THE SERVICE THAT WE PROVIDE IS REFERRED TO AS LOCALIZED TREATMENT
In the 70’s it was discovered that certain wooden timber, if not treated carried the risk of being attacked by wood-destroying organism such as Cryptotermes Brevis. This is the most common borer within Durban and the flight hole is 2mm wide and the frass (droppings) looks like sand when fresh, light in colour and over time browns and eventually the dropping goes black.
We realised the need for a Bio and Eco-friendly product that could kill insects but to carry no risk on families. I came across a product and mentioned it to a friend. I ran tests on the product and saw
Positive results. I intended distributing the products into retail stores and in the interim named the company Alpha Organic distributors. I discovered it virtually impossible to get one product into retail stores unless one has a wide selection of at least 6-7 products.
The friend phoned me in January 2012 and asked me whether the product worked
On Wood-Borer. I met the client and made arrangements to run a test. The supervisor of a large block of flats in Baumann Avenue, North Beach was about to move into a flat that the Borer had invaded and caused damages to the floors. The contractor repairing the floors had suggested the Borer activity be treated or if the floors were to be repaired, the floors may be damaged again if the Borer were not properly dealt with. The Body Corporate gave us permission to provide service
Pest Free Service made contact with Supervisor Keith. We asked him what results he saw from our treatment. “Grant, I don’t know what you have done, but how did you manage to get the Borer out the flat”. He said “I know the adult Borer, who take the form of a small flying ant; but there were none inside the flat, but mostly just outside the flat and up and down the corridor there are dead and dying adult Borer. How did you get them out the flat”? We told him that the product attacks the nervous system, so on the day in question the Larvae that were able to fly, felt the attack on the nervous system when they came into contact with the product and they then surfaced and again wanted to escape from the product on the flat floor. The only place they could escape from the product was under the door. The product was diluted in such a way that it kills the pest fairly slowly….but surely and the reason they were dying on the outside passage. The results from my treatment made me realise that the product was effective and yet treatment was at the customers convenience.
We made an immediate decision to be a service provider and step by step, with help from friends and family began building Pest Free Services to what it is today, with a client base of at least 650 households.
We initially ran jobs and got independent Entomologists, trained at UKZN to run tests shortly after our treatment and they confirmed the effect of our service.
We also discovered that any person providing service as a Pest Controller has to be registered with the Dept. of Agriculture once they have completed the required training and we are now registered with the Department of Agriculture for our 2nd term.