‘Worst residential termite infestation’ had no chance against Recruit® AG
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With over two decades in the pest management industry under his belt, not much surprises Certified Sentricon Specialist® Jonathan Schoppe, ACE, technical director of Dial Environmental in East Hanover, New Jersey. That is until last year, when he encountered the worst residential termite infestation he’s ever seen: an infestation that had been left unchecked for more than six years.
“They had been having swarms for about six years and the landlord kept telling the tenant that it was just ants and would buy her [hardware store pesticide] and she would just spray the swarmers every year,” Schoppe said. "It was throughout this house. We’re talking the kitchen, the laundry room, the bedroom and the boiler room.”
With the severity of the infestation, Schoppe knew he had the right tool: the Recruit® AG FlexPack® bait station. With termite activity scattered throughout the home, AG bait stations gave Schoppe a much-needed advantage for awkward or hard-to-reach spots in the home.
“I’ve used the FlexPack in so many different types of scenarios — wrapping it around wood panel outside, not having to worry about asking myself ‘Do I need to use the hard shell?’ No, it's underneath a set of stairs, I can just use the FlexPack and I’m done,” Schoppe said.
The kitchen bore the brunt of the termite activity, with mud tubes approximately 12 inches wide in some spots.
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With many active mud tubes, Schoppe and the Dial team installed seven Recruit AG FlexPack bait stations throughout the home. The Recruit AG FlexPack bait stations enabled Schoppe to install the bait right where termites were active to help ensure immediate feeding.
With the Recruit AG stations in place, Schoppe and his team could monitor bait consumption and watch the bait eliminate the entire colony. Schoppe says it’s clear when the Recruit AG FlexPack termite bait is working. First, there’s a noticeable decrease in worker termites feeding on the bait, then there’s an increase of hungry soldiers.
“It's like a barometer. It allows us to see it working,” Schoppe said. “I like AG bait stations because I can go back every 30 days and see how the treatment is progressing. What I like most about baits, and specifically AGs is that I can see a wall where there’s termite damage. I can slap an AG right there, go back every 30 days, open it up and see it working or see if I maybe move it or see if it’s time to do something different.”
While this nightmare termite infestation took more than six years to develop, Dial Environmental and the Sentricon® system took just eight months to eliminate the entire colony — leaving a termite-less home and another satisfied customer.
But Schoppe says he wasn’t surprised. Once his team achieves total colony elimination, he knows the termites are gone for good.
“I don’t know of any callbacks for Sentricon® customers who had active termites,” Schoppe said. “I've never had to go back the following season to an account where we used AGs and say ‘Well, let's reinstall the AG, and let's see if we can get them this time.’ We just don’t see that.”
Thanks to reduced callbacks, Dial Environmental uses the Sentricon® system as its standalone solution for curative and preventative termite situations. The added benefits include reduced costs because additional equipment does not need to be purchased or maintained and technicians don’t require specialized training.
Learn why the Sentricon® system is the standalone solution for complete termite colony elimination.
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