April 2006 / Vol.3 / Issue 4

Hello and Welcome to the April Greenpest News. Each month we aim to provide you with some useful information, keeping it short, sweet and pertinent.

Contents

1. Pest Talk
2. Customer Question of the Month (Intrigue® Dust).
3. Story of the month.
4. Monthly Special

Pest Talk

News

We have moved. After 3 years in Burleigh Heads/Andrews, we have moved our offices to new premises at the Mudgeeraba Market Shopping Centre.

Our new business address is:

For those of you who would like to call in and see us, we can be found easily next to the National Australia Bank in the heart of Mudgeeraba. Please feel free to drop in for a coffee and a chat anytime Mon - Fri; 8am - 5pm.

Please note that if you wish to speak with a technician at the office, then ring ahead so we can ensure that someone is present to attend to you.

For the time being our postal addresses will remain unchanged.

We are developing a new Termite Warranty and need your help.

Over the years we have benefited enormously from the feedback of our customers. We've turned lemons into lemonade and many of the ideas that form the Green Termite Bait System are the direct result of feedback and comments from you, our customers telling us what you want, as well as what you don't want.

Recently one customer started the ball rolling with the following question. "What more could I have done to prevent these termites from entering my house?" It was a good question because she had sought out several quotes and then followed the best advice she could find within her budget, yet she still had termites in her home which is understandably upsetting. It turned out that the home had a history of termites and that they were most likely present in the home when she and her husband bought it.

The pre-purchase report had probably missed it and two subsequent termite inspections had also missed it, yet several rooms were effected by active coptotermes ssp termites.

Termite baits are designed for prevention rather than cure. The use of baits alone was not going to immediately solve the problem of the 'then' unknown termite activity that was already present in the house.

The question "What more could I have done to prevent these termites from entering my house?" played on my mind and then it struck me. (Please don't think I'm stupid because the answer is obvious once you see it.)

IF during the installation of the termite baits to the perimeter of the home, we had simultaneously installed some Ec2c Termite Windows (our internal termite monitors) to the inside of the house as well as the landscaping timbers in the yard, we would have found these cunningly hidden active termites in the base plates of her walls, as well as the bottom rail of her fence.

It's worth repeating:

IF during the installation of the termite baits to the perimeter of the home, we had simultaneously installed some Ec2c Termite Windows (our internal termite monitors) to the inside of the house as well as the landscaping timbers in the yard, we would have found these cunningly hidden active termites in the base plates of her walls, as well as the bottom rail of her fence.

These termites had been completely missed by three other pest control companies using a full range of termite detection devices including a thermal imaging camera. Unfortunately for the home owner, they were very well hidden. However, they would have been immediately discovered during the installation of a set of Ec2c Termite Windows.

Hindsight is always 100% and in fairness to my staff, we only invented the Ec2c Windows a few months later.

The Ec2c Windows are very popular and selling extremely well. However, if Ec2c Termite Windows are combined with the Green Termite Bait System, then termites simply won't have a chance.

And it is this bright idea of enhancing the Green Termite Bait System with the Ec2c Termite Windows that has led to the following proposal that we would like to entrust to you, the readers of our newsletter, for comment and criticism.

Here it is:

Would you be interested in a genuine lifetime termite warranty that offers you a completely free termite treatment of your home if you are unfortunate enough to get termites in it?

Of course some will say "What's the catch?" and rightly so.

There are no free rides, especially when it comes to termites.

The lifetime termite warranty we are developing will be subject to the following conditions.

If the home should get termites after the 18 month waiting period, then the warranty covers the home owner for a completely free termite treatment - whatever it takes to get the termites out of the house and minimise the chances of them ever returning. It does not include building repairs. However, building repairs will probably only be minor since any termites that do, per chance, find their way in won't have been there long. Most likely they will be detected early on because of the 6 monthly inspection of the Ec2c Termite Windows inside the home.

By the way, we anticipate that the inspection cost of the Ec2c Termite Windows will be a call out fee only of $88.

The statistical success rate of the Green Termite Bait System alone is currently over 99% based on the actual results we have achieved over a 10 year period. These are not laboratory findings, but real results from literally hundreds of homes professionally serviced by us in South East Queensland and Northern NSW.

Back to the warranty. You'll notice we emphasised the words "correctly installed" and yes, they imply further conditions. Of course, these conditions are in your best interest. Just as there are conditions placed on most warranties. New cars need servicing even though they are running perfectly well. Likewise, termite control systems also need careful monitoring and maintenance if they are to be effective.

Presently most termite companies offer a "12 month Free Service Period" on correctly conducted termite work. Chemical treated areas and such like.

Our warranty will be a lifetime warranty. We can do this because a fully maintained Green Termite Bait System doesn't deteriorate, unlike a home with a chemical treated zone that begins deteriorating the very next day after it is installed. Modern chemicals are purposely designed to be biodegradable, unlike the old style organochlorines that became banned in Australia in 1996 simply because they lasted in the soil for years and years.

Hey? Isn't a termiticide that lasts for many years what you want? Yes - but the egg heads in government banned it anyway. Organochlorines were used for 30 years without too many problems, but unfortunately they were banned because it was easier to ban them, than regulate them and keep them out of the hands from some of the oafs that used it mischievously or ignorantly. E.g. spraying bananas and other food crops with it. Ah, but that is another story too!

What's done is done. Organochlorines will never return. The good news is, that it was the demise of the organochlorines that led us to look for new ways to fight termites, which in turn led to the development of the first Green Termite Bait in 1996. The rest is history.

So, what's your opinion? Have your say and we promise to consider every idea, good or bad, and provide you with feedback in return also, if it's appropriate. Thank you now in advance for your time.

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Customer Question of the Month (Intrigue® Dust).

Question

Hi Jerry,

Is it true that a Green Termite Bait must have at least 15,000 termites in one bait station in order for the chemical (Intrigue) to work?

Denise - Menai, Sydney

Answer

Hi Denise,

This is somewhat true - we recently spoke to the Queensland rep for Bayer (the manufactures of Intrigue® dust) about this very subject at a recent pest control seminar on the Gold Coast.

The Green Termite Baits average a few hundred termites at a time in them...

...THIS HOUR.

ANOTHER DIFFERENT few hundred... NEXT hour and so on.

So over a fortnight there can be tens of thousands of termites frequenting a freshly treated Green Termite Bait and transferring minute amounts of Intrigue® dust back to the nest, which is WHY our baits are so VERY EFFECTIVE!

SIMPLE LOGIC REALLY.

It's fun to watch the penny drop when this is explained to someone for the first time.

You can see the "AHHH - Now I get it," expression on their faces.

Any of our competitors who ridicule the Green Termite Bait System based on this argument (needing 15,000 termites) is only showing their own lack of knowledge and understanding of the workings of an effective termite baiting system.

An even more important feature of the Green Termite Bait System is that the Intrigue® dust's effectiveness is multiplied several times over because the Green Termite Bait is an end point for feeding termite workers. Consequently the Intrigue® dust is transferred and spread by trophallaxis far more efficiently than it would be if it was spread by grooming only.

15,000 termites are needed if you want achieve results using the old fashioned 'grooming idea' (as with Arsenic trioxide). This technique requires one termite to groom another of the contaminant that is on the termite which then kills the termite that does the grooming, then that termite is cannibalised by other termite which in turn dies, and so on. Arsenic trioxide usually doesn't work by trophallaxis because it kills the contaminated worker too soon.

You only need 1 single worker termite to transfer a minute amount of Intrigue® to the queen if you want trophallaxis to work - and there is a good chance of that occurring because she is needy for food. The queen is priority fed so she can continue to lay her 1,000+ eggs per day.

We would never recommend using Intrigue® for termite leads only, simply because the grooming method is far too slow. There are better ways of treating termite leads. Knowing how and when to use Intrigue® dust is critical to its success.

It is said that a poor workman blames his tools.

Pesties who condemn Intrigue® have either never tried it or are only speaking from hearsay. Those who have tried it and still don't like it probably used it incorrectly. Sadly they end up blaming the product and not themselves!

Pesties who use Intrigue® appropriately simply love it. It is one of the least understood and unfairly maligned products in the field.

For those readers who don't understand what trophallaxis is, here is a simple definition. Trophallaxis is the sharing of food throughout a termite colony. It is regurgitated food that is passed from the foraging workers to the other members of the colony. It is how the colony is fed and sustained.

Intrigue® is a micro-fine dust that contains the non-toxic chemical triflumuron that acts as an insect growth regulator. It inhibits the formation of chitin (the hard substance that helps to form the insect's outer membrane) and just a minute amount of Intrigue® will doom the queen. She will die when it is time for her next moult, but most likely she will be assassinated by her own workers because she is no longer able to produce viable eggs. Her replacement also needs to moult and will also die from the residual Intrigue® that still contaminates the royal chambers. The colony is doomed. A ship without a rudder. Although many of the termites may go on living for several weeks, they will eventually succumb to other catastrophes that must occur without the queen. This is because the queen normally releases various pheromones to regulate and balance the daily activities of the termites who maintain the nest. Of course old age and natural attrition will also play a part since there are no longer any new termites available to repopulate the colony.

Insect growth regulators such as Intrigue® are a brilliant idea if they can be effectively delivered to the queen of the colony. Green Termite Baits ensure this delivery more effectively than another bait system on the market, but that is another subject for another day!

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Story of the month.

Welcome Rats... Written by Jerry Furnell. 
 
My first day in pest control occurred in 1986 and involved going out with an experienced pestie and watching him work. He asked me to help him fill up some rat bait boxes in a large dimly lit food warehouse in Nudgee, Brisbane.

I'd pick up each empty box and top it up with bait. After about 10 boxes, I picked up an odd one that was still full. I could tell it was still full because it was heavier than the empty boxes I'd picked up previously.

Still full of rat bait, right?

Just as I was returning the box to its place against the wall, a large rat bolted out of the box, charging up my arm, across my shoulders and down my other arm. It then jumped and ran for cover.

I too jumped! In fact, I jumped so much that the cup of rat bait in my right hand was sent flying along with the rodent bait box in my left hand. The adrenaline rush had my heart racing in triple time. I think I screamed - and not for the last time in pest control either.

'Ha, ha... welcome to pest control,' came the gleeful voice of my partner who thought it was a great joke.

Yeah... welcome indeed. I stayed and I'm still here 20 years later... and loving it!

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The Greenpest News is Published by J & A Furnell Nominees P/L; Shop 23a Franklin Square, 60 Railway Street, Mudgeeraba, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of Jerry Furnell. The reader is encouraged to seek further information from appropriate government and statutory departments before taking any action based on this material alone.

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See you again next month.

Always... At your service,

Jerry Furnell
Green Pest Control & Green Termite Bait Systems.
Phone 1800 6 12345.

Copyright 2006 Green Termite Bait Systems & Green Pest Control. All rights reserved.

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