'Too little, too late' in termite case

By CATHY ARONSON

OTOROHANGA - The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (Maf) has given termite-infested Otorohanga the all-clear for now but residents say it is too little, too late.

About 30 houses in south Otorohanga, in an area now labelled Termite Hill, have been battling with the subterranean termite since infested wooden power poles from Australia were put in their street 40 years ago.

Residents were refused compensation from the Government, but are still pursuing legal action after claiming property values had plummeted and they had suffered unnecessary stress because Maf did not act quickly enough to eradicate the pest.

The termite was not detected until the early 1990s and attempts to eradicate it with insecticide spray were unsuccessful. The termite resurfaced in seven properties in 1998.

Maf did not begin a concentrated eradication programme until November last year after residents complained to Environment Waikato about a lack of action.

This month, Maf pest response national adviser Mark Ross reported that no live termites had been found in the affected properties for seven consecutive months.

This was an encouraging sign that a new eradication programme - bait stations - was working.

The news has come too late for elderly couple Wilfred and Peg Millin, who had planned to sell their house of 50 years for retirement money after they moved into a smaller town house 16 months ago.

The house was still on the market when Mr Millin died on June 20, aged 87, from heart failure.

Mrs Millin said the termite problem definitely contributed to his deteriorating health.

"It was Wilf's main worry over the last 16 months, he always moaned about it and it definitely took its toll on him.

"It's sad really. We had a long happy marriage but he became quite bothered towards the end."

Mrs Millin said that even though her house was never infected with the termite, the stigma was still attached to her "lovely home on the hill."

Resident Christine Roach said the termites had attacked her bedroom, bathroom, laundry and decking and she did not let her children in the kitchen because she feared the floor would fall through.

"It's not as black and white and rosy as Maf makes out. Yes, it is good that they are doing something now but it is too little, too late.

"Our biggest security in life, our home, has been taken away and we are left with the stigma of Termite Hill."

Residents Against Subterranean Termites spokeswoman Leigh Graham said the group would challenge a statement by Biosecurity Minister Marian Hobbs, in March this year, that they were not entitled to compensation.

Mrs Graham said it was unacceptable that only seven of the 30 properties on Termite Hill were being monitored.

She did not believe the termites had been confined.

Mr Ross said the properties being monitored monthly were selected after a full survey of the entire area.

He was confident that the infestation had been confined and said a full survey of all 30 properties would be conducted again in spring.

"Other than digging up the whole of Otorohanga we are doing our best."