March 2008 / Vol.6 / Issue 3

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

Contents

1. Pest Talk - Fix those drips!
2. Do termites eat through concrete?
3. More.... Carbon-dioxide in Exterra.
4. Customer Question of the Month - Are you ever safe from termites?
5. Monthly Special.

Pest Talk

Have you ever heard a church bell ringing or a dinner bell?  Obviously, they are rung to attract attention. 

Is it possible that there is a termite dinner bell ringing outside your home?

A leaking tap need only be dripping once every 30 seconds for trouble to start.  After a few days there will be a damp patch of ground which over time will spread out to become a moisture trail.  There is a huge amount of evidence indicating that termites have a strong affinity for water.  It is of major importance to their survival.  During dry periods or in between wet periods termites will concentrate their efforts close to areas of moisture.

If they follow the moisture trail from a leaking tap up to your house and then find a way into your house you have double trouble.  The reason you have double trouble is that now the termites not only have a source of food (the timbers of your house) but they also have a nearby moisture source which can quite possibly allow them to set up a sub-nest in the house.

The same applies for air-conditioning units, and hot water systems which can both create damp areas near the wall of your house if run off pipes are not correctly attached to a drain.

Time and time again we call out to quote for termite control only to discover that the large problem inside the home began with a small moisture problem on the outside of the home.

It really is worth your while to fix leaking taps and poor drainage.  If it is too expensive or impractical to fix a problem damp area, then the least you can do is to put a Green Termite Bait or two in the damp area so that you can monitor and treat the termites if and when they turn up.

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Do termites eat through concrete?

The answer is no; termites do not eat concrete.  However, they are able to travel through very fine cracks in concrete by working like miners.  If it is poorly made concrete it may be a simple job for them to remove one particle at a time to widen the crack or they may use their saliva to dissolve or loosen the concrete so that they can gain faster access.

Professional pest controllers will tell you that one of the most common points of entry for termites in a home is where two concrete slabs meet.  Add-ons or extensions are particularly prone to termite activity, as are split-level homes.

Homeowners should keep a close eye on these areas.  Easy to say but usually quite difficult because everything is concealed and closed in.  Our DIY termite inspection manual for homeowners explains how to check.  Another way to keep an eye on these high risk areas is to use our Ec2c (easy to see) termite windows.

These small precautions may save you from more serious problems later on.

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More.... Carbon-dioxide in Exterra.

We talked at length a few months ago about the process of using carbon-dioxide as a termite attractant in baits.  Plainly our opinion is that it is not a sound scientific mechanism, but rather a bit of a furphy designed as a sales gimmick to market Exterra baits to the naïve.

If you haven't heard about carbon dioxide emitters before, then just quickly we will explain in a few words what it is. 

There is a reasonable theory that termites can detect and are attracted to the decay gases released into the soil by decaying timber.  These decay gases are a complex mix of molecules.  One of the main components of this mix is carbon-dioxide.  It’s possible that carbon dioxide alone can be detected in small amounts by scouting termites and that it might be attractive to them.

Exterra have released a product that for a short time can produce carbon-dioxide at a similar percentage rate to that found in natural decay gases.  The product was tested by placing it in the ground before the Exterra station is added.  However, there are several obvious flaws in their design and technology especially when it comes to implementation and ongoing maintenance:

• How often does the carbon-dioxide emitter need to be refreshed in the bait station?
• When does somebody know to do this?
• How is this done? If the carbon-dioxide emitter is placed under the bait station before installation, where does it go afterwards?  If it goes in the station then it must surely leak out the top (it’s a gas).  If it goes back under the station, then oh boy… what a major hassle!
• Is the carbon-dioxide consistently at the supposed optimum of 1% and for how long?
• How is this measured in the soil by the technician who services the bait?
• How does the service technician know when to replace it?
• How well does it disperse through different types of soils (clay, sandy loam, wet earth etc)?

Plainly, they are not practical, so here’s a simple question:
Would you sooner have a product that inconsistently mimics the carbon-dioxide given off by decaying timber for a short period of time… or the real thing?

The Green Termite Bait System is the real thing.  It is made from environmentally friendly regrowth radiata pine that will last in the soil on average for 3 to 5 years before it needs replacing.  It needs replacing when it has decayed beyond the point of useful service.  That's right, a Green Termite Bait decays steadily throughout its whole life giving off perfectly balanced natural decay gases into the soil right up until it gets replaced.

Which is the better system?  The decision is chalk and cheese.

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Customer Question of the Month.

Termite nest is dead – are you safe?

This month we were asked the following question over the phone, “I've killed a termite nest that I found in my yard -- do I still need to worry?” 

The answer is simple -- there is always the possibility that there is more than one nest.  It's hard to quote statistics because no one has done the research but we will stick our neck on the line and give a guesstimate that there are at least three termite nests within striking range of the average Australian home.  This guess is roughly based on the number of nests that can be found during the course of an typical annual termite inspection of a property.  Typically, nests are not always located but indicated by termite activity, for example; 2 species of termite found in a garden area indicates at least two nests.  Although we may not always find the nest, if we find active termites in a fence, retaining wall or some other part of the property we know that they are associated with a nest somewhere nearby.  We also get another clue from the number of Green Termite Baits that become active during their first year of operation. 

The other thing to remember is that even if you found every active nest within range of your property and destroyed them, it doesn't mean that more nests won't form again in the future.   Killing one nest of termites doesn’t solve the problem.  Killing every nest with-in range of your home is only a temporary solution as well, because sooner or later termites will return and colonise the area which is why we continually push the public to remember that protecting your home from termites is an ongoing process.

Prevention is better than cure.

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Monthly Special Promotion.

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 2009 Green Termite Bait Systems & Green Pest Control. All rights reserved.

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