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May 2010 / Vol.7 / Issue 5
Hello and Welcome to the May Greenpest News. Each month we aim to provide you with some useful information, keeping it short sweet and pertinent.
Pest Talk
One of the problems facing some baiting systems is that the small amount of timber attractant in the station can quickly decay, particularly in moist areas where the ground doesn’t get a chance to dry out. Of course, the lack of timber in a plastic bait station will render the station ineffectual, unlike the Green Termite Bait Station which is made from solid timber with 3 times the bait (timber) mass of most well known plastic stations such as Exterra and Sentricon.
Timber decay occurs primarily from fungal activity and research shows that although specific kinds of fungi are encouraged by termites, several other fungal species are repellent to termites. As you know from last month’s newsletter, there are worker termites in the nest that spend their time grooming (cleaning) the worker termites that are returning to the nest from the food source. One of the things they are looking to groom off, are the harmful fungi that can invade the nest.
Interestingly enough a termite professional can tell if a nest has been successfully eliminated by finding evidence of invasive fungi throughout the termite workings, galleries and nest. In Australia it is a grey/white fungus that develops.
Recently, this has led to some research in the USA and Portugal that shows that if a bait station has significant fungal decay it may become repellent to termites. It was shown that the termites were very active in ground level timber on site near some plastic termite bait stations, but that over a 12 month period the baits were ignored. The baits were examined and some were covered in fungi whilst others had virtually no bait mass left due to fungal decay. Although the research indicates that the termites were repelled by the fungi in the bait stations, it is possible that they were content with the natural timber they already had and consequently didn’t have an immediate interest in the bait stations nearby.
No doubt the timber housed in a plastic bait station is far more susceptible to repellent fungi than timber that falls naturally to the ground. This may be due to fact that the timber is enclosed within an air cavity inside the plastic housing that is more conducive for fungal growth.
The Green Termite Bait System was designed with the KISS principle and in keeping it simple we eliminated the plastic housing. The top is designed with a special patented seal to keep the regular garden ants out and lock moisture in. This seal also locks water out to prevent flooding of the bait; but a lucky side bonus is that it also locks out fungal spores. What this means is that the Green Termite Bait decays naturally in the ground and this natural decay makes it very attractive to termites that come with-in its three metre range.
In about one in 250 baits we do get the wrong kind of fungi with-in our baits (usually just under one window) and we suspect it occurs during the installation process. Here’s how: In most cases the baits are all placed in the ground around the perimeter of the home and then all the tops are screwed on. It’s probable that during the half hour or so that the baits are waiting for the top to go on, that a rogue fungal spore has drifted into the bait. The result is that a few months later (allowing for correct temperature and moisture) a fungal bloom occurs inside the bait. The best solution is to replace it with a new bait. We have educated our technicians who do the bait installations, that the bait top should be affixed to the bait as soon as the bait is placed in the ground. It is only a slight inconvenience.
In summary, the Green Termite Bait System is more effective than alternative systems using plastic bait housings because our solid timber bait is in direct contact with the ground and it’s decomposition (over 3-5 years) is natural and consequently naturally attractive to nearby termites. Our system is much less susceptible to decay from the repellent type fungi that sometimes render the inferior plastic stations useless against foraging termites.
Whilst on the subject of termites, we thought we would give you some statistics about the Green Termite Bait System. We have been accurately recording the termite activity in the baits of our full service clients in SE QLD since 2003.
Warning: If statistics bore you to tears, then please skip this section. For the rest of you, grab a coffee and dig your teeth in.
Our statistics do not include the thousands of DIY customers we have across Australia and overseas.
We currently monitor 17,953 baits on a monthly basis. We have recorded 4,280 treatments for termites in the baits. The average number of baits installed per house is 19.33.
When a termite bait is active, we call it a strike.
The percentage of properties that have no strikes in the first year is 38.08%
The percentage of properties that have no strikes in the second year is 57.58%
The percentage of properties that have no strikes in the third year is 67.85%
The percentage of properties that have no strikes in the fourth year is 77.73%
This is solid statistical evidence which proves that the baits positively work to reduce the amount of termite activity around the average home, despite the fact that termites are always looking to expand their colonies into new or unoccupied territories.
For those properties which are in the 38.08% that don’t have a strike in the first year, there is the likelihood that the reduced activity has occurred because the existing termites near the home have been eliminated due to the initial and follow-up treatments that our staff conducted prior to installing the Green Termite Bait System.
Always remember that baits are for prevention, not cure. Existing termites in your property should be treated directly whenever possible by a licenced professional termite manager.
One of the questions we get on a regular basis is, “How long before I can expect a strike on my bait system?”
It’s tempting to reply, “How long is a piece of string?” The answer is that there are many factors that influence how soon a bait will become active. Here are just a few factors:
- The termite species
- The size of the colony
- The location of the colony (How close is it?)
- The time of the year (Termites are more active in summer)
- The moisture in the ground (Are we in drought or a wet season?)
- The soil type (Rock, clay, sandy, etc)
- The location of the bait (Good or bad installation can affect it)
- The numbers of predators (Is the bait located in middle of area full of regular ants?)
- The competition for food (How many other nests/species are nearby?)
- Conversely, how much competing food is left scattered around the yard that will distract the termite from the bait?
And so on. I could give you a dozen more.
Keeping all of the above in mind, and allowing for the fact that the following statistics are broad-based and don’t allow for seasonal influence; plus they don’t account for multiple strikes either (that means a customer who has 3 strikes in month five, still only counts as one strike)...
We can tell you that:
- 5.39% have their first strike in the first month.
- 5.26% have their first in the second month.
- 6.97% have their first in the third month.
- 8.29% have their first in the fourth month.
- 8.42% have their first in the fifth month.
- 6.84% have their first in the sixth month.
- 5.00% have their first in the seventh month.
- 5.39% have their first in the eighth month.
- 3.55% have their first in the ninth month.
- 3.16% have their first in the tenth month.
- 2.11% have their first in the eleventh month.
- 1.32% have their first in the twelfth month.
You are most likely to get a strike in the first eight months. When the bait is effectively treated this kills a termite colony and reduces the pressure on the rest of the baits. As a result you would expect to see the activity tapper off, which it does in month’s nine to twelve.
Another question we get asked is, “How many strikes can one expect in a year?”
It’s hard to answer, since once again it is influenced by many factors. We had one customer who had 7 strikes in his very first month and another who had 28 strikes in one year. As we already mentioned, 38% have no strikes. Taking this variance into consideration the statistics show that…
The number of strikes per site, per year, are as follows:
- 2.20 in year 1
- 1.36 in year 2
- 0.93 in year 3
- 0.62 in year 4
Again, this is more proof that the baits are working to reduce termite pressure on our customers’ homes.
If there are any other statistics that you are interested in feel free to contact us. Before you do, don’t forget to check out the statistics we provided in our June 2008 newsletter.
Here’s a challenge… please pick out the insect that doesn’t belong in this group and give a reason why:
- Cockroach
- Flea
- Termite
- Scorpion
- Tick
- Slater
- Spider
- Centipede
- Moth
- Grasshopper
- Bedbug
Before I give you the answer, I'll give you some clues...
Clue 1: I would like to discuss insect immunity and resistance to insecticides. Everyone knows the story about how hard it is to kill a cockroach, but lucky for us they are still susceptible to most insecticides. However bedbugs and fleas have become largely resistant to many products that easily killed them only 10 or 20 years ago.
When vets and pet shops started selling flea control products that you applied to your pet, the amount of calls that we pest controllers received for the treatment of fleas in homes diminished remarkably. If all we did was flea control, we would have gone broke. However, there is big resurgence of flea control work and it’s much harder than it ever was. The fleas are tough and very hard to kill. The insecticides that we used 15 years ago no longer work.
In the past, one treatment would usually suffice, but now it takes two or more. We need to add insect growth regulators to the mix to break the breeding cycle and even switch chemicals for the second follow up treatment. Unfortunately for you the customer, it means that if you get fleas, it may get expensive to solve the problem. An internal treatment will cost from $200 - $500 for a double dose and a yard can cost same if not more.
Clue 2: Bedbugs are a pest that all but disappeared off the radar 15 years ago, but now they are back worldwide with a vengeance. Tough and very difficult to treat, they invade deep into nearby furniture and appliances and are very costly to eradicate, from $300 per room. A backpackers hostel with 10 rooms is looking at a major bill.
Clue 3: Every year farmers spend millions of dollars on state of the art insecticides to control plague locusts.
If you know the answer at this point you are very clever.
Final BIG Clue: There is one insect that is as easy to kill now as it was 20 years ago. It does not build up any resistance to the insecticides used to control it. Pretty much any old fashioned spray or any modern spray will kill it. It is the only social insect in the group.
Have you picked an insect from the above quiz yet?
What's your answer? No more clues.
Yes, it’s the humble termite. Give yourself a pat on the back if you picked termite for the right reason – because they are the only social insect in the group.
A social insect is like the three musketeers, all for one and one for all. They are perfect little communists. They all work towards the same beneficial goal which is the maintenance and expansion of the nest. They have been around for 30 million years, so their strategy is working.
Research shows that social insects such as termites, ants and bees are very unlikely to build immunity or resistance to insecticides. Scientists have tried in vain for decades to develop an insecticide that will kill grasshoppers but not beneficial bees. Pretty much any insecticide will kill bees, termites and ants. What about fire ants you may ask? They too are easy to kill, but they are a high risk pest because they can spread faster than we can kill them.
Most insecticides come with a warning not to spray near bees. Although insecticides inadvertently kill many bees every year, the biggest threat to the honey industry is a mite Varroa destructor (that kills bees) which has spread worldwide except for Australia. And some suspect it is already here. Infected hives are destroyed not quarantined. We now export healthy honey bees to the rest of the world in an attempt to restock these vital insects into farming areas so they can carry out their important role of pollinating the staple crops that are so vital to man.
Anyway, let’s move on. Killing termites is easy, but killing the nest is hard. Many people who find termites in their home for the first time make the mistake of spraying them with fly spray. Sure enough, the termites die. But only the handful that were sprayed are dead. The rest retreat and venture into another part of the home to continue their destruction. Over the years we have said this a hundred times; if you find termites in your home; don’t disturb them; cover them back up carefully and call a professional to do the job correctly.
The insecticides that we use on the termites are state of the art and don’t kill the termites immediately but are carried back the nest and spread through the colony where it then takes effect.
As yet I’m not sure why social insects don’t develop resistance to chemicals. I imagine that there is a very interesting scientific explanation. If and when I find out, you can be sure I’ll do my best to let you know.
If you have some comments or feedback regarding this newsletter, they are most welcome. Please reply to greenpest@greenpest.com.au
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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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Always... At your service,
Jerry Furnell
Green Pest Control & Green Termite Bait Systems.
Phone 1800 6 12345.
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