NOVA CONTROL, A COMPANY SPECIALIZED IN THE TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF WOOD PROBLEMS CAUSED BY XYLOPHAGOUS AGENTS (WOODWORM, TERMITES, FUNGI).
Ibiza may seem small, and in fact in terms of surface area, it certainly is. Its scant 41 km from north to south, and 15 km from east to west, bear witness to this. However, within its 210 kilometres of coastline dominated by Sa Talaia with its 475 metres of altitude, we can find an endless number of routes, coves, landscapes as well as leisure places of various types and tastes, which turn our small island into a place impossible to know completely, and which does not cease to amaze you the deeper you go into it; perhaps that is the reason why many people who accidentally fall here, end up becoming adopted sons and daughters of the Pitiusas.
But if there is one place that every resident, whether seasonal or permanent, knows and walks around at some point, it is undoubtedly the historic centre of the city, that is to say, Dalt Vila. This is a corner with a tremendous idiosyncrasy, where history, architecture, social life and contradictions of all kinds are mixed in a mixture that undoubtedly, for better or worse, gives it its unique character. Dalt Vila, with its imposing 16th century walls, has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. And although these walls were built in the time of Charles V, the city has a Phoenician origin. Therefore, to talk about Dalt Vila is to talk about a piece of the history of Eivissa, that is to say, a piece of the history of all of us who live on this beautiful Mediterranean island.
Narrow, narrow streets with impossible slopes, welcome to Dalt Vila!
Within the aforementioned idiosyncrasy of the "vilera", the deterioration of the different architectural structures that give shape and appearance to Dalt Vila itself is a reality. It is necessary to dedicate resources and time to its maintenance, paying special attention to those elements that make up its structural support, such as the walls, vaults, roads... and of course, the wooden structures.
The vast majority of the floor and ceiling supports in Dalt Vila are made of wood, and from the brief introduction we have given to their history, you can guess that on many occasions, we are talking about structures that are older than any of the people who are reading this post right now. Therefore, it is logical and normal that wooden structures with so many years of useful life behind them, end up having problems at some point with xylophagous agents, i.e. living organisms that feed on wood: termites, woodworm, fungi...
At Nova Control, we are specialists in wood treatments, both preventive and correction of problems (pests), which are already present damaging the structure and physical integrity of the wood. But without a doubt, the work in Dalt Vila has a special touch: not only do you solve a problem that can have very serious consequences for the client, you are also helping to preserve such a characteristic part of the Illa d'Eivissa: the historic centre of Dalt Vila.
In this case, it was a simple job: the beams of a first floor floor. However, despite not being an overly complex job, working in Dalt Vila is always synonymous with working in areas with narrow staircases, "twisted" heights and spaces where architectural planning and practical design, fortunately for its current aesthetics (all things considered), were conspicuous by their absence.
The affected area had 3 different types of pests associated with wood: fungi, woodworm and termites, which is why different treatments were implemented to cover the whole problem.
Furthermore, in this case, the timber had a fairly advanced woodworm infestation, drywood termite in the process of spreading, and the presence of fungus due to a poor installation of a new bathroom on the upper floor. Nothing serious or complex to treat separately, but which, taken together, pose a silent and slow but inexorable threat to the physical integrity of the beams, which sooner or later could lead to a collapse of the structure. Indeed, xylophagous problems can be catastrophic (even if they are slow in coming), and they will not usually leave the structure of motu proprio.
Beam affected with woodworm and drywood termite.
Detail of the interior termite gallery, different in appearance and content to those generated by woodworm.
To tackle this triple problem, we implemented a treatment on the wood by means of pressure injection and final spraying. At first sight, injection may appear to be an aggressive treatment, as the wood has to be perforated and then non-return valves have to be inserted into the holes so that the product injected under pressure does not escape again and is completely absorbed by the wood. However, although this is true to a certain extent, both the methodology used and the professionalism when carrying out an injection treatment can have a tremendous influence on the aesthetic impact that the treatment can generate, in those cases in which the client has a certain level of demand in this respect. Once the biocide product has been injected, the wood retains it inside, and from that moment on it becomes a lethal food for the pests that try to feed on it. At the same time, the product is completely harmless to people and pets in contact with the treated structure.
Detail of the injection in a beam affected by woodworm and fungus.
In summary, and by way of conclusion, wood pest control work on recently built imposing villas is a fascinating service to carry out, both for the quality of the structures to be treated and for the architectural taste with which they are usually designed. But when, apart from the architectural value, there is also the historical value and the cultural heritage, which is an inherent property of all of us who live in Ibiza, the work has an extra component. And this is something that can happen both in houses with historical value located in the remote countryside of Ibiza between fields of carob and almond trees, which are not known to the general public, and in the narrow streets, slopes and stairways of Dalt Vila, located in plain sight.
Text and photographs: own elaboration.
Find out more:
- https://novacontrol.es/en/wood-treatments/termites
- https://novacontrol.es/en/wood-treatments/woodworm
- https://novacontrol.es/en/wood-treatments/fungus
- https://novacontrol.es/en/works-and-data-of-interest/i-have-woodworm-in-my-furniture-what-do-i-do
- https://novacontrol.es/en/pest-control
Nova control; control of pests and microorganisms in Ibiza and Formentera.
-Wasps, ants, mosquitoes, rodents, cockroaches, moths, snakes...
-Wood treatments: woodworm, termites, fungus...
-Disinfections: covid, tanks, legionella treatment and control.
Consult other services without obligation
☎️: +34 604 04 82 98
🇪🇸: https://novacontrol.es/es/control-de-plagas
🇬🇧: https://novacontrol.es/en/pest-control
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