New Product: Termidor Dust

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Product, Termidor

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A new product has been released for use by professional pest controllers in the fight against active termite infestations.

Termidor Dust is the culmination of over 10 years research in Australia to find the perfect termite nest elimination product.  Termidor Dust is applied by professional Pest Control Operators directly on to the termites, either inside your house or onto activity around the yard (trees, fences etc).

Termidor Dust is also ideal for use in treating active termite hits in bait stations.

After treatment, the termites become contaminated by the dust and carry the dust particles on their bodies and eventually back to the nest via the transfer effect.

Extensive Australian research has shown that it can take as little as 2 to 4 weeks for total termite elimination.

Contact Rid Pest Control today to find out more about how this product can assist you with termite infestations.

 

I Think I Might Have Termites

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Might, Termites, Think

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If for some reason you suspect you have termites, there are some protocols that must always be followed.

If you have discovered crawling insects in your walls that are no more than about 6mm long, are creamy white to an almost transparent grey and some have darker brown heads, there is every chance it will be termites.

Just to confuse things, if the termites have been present for a couple of years or more, they may have become sufficiently established to create and release alates, or swarmers as they are more commonly known in USA. In this case, alates/swarmers have two pair of wings that are longer than the body, and the body will be dark grey to black. See our web site for identification details.

Termites look nothing like ants, despite the fact they are know colloquially as “White Ants”. Usually the activity will be accompanied by tell tale brown mudding material.

Don’t panic! Despite the urging you might get from pest controllers keen to get you to sign on the bottom line, termites will not eat your house away over night. Significant damage can take months to years, and the space of a few days will not result in a lot of further damage being caused.Do not disturb the termites. Disturbing the termites may cause them to “disappear”. It is not likely they will pack up and leave, but it will make it much more difficult for the pest controller to gain control, and that could also mean it will be more expensive, as it eliminates various options. If you have broken open part of a mud tunnel, cover it with masking tape.Do not take advice from builders or neighbours. Working with timber doesn’t make builders know legible about termites, and neighbours usually know even less. You wouldn’t normally seek advice about you car from a plumber, so don’t go taking advice from those not trained in that area.Don’t attempt do it yourself home cures. Once termites are confirmed, back away from carrying out any treatment yourself. They just don’t work.Call a pest controller. From our experience, pest controllers from smaller firms do a much better, much more reasonably priced job. Small local firms, particularly owner operators have everything to lose by doing a poor job or submitting an over the top quotation.Get a couple of quotes. A maximum of three quotations should be good enough, and make sure that every step is itemized and the product names are nominated, as different firms may have different approaches. All satisfactory and complying with Australian Standard AS3660, but varying significantly in cost. Get the pest control firm to explain exactly what they intend to do. Most options are disruptive, can involve drilling holes in concrete floors and digging trenches around the perimeter of the structure. If trees are to be drilled and treated, find out how many trees, and exactly which ones.Be patient. Most treatments should be taken slowly. If baiting or dusting is involved, it can’t be resolved over night; it can take several weeks to see a significant result, but will be well worth the wait.Adding a matrix to termite baits either in the ground or applied on the walls over termite workings. Can achieve good results in control, but should be used in conjunction with prevention measures.Applying a foaming termiticide. Used to obtain control. Can achieve good results in control, but should be used in conjunction with prevention measures.Dusting. Used to obtain control. Can achieve good results in control, but should be used in conjunction with prevention measures.Drilling the concrete slab flooring along at least one side of all perimeter and internal walls and injecting the holes with termiticide.Drilling the entire concrete slab flooring in a grid pattern and treating holes with a termiticide.Trenching external perimeter of the structure and treating with termiticide. Sawing up and removing a strip of concrete paving and/or trenching perimeter and installing a reticulation system (involving perforated piping) (Preferred system)Test drilling and treating infested trees. For control onlyDrilling patios etc. and injecting a foamed termiticide to any hollows under the concrete slabTechnorati Tags: termites , termite swarmers , pest control products , termite treatment , termiticide

 

Termites & Global Warming

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Global, Termites, Warming

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Termites And Global Warming

It is an established fact that termites cause more damage in dollar terms worldwide than the combined ravages of fire, flood, earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes combined.

Having come to terms with those statistics, we now have to contemplate the notion that termites are also responsible for 18% of the world’s methane output.

Many people mistakenly believe that Methane, (CH4) causes damage to the globe’s Ozone Layer, but the problem is even worse, because methane is responsible for Global Warming, and that is a far more complex and serious problem.

It’s believed that around 38 % of the greenhouse effect is caused by methane, putting it second on the list of offending gases behind carbon dioxide. Methane breaks down in the atmosphere to form carbon dioxide, ozone, and water, all of which absorb heat. The temperature of the atmosphere rises, the ice caps melt, and before you know it, you’re pumping the Pacific out of your cellar.

Considering that there is an estimated 240 quadrillion termites scurrying about the planet, that’s 60 million of those insect pests for every man, woman and child, and that the billions of tiny, burrowing Isoptera are“letting rip” every second of every day.

There are more than 2000 different species of termites and the amounts of methane produced varies considerably between species, with some producing no methane at all. Methane is produced in termite guts, by symbiotic bacteria and protozoa, during food digestion.

The primary impact of humans on termite methane is reduction of emissions through termite habitat destruction. Many of the most important methane producing termite species are found in tropical forest areas, huge swathes of which are destroyed each year for logging, agriculture and housing developments. Additionally, in North America and elsewhere colonies of termites are regularly exterminated due to the threat they pose to wooden structures.

It is estimated that tropical forests, grasslands, and savannahs of Africa, Asia, Australia, and South America regions contribute approximately 80% of global termite emissions.

Who would have thought that having annual termite inspections, installing termite baits and monitors and all other available strategies would assist in minimising our “Carbon Footprint?

 

ELECTRONIC INSECT & RODENT REPELLERS

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ELECTRONIC, INSECT, REPELLERS, RODENT

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The manufacturers and retailers all claim they do work. They allege that feral rats and mice will pack up and leave, yet it will cause no harm or bother domestic cats and dogs (or pet rats and mice for that matter) . What marvelously clever devices that know how to frighten and annoy bothersome pests but recognize our beloved pets and leave them alone!

Cockroaches do initially respond to electronic pest control devices by becoming slightly agitated and move around more than usual, but there has never been any evidence to support that they endeavour to escape from the sound waves. These observations include devices that emit uniform frequency as well as changing and pulsing frequencies of ultrasound.

Most pest controllers are able to tell of personal  experiences where cockroaches have been found clustered around these devices, seeking out the warmth they generate.

Rodents merely adjust to the ultrasound (or any new sound) and eventually will ignore it. At best, ultrasonic waves have only a partial or temporary effect on rodents.

The University of Newcastle (Australia) and many USA universities have studied and flatly rejected ultrasonic sound as a practical means of rodent control. Ultrasound has not been shown to drive rodents from buildings or areas, nor has it been proven to cause above normal mortality in rodent populations.

Some people that have used them claim that they work for them, so it cannot rightfully be said that the devices should never be used, but all the research evidence points toward these devices not being worth the money, time, or effort.

Tests of commercial ultrasonic devices have indicated that rodents may be repelled from the immediate area of the ultrasound device for a few minutes, perhaps even up to a few days, but the rodents will nearly always return and resume normal activities. Other tests have shown that the degree of repellency depends on the frequency, intensity, and the pre-existing condition of the rodent infestation. The intensity of such sounds is thought to  be so great that damage to humans and domestic animals would also be likely. Commercial ultrasonic pest control devices do not produce sounds of such intensity.

Most television adverts selling these products adopt scare tactics. Usually they quote data on the labels of pesticides containers etc. Clearly the data is from agricultural products intended for outdoor use, and certainly from no product approved for interior domestic use. Most advertising focuses on the “Green” conscience that most of us have, but that does not prove that these devices work. No firm who produces this type of product is able to produce any respected university based test results that support the notion that the products work.

Danger of Fire

Fire authorities are forever warning us not to leave appliances such as microwaves, toasters etc plugged in and switched on. They even advise us not to leave televisions and DVD players left in “Stand by” mode due to the increased dangers of fire due to overheating and malfunction. Insect and Rodent repelling devices are no safer or less likely to cause a household fire.

Global Warming

With more information at hand, we now understand that unnecessarily using electricity contributes to global warming. Sure these devices use just a small amount of electricity, but multiplied by the ten of thousands sold, it all adds up. Electricity consumption necessarily causes an increase of carbon dioxide, and wasted electricity merely adds to the “carbon foot print” we will leave behind.

It would be exceptionally difficult to find any pest controller anywhere throughout the world who gives any credibility to these “so called” pest repelling devices. If we believed they worked, we would certainly be offering them to our clients.

Electronic Insect Attracting Devices.

This article is not intended to include Electronic Insect Attracting Devices such as mosquito and other flying insect “zappers”. They are proven products that attract with ultra violet light and destroy (or capture) flying insects. Many pest controllers sell, service  and endorse these devices.

Technorati Tags: sonic pest repelling , pest control , pest control products , electronic pest free products

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