Fipforce HP from Sherwood Chemicals has demonstrated exceptional soil infiltration qualities, making it a highly flexible termite product.
Fipronil has become the trusted active ingredient for professional pest managers in the treatment of soil to deter termites from entering structures. Whilst fipronil is known for its non-repellent nature, long duration in the soil and transfer properties, its distribution in the soil after application and therefore its effectiveness as a termite treatment is dependent on the formulation. Not all fipronil formulations are the same, as a closer look at the product label demonstrates.
The FipForce HP formulation was developed by the R&D team at Sherwood Chemicals and incorporates advanced polymeric surfactant technology, which is relatively new formulation chemistry for water-based formulations. One of the significant benefits of polymeric surfactant technology, when compared to older formulations that incorporate anionic surfactants, is their superior wetting and soil penetration properties when the formulation is diluted with water and applied to soil. In independent soil infiltration studies completed by Sherwood in Australia, FipForce demonstrated the effective horizontal dispersal of fipronil in sand up to 300 mm, which supported the increased width in drill spacings for the FipForce HP label.
“FipForce has been on the market for over ten years now, and our high performing FipForce HP has been on the market since 2021. In all this time, there hasn’t been a single product failure,” said Elton Arderne, ANZ business manager for Sherwood Chemicals.
Josh McIntosh from All Pest Solutions has been using FipForce HP for termite treatments for a number of years.
“We have consistently found this product to be of the highest standard. Its effectiveness gives us great peace of mind, ensuring that our termite treatments are always successful. Beyond the quality of the product, the support provided by Elton and John has been exceptional; they are always a pleasure to deal with. Their expertise and willingness to assist have significantly contributed to our positive experience. We highly recommend FipForce HP for reliable and effective termite control.”
Supporting customers is a key value for the team at Sherwood Chemicals. John Ralph, managing director at Sherwood Chemicals Australasia said, “With more than 500 employees worldwide and the same Australian support team for the past ten years in Elton and myself, Sherwood has become a genuine supplier of consistent high quality products, supported by in-house research and development chemists, chemical engineers and proven independent efficacy results. I am extremely proud of our Australian business and employees and this could only have been achieved through our strong core values of honesty, transparency and the supply of consistently high quality products and service.”
The increased drill spaces achievable using FipForce HP provides pest managers with significant benefits when carrying out new installations and even provides benefits on re-treats, allowing the reuse of the wider drill spaces used in bifenthrin and imidacloprid treatments. In terms of drilling alone, it provides pest managers with significant benefits. For example, on a standard four-bedroom home on sandy soils, there will be 33% less drilling, which could easily save an hour of time, as well as reduce wear on the drill and drill bit.
On re-treats, it is preferable to reuse drill holes; certainly the homeowner doesn’t want any more drilling! With FipForce HP, not only can pest managers use the drill holes from fipronil jobs, but you can also reuse the imidacloprid and bifenthrin drill holes on loam and sandy soils, which could be 250 mm or 300 mm apart.
For Mark Hayman, owner of Accurate Pest Management in Maroochydore, QLD, the ability to use wider drill spacings has been of great benefit.
“We have been using FipForce since it was first released to market. The recent extension of the label to extend the drill centres to 300 mm means we have more opportunities for its application. Furthermore, John and Elton from Sherwood Chemicals have always been available when we require assistance and enquire about the product, with an answer delivered in an expected timeframe, and with supporting scientific evidence.”
Having a reliable, flexible termite product is also important to Manda and Don Wilson of Wilson’s Pest Control, Sydney.
“We have been using FipForce for since 2015 and [have] never had a call back to redo or fix any termite work conducted. FipForce has been very effective – we apply it according to label requirements, we always recommend the owner conducts an annual inspection too and even when they haven’t, we have not had any issues. We find the FipForce Dust and termiticide works very effectively.”
The team at Sherwood Chemicals is proud to offer pest managers a high performing termiticide product without the premium price tag. “The good part is that pest managers don’t need to pay for a super-premium product to get these additional benefits, which we believe makes FipForce HP the go-to product for everyday termite treatments,” said Mr Arderne.
