[GSBN] Big News!!

[John Glassford]

G ' day Martin et al

First congratulations to all concerned in this development in the USA which
I am sure will have far reaching consequences around the world of straw bale
building.

We have been on the road building as usual have a few days at home to catch
up.

Regarding termites and the response from Alex in Israel, I agree 100% with
Alex and would recommend that termite barriers be included if possible.

There are over 350 species of termites in Australia of which some 20 species
can damage timber in houses (CSIRO http://www.csiro.au/science/Termites.html).
We know they eat buildings of wood but we do not know if they will eat
straw.  I am told that some species love grass and there are so many stories
on termites that one should always protect the building from termite
attack.  Having said that I have done some rough field experiments with
termites straw and various types of timber.  So far in our area there have
been no sign of termites wanting to attack the straw however the radiata
pine timber totally destroyed.  Of note the indigenous timber cypress pine
has not been touched even in the wet conditions we have now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Termite

http://australianmuseum.net.au/Termites-as-pests

We also have three buildings here in Ganmain that have no termite protection
at all and even after 8 years there is no sign of them.

My bottom line is that we know of around 4,000 species of termites around
the world so why not protect the building from termite attack.

This is what we do:

http://glassford.com.au/main/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/ant-caps.jpg

Kind regards
The Straw Wolf
Huff 'n' Puff Constructions
http://www.glassford.com.au
61 2 6927 6027
In Australia (02) 6927 6027

Mountains of the Moon 2011
http://www.mountainsofthemoon.org
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