Termite exterra baiting
A recent termite exterra baiting job that Pest Assured has picked up is a commercial building in Surry Hills. Termites are destroying a timber frame wall near the exit of the building. A pair of painters who were quoting on the job to do maintenance discovered the termites in the wall by accident. The painters said they were just scoping the wall when they found brittle gyprock (plaster board) attached to the wall. The painters quickly notified the property/building manager to seek professional assistance.
How Pest Assured won the job
The property manger for this site needed to show the landlord a few quotes. The work cost was over the limit set for automatically issued jobs. Pest assured was assigned the job due to the communication and duty of care shown towards the situation of live termites. The experienced technician explained to the property manager the various techniques and outcomes of handing the situation. A great reason to select Termite exterra baiting. Termite dusting and foaming were discussed as the duty of care by the pest manager
Why bait termites?
Termite Exterra baiting boxes was selected as a number of sections of the wall infested with termites. The exact entry location being very difficult to determine as subfloor access is unavailable. Termite exterra boxes eliminate the colony. Termite dusting and foaming is very good in eliminating numbers of termites in quick time periods. However colony elimination is very difficult to promise.
On revisiting the property four weeks after installing the above ground bait stations the insects mudded around the shoebox prop and termite exterra baiting box. The technician carefully opened to monitor the termite station. Mud had replaced the bait. This is a great result! Meaning the termites has made this site a great feeding location and have taken a liking to the bait. The termite manager removed the mud and replaced with fresh bait. This technician needs to work carefully and quickly. The pest controller aims to keep disturbance at a bare minimum. On this occasion the job went as scheduled
Uncertainties of baiting time
There are a few factors which include; time of year (colder months see termites feed considerably slower than warmer months), species of termite, amount of disturbance from unforeseen circumstances, whether or not the termites have established a feeding ground inside the bait boxes. The Pest controller will visit the termite exterra baiting box anywhere from six to twelve visits (even more for hungrier termite species). Regularly changing bait to ensure the maximum number of termite’s feeding.
Termite feeding
Once the termites are actively feeding, usually around the fifth to sixth visit (possibly longer in certain species), the pest controller will notice the termites changing colour to a vivid white colour. This bright white colour is a sign that the Termites ability to molt cannot happen and therefore will die because they cant grow. The level of poisoning of the insect needs to happen slowly. The pest controller does not want disturbance and business as usual for termites. A a result the aim is to spread the chemical around the colony via trophallaxis (transferring food and fluids around the termite community).
Furthermore, communication with the client is essential. Emphasising to stay clear from termite exterra baiting box and to take extreme caution taken to not bang or knock on parts of the frail walls, which may affect the termites ability in eating the bait.
Why use Pest Assured?
In conclusion, the Pest Assured difference can be seen in the duty of care and sensitivity of termite control, breaking down and explaining the processes to either clients or property managers and maintaining great communication are just some of the reasons why we are market leaders for Pest control.
