July 2007 / Vol.4 / Issue 7

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

Contents

1. Pest Talk
2. Buying a home? Then, beware this common mistake!
3. Customer Question of the Month.
4. Is your suburb high risk?
5. Monthly Special

Pest Talk

Are there termites in your yard?

Since over 90% of termite inspections and reports including pre-purchase reports find termites either in the yard or the home, the chances are that yes, there probably are termites somewhere in your yard, yet in the vast majority of cases you simply can't see them. You might see their mud workings in some timber or on a tree, or some damage in a timber fence or retaining wall, or you might find them when you are digging in the garden, which is why the majority of termite damage done to homes in Australia is from 'subterranean' termites. The very definition of 'subterranean' means - under the ground. Termites have one weapon… they are sneaky. You don't see them coming. Most of the time they travel underground and enter your home from underground fisures in your foundations. In most cases, by the time you see the results of their entry to you home, the damage is already done.

The Green Termite Bait System works first as a monitor alerting you ahead of time to the presence of termites and then it becomes a death chamber for the termites. It has a major advantage over other monitors because it can be inspected without disturbing the termites and it can be effectively treated without disturbing the termites.

There simply isn't any way to prevent termites from making a nest near your home. Termites in one nest may be destroyed, but it doesn't mean that in 6 months or two years time more termites won't invade the area. That is why termite control must be ongoing for everyone who doesn't live in a termite proof house - in other words, over 99% of the population!

Many of our customers ask us when will they stop getting termites in their baits. The answer is never. Each time we treat a bait there is a very strong likelihood that we have sucessfully killed the nest, but it doesn't mean that it is the only nest, or that another nest won't form up again in the future.

One thing you can be sure about when it comes to termites (and most insects)... they are survivors and they never stop trying. To effectively combat termites, your termite prevention must be renewable and on-going... either a baiting system or a renewable chemical treated zone. If your home is built with excellent physical impediments to termite entry, then it still needs to be checked at least once a year to ensure the termites haven't found a way in anyhow.

If termites were obvious when they approached a home, then they would never get in, would they?

If you plainly saw them coming you'd do something about it, wouldn't you?

The Green Termite Bait System makes them plainly obvious - and you can easily treat them - killing their nest, when they are discovered.

You win. Termites lose!

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Buying a home? Then, beware this common mistake!

Let's assume you have just made an offer on a house and the pest report has come back advising you that the home needs to have a termite treatment done. You negotiate with the seller and the seller says that they will take care of it and sure enough a week later they provide you with a receipt to say it is all done.

Would you feel comfortable with this?

Well, we hope you answered “No way!? because if you just accept it you have possibly put your new home at risk before you even take possession.

Why?

It's because you have had no control over:

And in many cases the warranty (if there is one) may not even be valid for you, since you didn't pay for the treatment and most warranties exclude third parties.

Don't be duped. You should either insist on a reduction in the contract price of the home ($5,000 is usually enough) or insist that the work is paid for by the seller and conducted by the pest control firm of your choice using the method of your choice, because you are the one who is going to have to live with the results, not the seller who is departing. You must ensure that the warranty (if there is one) specifically covers you and not just the seller.

Think about it. In most cases the seller probably doesn't care whether the termite treatment is good or bad. The only thing that interests the seller is selling the home and getting as much as possible for it. If he gets three quotes for termite treatment and one is $1,000 another is $2,500 and another is $5,000 which one will he pick? Assuming that the price reflects the quality of the job, which one would you pick if you didn't have to pay for it? Our apologies to every honest seller who does the right thing, you are in a select group, and we will have more helpful hints for you next month.

One more thought. Many pest reports automatically recommend a termite treatment regardless of whether termites are found or not. Sometimes this is simply to protect the inspector and the insurance company that covers his work, and sometimes it is to frighten the buyer or seller into having termite work done by the inspection company which in turn puts extra money into the pest inspector's pocket.

We are aware of some companies that offer cheapie inspections as a lost leader. You can pick these inspections because they usually take under an hour, involve a quick tick the box sheet, and don't have must to say other than that you must have the house treated for termites... or else! Every inspection they do has one aim in mind – to scare you into purchasing an expensive termite treatment. If you don't get the treatment done and later on you are unfortunate enough to actually get termites, they can wash their hands of you and simply say “You should have listened.?

You've read this in many times in our newsletters – buyer beware. Cheap inspections or free inspections with your pest control treatment are traps for the unwary. Very often they are simply not worth the paper they are written on.

Finally, if you are a seller, you need to beware of pest reports that will have you forking out money for things that you shouldn't be paying for... more on this in next month's newsletter.

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Customer Question of the Month.

Question:

I have been going to ask you for some time now if I can purchase some Green Termite Baits from your company. In the article in last month's newsletter "Not all Baiting Systems are Created Equal" I originally used a bait box developed by the CSIRO that I found on the net, to show that there were termites under the sub floor of our house. The CSIRO boxes were to be treated by an Arsenic powder from what I saw on the net, similar I suspect to your Termidor Dust. I had had the house treated with a chemical barrier by a local termite contractor & sometime afterwards left some timber temporarily, (approx 3 wks.) under the sub floor to find when I shifted it, that it was being attacked by termites. The CSIRO box was active within a very short time. I asked a few contractors to quote on treating our house as it was obvious that the chemical barrier had been breached.

I did pick Exterra & the baiting system has been installed for over 12 mths. During that time the I had left the CSIRO box in place with an Exterra Bait Box adjacent. Not once has the Exterra attracted termites whilst we have had a number of strikes in the CSIRO boxes. When baited with the porridge there seems to be a problem as the termites are timid and do disappear.

After reading your email I think you are correct in your assumptions as this has been my experience. My worry is that after 12 mths. what is that colony doing and where is it active? I have asked that question to the Exterra people without a satisfactory answer I'm afraid.

I would be happy to place the Green Termite Bait System if that was satisfactory to you and get your company to bait the ones that have strikes. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Stan M. MIDDLE PARK, QLD

Answer:

We would be happy to install a Green Termite Bait System for you. You are welcome to chose either DIY or full service. We would suggest that you locate one or two baits near the CSIRO style box as well as in other areas around your property as directed in the instruction manual or by one of our experienced technicians.

Many people are not aware of the following information but the CSIRO bait box technique is rather old fashioned.

Most of the web sites that talk about the box are not up to date including Dr Don's http://www.drdons.net/bbox.htm  from 1995.

For example the information on the Queensland government's Dept of Forestry web site http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/forestry/5040.html  is pre-1999.  How do we know this?

Simply because it says the following:

Triflumuron is undergoing pre-registration testing as a dust application.

Triflumuron dust, better know as Intrigue, was actually launched into the market place in 2000.  Many of the the other comments on this web site are also wrong or outdated.

Baiting ideas have been around for many years prior to the CSIRO bait box. However the CSIRO bait box came to be noticed early with the advent of the internet and the publishing of Dr John French's work with termites.  It is one of the better attempts at termite baiting in this country and is quite a good idea except for a few factors that inhibit it's effectiveness.

Dusting a bait box may also prove to be rather expensive because Termidor dust is 40 times more expensive than Arsenic trioxide. The CSIRO bait box has inspired many designs for termite baiting products including the Green Termite Bait System which first came out in 1996.  The Green Termite Baiting System has undergone several changes and face lifts since then and is recognised by many in the industry today as the best baiting system in this country.

Is your suburb high risk?

A question that we are often asked is, “I live in such and such suburb. Is this area known to have a lot of termites??

If you live in mainland Australia then the answer is pretty much always… yes! Sure, there may be some areas that have a lower risk than others, but it doesn't make a difference. If your risk is 90% or 75% it's still unacceptable and it's still high.

Just a few of the factors that influence the risk levels are:

The answer to the opening question is not straightforward and even if you have a well built home with all the termite safety features built in and you are in a low risk area, you still might get termites, especially if the termites are struggling to find a source of food.

On the other hand, we have seen homes that are 50 years old, in a high risk area, with no protection whatsoever, simply begging for termites to enter, and guess what? They've never been touched by a termite. It's almost unfair. The only thing protecting the home is a very long run of good luck!

Statistically, one in three homes during the life of the home will experience termite damage in Australia , yet 90% of homeowners are running on luck for protection. One of the main reasons for this is because prevention is reasonably expensive and a lot of people figure that they'll worry about it if and when it happens. On the other hand, most of our customers who follow the principle of “prevention is better than cure? have come from the “once bitten, twice shy? group.

Here is a fact for you. 95% of our full service customers have a strike on one of their Green Termite Baits with-in the first 12 months. 50% have more than four strikes in their first 12 months. We think it is a fair assumption to conclude that during any 12 month period; at least 90% of Australian homes have termites exploring their yard in search of meal. Many people allow their termite protection (if they have any) to expire and it's just a matter of time before they join the 1 in 3 statistics of the termite victim club.

It's easy to sell termite protection to someone who has termites in their home, but it's much harder to sell prevention, yet it is just as important. So forgive us please if we harp on this subject every six months or so, but that is our duty of care and really believe in our product and the protection it offers to home owners.

We recently attended and displayed our products at the AEPMA national conference held in Coff's Harbour. This is the major organisation governing the pest control industry in Australia though voluntary membership.

During the conference we put up a well publicised $10,000 crystal clear challenge to our major competitors (Exterra, Sentricon and Nemesis) to prove that their system was better than the Green Termite Bait System. Sadly, none took up the challenge even though they all saw it. Yet it was put to us (by a person with blinkers on) that another bait system must be better because they offered a $100,000 timber replacement warranty and we didn't. We naturally pointed out that we felt the warranty wasn't worth the paper it was written on and suggested that maybe it was not ethical to sell it. We would like to show you the wording on the warranty but we can't. It doesn't appear to be available for public scrutiny and we wouldn't want you to simply take our word for it. In fact, you would need to read the warranty in full and draw your own conclusions, or better yet, have your solicitor do it for you. We thought we might find the warranty on the internet but no matter how hard we search, it seems the full document is not available. Readers, why not try for yourselves? You will find lots of sites that promote the warranty but absolutely zero that will let you actually read it!

Why not?

Well, there's not much point to us standing here pointing fingers, even if we are right. Anyone can do that. Our philosophy has always been to offer our customers the best solution for the lowest possible price, and we love a challenge, so we have decided to offer a genuine, no bull, timber replacement warranty; a warranty that will stand up to scrutiny.

Warranty Coming Soon.

In fact we believe in the effectiveness of our products so much, that we have revisited the idea of offering a fully warranty with our system. Some of you may remember that the last time we looked at offering a full warranty we discarded the idea because we had to write in so many special conditions and disclaimers that it became unwieldy. Things have changed.

There is more than one way to write a warranty, and we had to stop looking at the existing warranties which are negatively written in such a manner as to make the chances of making a successful claim virtually impossible. They use cleverly written terms and conditions that very few people can meet or are even aware of until such time as they attempt to make a claim. These so called warranties for $100,000 are handed out willy-nilly simply because it is so very difficult to make a genuine claim.

Our approach will be different. In fact it will be opposite to what's on offer at present and when completed it will be wide open to public scrutiny. We will offer a genuine warranty to every customer who complies with a set of guidelines put in place to ensure that their home is fully protected against termite attack. The concept is called ITM, Integrated Termite Management which by (our) definition is a union of:

• Termite prevention methods
• Termite treatment methods
• Termite monitoring
• Termite inspection
• And termite risk reduction

In other words, we will show you all the steps that you should be taking to ensure your home is kept safe from major termite damage. Take all the steps and you will qualify for a genuine warranty. Skip one or more of the steps, and the warranty will not be available. That's fair and honest.

In summary, you will soon have a choice:

• An easy to get warranty from our competitors that is unlikely to ever pay out.
• Or a genuine warranty from us and our qualified distributors. It's unlikely that you will ever need to claim (which is what you want, right?), but if you do need to claim, you will be honestly dealt with and promptly taken care of.

When our warranty is finalised it will be available for all to read and it will be practical and ethical. So, watch this space – a real choice is coming.

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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 2007 Green Termite Bait Systems & Green Pest Control. All rights reserved.

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