Good Morning Followers……….or should that be follower?
I have such an ‘interesting’ life. I am off to the National Possum Control Agencies Technology Transfer Conference in Wellington this evening. It will be two days of hearing about and talking about the best ways to stop possums damaging New Zealand’s environment and transmitting tuberculosis to cattle, deer and other animals.
1080 is a popular subject for discussion among delegates. Most of those in the industry would welcome an alternative if it was as cost effective or the money was forthcoming to use the more expensive options that already exist.
Kiwicare manufactures
NO Possums Cholecalciferol Gel Bait which is a very novel bait. It will remain effective over long periods (up to 26 months) so that time spent replacing deteriorated bait is saved and control is maintained over extended periods. The gel formulation and use of choleclciferol (vitamin D3) as the toxin makes the bait unattractive and of low toxicity to birds. Cholecalciferol also has low eco-toxicity as it does not build up in the food chain reducing risks of secondary poisoning of scavengers. The bait is available for use by anyone wanting to control possums, even if it is only to stop them eating the roses in your garden or you want to protect the block of native bush on your lifestyle block. It does not require a licence.
Enough of possums! I was supposed to be talking about borer. A rather different type of pest problem.
Borer (also known as woodworm) are small brown beetles whose larvae eat their way through soft timbers including our weatherboards, floorboards, joists and furniture. You will know you have a problem with borer if you see small holes (flight holes) in your wood as if someone had thrown a dart into the wood. These holes are where the borer beetle has emerged after 2-4 years as a larva. The majority of these holes will be found in dark areas where the humidity is higher, e.g. under the floor, inside the walls and in a roof space if there is a roof of concrete or terracotta tiles.
The good news is that you can easily stop the borer damage. Treat the timber. If the timbers can be accessed they can be sprayed or painted with products that kill the larva and prevent new infestation for many years. On painted, varnished or polished surfaces the flight holes can be injected. Even when the affected wood cannot be accessed at all the use of borer bombs can control the adults and slow down their re-infestation of the timbers.
I have often heard it said that a house has never fallen down due to borer damage in NZ. This might be true, but it is only because most houses are only now old enough to have been that heavily damaged (it takes at least 50 years) and houses are condemned before they fall down.
This is the flight season (November-February) when adult beetles emerge from the timers and this is when borer bombs are most effective. The other treatments are equally effective at all times.
Save your property. Act now.
One woodworm asked her boyfriend. “How’s life?” she asked.
“Same as usual,” he replied, “boring.”
