I chose teak for a timber frame because teak resists termites. It is also locally produced and cost efficient as the building site is in Thailand. I want to make a leichtlehm wall system, also known as light-clay or straw-clay. This is basically straw with a clay coating. However I now have a doubt. I picked up a small block of teak on the ground and saw termites under it. There was not a scratch on the teak, but they seemed very interested in the loose rice straw that was below the block, presumably eating it. Is this possibly going to be a problem and if so what can be done to protect against termites in this situation? This is a very high termite area. I prefer a straw-based wall system since I want a natural solution and do not want a high thermal mass like adobe or cobb though am open to changing to some other wall system as well.
