PEST control experts say a towering termite nest at Gordonvale is the biggest mound ever uncovered on a Far Northern residential property.

The mammoth nest was home to more than one million acid-producing termites, known to destroy a house in four weeks.

Pest control teams drilled large holes into the mound before gassing the bugs with a termite dust treatment and calling in a backhoe to dismantle the mound.

Rising more than 2.5m, the colony was found in the backyard shed of a Gordonvale cane farmer who called for help only when he wanted to build over the shed.

Nests for timber-eating coptotermes termites are rarely more than 2m tall, experts say.

Grass-eating termite mounds up the Cape have been known to reach 4m.

Mark Richards Pest Control was called to eradicate the ants and Mr Richards was left speechless when greeted by the "New York" of termite nests.

"It was keeping up the shed, it's the biggest nest we've ever treated," he said.

"These termites can eat through metal with the acid they produce from their head, they can do major damage to a house in a couple of weeks."

Termite Specialist owner John Holzapfel said a nest of this size for timber-eating termites was unheard of.

"That's a ripper, that's the biggest I've heard of," he said.

It is unknown how long the nest had been building at the property.

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