In this feature, we turn the spotlight onto some of the key companies within our industry. Here, we look at bird control specialist Pest IT.
In 2004, Peter McCarthy established Pest IT with the bold idea of offering non-chemical alternatives to traditional pest management products. Today, Pest IT is one of the leading manufacturers of bird and pest management product solutions.
An alternative solution
After working for 15 years as national marketing manager of Globe Australia, Mr McCarthy knew the pest control market intimately and felt that it was time for change. “I could see, even back then, that non-toxic products were the way of the future. I also had significant concerns about toxicity when it came to the environment, our client’s health and that of end-users.”
Pest IT remains one of the few product suppliers in Australia to focus exclusively on the humane, non-chemical pest control market sector.
Bird business
Solutions for managing vertebrate pests, particularly birds, are the company’s specialty. While acknowledging that there is certainly a place for chemical treatments in pest management, Pest IT seeks to manage vertebrate pests using methods of exclusion and deterrence to achieve a behavioural change.
The company has enjoyed success with its own AvePro Bird Control range of netting, wire, spikes, shock track and bird deterrent systems. These products will be complemented by a new electrified deterrent system (March 2018) and laser technology (February 2018). “Our devices last a lot longer than any chemical residues,” explained Mr McCarthy. “They can last 10 or 20 years; the fact that they’re long-lasting means pest managers are giving their clients real value.”
Pest IT also manufactures the well-known Myna Magnet bird trap and as part of the company’s ‘giving back’ ethos, has donated traps to conservation groups in Australia to assist with the preservation of native parrot species. Pest IT has also assisted resorts in Fiji with myna eradication programs to decrease the impact invasive species such as Indian mynas have on local fauna.
As well as bird management products, Pest IT also distributes ethical traps and devices, notably Magnet Trap (collapsible vertebrate pest traps), BRC Fly units (UV fly units), Bug-Vacs (pest control vacuums), and Thermo-Bug Bed room heaters, as part of its suite of humane pest solutions.
Helping pest managers win more work
Pest IT is proud to actively seek out business opportunities for its pest manager clients. Using his extensive network of building and architectural contacts, Mr McCarthy focuses on two goals: firstly, to have AvePro products specified for building jobs around the country; and secondly, to pass those installation jobs on to pest managers, so that they can quote for, and hopefully win, the work.
Mr McCarthy explained, “We assist pest managers from start to finish, from lead generation and quoting through to materials and training. We’ve helped pest managers complete some of the largest bird management systems ever deployed in Australia.” Pest IT remains a strictly wholesale business and does not carry out installation work itself.
Pest solutions for the digital era
Pest IT has been working with tech companies in Australia, Germany and Singapore to bring a new line of digital sensors for rodent, bird and vertebrate pests in March 2018.
When the company’s new rodent and vertebrate pest trap is activated, the pest manager will receive an an alert to indicate a live catch. Time-consuming daily Inspections will become a thing of the past, as the pest manager can receive real-time monitoring station updates. Mr McCarthy said, “We work in a digital age of compliance, humane treatment of captured animals and an increased need for reporting. With this new technology, pest sensors systems such as TrapSensor, MinkPolic and RATSENSE will become standard procedure in 2018.”
The company’s new Thermo-Bug room heater system will comprise a network of sensors that can be placed around a room to measure the temperature during the heat treatment process. The pest manager will receive data wirelessly via the Thermo-Bug App indicating the current temperature in the room, saving them from opening the door to check whether the ‘in-room’ temperature has reached the required 70 degrees. After several hours of heat treatment, the room can be returned to the client immediately without the need for a chemical solution to kill the bed bugs.
Laser technology
Laser technology is the is taking the bird world by storm. ‘Mounted lasers’ such as the new AvePro Hawk Laser (pictured) can be mounted on roofs, near agricultural crops, horticultural orchards and open spaces, using laser beams to deter a wide variety of pest bird species. AvePro Hawk Laser can be programmed to deliver a safe and efficient emission pattern of laser beams at any installation site. All pest birds are deterred using this technology.
Looking ahead
In addition to the regular training the company offers at its office in Heidelberg West, Victoria, 2018 will see Pest IT will be launching its very own training academy. In multiple locations around Australia, pest managers will have the opportunity to learn about Australian bird management systems from the experts who developed them and be the first to hear about the very latest in ground-breaking technology.
