Sydney pest manager Brady Clarke shares one example of why he and his team are long-time users of the Sentricon AlwaysActive termite management system.
Bubba Gump Pest Control is a medium-sized pest management company located in Illawong in the Sutherland Shire, Sydney. The team has always strived to use the latest advances in termite control so it can offer customers the most effective solutions.
However, when Sentricon AlwaysActive was first released, it proved a challenge to convince many of their customers to adopt this new concept in termite management technology, even though it was impressed upon them that this was the better way of combating termite issues. As a result, Bubba Gump Pest Control undertook its own trials in various locations and rigorously tested the product to generate data to convince customers of its efficacy. It was clear after the trials that the Sentricon system had outstanding capabilities, and after numerous discussions with customers, and demonstrating the results, the Bubba Gump team was able to swap 80% of its clients over to this new concept.
As well as converting existing customers, the new technology enabled the team to win many new customers too. Bubba Gump was engaged by the representative of a swimming pool centre who had discovered major termite issues within the building and the rear of the property. The property contains a 50-metre pool where they run swimming lessons, fitness sessions and allow access to the general public for casual swimming.
After an invasive termite inspection, it was established that the termites had been and gone, leaving major damage to the structure of the building. One of the pools in the complex had developed a slight leak that the pool contractors were having trouble locating. This caused higher than normal moisture readings within the walls of the building and also the external areas of the commercial premises, notably in the ground soil – which undoubtedly acted as a powerful attractant to nearby subterranean termite colonies.
After lengthy discussions and site meetings with the owner, every possible option to combat the issue was explored. Ultimately, it was decided that the best action moving forward was to install a Sentricon AlwaysActive system. This was in March 2021. To install the system, a large amount of core drilling work was required, as well as station installations in the non-concreted area, a total of 69.
Upon completion of this installation, the Bubba Gump team attended the site for a follow-up inspection one month later. This inspection revealed termite activity in three of the 69 stations, with one bait rod being completely consumed. The species of termites was identified as Coptotermes.
In total, 19 of the Sentricon termiticide rods were consumed. Today the site is back to quarterly inspections with no further termite activity detected since colony elimination, making for a very happy client for Bubba Gump Pest Control. The client was shown the results of the treatment and was extremely happy with the outcome.
Brady Clarke, managing director of Bubba Gump Pest Control (main picture, left) believes that one of the greatest benefits of the Sentricon AlwaysActive System is that the elimination process begins immediately once a station is hit by termites. Another great aspect of the design of the Sentricon station is its size and ease of installation compared to some of the larger stations on the market, which is a big selling point when engaging new clients.
Mr Clarke believes that it was the right decision to incorporate Sentricon AlwaysActive into the Bubba Gump range of termite solutions when it was first released back in 2015.
“The Sentricon Always Active System has been a gamechanger within the pest control industry compared to traditional monitoring and baiting systems. As well as being a great product, we’ve also appreciated the ongoing support from Dow AgroSciences/Corteva who have been most helpful when we first needed advice and continue to assist us in gaining customer satisfaction.”
