Treated wood house stumps

Most people like to keep the original look of their historic 'Queenslander' homes.  They like to replace the old timber stumps with new 'treated' wooden house stumps.  They think that as the stumps are 'treated' (leaving the wood a dull green or matt green colour), they are protected against termites and by using treated timber house stumps, they are safe from termites forever...Well sadly, this is not the case!  The photos in this section will clearly show you, that the POISON does not protect the house stumps and does NOT penetrate deep into the stump. 

Yes, it is true that when the stump is treated, the poison covers the whole stump from top to bottom...This is correct.  BUT; few people are aware that this poison penetrates only an inch (or 25mm) deep into the wood.  It does not saturate the stump.

The photos below will show you what I am talking about...

This photo shows you the greenish colour of the poison, covering the outside of the house stump and how it does not penetrate into the entire stump.  This leaves very little protection what so ever.

This photo is another off-cut of a house stump...Note that it is green all over?  Again; that is the treatment used to protect the stump from termites.  You may ask, why do I have so many off cuts of stumps?  The answer is; the people that supply timber house stumps will only sell them in the full meter length, and do not stock timber house stumps in half meter lengths.  They will also, not cut the stumps to size, so therefore, I am forced to cut the house stump to the sizes I require.  This then leaves an untreated end, which I then have to treat with what I can buy from a hardware store, which may or may not be as good; Neither you nor I, are  permitted to buy 'coppernol',  which is the poison that the stumps are treated with from the supplier - which also contains arsenic.

Can termites gain access to newly treated timber houses?  Yes - they can; If there are small cracks, or splits in the timber, a termite can get into the stump with ease, as the poison will only kill termites, if they eat the treated timber, but walking on it, or through a crack, will not harm them.

I took this next photograph of a power pole, still in use outside of a job that I was doing.  This power pole is very much infested with termites and I might add, that this power pole is only a new replacement with in the last year or so!  As it represents a MAJOR safety risk, I reported this to ENERGEX, who will need to investigate urgently.

Note how wide the split is, and also the mud packed into the power pole to protect the termites from the elements?  This crack runs from ground level past the top of a 'wheelie bin'.  Please also take note of the colour of the power pole...YES; it is green!  A TREATED power pole!  As you can SEE; the treatment did not halt the termite access to the centre of the pole! 

Again same pole, but a lower angle, to show just how far into the pole the termites really are! 

This is the same treatment used on wooden house stumps, and termites have no trouble at all with the poison, as you can see and are eating the power pole away from the inside.

Below you can see how the termites entered the pole; from the ground, through the large split in the timber.  So the treating and poisoning of the timber was of no use at all.  This pole is again going to have to be replaced, causing disruption of power to the neighbours in the street for a second time.

The photo below shows you just how far up the pole, judging from the power wires, the split goes!  You can guarantee that all the way up the pole will be infested with termites.

Knowing what you do now, would you be so readily inclined to replace your old timber house stumps with new 'treated' stumps? -  Knowing that when timber dries out, it will crack, just like in these photos...And then in come the termites - eating out the timber house stumps, where you will only have to spend good money to do the job over again, and that my friends, is a waste of good money!

I said earlier that 'coppernol' is the poison used to treat wood, whether it is a house stump or fencing materials; ALL treated outdoor wood has a marking or code such “F 17”.  This is to make the purchaser aware that the timber is treated and can be used outside and at ground level; I.E., sleeper retaining walls and similar.  Little is it known, that in the formula of 'coppernol' - one major component is 'ARSENIC' - A DEADLY POISON!  This and many other toxic agents are mixed up to make 'coppernol'.

...Some months ago, there was a newspaper article, reporting that when the chemical dries out over time, it will leach out a dry powdery white substance - THIS is 'ARSENIC', in dry form.  It was made very clear, that the posts around public play grounds, where children play, are to have all the wooden posts removed, and another less dangerous form of treatment used, as children were becoming sick and this was found to be the cause of the problem.

So ask yourselves; why would you want such a dangerous product around your home? - And it IS VERY DANGEROUS!  It can kill if it makes its way into the body, via hand to mouth contact, or from inhaling the dry dust leached out from the stumps, as you only have to handle the dry stump, get what you think is just normal dust, and clap the dust from your hands and you INHALE it!

*The first signs of poisoning, are a dull or sharp headache and feeling sick, or having sore eyes - This is a good indicator of arsenic poisoning!

*In an emergency such as this, seek IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION! - DO NOT HESITATE - IT IS LIFE THREATENING!

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