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August 2004 / Vol.1 / Issue 3

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

1. Pest Talk
2. To Bait or Not to Bait Part 2 of 3.
3. Customer Question of the Month.
4. Monthly Special

Pest Talk

Termite Talk.

Cypress Pine... Is it the answer?

Not a week goes by without someone saying to me, "I don't have to worry about termites. My home is built from cypress pine and termites won't eat it because of the oils in the timber."

Is it true?

The answer is yes... most of the time. Southern Cypress (USA) (Taxodium disticum) and White Cypress pine (Callitris columellaris) are known to be resistant to most species of termite to varying degrees.

The following photo shows are section above a window that was badly destroyed by termites (schedorhinotermes intermedius) at home we recently treated in Florida Gardens on the Gold Coast.

cypress pine damage

The cypress pine beam was untouched, however the other beams were completely gone including the hardwood ones.

This leads to the questions, "Is hardwood safe? Is hardwood safer than softwood?"

The answer is that hardwood is safer than softwood. Termites will travel past hardwood to reach softwood trim around windows, skirting boards and wardrobes. But if there is no other choice then the termites will eat the hardwood also. The only exception to this is when the hardwood is 50 years old or more. As hardwood ages it becomes harder and eventually reaches a point where it is like a rock. It's very hard to even drive a nail into it.

Some termite species can tolerate Cypress Pine and may damage it if there is no other source of preferential timber around.

There are some older homes in Brisbane that were built during WWII from timber imported from Borneo. These homes appear to termite proof. If anyone knows the name of this timber I would be glad to hear from you.

Other timbers that show resistance to termites are:

American Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
Black bean (heartwood) (Castanospermum australe)
Bloodwood (Eucalyptus corymbosa)
River red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensus)

Information is sourced from Urban Pest Management In Australia, John Gerozisis & Phillip Hadlington, UNSW Press.

To Bait or Not to Bait Part 2 of 3.

Customer Question of the Month (July continued).

After my annual inspection, termites were found in my yard but my house was given the all clear. The inspection report said I must have a perimeter treatment carried out if I am to prevent the termites getting into the home. It is very expensive and I wonder if termite baits from your company will do instead?
Daniel V. - Maroochydore.

Answer.
Last month we covered some of the times when it would be advisable to install a Green Termite Bait System. This month I'd like to list some of the situations where a bait system may not offer much value.

Homes built on steel piers or solid concrete piers (stumps), with a minimum height of 1 metre and easy access to all piers. There should be no other bridges from the ground to the floor bearers.
New homes built with a fully exposed slab edge and correctly installed termite frisbees around all plumbing entries.
New homes built with correctly installed and maintained Granitguard.
New homes built and maintained with a correctly installed reticulation system.
Very old homes built form hardwood or cypress pine, on stumps with good ant capping.
Steel frame homes with no timber trim, timber cupboards, timber wardrobes or carpeting.

The main thing to remember is that the only thing termites really need to get started and form a nest is moisture and timber or decaying cellulose material. I'll illustrated with two common examples:

The new home is strongly designed to keep termites from getting in from the ground up. However it is surrounded by trees and the gutters are full of leaf mulch. It's been a hot wet summer and the leaves & twigs are damp 24/7. On a hot humid night, winged termites (future kings and queens known as alates) fly from the nest looking for a suitable place to start a new nest. In the next few months the little nest in the gutter can establish itself and soon may spread to the roof trusses and down into the walls. You get the picture I'm sure. Lesson: Keep your gutters clear.
On the same night another pair of alates find themselves in a perfectly clean gutter. They then wander on into the roof cavity. Most roofs are dry and dusty and totally unsuitable for for this pair of invaders and they would soon die, but this pair get lucky and go down into the wall behind the shower where they discover some lovely damp timber. It's damp because the grout on the tiles isn't sealed properly or maybe the taps leak a little. Lesson: Ensure that your shower is sealed and that there are no other leaks. Another biggy is kids in bath tubs. They play and they splash. Many bathtubs are not sealed where the tub meets the tiles.

Other areas to also be aware of are leaky dishwashers, washing machines, laundry tubs if you splash up a lot, leaky joins in windows if they cop a lot of rain, garage floors that flood in heavy rain, leaky roof tiles or cladding, and finally subterranean water that may seep up into the home.

Steel frame homes will not fall down if they get termites. But termites can still cause damage the timber components of the home as well as electrical wiring and cardboard boxes with stored papers in them.

Yes. Termites are a jolly pain in the neck. If your home is low risk as mentioned above, then it probably isn't necessary to spend thousands on termite management. Just be vigilant and take care not to invite them in by doing something silly like stacking firewood against the wall of your home.

In next months newsletter I will cover the few circumstances when a perimeter treatment is strongly advised and preferable to a termite baiting system.

Customer Question of the Month.

Question

Hello,
Was wondering if you could email me some information on how the greenpest product effects the environment?
I looked on the web site and was unsuccessful finding any info.
Basically will it effect/kill any lizards, worms, plants etc... that come into contact with the device?
Thank you,
Regards, Laila

Answer
Our baits are made from re-growth radiata pine, natural rubber caps (made in Australia) and 5 coats of Dulux X10T. They are non-toxic to the environment, unless you count the rubber caps and 5 coats of Dulux X10T.

The dust that we recommend is also very friendly to the environment unless you are a termite or an aquatic invertebrate. It doesn't seem to bother regular ants at all. Safe for worms etc. People and pets etc... Totally safe when used with the Green Termite Bait.

1-2 grams applied to an active Green Termite Bait is a very small amount.

To sum up, starting your car in the morning probably does more harm to the environment.

You can check out the MSDS and other information here:

http://www.greenpest.com.au/about_intrigue.html

BTW, this answer is now posted on our web site.

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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.