There are only a few wood species available in the world which are 100% guaranteed termite resistant. These wood species can only be found in Africa and South America, but definitely NOT in Indonesia, however, there are a few Indonesian hardwood wood species which will give some protection when the proper part of the tree is used.

Termites eat the cellulose from the wood cells. The harder these cells the less interested they are in their dinner. Any tree has a core called heartwood. This is the hardest part of a tree. There is only one wood species in Indonesia which have a core so dense and hard that termites can't eat it. This species is Bangkirai. Close followers are Bojonegoro Teak, Merbau and Iron wood. However, as is the case with all trees the outer rings (called sap wood) are soft or softer than the core (heartwood). As a result termites do not attack Bangkirai heartwood and in a lesser extend the heartwood from the other species mentioned, however the termites attack the juicier and softer sapwood. The solution would be that we only buy heartwood from our suppliers, however, so unfortunate, this is merely a mission impossible, since the suppliers do not want to be left with only a stock of sap wood. As such the suppliers mix the wood in portions of heartwood and sapwood, or will ask a 30% higher price for heartwood only. In conclusion we cannot guarantee that all the wood that we use is not susceptible to termite attacks whether it is Bangkirai, Teak, Merbau or Iron wood.

However, there is also good news. When the heartwood of one of the above mentioned wood species is used in combination with a termimesh system or a termite barrier you will be much safer for many, many years to come, whereas a combination with Bangkirai is considered the best option. You may read more about termimesh and a termite barrier <here>

Main conclusion: You shall not automatically believe that a house built from Indonesian hardwood is 100% safe to termite attacks, at least we are not promoting this. By ruling out the extremely expensive Bojonegoro Teak and the fact that Iron wood is prohibited from being exported, Bangkirai or Merbau heartwood in combination with a termimesh system or a termite barrier application will give protection. Our statement that Bangkirai and Merbau sapwood is not termite resistant is underlined by the following:  

J. Kenneth Crave and Carrie H.M. Tome from the University of Hawaii evaluated the resistance of Indonesian Bangkirai to the attack of the  dangerous Formosa termite. Their investigation revealed that "as with all durable tree species only the heartwood and not the sapwood of these species is reputed to be durable". See page 504 line 15 of their report which can be downloaded via http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/gracek/pdfs/212.pdf  This report supports our claim that the only Indonesian fully termite resistant Indonesian hardwood is Bangkirai provided this is heartwood. 

A technical data sheet from the Australian timber base sheds some light on the termite resistance of Merbau and can be found at http://www.timber.net.au/?option=com_species&name=Merbau&Itemid=441  This article clearly indicates that only Merbau heartwood is termite resistant.     

(*) STOP PRESS: We can guarantee termite resistance:
Latest update: On April 16, 2012 we signed an exclusive contract with one of the Balinese timber suppliers allowing us to select Bangkirai heartwood from his  stock yard at no extra costs, provided we buy all Bangkirai that we need for our projects from his company. This will put us in the unique situation to guarantee that we are now able to fabricate timber houses, using Bangkirai heartwood, which is definitely 100% termite resistant.  
 

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