Integrated Pest Management
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a systemised process that finds the most effective way to remedy pest problems whilst minimizing potentially harmful pesticide usage.
Professional pest management has moved past relying solely on applying pesticides to solve pest problems. Concern for the environment and the health of clients has led to methods that reduce pesticide usage. With proper planning, the need for pesticides can sometimes be eliminated completely.
The five steps of IPM.
The proper application of IPM principles is a five step process:
- Inspection
- Identification
- Recommendation
- Application of control measures
- Monitor
Inspection.
The area to be controlled must be inspected for the presence of pests and conditions that are conducive to pests. Even when clients report problems in specific areas, the real cause may be concealed or located elsewhere.
Identification.
Quite often the client will specify which pest problems they want controlled. Even then, it is important to identify the particular species requiring control and what conditions present in the premises might be encouraging the infestation. For example, the problem might be specified as cockroaches. However, German and American cockroaches have different breeding areas and habits that significantly affect remedial measures.
Recommendation.
The client is provided a report detailing the steps that need to be taken to manage identified pest problems. The client and ourselves will find the appropriate solutions that meet the client's specific requirements. For example, the private home has very different needs to a commercial food handling premises.
Application of control measures.
These are the action steps towards solving any current problems and preventing future pest infestations. Depending on pest type, location and client needs, these steps can include the following:
- Sanitation: Cleaning areas that contribute to pest infestations.
- Exclusion: Putting physical barriers over entry points to prevent pest entry.
- Trapping: Placement of traps that capture pest populations.
- Pesticide application: Placement of pesticide products to kill existing pest populations.
Sometimes removing food sources and other pest attractants will significantly reduce the need for continual pesticide application to manage a pest population. Examples include the careful management of garbage and regular cleaning up of wet areas.
Monitor.
A program should be put in place to monitor the success of the pest management program in accordance with client needs. Again, the homeowner might be satisfied with calling in pest management professionals only when they experience new pest problems. Food handling companies in particular need to be more proactive to ensure adequate food safety practices.
Normally, pests are only seen after some level of infestation has established itself. The careful placement of traps and other monitoring equipment can provide early warning that a new infestation is trying to establish itself before it reaches a critical area.
These traps need to be inspected regularly and the results recorded to identify trends and any required changes to the pest management program in place.
Woodborer
Wood boring insects and beetles are those organisms which are found in and consequently destroy wood. We will discuss some of the more commonly encountered types and in all cases the larva is responsible for the most damage.
The Italian Beetle – Old House Borer
The Italian beetle (Hylotrupes Bajulus) is a European beetle that infests coniferous timber i.e. shrubs and trees that bear cones. It has been recognised in this area since 1935. The Larva of this beetle grows to around 30mm long, is cream coloured and appears to have a swollen front end. A characteristic is three very small simple eyes on either side of the head.
The adult beetle is black with thick grey hairs covering most of the front of the body. There are four spots on each wing cover which may be joined to form light coloured bands and two shiny, raised black dots on the thorax that is between the head and abdomen. This beetles antennae are roughly half the length of the beetle with the female measuring around 17mm and the male 11mm.
The frass is a combination of excreta and wood chewings. The colour of the frass depends on the age and dampness but is often lighter in colour than the wood.
The Italian beetle lays its eggs on and the larvae feed in the wood of coniferous trees. In South Africa these beetles are confined to soft wood trees. The larva bores into the wood for around one to four years in South Africa however, a record of twenty years has been found overseas. This seriously weakens the timber.
The Brown House Borer
The Brown House Borer, ( Oxypleurus nodieri) is a beetle of a uniform gingery brown colour and measures up to 14mm long. The male is usually smaller than the female however the male antennae reaches to around the wingcovers while the female is shorter reaching about two thirds of that length. The egg of this borer is cylindrical and measures around 1.5mm long and 0.8mm in diameter with rounded ends. They emerge usually in winter and are attracted to light. They are active at night.
The larva is a creamy colour with the portion between the head and abdomen being thickened. The head is orange with dark brown wedge shaped mandible clearly visible. They also have very well developed legs with three segments though they are small.
The pupa has antennae, legs and wings as seen in the adult and is creamy white until it is ready to emerge when the eyes, mandibles, legs and wings gradually darken in colour.
Females lay eggs in timber with a high moisture content and the larvae grow slowly over a period of two to six years. During this period the larvae chew and ingest wood in order to create tunnels leaving behind frass.
The frass is in the shape of spiral or twisted shavings.
Furniture Beetles
The Furniture beetle, (Anobium Punctatum), is the most serious which is found widely throughout South Africa. It causes the most damage in coastal areas and is known to attack both hardwoods and softwoods. It varies in length between 2.5 to 5mm long and is a reddish or a yellowish brown.
This beetle can fly well. It has nine longitudinal row of pits on each wing cover.
The female lays her eggs in cracks, joins or rough sawn surfaces, or in old emergence holes. The larva may take two years to fully develop and the adult pushes out the wood dust out in front of it as it emerges.
The fully grown larva is creamy white in colour with a dark head, three pairs of legs and 5-7mm long. Two special characteristics of the Anobium larva is that it remains in a comma shape when removed from its tunnel and does not have an enlarged thorax.
The frass is barrel shaped and feels gritty like salt.
This beetle prefers wood that has been in use for years. The first indication of infestation is the appearance of a hole on the surface of the wood with small piles of sawdust underneath. The galleries created by the larva may be numerous and can seriously compromise the strength of the wood.
The Powder Post Beetle
Powder Post beetles are the most serious threat to hardwoods however they only attack sapwood. There are three types however in South Africa the only important one is Lyctus brunneus. The beetle varies in size but is generally around 4mm long and reddish brown to black in colour. The distinguishing characteristic from the furniture beetle is that the head is clearly visible from above. The last two segments of their antennae are enlarged and appear to be clubbed.
The larvae of the beetle hatch after a week or two depending on temperature and the larval period is spent inside the timber. If wood is severely infested the galleries created may join and the wood could collapse. The fully grown larva will move to just below the surface of the wood and will create a cell in order to pupate that is to become a pupa. Once it emerges from its cell it waits for its body to harden before biting a short tunnel out. Under normal circumstances the this cycle takes a year but if conditions are favourable it could take less than a year however if the wood is cold it could take five to six years.
The frass is very light in colour and resembles face powder.
The Bamboo Borer
The bamboo borer, Dinoderus minutus, is widely distributed throughout KwaZulu Natal and along the east coast. The adult is only about 2.5mm long and can infest cane baskets, furniture, wicker work, bamboo fishing rods etc. they are a reddish brown colour and usually have spikes or protuberances on the front of the body.
The larva is a whitish cream colour with the front end appearing swollen giving it the look of a comma. The head is sunken into the thorax which is the portion between the head and abdomen, and has three sets of poorly developed legs. The larva burrows further into the wood, eating and chewing the timber. The frass is circular and tightly packed behind them.
Treatment
A lot of these timbers may be protected at the time of felling by chemical processes or painting the end of the timber depending on the wood.
Treatments of woodborer include fumigation, removal and replacement or hypo treatments. For more information on woodborer or a solution suited to your specific needs please contact us for advice on the preferred treatment for you.
Termites
Termitidae
This is the largest family and the most important from an economic point of view in South Africa. There are many species including fungus growers which are responsible for the greatest amount of timber damage in buildings brought about annually by termites. Termites Caste System Termites have a very strict system with different types of termites doing specific tasks.
The Queen
The queen’s only task is to reproduce and is the most important member of the colony. She may live between 25 to 50 years according to the species. She will generally lay enormous amounts of eggs often millions. In some species she may crawl around the nest but in others her abdomen becomes so swollen and distended with her legs that she may not be able to move.
The King
The king lies next to the queen and may also live for numerous years. In some species mating only takes place after the first flight but in others mating will take place at regular intervals.
The Soldiers
The soldiers have only one task which is to protect the colony should it come under attack; they otherwise do nothing else within the colony. They use their strong jaws and in some species chemical warfare to protect the nest. The termites that have the characteristic will produce a long thread of poisonous fluid thrown out from a snout called a fontanelle. If this comes into contact with an ant the ant will immediately stop the attack and may soon die.
The Worker
The worker does all the work in colony which are underdeveloped males and females that do not develop eyes, wings or reproductive organs. The workers groom the queen and place the eggs in the most suitable part of the nest and lick them until they hatch. They predigest pieces of wood to feed the queen, king, soldiers and young. They tunnel through the soil mixing it with their excrement to build the nest.
Substitute Kings and Queens
In each nest there are secondary kings and queens who take the role of the primary king and queen should they be killed. They are kept in reserve in the nest at all times should they be needed. They have short wings, cannot fly and have smaller eyes than those of the primaries. The substitute is needed to ensure the constant survival of the nest.
The Lifecycle of the Drywood Termite
Formation of a colony
The "flying ants" as they are commonly referred to are the sexual forms. Once they have landed they break off their wings before they mate. The female always takes the lead in finding a new nest which may be a small space under a stone or log where the mating takes place. After a few weeks the female lays a few eggs which she has to tend to herself. Once they hatch, the queen has to feed the nymphs with regurgitated food from her stomach. It takes a while before the nymphs are old enough to start foraging for food to feed themselves, the king and the queen. During the first year the queen may only lay half a dozen eggs.
Feeding
Termites chew wood with their sharp, hard mandibles (lower jaw)to get to the cellulose. Other species of termites which also eat cellulose will feed on soil rich in humus which comes from the decomposing of other plant matter. Some feed on dry grass but at times living plants. Fungus growers often do considerable damage to vines, fruit trees and rose bushes soon after they are planted. Drywood termites feed on hard, sound wood which is often dry.
Types of Termites
Subterranean Termites
These termites have to be in contact with the soil. Their nests are at gorund level or just below ground level. These termites usually enter buildings through the foundations and spread by way of joints, floors or wall cavities and damage timbers including flooring, panelling, window and door frames.
The Insidious Fungus Grower
This termite is the most common and destructive species north of the Orange River, Gaunteng, Northern Province, Botswana and KwaZulu Natal. Their nests are often covered by grass and are less than a meter high but may be 1.5meters in diameter. The nest cavity is about a meter below ground level which is made up of clay shelving which is covered by spongy fungus gardens. These termites require damp conditions and feeds on any material containing cellulose, e.g. paper, grass, manure, seasoned timber which can be consumed very quickly.
Natal Fungus Grower (Macrotermes Natalensis)
This is the second most destructive termite of timber and is spread almost as widely as the Insidious Fungus Grower. Workers may destroy the timber under a canopy of clay but it can destroy the timber from the inside. The wood is always replaced by hard clay as it is removed. The nest cavity is nearly spherical and about a meter in diameter. It is divided by a series of shelves made of clay which support large numbers of fungus gardens.
The Funnel Fungus Grower
This termite is slightly smaller than the previous two. It does not build mounds as the previous species but there will be a slight elevation where the soil has been thrown out. It makes shafts of ventilating funnels around its nest which look like miniture cooling towers. There are many sub-chambers in the nests that contain rosette like fungus gardens. They only feed under a clay canopy. Buildings that are infested are usually built over the nests.
Wood-Inhabiting Termites
Cryptotermes Brevis (West Indian Dry-Wood Termite)
This is a domestic type of termite that is quite small and prefers to infest interior wood that is sheltered from the rain. It was brought into Durban from Jamaica in 1918 and by 1947 had become a major destroyer of wood. Infestations are experienced in Natal from Pongola to Port Edward including Pietermaritzburg, Hilton and Galgowan. It attacks all types of wood. They are often found in older parts of a region and in the case of Durban, inhabit the "borer strip". This area stretches from the bluff to glenwood, Musgrave, other areas of Berea and Durban North typically. They are slow destroyers of wood and leave tiny round holes in the infested wood. They drop frass or faecal pellets the size of poppy seeds which differ in colour depending on the wood they inhabit. Flighting season is between September and mid December.
Treatment
Treatment for termites include fumigation of the affected article under a gas tight sheet, removal and replacement of the infected wood or drill and injections. For a solution that meets your particular need please contact us.
Cockroaches
Cockroaches are amongst the most common pests encountered inside buildings. They are a particular nuisance where food is prepared and sanitation is poor. They contaminate food and kitchen utensils, leaving behind an unpleasant odour. Due to their tendency to move from filth to food, they deposit microorganisms that cause food poisoning amongst other illnesses. Some people may also be allergic to cockroaches as their excrement and cast-off skins result in asthma or wheezing, watery eyes and skin rashes. Cockroaches are often found in unsanitary conditions but clean homes and restaurants may also develop infestations.
Some of the commonly found cockroaches are the following:
The German cockroach (Blatella Germanica)
This cockroach is about 14mm in length and is light brown with two dark stripes on the pronotum that is the "head" portion. This cockroach lays about 37 eggs and takes around 55-68 days for it to grow from an egg to adult. The female cockroach carries the egg case around with her until 24hours before the eggs hatch. She then drops the egg case in a secluded place.
American Cockroach (Periplaneta Americana)
This cockroach is about 38mm in length and is a reddish brown colour. It has a light brown band on the edge of the head and is a very large cockroach. The American cockroach is also able to fly. The female lays around 14 eggs and it stakes 285-616 days for it to grow from egg to adult. The female cockroach will carry the egg case for upto six days before depositing it in a sheltered area.
Oriental Cockroach (Blatta Orientalis)
This cockroach is about 32mm long and is a dark red-brown to black colour. It lays around 14 eggs and takes between 300-800 days to grow from egg to adult. The female deposits the egg case in debris or in food in a sheltered place.
Treatment
The best treatment is prevention with cockroaches. Thoroughly clean and sanitize areas where food is worked with as well as dustbins. Cockroaches will be attracted to any spillages so be sure to clean them quickly. Unfortunately, over the counter solutions have limited efficacy in dealing with cockroaches. We offer a spray and a gelling solution for cockroaches. For these very effective methods of roach control please contact Alcocks and you will be advised of the best method to use.
Look out for our article on cockroaches done by Candy Bouwer.