October 2006 / Vol.3 / 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. Spring is here.
3. Customer Question of the Month.
4. Story of the Month.
5. Monthly Special

Pest Talk

News

A 'snail mail' letter will be going out shortly to some of our Brisbane and Sunshine Coast Full Service Customers outlining changes to the week that we service the baits. We are happy to say that the reason for these changes is simply because we have outgrown our existing full service schedule. What we are doing is dividing all the existing schedules into two. Some customers will remain exactly as they are, whilst others will be allocated a new service week.

If you are a Brisbane or Sunshine Coast Full Service Customer and don't receive the notice, it means that the changes won't affect the week that you are serviced.

We are also adding an extra service technician to our team to handle the additional rounds.

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Spring is here.

It's definitely warming up and all the usual suspects are back, invading in full force; ants, cockies, spiders, fleas. We are getting lots of enquiries for Redback spider treatments as well as ant treatments. Now is a good time of year to get your outdoor areas treated for spiders.

We are often asked, should I get the spider webs cleaned off before or after the pest treatment? If you clean your home with water the do it before we call, so that the water doesn't wash away the treatment.

Actually, the preferred way to remove spider webs is with a portable vacuum cleaner. If you decide to do it this way, have the spider treatment first, then vacuum down the webs, dead spiders and spider egg cases.

For those of you wanting a cockroach treatment for inside your home, please do your 'spring cleaning' first. There is no point wiping down cupboards after they have been sprayed.

Having your carpets cleaned before or after a regular pest control treatment makes no difference whatsoever.

However, a treatment for fleas is different. In this case the carpets should be cleaned before the flea treatment is carried out.

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Customer Question of the Month.

Question:

I was comparing your DIY prices to your full service prices and I was trying to work out which would be the best long term proposition. If I choose the DIY option and I have a lot of activity in my baits, it seems to me that it could work out dearer than on full service. Can you tell me how much activity I'm likely to have in my baits if I was to install about 30 baits?

Peter Greaves - Parkwood QLD.

Answer:

Thank you for your question Peter. It certainly is an oft asked question, and we would like to start by giving you the short answer first, then the reasons behind it.

Short Answer: Full service is by far the better value option for those customers who are in a full service area (such as you) where full service is offered at the rates published on our web site (here).

Here's why: Although our highest full-service rate is $75.00/mth for up to 30 baits, it is actually lower than that once the rewards options are taken into account over a two or three year period. Anyone who doesn't know about our rewards options should read here and ring our office immediately should they wish to join. Joining is totally free.

Even without the reward option, $75.00/mth is still excellent value because it is all-inclusive.

With the DIY system, when the baits are worn out, you have to buy new ones. Full service customers only have to pay for their system once, and the lifetime bait warranty takes care of all replacement baits as and when they are needed. Of course, this has been factored into our pricing, but in many cases DIY customers do not factor it out when deciding which way is the most economical.

A DIY customer who has a strike on a bait can expect to pay $88 call out + $33 to treat the bait + $27.50 for a replacement bait. Total $147.50. If they have 5 separate strikes in a year, this costs $725.

A full service customer would pay $75.00 x 12 = $900 for the year – regardless of how many strikes on their baits they get during the year.

But they also get the following benefits:

• A service history book that fully documents all activity in the Green Termite Bait System. That's a big asset when it comes time to sell the home. It can add value to your home, or protect it from loss of value when the pre-purchase pest report is handed in. (This has been discussed extensively in previous newsletters).
• Full service customers never have to remember to check their baits. All too often DIY customers procrastinate and don't check all their baits every month, even though it only takes 10 minutes. The result is that they miss the opportunity to destroy termites that are approaching their home. DIY customers often start off enthusiastically and check their baits monthly, then they let it slip just one month and before you know it, they neglect to check their baits altogether. (Sounds like my old gym membership!) And that is simple human nature. What a waste, not to mention risk!
• Full service customers have their baits maintained for free, so if a bait should need replacing for any unusual reason, it is simply done – no questions asked. (This doesn't cover deliberate loss of a bait.)
• Many of our full service customers have been with us for 10 years. As the baits improve and new models come out, they receive the latest model to replace old ones that have reached their use-by date.

DIY definitely costs less to start with, and is a good option if you are on a tight budget and don't mind gambling that you will only have a few strikes on your baits each year. You also need to be disciplined and never forget to check your baits monthly.

We often have DIY customers ask to convert to full service. This isn't as straightforward as one would think. Firstly, the age of the existing baits needs to be taken into consideration as well as any that need immediate servicing for termite activity or replacement.

Since we offer a new for old lifetime replacement warranty on our full service plans, we have a standard charge to make the conversion as follows:

It should be noted that our distributors are independent operators and may offer full service at higher rates.

Remote customers in country areas, may not have the luxury of choice, and DIY may be the better/only option, especially if they are a long way from their nearest pest control company.

The second part of your question relates to how many strikes you can expect in a year on your bait system. The answer is not as simple as one might think.

Our full service customers average around 3 strikes per year. Averages however can be misleading and here's why...

So, when you ask how many strikes you can expect we also need to take into consideration the area you live in. Parkwood for example is a high risk termite area. One particular customer in Parkwood had over 20 strikes in a three month period in his first year.

On the other hand we have another customer in Parkwood who had no strikes in his first year and only 1 strike in the second year.

The strike rate is affected by a range of variables such as:

There is also the luck factor. We have seen some homes that are begging for termites to attack, yet they have no termites, and on the other hand we have seen homes that have very little risk of termites and guess what? They are attacked by desperate termites. This random factor always comes into play when you are dealing with nature and it is one of the reasons that pest control and building companies cannot guarantee 100% that a home is safe from termites. Termites are unpredictable and that is why so many people are caught unaware.

Termite management is ongoing. It's because you never know when these little blighters might pay you a visit. We recently treated a home that was over 50 years old. For 50 years it ran on luck and remained termite free. That is an unusually good run. Statistically, 1 in 3 homes will get termites during the life of the home.

Funnily enough, most Australian homeowners are prepared to run the risk of termite attack and simply stick their head in the sand and hope it won't happen to them. They are prepared to risk their most valuable financial asset – their home on the odds that they will be in the 2 out of three homes that don't get termites. I wonder if they would jump out of a plane with a parachute if the odds were 1 in 3 that the parachute wouldn't open?

There it is. The long answer as to why Full Service is better value than DIY even though DIY is cheaper to start with. When you consider the value of the service history book, then full service is still the best value even if you have no termite activity ever. Just think about it – and you will see why.

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Story of the Month.

Redbacks on the Brain...

Written by Jerry Furnell.

A large shopping centre rang me with a problem of redbacks in the roof void above the suspended ceiling. 'No Problems', I thought.

I decided to pick a spot away from the shoppers. Up went my ladder and up I went, then I slid back the ceiling panel.

Up went my head and on went my torch... simple.

Only thing was, when I turned on the torch I saw that was surrounded by hundreds of redbacks. The ceiling was infested!

Slowly I climbed back down the ladder, then removed my hat carefully. You can guess... there were three angry redbacks on my cap. I was lucky not to be bitten. They tend to get aggressive when disturbed.

Needless to say after that fright, I now look before I shove my head into any roof void or manhole.

Note for parents of young children: This week a client rang us to make an appointment for a redback spider treatment. Her young daughter had caught a redback in a jar and bought it in to show her! It was extremely lucky that she wasn't bitten by the spider.

Don't teach young children to fear spiders (it could be a phobia later in life) but do teach young children to be cautious around spiders and not to touch them unnecessarily.

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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 2006 Green Termite Bait Systems & Green Pest Control. All rights reserved.

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