June 2005 / Vol.2 / Issue 6

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

Contents

1. Pest Talk
2. Termimesh Public Notice.
3. Customer Question of the Month.
4. Quote of the Month.
5. Monthly Special

Pest Talk

We started this newsletter in June 2004 with just over 250 customers from email addresses that we had on file and last month for the first time we reached a new record of over 1000 emails being received by our clients and subscribers. This may seem like a small milestone in a world where some newsletters reach millions of people, but for us it was a great thrill. Thank you to all our readers and for all your valuable comments, encouragements and challenging questions.

If you find this newsletter of value, please forward it on to your friends. Thank you very much.

Do termites die in winter? Where do they go? Do they hibernate? Why do some people still find them in their gardens and others don't?

These questions will be covered more fully in our "Customer Question of the Month" section below.

In the winter months termites do not travel very far from their nest, so if you do find termites in your garden or home, the nest is likely to be nearby. Please beware. When summer returns, his nest may very well become a major threat.

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Termimesh Public Notice.

The following public notice was placed in the daily telegraph by Termimesh. We are sure that some of our readers have Termimesh installed or have friends and family with homes that have Termimesh. We are re-printing it here just incase it affects you and you didn't see the notice in the papers. Please note that we have never installed or serviced Termimesh ourselves.

Public Notice.

Termimesh Material Warranty Amendment

After discussions with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission regarding concerns about the use of terms in the Termimesh web site, TMA Corporation PTY LTD (Termimesh Australia ) is voluntarily offering warranty extensions to applicable customers. The ACCC was concerned that the use of the term permanent protection in the Termimesh web site which began in 2002 may have misled consumers as to the level of protection offered by the product or the term of the warranty.

TMA Corporation has agreed to stop using the term permanent in its publications.

With absolute confidence in the Termimesh System, TMA will voluntarily extend its Premium Warranty in the case of Faulty Materials, as defined in the Terms and Conditions of the Warranty, from 10 years to 20 years from the date of installation.

The warranty extension is available to customers who:

•  were the owners of property where the Termimesh product was installed between July 2002 and 25th of March, 2005,

•  remain the owners of that property; and

•  apply in writing for an extension to reach Termimesh Australia by no later than Friday the 24th of June, 2005 .

The extension of the warranty will otherwise be on the same terms and conditions as applied when the warranty was first given. The extension will take effect upon TMA Corporation issuing a Certificate of Extension.

Homeowners who may be eligible for the extension must apply in writing to TMA Corporation P.O. Box 2466 Malaga WA 6944 by Friday the 24th of June 2005 . Home owners should provide details of the lot number and address of their home and name of builder (if applicable) when making application. Any enquiries please call 1800 632 111.

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Customer Question of the Month.

Question:

Hi Jerry,

I was just wondering if you could explain for me the reasons why termites are less active during the winter months?

Thanks, Michael C. Ipswich. QLD.

Answer:

That's a very interesting question. It also has very interesting repercussions for termite control at different times of the year.

Termites are insects and are not warm blooded. Consequently they are affected by temperature changes. Some insects can tolerate the cold a lot better than other insects. In the same way, some termite species can tolerate cold better than other termite species. The most destructive termite species of homes in Australia is a species known as Mastotermes darwiniensis. It is a large termite that can do enormous damage in a short period of time. Fortunately for most Australians it is not found south of the Tropic of Capricorn. It is simply too cold.

Tasmanians benefit from their cold climate because there are no termite species that cause significant economic damage to be found in Tasmania. The termite species that do exist in Tasmania are not a concern to home owners.

Termites can be found right across mainland Australia. In Darwin, the damage is caused all year round because they really don't have a winter up there (which is why Darwin has more pesties per head of population than any other city). On the Gold Coast, termites are far less active during the winter months. This is borne out and supported by statistics based on the amount of termite activity that we find in the Green Termite Bait SystemT throughout the year.

During the summer months, we will find termite activity in one or more baits of 50% of the homes we service each month, but during the winter months we only find termite activity in the baits of 10% of the homes. This brings us back to the question, "Where are all the termites during winter?"

The answer is very interesting. They are all present and accounted for, but they are staying much closer to their nest. Depending on the termite species, the temperature inside a termite nest is maintained at a steady 30° to 36°C all year round. Humidity is close to 100%. These are the conditions that termites need to survive. Their outer membrane is very thin and they can desiccate very easily.

Winter is not only cold but the air is also drier. If termites are caught out in the cold they will quickly die. During the warmer, humid summer months some termite species will leave the safety of their underground tunnels and forage through garden mulch. In winter, the termites travel deeper in the soil to stay away from the frosty ground above.

Because termites need to maintain high humidity and warm temperatures in the nest and their underground tunnels, they are greatly restricted during the winter months as to how far they can travel from the nest. This is very important and needs to be taken into consideration if the house is being inspected for termites during the winter months. It is possible for an inexperienced termite inspector to find termite activity in a house but declare it as inactive when in fact it is actually active, just not at that time of the year or time of the day. It was too cold and there were no termites to be seen during the inspection. The termites might only be visiting the house during the middle of the day when the temperature is warmest. The numbers of termites visiting the home will also be reduced. That is why we say that termites are less active during the winter months.

It is also possible that termites may have built their underground highway into your home during the summer months, but with the onset of winter they have withdrawn to the warmth and safety of their nest. The inexperienced person might then discover the activity but see that there are no termites. They proceed to do all the repairs and think no more of it. Summer arrives and the termites return along their highway to find all the repairs and new timber just waiting to be eaten. A few months later the damage bill is worse than the first time round. If only termite prevention had been included as part of the initial repair there may not have been a second round of damage.

More to the point, if a Green Termite Bait SystemT had been put in place and consequently located by the scouting termites, then the nest could have been destroyed eliminating all these problems in the first place. We say it over and over again, Prevention Is Better Than Cure.

One final point. If some termites have established a nest within your home and your home is maintained at a reasonable temperature all year round, then winter will not pose any problem for those termites. Termites operate without rest 24 hours a day.

Quote(s) of the Month.

This month we actually have two quotes. They are interesting only in so much as we received these two phone calls in succession. To briefly summarise they went like this:

quot;How come you are so cheap?" from a new client who had previously had several quotes for other bait systems before contacting us.

quot;Why are you so expensive?" from a lady who thought that termite control should be about the same price ($110) as her last general pest control treatment for cockies.

Whether you think a price is high or low is more dependent on your perspective than the actual price.

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Monthly Special Promotion - For Newsletter Subscribers Only.

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

If you wish to read previous newsletters, or if this newsletter has been forwarded on to you and you would like to subscribe, please: Click here

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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 2005 Green Termite Bait Systems & Green Pest Control. All rights reserved.

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