May 2006 / Vol.3 / Issue 5

Hello and Welcome to the May Greenpest News.

Seasons greetings to everybody! We hope you have a happy and pest free New Year.

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.
3. Story of the month.
4. Monthly Special

Pest Talk

It's Official - We now reach over 2,000 subscribers!

Our newsletter is in it's third year and now reaches over 2,000 subscribers. This is after we exclude bounced emails and unable to send emails. It was June 2005 when we broke the 1,000 mark. We would like to thank all of our readers for their feedback and support.

Please remember to keep us up to date if you change your email address.

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DEFINED - Our better than 99% success rate.

We proudly claim that the Green Termite Bait System has a success rate better than 99% at intercepting and destroying termites before they enter and do serious damage to a home. In this article we are going to explain how we arrived with the figures that determine such a result and substantiate why the Green Termite Bait System is so successful.

First we need to put some meaning behind the figures by defining success. Firstly let us say that our success rate is not based on laboratory testing. Nor is it based on a dedicated field test in an isolated forest somewhere. Our success rate is based on statistics drawn from 1996 to the present time. It's calculated by counting the hundreds of properties protected by the Green Termite Bait System over the past 11 years then counting the extremely rare cases where termites have bypassed it. By doing the simple ratio mathematics we are then able to work out the percentage.

Only properties on one of our full service plans with a sufficient number of baits (as advised by our service technicians) make it into the data. The baits must be properly installed and checked every month and home owners need to follow any other directions suggested by our technicians for the protection of the house. For example, if you have a pile of firewood stacked against the wall of your house, we would naturally advise you to relocate it. We also advise all our clients that even though they have a highly effective bait system in place, it is still important to have the house checked for termites at least once a year, whether it be with us or an independent company.

The final condition, but a very important one, is that the house should be free of termites to start with. If there are termites in the house, then the termites need to be treated correctly to ensure elimination through whichever methods are most appropriate. Once the house is proven to be free of termites, either in or under the house, and/or external termite entry points have been exposed and treated, then it moves into the pool of houses that makes up the database for our statistics.

With the above rules and definitions applied, the success rate of the Green Termite Bait System for 1996 - 2006 was actually 100%. That is pretty amazing considering that most of our clients have engaged us in the first place because of some pre-existing level of termite activity in or around their homes that is placing immediate pressure on their homes to begin with.

So, what can go wrong? Is it possible for termites to bypass the Green Termite Bait System and gain entry to a home? The answer is yes, but is it likely? The answer is a resounding NO.

Here are a few reasons why termites may appear to bypass a Green Termite Bait System (or any other bait system for that matter).

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Chemical claims and label claims.

There are a lot of chemical products that make claims on their label or in their literature. A typical claim is that a particular chemical has a life span of up to X number of years. This is a completely different claim to a chemical that will last at least X number years.

When reading a label there are some obvious and not so obvious assumptions. For example it is assumed that the chemical is applied perfectly according to directions, in to a well prepared soil medium.

However, consistency of effectiveness with vary from clay to loam to sand, or from acidic soil to alkaline soil. Another factor is whether the soil is extremely dry, or continually moist, whether it is rocky, and whether it has shallow or deep topsoil.

Finally there are a whole lot of other incidental factors that can weigh into the equation such as animal and insect activity, plant activity, previous or future chemical applications of other products, etc.

What's the point?

Few homes offer perfect conditions for an ideal application to be applied. Label claims that are passed on to you as a warranty often end in disappointment if not outright disaster.

The whole label includes instructions for correct application. The label also assumes that the licenced operator who is applying the product is correctly trained. Your top operators will charge more and usually go the extra mile to ensure that the label is followed as closely as possible/practical.

Tip: When it comes to thorough termite management, beware of cheap jobs or quickie fixes. Always ensure that there is a follow up - even if you have to remind the pest control company yourself - it's in your interest to ensure that any treatments carried out have been successful.

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Quick Info:

Recently there was yet another TV program about bedbugs highlighting the serious nature of this problem for both the accommodation industry as well as travelers. A useful link to this page is provided here.

On the subject of valuable links, you may also be interested in visiting the Termite Action Group's web site. The Termite Action Group, known by the acronym TAG, was initially formed in 1999 as a community action group in response to termite problems being experienced by home owners in Brisbane, Australia. TAG is a consumer orientated organisation that looks for progressive ways to improve the termite industry through various means such as:

• Industry watchdog.
  • Checking on Pest Controllers and Pest Control Companies.
  • Following up with BSA, HIA and other Building Associations.
  • Working with AEPMA and PESTCERT.
• Evaluation of new and existing termite products and treatment methods.
• Consulting with homeowners.

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Customer Question of the Month.

Question:

Hi,
Your Green Termite Bait System is very good, thank you very much. I understand that you have been in the pest-control business for many years, can you recommend any books or something that can get rid of spiders and cockroaches for good?
Regards,
Peter - EARLWOOD, NSW.

Answer:

Hi Peter,

There is no permanent method of controlling cockroaches, spiders or any insect. They always come back eventually. The best you can do is to manage them. There are lots of ideas on DIY cockroach control out there; some work reasonably, others are useless. As professionals we firmly believe that annual pest control is the best way to go.

Modern products are usually odourless and very low in toxicity. Applied professionally, they are safe around the whole family including pregnant women and new born babies.

If you'd prefer a DIY solution you could invest in some glue boards and place them in locations where cockroaches hang out - you'll catch quite a few, but others may survive by bypassing the boards. They don't work on spiders at all.

For spiders, simply vacuum them up, web and all, any time you see them. It kills two birds with one stone - you kill the spiders and clean off their webs at the same time.

Tip: Ladies, have you got a big Huntsman spider running around and you are too scared to get close to it? Your solution is simple: Just take the head off your vacuum cleaner, turn it on and use the extension tubes to suck the spider up. You can do this easily from a couple of metres away!

Story of the month.

Watch Your Step...

Written by Jerry Furnell.

When I was about ten years old, a violent hail storm severely damaged my family home in Mt Gravatt, Brisbane, leaving several holes in the fibro roof.

My father wasn't too happy about it, and he was even less happy when he had to go into the roof to place buckets to catch the rain that was still entering through these holes.

Mum and I were in the kitchen listening to my father's grunts, groans and litany of colourful language as he squirmed his way around inside the roof void.

Suddenly there was a loud crack above our heads. Appearing as if by magic, a size 10 foot suddenly crashed through the ceiling right up to the knee, promptly followed a huge bulls-roar of cussing!

Dangling precariously on my father's big toe was his blue rubber thong!

Mum and I simultaneously stared up in astonishment at the hairy leg with the dangling thong. Then I looked at Mum, and in a split second I could see the initial shock quickly give way to amusement. The merry twinkle that appeared in her eyes was contagious, but knowing better than to laugh out loud and risk the wrath of Khan, we fought hard to contain the laughter that threatened to blurt out.

Thank heavens that Dad's cussing was so loud, for he didn't hear the little splurts of laughter that irresistibly escaped us, like steam escaping from the lid of a boiling pot. Talk about opposite extremes, he was furious and we were both bright red from holding back so much laughter. The final act of Mum reaching up to push Dad's thong back onto his foot before he extricated it from the hole in the ceiling, had us racing for the front door and out to the footpath, hands firmly pressed against our mouths, before we finally unleashed our irrepressible laughter.

Mum and I giggled for hours afterward, careful not to be caught by Dad, who never did see the funny side.

From that day onwards, Dad always sent me up into the ceiling if something needed doing, followed by the admonishment, 'Make sure you only stand on the beams!'

It was good training for the hundreds of termite inspections I've since done in roof voids as a professional pest controller.

Monthly Special Promotion - For Newsletter Subscribers Only.

This special is no longer available. Please go to our current newsletter for this month's special.

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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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