October 2005 / Vol.2 / Issue 10

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

Contents

1. Pest Talk
2. Customer Question of the Month.
3. Quote of the Month.
4. Monthly Special

Pest Talk

Welcome to the October 2005 newsletter. Normally we don't use our newsletter as a sales tool. We have tried to keep it as an information tool, but this month the newsletter is both packed with information and an opportunity for you to be the first to purchase our latest product. So yes, there is a bit of sales stuff in it. We hope you'll read on and see why we are so enthused. Please forgive our enthusiasm if you find it a little over the top, but the fact is... We're excited!

Special Announcement. 

We are delighted to announce a brand new product that will greatly simplify and revolutionise the way homes are inspected for termites.

You, the readers of this newsletter are the first in the world to learn about it. Before we tell you exactly what it is, may we ask you a few quick questions?

• If termites were active and undetected in your home right now, would you like a simple, immediate and likely way to discover them?
• Would you like to know if there is any previously unrepaired termite damage in your home?
• Would you like a neat and tidy way to check for termites inside the structural timber of your walls?
• Would you like a neat and tidy way to check for termites inside the timber trims such as skirting boards, door frames, window frames and other decorative timber around your home?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then let us proudly introduce you to our latest internal termite monitor simply called 'The Ec2c Termite Window®'.

Pronounced "Easy-to-see".

Sound familiar? We have taken the tried and proven concept of our Ec2c Termite Windows as used on our external baits and developed a special variation for use inside your home.

Once again we have employed the KISS principle. Keeping It Simple Sweetheart!

Presently there are several complicated DIY products available for monitoring termite activity within the walls of your home. The problem is, for a variety of reasons, they simply don't work. One obvious reason they don't work is because they sit on top of the timber baseplate in your walls. Termites are likely to bypass these devices because they usually travel through the baseplate, not on it.

The only way to actually know if termites are inside the baseplate or stud of your wall is to call a professional who will use:

• A moisture meter.
• A Termatrac® device.
• A sniffer dog.
• An infrared camera.
• A super-sensitive listening device.
• A drill or wall saw to cut open the walls to take a closer look.

None of the above are cheap and they all require an experienced operator to make sense of the data.

We've simplified the inspection process and gone back to the basics so that you, the home owner, can check inside a solid timber baseplate or any other piece of solid timber framework in the walls of your home, in just a few moments, anytime that you want!

The concept is so simple that we anticipate that the whole pest control and building industry will soon be saying, "Fantastic! Why didn't anyone think of that earlier?"

How's it done?

One simply drills a neat hole through the wall into the base-plate or stud, and then the hole is sealed with an Ec2c Termite Window. The window can then be checked for termites at a glance anytime you want. If termites have ventured into your home you will most likely discover them once they reach the point INSIDE the timber where the Ec2c Termite Window is installed. They don't like the light so they will mud over the inside of the window just like they do on our external termite baits!

Hopefully you will never have to find out if they work.

But if you do install your set of Ec2c Termite Windows and they help you to discover termites inside your home at an early stage, won't it be worth it? You bet!

It does and it will work because its simply uses the way that termites behave to reveal their activity to you.

The windows can be installed on any flat surface such as a wall where there is a stud behind it, or a window frame, door frame, a skirting board, or... you name it. Ec2c Windows are very versatile.

If you are imagining a bunch of ugly holes in your walls and thinking to yourself - no way chum, then slow up for a minute and we'll explain further.

It will be reasonably neat and tidy because the Ec2c Termite Windows will be mostly, if not entirely installed in places within your home that are normally concealed from a casual look. They will be placed inside built-in wardrobes, behind doors, furniture, curtains, etc. In most cases you will need to know where to look before you will actually spot them! We've installed a few Ec2c Termite Windows in some very obvious positions in our office and no-one notices them until they are pointed out.

We believe that our Ec2c Termite Windows will prove to be a most innovative and useful addition to regular home termite security. They will prove vital for the ongoing safety of your home and your peace of mind. Please consider the following benefits. They will help to.

• Alert you to any current occurrence of active termites in your home. This will be revealed during the installation process.
• Alert you to any areas of previous termite damage in your home that have yet to be repaired. Also revealed during the installation process.
• Alert you to any new termite arrivals in your home in the future.
• Prove to be an invaluable tool when it comes to inspecting your home for termites, either for yourself or your professional termite inspector.
• Enhance the value of your home when it comes time to sell, because they will remove a great deal of the doubt that creeps into the standard pre-purchase report - helping to overcome broad-stroke generalisations commonly worded in reports such as "no inspection was made of internal walls, so no opinion can be made" and "a more invasive inspection should be / may be needed (at extra cost)" and so on.

Plus:

• You can check these Ec2c Termite Windows in just a few minutes any time you want. It's easy.
• There are no moving parts, so there is nothing to break and nothing to go wrong.
• They are permanent and will last for the life of the home.
• If active termites are discovered, then the termites can be treated with a registered termiticide by your professional termite manager far more easily.
• They can also be installed externally on fence posts, house piers, retaining walls, pergola posts, etc. In fact, the Ec2c Termite Windows can usually be installed with ease to any reasonably flat timber surface that is considered at risk of termite damage.

The only things you need to provide to complete the install is an electric drill and a reliable stud finder.

Here are a few (non-camouflaged) sample photos of how the Ec2c Termite Windows will look in your home:

Now you see it... (Bottom corner of window frame)

...Now you don't.

Where is it?

It's neat and tidy behind the curtain.

It's behind a door.

Or just below the hinge of the front door.

Guess where?

It's behind the blind that has been lifted up so you can see it.

Now you see it...

Now you don't.

There are two Ec2c Termite Windows in this closet. Can you find them? It should be noted that none of the Ec2c Termite Windows were camouflaged in the above photos - or you would never have spotted them!

Want to hide the windows further?

You can! Further camouflage is possible. You can cover the windows with a removable and paintable white sticker. They still work because the Ec2c Termite Window will still let sufficient light in through the sides of the 1.5mm polycarbonate from which they are made. When the Ec2c Termite Window is already hidden you obviously won't bother, but you can make them even harder to spot with a colour coordinated optional removable cover.

You can order online from our secure order form. Just select the Ec2c Termite Windows box and fill out your details.

Or for immediate delivery simply ring us on 1800 6 12345 and place your order.

Want the deluxe service? Want to sit back and let us do it all for you? If you are in SE Qld then please call our office on 1800 6 12345 and make a booking for one of our licenced technicians to come and install the Ec2c Termite Windows for you. Too easy!

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Customer Question of the Month.

Question:

Dear Green Pest Control,

My wife and I have found a home that we really wanted to buy in Pacific Pines but my pest report tells me there are microtermes in the fence. It also states in another section of the report that the house is at high risk of termites. The report goes on to say that there is no evidence of any termite activity in the house. The termite inspector tells me that I need to spend $4,750 on a termite treatment to make the house safe because it is high risk. He recommends drilling holes in all the concrete around the house to put a chemical barrier in. It's stamped concrete and these holes will look terrible if we do it. The house is only 2 years old. Should I do the treatment? The seller reckons it's not necessary and refuses to do it.

Should I even buy this house? Can't we just treat the fence? Even my wife who really liked the house when we first saw it is getting cold feet now. Your advice would be appreciated because we really like this house and it seems a shame not buy it simply because of a few termites in the fence. Plus we don't have a lot of free time to look for another home, nor do we want to spend $400 for yet another a pest and building report on the next house we find.

Please help,

Peter and Carolyn H. Gaven QLD.

Answer:

Your inspection report mentions the evidence of microtermes (more correctly called Microcerotermes) termite activity on the fence. It should have come with a clarification to indicate that these termites are not considered high risk to the home. You also mention that the house is reported as high risk. The inspector's insurance company insist that the reports be carried out on carefully worded paperwork (to protect the insurance company - funny that.) and they also insist that ALL homes constructed on a concrete slab be categorised as 'high risk'. This is commonly indicated and emphasised on all termite pre-purchase reports.

There is no correlation between the low risk termites in the fence and 'high risk' factor of the house.

Unfortunately some reporting companies use the wording of their pest reports to generate extra work - even if it isn't absolutely necessary. We've seen several cases where either the vendor or the purchaser ended up doing a major termite treatment on the home at a cost of several thousand dollars simply because a pest report came in saying that there were a few termites found along the fence!

At Green Termite Bait Systems we suggest you implement effective termite risk reduction measures for the right reasons, not because of misleading scare tactics. To steal a phrase from the government, "Be alert, not alarmed."

We also agree that drilling the stamped concrete is ugly and undesirable and we would not advise drilling unless it was the only choice left and truly needed to be done. A two year house should still be covered by the original new home warranty for termite protection - subject to conditions (fine print) and if it is free of termites at this point, then you should buy it. Termites in the yard and garden are common. If you want to err on the side of caution, then add a Green Termite Bait System to complement the existing termite control measures.

As for the fence, either treat the termites in the fence directly or replace the effected palings with new ones and ensure that all the palings are trimmed off at the bottom so that they are a few centimetres clear of the ground. The soil around the posts should treated with a suitable termiticide to restrict future termite activity to the rest of the fence.

We hope this helps to settle your mind about whether to go ahead with the purchase or not.

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Quote of the Month.

We were recently at the Gold Coast Summer Homeshow and had just finished explaining to a gentleman the contents of our DIY option pack, when his 8 year old daughter asked, "What's a lamb shank drill bit?"

After a moments thought, the penny dropped. We'd mentioned the 'long shank drill bit' included in our option kits.

Who says kids aren't listening to every word?

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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.

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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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