installed
3. the life expectancy, which applies to chemical barriers only
4. the installer or builder

Open the meter box before the inspector arrives. A photo of the notice tells them what system they are checking and how old it is.

What does a termite inspector look at?

Area	What the inspector is checking
Subfloor	Mud tubes up piers and stumps, damp soil, timber touching the ground, blocked ventilation
Roof void, where it can be reached safely	Damaged rafters or battens, mud packed into joints, leaks that keep timber wet
Wet areas	Moisture around showers, toilets, laundries and sinks, swollen or soft skirting and architraves
External walls	Tubes running up brickwork or render, gaps where pipes enter, soil or paving built up over the slab edge
Garden and yard	Garden beds and mulch against the walls, timber fences and sleepers joined to the house, stored firewood
Outbuildings	Garages, sheds and decks in contact with soil

Inspectors also tap and probe timber where they can reach it, look for damaged wood and note any existing bait stations or reticulation points for a chemical barrier.

Is a visual inspection enough, or should you pay for thermal imaging?

A basic visual inspection averages $200 to $300 per inspection nationally, according to the hipages 2026 termite inspection cost guide. That band is a national average from a published guide, not a quote for a Byron Bay house; the provider who reads your enquiry gives you the real figure.

Type	How it works	Cost guide
Visual inspection	Looks over accessible areas for mud tubes, damaged timber and live termites	$200 to $300 per inspection national average
Thermal imaging	Uses an infrared camera to pick up activity behind walls that a visual check can miss	Costs more than a visual inspection, per hipages
Moisture readings	Meters test wall and timber moisture, often alongside the visual or thermal check	Usually part of the inspector’s toolkit; ask whether it is included

hipages says thermal imaging can find activity earlier because it looks into hidden areas. Anything a camera or meter flags still needs the inspector to confirm it.

Who can inspect for termites, and what should you ask them?

Under the NSW EPA’s rules, a business that inspects for timber pests without putting down any pesticide is not required to hold an EPA licence at all. That means the licence register will not tell you much about an inspection-only business. Ask instead about:

• timber pest training: the EPA lists the units CPPUPM3008 or CPPPMT3008, Inspect for and report on timber pests, in its timber pest licence requirements
• insurance for inspection work
• a sample report, so you know the format before you pay
• what equipment they bring and whether thermal imaging costs extra

If the inspector finds termites and recommends treatment, the person applying any pesticide needs the right EPA licence. The about page explains how to check that on the public register.

What should the written report tell you?

A useful report lists:

• whether live termites, past activity or damage were found, and where
• conducive conditions, such as damp subfloor soil, leaking taps, timber in soil contact or mulch against the walls
• areas that could not be inspected and why (locked rooms, low subfloor clearance, stored goods, no roof manhole)
• the condition of any existing barrier or bait stations
• recommendations and a suggested date for the next inspection

Keep each year’s report with the termite notice. Ask the provider about anything you do not understand before they leave, or send a termite inspection question with the report attached.

How do you get the house ready?

hipages suggests moving furniture away from walls so moisture readings are possible, clearing items from under sinks and around pipes, cutting back vegetation against the outside walls and making sure the inspector can reach the roof space and garage. In practice:

1. Clear the path to the subfloor door or access hatch.
2. Find the roof manhole and move anything stacked under it.
3. Empty the cupboards under the kitchen, bathroom and laundry sinks.
4. Pull stored boxes away from the garage walls.
5. Put pets somewhere secure for the visit.

When is the best time to book?

hipages says many inspectors suggest spring and early summer, because those warm, humid months match peak termite activity. CSIRO notes that winged termites usually fly from the nest on warm, humid nights to start new colonies, so discarded wings on a windowsill after a muggy evening are worth photographing for the inspector. The signs of termites guide covers what else to watch for, and the termite prevention checklist lists jobs you can do between inspections.

After heavy rain, book sooner. The NSW SES notes that localised downpours can cause flash flooding in a few low-lying streets around Ocean Shores, and a subfloor that stays wet after a storm is the kind of condition a report should flag.

Next step: request your yearly termite inspection

Use the form to request a yearly termite inspection. Include the suburb, whether the house is raised timber, slab on ground or brick veneer, its rough age, the date of the last inspection if you know it, and whether there is a barrier or bait stations already. Add a photo of the Termite Risk Management Notice from the meter box and say whether the roof space and subfloor can be reached.

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