Shah Alam, Selangor

Anti Termite ( Pest Control )

I am an ex surveyor of a well know pest control company.

Just would like to share some useful information..

Anti Termite Treatment includes:

Pre-construction treatment: Spray the pesticide onto the soil foundation before you construct the house. This is usually done by the developer when they build the house.

Post Construction Treatment:
i) Drilling method : To drill holes onto concrete flooring ( ground floor only ) and fill in the holes with pesticide. A terrace house with standard size ( 20x65 built up ) needs approximately 90-130 holes to be drilled along the perimeter of the house.

ii) Baiting method : To install bait station at the spot where you find active termites. Termites will feed on the bait and slowly you will get rid of them.

Things to consider before you decide which anti termite treatment is best for you:
i) Drilling method or Baiting method

- Drilling method is applicable when you want to have prevention or to solve the termite problem ( already infest your house )- If the method is chosen, you need to decide which chemical to be used. Usually we decide on the active ingredients (AI). You may find a lot of brands in the market, but the effective ones is usually more expensive. And the different AI also determine the effectiveness and how many holes to be drilled.

ii Baiting method is applicable only when you find active termites. The bait is effective against ONE type of termiteonly. This species of termite is widely found in Malaysia.
- You need to have active termite then only you can install termite bait. The bait does not attract termite to come. You must have active spot then only can bait them using the bait.
- Usually it takes 1-4 months to eliminate the whole colony and to solve the problem.

* Driling method is not 100% termite proof as there are many reasons such as earth movement, soil movement happen along the years.
But using an effective chemical and apply a correct quantity of chemical into each holes enhance the effectiveness.
* This goes for baiting method, the method helps to solve the existing spot. But you need to continuously monitor you house after the elimination process. As there are so many colonies underneath the earthground that are not visible. Termite can infest any houses at within 20-40 meter away from the location of their colony.

Anti Termite Treatment is like buying an INSURANCE for your house which easily cost you a couple of hundreds thousands.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by ZXTEH on March 28, 2009 at 11:46am: Sounds interesting. Appreciate if you could elaborate more on the drilling method.

90 - 130 holes on ground floor? Meaning will have those holes drilled in the living room? I suppose that to be done before installing the tiles?

BTW, how long the pre-construction treatment would last?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Emily on March 28, 2009 at 4:39pm: Yes, it is to be drilled on ground floor. If you are going for renovation works, then you should carry out the treatment first, then only replace the tiles. The longest warranty usually is around 5-6 years,After it expires, driling on your existing must be done again in order to get another period of protection.

No of hole is depends on which chemical do you use.

For example:

Brand: Premise
You may need to drill the hole at every 1.5 feet along the wall. This applies to the perimeter..( 4 sided of the house ). 5 litre of diluted chemical to be pump into each holes. The dillution rate is stated on the bottle. Another concern is, please go for non repellent based chemical and Class III/IV would be safe for our health.

All the specification must be followed to produce a best result. Despite some disadvantages like soil movement, by following exactly step A-Z, you will get at least 80% of protection.

# There is nothing in the world that can guarantee 100% of protection for anti termite treatment.
But, usually you find some cases which over promise or doing shortcut work, then you will have re infestation in near future.

Another issue is, currently in Malaysia or i should say in the world, there is no such chemical that could give you more than 5 - 6 years of guarantee. The most effective chemical that we ever used is only 5 years warranty from the manufacturer. The safer the chemical is, you will get a lesser warranty period.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Chin Eng on March 30, 2009 at 2:16pm: I suppose the million dollar question is ... should our house at KU get anti termite treatment?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ZXTEH on March 30, 2009 at 2:45pm: the billion dollar question is....need to change tiles every 5 years to do the treatment? it's like I inflict the damage to my own house before the termites do??

Hi Emily, I heard about something like ultra-sound technology that could keep the termite away? Is such thing exist? Or is it infra-red? cant remember the term??; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Chin Eng on March 30, 2009 at 4:05pm: you don't have to ZX, the hole will be filled with white colour patches which doesn't looks that bad as it is along the perimeter of the house, next to wall .... BUT if it is an act of precaution then yes it does look like damaging the house before the termites do .. :); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ZXTEH on March 30, 2009 at 4:30pm: OIC, it's like setting up a barrier around house to prevent the termites to crawl in. Thanks for the clarification. But what if the the termites come in from the roof?

And termites can fly too. I think they look like those what people called "water ant" in Chinese.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Emily on March 30, 2009 at 9:41pm: Hi ZXTEH,

Ultra sound, surface spraying and all are not effective in eliminating termites.
They are only 2 ways currently: baiting ( 2 brands are available in the M'sian market ) and drilling with effective chemical.

Termites live in large family units approx several hundred and several million family members. Their members are Queen, King, Soldier, Worker and Alates. What we normally see with the mud trail is soldier and worker. Worker termite will consume any foods they found and feed the other members.

Thus, our target is worker termite.

The bait or chemical are known as: Insect Growth Regulator. Once the termites consumed the bait or the chemical, the process of changing skin ( 1 of the steps for them to grow ) will be damaged. Worker termite will die because they cannot grow futher, and the rest of the members will die becoz of starving.

Finally, the Queen will die and the whole colony will collapse.

# Those days, the chemical pumped into holes were more on repellent type ( a barrier to repell the termites from the chemical layer if the termites come near). But now, the Active Ingredient is to set a layer of non repellent barrier. That means it is more on termite colony mangement. Once the soil is treated with the non-repellent chemical, the whole process as i mentioned above will take place. Usually, n-r chemical is not smelly and it is safe for health; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ZXTEH on March 31, 2009 at 8:44am: Hi Emily,

Thanks for the info. I guess the developer had done the treatment that you have mentioned prior to construction works which will last several years??; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by place on March 31, 2009 at 9:51am: erm well that's the story i get from the salesperson...

the developer will do a preliminary treatment....however, for the peace of mind owners can still get their own pest control to do the job...

i wonder how much does it cost out there?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ZXTEH on March 31, 2009 at 10:51am: In that case, I think I have to consider getting my place treated before moving in.

Though drilling method will damage the floorings, but still better than the baiting method huh? Coz dun wanna attract those creatures to my house if they are not in already??

And the repellent type of treatment u were talking about; it will not kill the termites, but chase them away to the neighbours' house. Correct me if i were wrong. just my guess.

Emily, do you mind sharing with us which are more reputable pest control company around in the market? Heard nowaday they provide yearly or quarterly inspection after treatment.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Emily on April 1, 2009 at 8:49pm: ZXTEH,

It is a requirement for the developer to carry out preconstruction treatment by JKR. The differences are: In overseas,home buyer is more familiar with the Active Ingredient.. but in malaysia, i would say homebuyers are not so well in pest control ( and to control the quality )..

In fact, you can try to Google it ..type Anti Termite..there are lots of information.
Once you are familiar with the points..you will definately make a right buying decision.

Yes.. if u opt for drilling system,make sure you use a non repellent type..usually is slightly expensive. the best time to do is before you start you tiling..
If your house is not infected by termite..you should not go for baiting system...till you notice live termites..

If the treatment is done in a proper way..
dillution rate, good chemical, 5 litre dilluted chemical per hole, good workmanship..you do not need to have inspection within the period.
Honestly, this is just a marketing gimmick..

In fact, house owner should do the inspection by their own.
As they are living in the house 24 hours..any infestation occured, owner is the first one to discover..then to place a complaint.. Do you agree with me> My experiences told me, a quality assured job will not have re-infestation occured within the period.
( Except for some reasons which are beyond the manufacturer's controls )

You can try this..
Total Pest Management Services
I am helping them to cover Shah Alam area on part time basis as my current job needs me to run the same area as well.
* so i earn commission per case if got enquiry, they dont need to hire a salesperson just to cover this area..hehe. win-win.

My advice is:
To get some information and quotation from different companies..
and compare the system & pricing.

To name a few: Rentokil , NLC, ISS.
They are established..but the differences are : service quality, lead time, follow up complaints..

If you need a free inspection, just drop me a mail.

Just let me know if you need; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Emily on April 1, 2009 at 9:28pm: Place,

Preliminary treatment owez comes with the cheapest type of chemical. It is REPELLENT type, and very smelly. To save cost.This is a real scenario in anti termite industry currently in our country. Why do i say so..

I personally calculted the costing for one house using FIPRONIL ( the best chemical ). Looking at the price given to the developer is less than RM 200 ( some even less than RM100) by some contractor. If one is using good chemical by BAYER and still charging the same price 100-200, it is 110% not making any profits..

2 CIRCUMSTANCES..
I) Good companies will not take up this kind of job..no profit margin..waste time
II)Companies who take up the job, it is not possible for them to use good chemical as they need to have profit.

Prcie for drilling ranging from RM 800-4000 per standard terrace house.
As i mentioned earlier, chemical, coverage of warranty, & inspection determine the cost.
Thus my fren's company try to cut down the inspection cost and manage to offer a competitive price.
While, most of the companies will not do so as this is where they can max their margin.; ▶ Reply to This