Category Archives: Pest Control Brisbane

Tailored pest control solutions Brisbane

Ant Control Brisbane

Posted on by
Reply

 Ant Control Brisbane

External Ant Control

Ants are without doubt the hardest general pest to control.

The most effective way to treat ants is direct nest application. This treats ants at their source and quickly and effectively removes the problem.

But when you consider that surrounding your house are probably hundreds of ant nests the task of finding and locating every nest is pretty much impossible.

Additionally, just like termites, the nest that’s attacking your house can be located in your neighbours yard making direct nest treatment impossible.

For years the only treatment available to customers to treat ants was liquid and powder insecticides.

These are ‘repellant’ insecticides which form a barrier. Ants which are attracted to your house are ‘repelled’ or ‘killed on contact’ by the active ingredient.

Now if you are looking for a short term solution this method is fine.

Trouble is one way or another the ants WILL find another way in and the problem starts all over again.

So whats the solution?

In a word-Termidor.

Termidor has been offering pre eminent termite control in Australia and Brisbane since it was first introduced in 2002.

The two main reasons for this are:

1. Termidor is non-repellent. This means that termites don’t realize Termidor is present and so unwittingly pick up the ‘active ingredient’.

2.’The Transfer Effect’. Termites that come into contact with Termidor collect it on their bodies and then become carriers that spread Termidor to others and eventually back to the nest.

These key characteristics  make Termidor the No. 1 choice for ant control.

Ants are also social insects. They live in large colonies and groom and feed each other. This means that once the foraging and/or worker ants pick up the active ingredient it is eventually spread throughout the colony.

“Ants have developed a behavioural trait of removing dead individuals from the nest, referred to as ‘necrophoresis’. Necrophoresis is an important ‘Transfer Effect’ pathway whereby healthy ants are contaminated upon removing Termidor affected ants from the nest.

Resulting in eventual nest elimination-the main objective!

Outside Use Only
 
Termidor can only be used externally to treat a variety of nuisance ants including (but not limited to) :

Funnel ants
Greenhead ants
Meat ants
Red Imported fire ants
Yellow Crazy ants
Argentine ants
Black house ants
Pedicel ants
Pharaoh’s ants
Whitefooted ants

When applied as a surface spray as directed, TERMIDOR® will give up to 3 months contol of ants and is best applied as ant activity increases in early spring. A follow up application during summer may be required.
 

Internal Ant Control
 
Phantom is a liquid formulation for the internal control of ants and contains the active ingredient chlorfenapyr which is the only member of a new class of chemicals – the pyrroles.

Just like Termidor Phantom is undetectable to ants.

This means they will not avoid the treatment and will travel through the treated areas, unknowingly picking up the active ingredient.

Phantom is a water-based formulation and has virtually no odour making it ideal for sensitive situations.

Phantom has a unique mode of action. The active ingredient is a pro-insecticide which means it is converted to its active form inside the insect. This active form targets the mitochondria within cells throughout the insect’s body, preventing it from generating energy. Without this energy, cells cease functioning and the insect dies.

This process is not instantaneous giving Phantom a delayed-action mortality which is an important feature, as it ensures pests gain maximum exposure to the treated surfaces thus improving efficacy.

They continue to behave normally and go about their regular routines for a short time before dying.

Phantom has a long residual life on all internal surfaces. One of the reasons for this is the fact that it has very low water solubility which means it will not be easily wiped or washed off surfaces.
 

 

Cockroaches in Brisbane

Posted on by
Reply

Cockroaches Brisbane

Summer brings with it many pleasant experiences but the increased number of cockroaches is certainly not one of them.

Cockroaches basically fall into two categories, those that fly and those that don't.

Those that fly are larger and include Australian, American, Oriental, Smokybrown and Brownbanded generally live outside in the garden.

On the other hand German cockroaches, which do not fly, are smaller in size and generally 'set up shop' in your kitchen-particularly in the hings on your cupboard doors, under your sink, in your microwave and under your electric jug.

The larger cockroaches that fly generally enter your home by mistake. they crawl under a door looking for food, or up a drain or through an open window.

The smaller German Cockroaches are generally carried into your home by you in a box e.g. when you are moving into a new home, a box of fruit/groceries or even a box of drinks from the supermarket.

German cockroaches are well suited to living with humans and will eat almost anything. Your kitchen and bathrooms provide their every need-food, water and shelter.

Tell tale signs that you may have cockroaches:

Obviously seeing cockroaches is a pretty good giveaway that you may have a problem. However seeing the odd large cockroach does not mean you have an infestation. If you have had an annual pest service then just leave it be an within a matter of time it should pick up a lethal dose of active ingredient and die. If you have not had a general pest service completed recently then simply grab a can of fly spray and give it a quick spray-no need to drown it!

On the other hand if you have started to notice cockroach activity in your kitchen-particularly at night, then it could be time to call your professional pest manager.

Also check for droppings that can show up against white laminate.Smear marks may also be noticeable-it's a brownish colour.

Cast skins may also be present as may the egg sac-known as the ootheca.It looks a bit like popcorn before you cook it!

Treatments

Larger cockroaches that fly can be treated as a stand alone service or as part of a combined service. Generally speaking an annual or bi annual pest treatment should be enough to keep these larger cockroaches in check.

This will depend on your general level of tolerance. All you have to do is wait for the cockroach to pick up a dose of the active ingredient. this will happen via the roof cavity, skirting boards, eaves etc. A good pest manager should be able to place enough 'active' around your house to give you good all year protection.

German cockroaches on the other hand are more effectively treated using gel bait.

In combination with Integrated Pest Management protocols the bait will not only knock the adult population on the head but offer all year protection from further infestations.

It should be noted however that like all pests if you do not remove the conducive conditions that attracted the pests in the first place then the effectiveness of any pest treatment will be severely reduced.

For example, continued poor hygiene and cleanliness standards in your kitchen will not give the cockroach gel bait a chance to get on top of the cockroach problem. You need to eradicate the choice between other alternative food sources and the gel bait.

Most gel bait will work if given a fighting chance, so work with your pest manager to achieve your desired objectives.

I’ve got fleas!

Posted on by
Reply

Fleas Brisbane

The last few weeks has seen a large increase in the number of actual and possible flea infestations in and around the Brisbane area.

The warmer weather and higher moisture provide ideal conditions.

Clients call us in distress with an 'overnight' infestation.

It's important to remember that fleas have a 4 stage lifecycle that can make treatment a little tricky.

The 4 stages are:

1.Egg

2.Larva

3.Pupa

4.Adult

The egg stage and the pupa stage are impervious to insecticides which means a basic pest treatment will only treat the larva and the adults.

Many new tenants experience a flea infestation when they occupy a new rental property.

This occurs generally because the movement causes the pupa to hatch into an active adult. This process takes almost next to no time and before you know it the adult fleas are biting your legs and sucking out your blood!

Fleas need blood to reproduce so humans and cats and dogs provide ideal hosts!

It's important your pest control brisbane service provider thoroughly inspects your premises both internallly and externally to determine the extent of the infestation.

They will need to provide a number of different treatments which will include the clients agreement and participation.

Treatments will need to kill the active adult fleas that are present as well as provide a residual affect for newly emerging adult fleas.

Additionally an Insect Growth Regulator will need to be used to 'break the breeding' cycle.

Clients will need to keep their premises clean and vacuuming their floors and upholstery items regularly is a must.

Remember to treat the vacuum bag and empty after each session to avoid in infestation in your broom cupboard!!!!

Clients will need to treat their pets at the same time as the treatment and it is a good idea to alternate products to avoid 'resistance' amongst the flea population.

Flea control is achievable if you use an integrated approach.

Treating your premises with appropriate insecticides, regular vacuuming, general cleanliness and keeping your pet treated will should eliminate any current infestation and prevent future problems.

It should be noted that the price of a flea treatment is difficult to assess over the phone and the more widespread the active fleas are around the premises the greater the cost to treat.

End of lease flea treatments

Posted on by
Reply

END OF LEASE FLEA TREATMENTS

If renters have had a family pet throughout their tenancy they may be asked within the special conditions in their lease to carry out flea control at the conclusion of their tenancy.

Depending on the demands of the actual property manager this procedure might be internal only, external only or both.

FLEAS INFO

Fleas flourish around warm, damp areas and climates. The primary flea food is blood from the host animal which is normally cats, dogs and humans.

The four main stages of the flea lifecycle are:
1.Egg
2.Larva
3.Pupa
4.Adult

The whole flea life cycle can vary from two to three weeks to more than a 12 months, dependant upon environmental conditions.

Adult fleas prefer to dwell on the actual host pet, but are frequently dislodged by scratching. Fleas are very well renowned for their leaping qualities.

The actual adult female flea can easily lay up to 50 eggs on a daily basis, 500-600 eggs over several months.

The egg, larval, and pupa stages more often than not take place in the environment off the pet, in which the microenvironment is often well suited for development.

Eggs tend to be laid on the animal, but they are quite sleek and simply slip off into the surroundings such as carpeting, bedding, floorboards, and soil. Flea eggs can lay dormant for approximately ninety days prior to hatching.

The larva stage can last up to 3 weeks depending on conditions before the larva pupates.

The pupa is the very last period before adult. The actual adult flea can come out from the cocoon as early as three to five days, or it can remain in the cocoon for 12 months or maybe more, waiting for the best time for it to emerge.

These kinds of larvae and cocoons are found deeply throughout carpeted places or even locations with a layer of organic material (e.g., a garden or flower bed).

When suitable conditions are present such as movement, warmth and increased C02 the adult fleas will emerge.

The adult will come out from the cocoon in an exceedingly short time phase…less than a second….and instantly leap to discover a appropriate host. When on the host they feast upon blood obtained simply by biting down hard through the skin.

Fleas need blood to be able to survive as well as reproduce. If there are no pets then humans become the flea’s blood meal.

The pupa and egg stage of the lifecycle are impervious to pesticides.

A female adult flea consumes 15 times its weight in blood everyday.

Fleas accelerate the equivalent of 50 times faster than the space shuttle does immediately after lift off.

Fleas can easily jump as much as 150 times the length of their bodies – sideways or up – equal to an individual jumping almost a thousand ft.

Ten fleas can potentially multiply to 250,000 in only thirty days.

END OF LEASE FLEA TREATMENT

End of lease flea treatments by fully licensed pest control brisbane providers requires the application of a synthetic pyrethroid pesticide spray. Areas treated internally consist of probable habitat areas, any carpeting and rugs and skirting boards.

Externally (if neccessary) treated locations include subfloor areas, verandahs, decks, garages, etcetera

Particularly significant is definitely treating areas that were frequented by the family pet.

WHY DO VACANT PROPERTIES GET A FLEA INFESTATION AFTER A NEW TENANT HAS MOVED IN?

As previously discussed adult fleas hatch from the cocoon whenever suitable stimulation is present.

The actual stimuli include: vibration, elevated co2 amounts, heat, as well as movement.

A vacant residence offers no such stimuli and the cocoon phase of the lifecycle can wait a year or maybe more for the right conditions.

Once new tenants enter the home the ‘right’ stimuli are present and the mature fleas begin to emerge.

Be patient!

The recently emerged fleas will need to come into contact with the particular active ingredient in the pesticide.

As soon as this occurs over-all numbers will quickly reduce. With regards to the size of the pupae population inside the house recently emerged fleas may continue to appear in reducing quantities for an estimated 6 weeks.

The recently emerged fleas can continue to bite and cause irritation before they die.

Patience is needed throughout the 6 week period after a flea treatment.

NOTICE TO NEW TENANTS AND PROPERTY MANAGERS

You can expect to still see a few fleas within the property and surrounds for approximately 6 weeks as the treatment takes effect.

One or two active fleas does not mean you have an infestation.

Give the treatment time to work.

The greater the movement and vibration inside the property the more will be the stimulus for fleas to hatch-out and the faster the procedure works.

Have any domestic pets you’ve introduced to the house treated frequently for fleas and tapeworm.

Sanitation is extremely important for control, however if feasible do not vacuum, or even wash surfaces for as long as possible to give the treatment more time to work.

Reduce accessibility of your dog/cat to internal and sub floor zones particularly for the duration of summertime months.

Be patient.

6 weeks from the beginning of occupation is essential before any kind of re treatment should be undertaken. Re treating prior to this time period is not going to accelerate the fleas hatching practice but could cause unneeded chemical build up.

Keep in mind it really is pest management NOT pest elimination-it is not possible to remove all fleas within the environment.

Termite Barriers

Posted on by
6

Termite Barriers

Also known as a treated zone and are generally applied when active termites are found in a property. The process involves trenching and treating the entire perimeter of the structure and ensuring an even spread of termiticide from the footings to the surface.

They should only be applied by Licenced Pest Control Companies.

Where pathways and driveways abut the structure it is generally recommended that the concrete is cut away and removed and the soil underneath dug out (and replaced if necessary) and chemically treated.

The main advantage of a termite barrier is that after application it will generally be between 5 and 10 years before you even have to think about doing it again-assuming the barrier is not disturbed in any way.

Popular chemical termiticides used include Biflex, Premise and Termidor-each with their own pro’s and cons.

Termiticides are classified into two general classes-repellant and non repellant.Repellant termiticides such as Biflex kill on contact and termites are ‘repelled’ by the chemical. Non repellant termiticides such as Premise and Termidor allow the termites to penetrate the treated soil where they
‘pick up’ the active ingredient and take it back to the nest-this is what is known as the ‘transfer effect’.

Provided the chemical treated zone is applied correctly i.e. there is an even distribution of chemical throughout the soil that abuts the structure then Termites will find it very difficult to get into the home
whether the chemical is non-repellent or repellent.

That said chemical treated zones are difficult to install correctly given the variety of construction methods and soil varieties in Australia.

Slab construction techniques such as ‘infill’ and ‘waffle pod’ offer their own unique problems.

The majority of houses have pathways and driveways made of concrete that abut the structure.

Ideally the concrete should be cut away and the soil dug up and treated before replacing the concrete.
In many situations the soil will contain all sorts of foreign objects such as timber off cuts, broken bottles etc that must be removed.

Many homeowners do not want their pathways/driveways ‘cut up’ and so elect to have them drilled and injected. This process involves drilling below the concrete every 200mm and injecting the termiticide under pressure through the hole to the soil/surface underneath.

The main problem with this technique is that you can never be sure of what is happening under the concrete. Although not the recommended option on most occassions this method is successful. homeowners need to way up the cost versus the risk.

Physical Barriers

Many newer homes are protected by plastic sheeting which is impregnated with termiticide such as Homeguard or Kordon. Other physical barriers include Granitgard and Termimesh.

Many unsuspecting Homeowners believe these physical barriers will protect their house from getting termites.

Reality is the physical barriers are designed to force the termites out into the open.They are not designed to stop them.  Remedial treatments can then be applied to the active termites.

After Treatment

Once a chemical treated zone is set up correctly it’s important to ensure that the treated zone is not breached by the addition of untreated soil or by the stacking of items against the wall of the house such as firewood.

Conducive Conditions

Conducive conditions are those conditions that exist in and around the structure that increase the chances of termite attack.

They include:

-tree roots and stumps

-timber in contact with the ground

-leaking taps and guttering

-poor drainage

-garden beds up against the structure

-watering systems etc.

Many of these conditions increase the chances of termite attack and/or concealed termite entry to the home. They should be attended to immediately.

How long will the termite barrier last?

All chemical barriers break down over time and will last between 5 and 10 years depending on the chemical used and environmental factors.

Depending  on the house design and the surrounding environment most homeowners should be looking to replace their treated zones at the 5 year mark.

Cost

Properly installed termite barriers vary in cost but you can expect to pay in excess of $2500 depending on the chemicals used and the size of your house.

Many consumers are tempted to use the ‘cheap and cheerful’ operators who charge significantly less but use low quality chemicals, do not offer a service period and perform poor workmanship.

Like everything in life you get what you pay for! Termite Control is no different.