June 2008 / Vol.5 / 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. Graphs and Statistics.
3. Monthly Special.

Pest Talk

Thank you to everyone who wrote to say how much they enjoyed last month’s newsletter. Many hours of effort went into it. We are please to say that it has been published in the prestigious “Pest Manager” magazine which is published as part of AEPMA’s (Australian Environmental Pest Managers Association) ongoing commitment to its members Australia-wide . Our newsletter was broken into two parts, one that was published this month and the second part to be published in the next edition.

Some of you may have seen us on TV last week. Channel 9 Brisbane have a show called “Extra” that airs immediately before the national news. We have made a copy available for viewing here (click to open). It is a 13.3MB low resolution .WMV file that most computers can play without too much effort. It’s best if you save it to your desktop first, then open it. You can finish reading the rest of this newsletter while it downloads.

You’ll note that another company selling the more expensive Exterra System is also on the show. Take a look and see what you think. We'll let you draw your own conclusions.

Just one thing, we don’t know where Extra's researchers got one of their facts from, but the quote that 4 out of 5 homes will get termites is wrong. It’s actually one in three.

Still... Isn’t that scary enough?

Back to top

Graphs and Statistics

We have been promising for a few months to give you some statistics from the homes in South East Queensland that we check on a full service plan. I’d like to thank my termite manager John Fleming for compiling these stats from hundreds of customer’s inspections carried out over many years of records that we have meticulously kept for each full service customer every month.

We have not included customers with less than 12 months of full service or customers prior to 2004.

The following information comes from this Excel database that we have made available in its entirety for the use of scientific researchers worldwide on the proviso that permission is granted first.

These statistics are gleaned from 16,308 potential bait months of which we counted 2,242 strikes across 574 sites over a 4 year period. The sites are located in Brisbane, Gold & Tweed Coast, Ipswich and the Sunshine Coast.

The first graph shows the percentage of Strikes per Mth. Click the image below to see the full size detail.

The interpretation of the results is as follows:

• In South East Queensland Australia, the baits get the most strikes in February and the least strikes in August.
• It may be speculated that termites are most active in February.
• However, it should be noted that a noticeable strike in a bait occurs about 2 - 4 weeks from when the bait is first discovered by termite scouts, so it might be postulated that in fact January is the month when termites are most active.
• January makes sense as it is usually the hottest and most humid month of the year, though of course this can vary from year to year somewhat.

The second graph shows the percentage of bait sites that have no strikes for 12 months over the number of years the baits are in the ground. Click the image below to see the full size detail.

The interpretation of the results is as follows:

• The amount of termite activity around the site drops off from year to year indicating that the termite baits are killing the existing nests.
• Plainly new colonies do move into the area which explains why some customers can go for an extended period of time between termite strikes.
• The 3rd and 4th year data is limited due to customers who do not continue with full service after one or two years. Often customers consider that having no activity in their baits for 12 months means that they are now safe. This is a mistake. It simply means that the risk is reduced. Sooner or later termites do return which is why we preach "ongoing vigilance".

The third graph shows the average number of strikes per site per year. Click the image below to see the full size detail.

The interpretation of the results is as follows:

• Similar to the previous graphic, you can see termite activity dropping off from year to year which again demonstrates the effectiveness of the Green Termite Baiting System.
• It should be noted that some customers have 20+ strikes in a year, but they are balanced out by those who have zero.
• These results do not take into consideration that some customers have 40 baits, and some only 20. Plainly, a customer with 40 baits has twice the chances of intercepting a termite strike.

The fourth graph shows the percentage of baits going active simultaneously. Click the image below to see the full size detail.

The interpretation of the results is as follows:

• The vast majority of strikes are single strikes.
• When there is a strike, the chances of two baits being active in the same month is almost 20%. However this doesn't specify whether the baits are side by side (indicating two strikes from a single nest) or on opposite sides of the home (indicating 2 distinct colonies).
• Many of the strikes are from non-threatening nuisance termites such as Microcerotermes and to a lesser extent Heterotermes.

In the future our new bait tops will allow us to build even more detailed information based on actual species. This is because the new tops allow us to identify the termite species at the time of treatment.

We hope this data has been of some interest to you and we welcome your questions if any have been raised.

Monthly Special Promotion.

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

Got a question or some feedback? Please send it here: Feedback/Question

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.

Privacy: We're committed to protecting your privacy. We do not sell, trade, rent or otherwise disclose any personal information you provide to us. This newsletter is sent to our customers, subscribers and potential customers who have made enquiries with us.

Unsubscribe: If for any reason you do not wish to receive this email please simply hit your reply button and enter unsubscribe.

To update your details please click here.
See you again next month.

Always... At your service,

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

Copyright 2008 Green Termite Bait Systems & Green Pest Control. All rights reserved.

back to top