Pest Check System

Nungambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Termite or 'white ant' infestations treatment and prevention in homes. Do you have termites in or around your home? Many insects are confused with termites, especially ants. Termites are sometimes referred to as 'white ants' because of their pale appearance.The first step in protecting a house is to prevent termites from gaining access. This is achieved by placing a barrier under or around the house. Barriers are designed to deter termites or bring their presence out into the open. Barriers can be physical or chemical in nature.

The home owner can discourage termites by remembering these facts :

• Termites are attracted to wood, so remove potential termite food away from buildings - their food can include timber stacks, old stumps, building refuse, garden decoration such as sleepers and logs
• Waste timber from construction activities is often left in place or stored under the house - remove all timber formwork
• Termites are attracted to water, so fix leaking water pipes, drains, showers, sinks etc, plus capture water from air conditioning units
• Termites prefer humid conditions, so keep air under the house dry by improving sub-floor ventilation, drainage and access
• Termites cannot chew through properly laid concrete, so ensure concrete slab is properly designed, compacted, and cured
• Termites colonies can sometimes be located - it is possible to eliminate colonies by killing the reproductives (the queen and the king).

Regular inspections are the most important part of controlling termites before they do any damage. Therefore :

• Arrange regular inspections - at least once a year in cooler areas and twice a year in warmer areas
• Inspect during periods of high termite activity - early spring to late summer is generally the best
• Timber can be treated to prevent termite attack, and some timbers are naturally resistant - use treated or naturally resistant timber when it is in contact with, or close to, soil
• Keep the edges of the house (slabs, foundation, piers and stumps) clear of clutter, including garden beds and vegetation
• Professional pest controllers are trained in inspecting houses for termite activity - use their services
• Home owners can inspect houses themselves more frequently than a professional, if they can identify termite activity

Most people are bitten when trying to kill or handle a snake. As a general rule, snakes are just as frightened of you as possibly you are of them. Often they move as quickly as possible in the other direction. Snakes cause no property damage, but seeing a snake or its shed (skin) may frighten some people.

Details :

• Snakes are seen more often in the spring or fall as they search for food or move to and from a hibernation area. Snakes frequently are associated with small mammal habitat because rodents are a primary food source. For this reason snakes are considered beneficial to man.
• There are two forms of control measures that can be taken (nonlethal and lethal). The difference is that while nonlethal measures can be taken at any time, lethal measures can only be taken when a snake is seen.

Habitat Modification & Exclusion

• There's a reason you have snakes on your property or in your house. Your property is in an area of the country that has snakes (that includes most areas), and your property has features that are attractive to snakes.
• Most commonly, this means that your property is full of debris that attracts snakes. Snakes like a safe place to live and hunt and hide, and places to crawl in. So vegetation is a big snake attractor. So you can, if you wish, eliminate or trim back heavy vegetation.
• But more than that, if you have any rocks, sidewalk, plywood, a shed, or anything else that snakes can crawl under and den in, then you've REALLY got some attractive snake habitat. Eliminate all of these areas. Fill in gaps under rocks with dirt.
• Install an exclusion barrier, like a steel screen, around your shed or deck. Get rid of plywood or bricks or other debris. You can also install a fine-mesh fence sloping outward at a 30 degree angle, or tall solid fence around the perimeter of your property.
• If you've got snakes in your house, find out how they are getting in via a full inspection of the house. Use a polyurethane foam such as Great Stuff to seal any openings, and install weather stripping where you find gaps under doors.

The following remedies do not work :

• Use of sisal rope around the property, as if the rope is tough on a snake's belly.
• Use of snake repellants such as sulphur, mothballs, or Snake-A-Way.
• Use of ultrasonic sound emitters (snakes can't hear, at least in high frequencies).
• Use of fake owls or hawk decoys.