| The intense cold of winter has put the brakes on what was a great season for pest managers across Australia. The freezing mornings have subsided, be it momentarily and work is beginning to flow again. So far this winter, it’s been a busy period at Pest IT with the launch of the Eagle Eye™ bird deterrent system. This exciting new product hails from South Africa and will be supplied by Pest IT exclusively in Australia. Bird Barrier in the USA has also been having success with Eagle Eye™ over the past year, with strong sales and excellent results in numerous situations.
Mosquito Slayer Series 4 is ready for launch and just in time too! The Mosquitoes have already commenced biting in Northern NSW, South East Queensland and areas to the North. Mosquito Slayer will be an exciting business opportunity for pest managers looking to become involved in mosquito and midge control.
September will see a multitude of product launches including the eagerly anticipated Mosquito SlayerPRO as well as the AF Atom and a series of products still under the “cone of silence”. More details to follow.
Also in this winter edition of In Touch highlights the continuing danger of Avian Influenza as it moves closer and closer to Australia – hitting the resort island of Bali in the past 48 hours.
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MICK REPRESENTS PEST IT IN NEW ZEALAND |
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Our very own Michael Harband is a guest speaker at this years PMANZ – Pest Managers Association of New Zealand Conference. Mick will be discussing the latest developments in integrated pest managements including devices for bird, insect, rodent and mosquito management. He will also be highlighting the business and marketing opportunities for pest managers using a modern integrated approach. Wish we were coming too Mick.
Aussie pest managers should keep an eye across the Tasman for conference opportunities. Apart from a great opportunity to learn, New Zealand is a truly magical place to visit.
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BIRD BARRIER TV – THE LATEST WEB SITE DEVELOPMENT |
Bird Barrier introduces the latest in web site technology with www.birdbarrier.tv. Here you will have free access to video training as well as product information, project case studies, architect specifications and more – it’s truly amazing. Pest IT continues to supply and support Australia’s leading range of professional bird management products. Products include industry standard spikes, electric deterrent and netting systems.
Check out the site to:
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See the latest projects |
Request a catalogue |
Subscribe to an E-Newsletter |
And in recognition to their many Pest IT clients in Australia, you can also receive the latest product training – FREE. To view the product installation videos see www.birdbarrier.tv. Please note that due to the size of the training video files, it will take a few minutes to download. Other features include:
Click here to visit the www.birdbarrier.tv Site >>
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EAGLE EYE™ OFFERS A NEW DIMENSION IN BIRD MANAGEMENT |
More options are now available for bird managers for open areas
Our latest product release is Eagle Eye™ - an effective bird deterrent device that harmlessly relocates most pest birds. Birds are disoriented and irritated by reflected light beams that flash at various angles from a rotating Eagle Eye™ unit. The Eagle Eye™ is complementary to a range of products and techniques used by bird control experts.
The Eagle Eye™ works by reflecting light beams. The light bands, including the ultraviolet and infrared bands, in the light spectrum are reflected back through chrome mirrors, which in turn disorientate birds in flight by limiting the bird’s vision by 50% for a short period. This causes the bird to deviate in flight and fly to another destination. It does not affect birds sitting but hinders the bird at the angle they come in to sit down at their destination. Once chased from their sitting position the bird will eventually not return to where the Eagle Eye™ is installed. An important aspect of the Eagle Eye™ is that if you have obstacles in the way of the beams you would need two or more to cover the specified areas on the different heights. Installation trials should run for at least 3 months, after which bird infestation should be reduced by up to 80%.
Eagle Eye™ will only be available to accredited installers so as to ensure that this exciting product is installed as specified by the manufacturer. Pest IT conducted accreditation programs in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane during August. These were attended by over 100 bird managers eager to become involved with this new innovation. More accreditation programs are in the planning throughout Australia. If you are interested, please call 1300 66 56 57. Your interest and demand will determine future locations. For more information, see www.pestit.com
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Case Study - Eagle Eye™ System successfully deters Ibis in a nesting & roosting area. The photo to the left shows significant Ibis numbers on a park island. The noise, smell and foliage damage is extensive. The Ibis are also aggressive to aquatic birds native to the area. The right photo shows a dramatic reduction only two months after one Eagle Eye™ is installed. Even after two months, the island is recovering from the habits of this aggressive pest bird. Subsequent photos (available on request) show the full recovery and return of vegetation to the island.
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MOSQUITO SLAYER SERIES 4 |
Mosquito Slayer Series 4 is here to revolutionise the cost and efficiency of CO² enhanced traps
Mosquito Slayer Series 4 (pictured right) is the latest development for mosquito and biting midge control. The Series 4 incorporates all the technology that has made it’s predecessor one of the most sort-after mosquito trapping systems. The Series 4 has new colour and modern appearance as well as some innovative new design modifications. Additional features to assist Australian pest mangers include:
- LED UV lights for enhanced attraction of mosquito and biting midge. So precise is the light spectrum used, we get virtually no fly or moth catch
- The new CO2 hosing system emits CO2 all day every day – with extended C02 bottle use
- Special CO2 bottles can be purchased to reduce your leasing costs per bottle
- Most importantly the price! We can now offer CO2 enhanced traps at a price to suit you and your client’s requirements.
For more information, please call 1300 66 56 57 |
Check out the Mosquito Slayer web site www.killthesuckers.com
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GOING TO RAPID SOLUTIONS CONFERENCE? |
Pest IT will again be displaying at the Rapid Solutions Conference
We have some exciting new products as discussed in this and previous issues of the In Touch Newsletter. On display we will showcase our latest offerings – Mosquito Slayer Series 4 and a prototype of the Mosquito SlayerPRO, Eagle Eye™, the AF Atom and more. We hope to see you there. For more information, see www.rapidsolutions.com.au.
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FIRST BIRD FLU DEATH CONFIRMED IN BALI |
As if Bali hadn’t already had enough to deal with in recent years, the resort island has now had its first confirmed fatality due to avian influenza. This sends a warning to Australia that the problem could be within our shores in the near future. Here is the following article from AFP.
Monday Aug 13 16:27 AEST
Indonesia confirmed its first human bird flu death on the resort island of Bali today, bringing the nation's overall toll to 82 and raising fears of an impact on tourism.
A 29-year-old woman who died in a hospital in Bali's capital Denpasar on Sunday was carrying the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus, said Bayu Krisnamurti, head of Indonesia's national bird flu commission, in Jakarta.
"Both are positive, (tests) from the Eikman Institute and the health ministry's lab," he told a press briefing. In Indonesia, two tests must be returned positive before a human infection is confirmed.
The woman's five-year-old daughter died on August 3 but samples were not taken from her, while a two-year-old neighbour was admitted to hospital on Sunday and is suspected of being infected, Krisnamurti said.
To read the full paper, click here
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PEST CONTROL – TIME TO TAKE IT SERIOUSLY |
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Recently, Pest IT’s Peter McCarthy was invited to speak at the 14th Annual HACCP Conference.
Peter was given the opportunity to discuss the real implications of pest problems in food production and services businesses. The end result is that it is time to take pest management seriously. Below is the paper presented by Peter McCarthy, with co-author Dr Sali Bache.
Food production and service businesses are under constant pressure from various economic and disease carrying pests. Vertebrate and non-vertebrate pests such as rodents, cockroaches, flies, birds and other organisms can spread disease and physically damage stored or finished product. Fresh and uncooked food is of particular concern. Diseases transmitted by pest species include salmonella, E.coli, avian influenza, campylobacter, helicobacter, listeria and even meningitis. These can result in ailments ranging from minor stomach upsets to death.
Is it time for food producers to take pest control seriously?
Each year there are 5.4 million reported cases of food poisonings and 18,000 hospitalisations, resulting in 120 fatalities in Australia. It is impossible, however, to quantify the flow-on effects, such as the loss of production, staff absenteeism, damage to company reputations, and loss of confidence from suppliers and/or clients that these issues cause.
It also remains uncertain what proportion of food poisoning cases are the direct result of pests in commercial food facilities. Pests do have serious consequences when allowed to come into contact with food intended for human consumption. This paper discusses a number of recent case studies where forensic science has directly linked pest contamination with fatalities and serious illness.
The implications of pest related incidents include:
- Loss of clientele and damage to company goodwill
- Potential for serious disease and death on a local to mass scale
- Loss of featus due to listeria
- Being added to various “Name and Shame” lists
- Becoming a target of consumer groups
- Losing the confidence of stakeholders (suppliers or clients) in the HACCP supply chain
- Finding a friendly journalist from A Current Affair or Today Tonight on your doorstep
- Being fined by local council or state health departments, having costs awarded against and/or being required to pay for “corrective advertising”
- Having additional license conditions imposed
- Infringement notices followed by cancellation or suspension of a license
- Losing potential export opportunities
- The public’s “perceived risk” relating to pest birds and Avian influenza on your site
- Employees walking off the job due to bird droppings in the workplace, and direct hits from nesting birds above
- Major local, national or international product recalls and a subsequent PR exercise to regain consumer confidence.
All of these are real and are occurring in Australia on a daily basis.
To read the full paper, click here
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FOR MORE INFORMATION |
We invite you to contact Pest IT for all your commercial pest management product requirements - Call 1300 66 56 57. For more information on Pest IT Pty. Ltd. or our range of products and services, please visit www.pestIT.com.
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The Australian home of Killgerm,
Bird Barrier, Eagle Eye™, Mosquito Slayer and PestWest products. |
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