Autumn Pest Control - Now’s the time to prepare and protect your home or business for the season ahead.
Now’s the time to prepare for the Autumn season against pests.
Got pests? Contact Amalgamated Pest Control today.
Amalgamated Pest Control
504 Boundary Rd
Archerfield, QLD, 4108
Domestic: 1300 383 160
Commercial: 1300 639 136
Visit: amalgamatedpestcontrol.com.au
TWO-TIME BATHURST WINNER JOINS RE-STRUCTURED TEAM
V8 SUPERCAR star Russell Ingall has confirmed he will compete full-time in the 2014 V8 Supercars
Championship for Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport.
Ingall, the 2005 V8 Supercar champion, has signed to drive a Triple Eight Race Engineering-built Holden
Commodore VF for the team and made the announcement today in Melbourne.
The Nunawading (Melbourne) based team has undergone a major restructure in the off-season and, after
running two cars last season, will field a single car program in 2014.
Corporate smash repair group Repair Management Australia was also confirmed as naming rights
backer of Ingall’s #23 Commodore with major support from Castrol and Holden.
Ingall, 49, is entering his 19th season full-time in Australia’s top motorsport category and says he made
the decision to join a small, single car team for a number of reasons.
“Plenty of people will be asking why would I come to a small team that has been going through some
growing pains,” says Ingall.
“But I see it as a challenge to help build the team, move it forward and keep it on the grid.
“There are plenty of hero drivers out there that would never ‘lower’ themselves to drive for a small team
but I see it as an opportunity to be involved in something from the ground floor.”
Ingall is focused on helping LDM move forward on the V8 Supercar grid this season, though stressed the
new deal is certainly no ‘come back’.
“I wasn’t comfortable last year with how things were presented by some parties about my so-called
retirement. I always maintained that if there was a suitable full-time opportunity for this season that I
would take it.
“I haven’t changed my mind and made a ‘come back’. I never left the sport or intended to leave the sport.
There were some good offers to join some well-credentialed teams for the endurance races, but a fulltime
opportunity was always my main focus.
“At the end of the day, my love for the sport and racing cars is undiminished. I love the racing community,
it’s given me a lot and I want to stay involved with it.
“’I think the man on the street will understand my situation. Anyone that loves their job or the industry
they work in doesn’t want to get pushed out of it before they’re ready.”
Ingall’s signing, coupled with off-season changes to his team, excites LDM Team Principal Lucas
Dumbrell.
“Holden has been instrumental in getting Russell on board and he brings a lot to our team with nearly 20
years of full-time experience at the top level of V8 Supercar racing,” says Dumbrell.
“He’s far from being a spent force in the sport. He brings an eye for detail that our team needs that
comes from driving for some of the top teams in pit lane.
“We have a revitalised team and approach this year. While we are moving back to a single car program
we have the intent and desire to return to a two-car program in the future.”
Simon McNamara, GM Holden Ltd Motorsport and Sponsorship Manager, says the addition of the most
experienced V8 Supercar driver in history is the first step in LDM’s redevelopment.
“It’s also an opportunity for Russell to give back to the sport that has given him so much and to help this
team grow in all areas,” says McNamara.
“Russell has been a great ambassador for Holden for the lion’s share of his time in V8 Supercars. We’re
very happy to see him back on the grid in a Commodore in 2014.
“Importantly, it’s also a way of ensuring the team doesn’t fall by the wayside like others have during the
recent off-season period.
“Lucas is a young, ambitious guy and we’d like to see this team succeed this season and move forward
on the grid. He’s been working very hard and we support him in this quest to develop his team.”
Repair Management Australia’s Phil Munday says the opportunity to become a naming rights sponsor of
Ingall and LDM fitted the business perfectly for its short-term plans.
“I’ve been involved in motorsport for many years and this is an ideal platform for us to expand our brand
awareness as we go nationwide,” he says.
“It’s a launch pad for our national campaign to expand our multi-shop operator group by acquiring
businesses interstate as either joint venture interests or company-owned facilities, and providing national
service to our client base and work providers.
“Being in the automotive repair business for over 35 years we’ve been a long-time sponsor of community
clubs and events. A national sport like V8 Supercars, which visits every state of Australia, is hard to beat
in the sporting marketplace.
“Partnering with Russell and LDM not only gives us national awareness, but the opportunity to participate
nationally, which is why we’ve got involved at this level.”
Ingall’s first drive of the #23 Repair Management Australia Commodore will come at the Official V8
Supercar Test Day at Sydney Motorsport Park on Saturday February 15.
The first round of the V8 Supercars Championship will be at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide on February 27
to March 2.
Russell Ingall joins Amalgamated Pest Control as Brand Ambassador for 2014.
Ants are a common summer pest, often found in kitchens, bathrooms and backyards.
These pests are on the hunt for food and shelter, so it’s important to control these pests fast before they get out of hand.
Identifying the correct ant species is vital since they all have different food and nesting preferences. A thorough inspection of a home will allow us to locate nests for eradication.
Chemical Treatments: Chemical treatments for ant control range from liquid and dry powder formulation to granules. Most active ingredients in these products are based on synthetic pyrethroids, which are much safer for your family and pets. Chemical treatments can sometimes provide ongoing protection (like a barrier) against future ant infestation, however this depends on the species of ant, and the type and placement of the ant control product.
Ant Baiting: Ants baits are a highly effective ant control tool. After correct identification of the ants, the correct bait can be selected and placed strategically to encourage the ants to feed. The advantage of using ant baits is that the ants transfer the bait back to the colony; if the baiting job is done well, the entire colony can be eradicated with a single visit. The disadvantage of using baits is that the baits may need to be replenished over time – and the ants will not die off immediately, so patience is needed.
Black ants not only cause a nuisance but pack a nasty bite if disturbed. They are not known to cause serious health issues, but if you or a member of your family are bitten, follow these basic First Aid steps:
Products purchased from the supermarket or hardware stores are generally not effective in controlling black ants. These products are often costly and are not designed to correctly attack the biology of these pests.
You can help reduce black ant colonies at your home by following these simple tips:
If you believe or suspect that you have ants, please contact Amalgamated Pest Control for further advice.
As we move into the warmer months of the year one pest that will be commonly found across all areas of Australia is the Redback Spider. The pictures above were taken at a home recently, where our technician counted over 20 females around the home.
If left untreated that’s potentially many more spiders in a couple of month’s time.
Redback Spiders are easily identified due to their distinctive body colours and shape. They are usually black with a distinct orange or red stripe on the upper side of their abdomen and on the lower side is usually an orange or red hourglass shaped mark. Some females can be a fawn colour. The size of a female can be 12mm-15mm and larger females can easily span a 50 cent coin. Males differ from the female in both size and colour. Males are much smaller and are rarely seen. They are brown and usually have white markings.
They are commonly found living in close proximity to human habitation and tend to favour outdoor areas. They generally construct a strong untidy web close to the ground with the spider usually hiding in a sheltered are at the top or corner of the web and wait for insects or small lizards to stumble into their webs. They favour dry places around buildings, under outdoor furniture, toys that may have been sitting outside for periods of time, stored/cluttered items, pot plants and the like. They can also be commonly found in sheds amongst stored items like boxes and other clutter, and garages. A common belief is that they will always be found at ground level however they can also be found within roof voids. Some of the biggest Redback spiders I have seen have been in guttering of homes. Be aware of this when getting leaves out of gutters. Wear gloves.
Successful treatment for Redback Spiders will rely on a good inspection. As these spiders are very good at exploiting many different areas around your home, identifying areas where they are prior to treatment is essential. Like all webbing spiders our treatment will rely on direct contact with the spider or its web. Seeking out all areas externally and treating accordingly is the first step. Other areas that will need to be treated for this spider are roof spaces and wall cavities. When a good infestation is present externally they will often be found in weep holes and roof voids. A lot of insects enter these areas so it is a great place for Redback Spiders to construct webs. If sub-floors are present at your home they will also be treated. I have seen sub-floors literally full of Redback Spiders. Female only needs to mate once after that can produce eggs for up to 2 years laying new batches of eggs every 3 weeks or so, we need to make sure that all spiders living around the home are treated properly in order to protect you and your home from these spiders.
We will conduct an inspection of the property to identify where these spiders are hiding, this will typically include areas such as:
• External walls.
• Behind gutter down pipes.
• Window and door frames.
• Pergola and carport roofs.
• Garden beds.
• Bin areas.
• Fences.
Other areas that are commonly a danger for small children’s hands and pets will include:
• Children’s toys.
• Trampolines.
• Swing sets, slides.
• Outdoor furniture.
• Dog kennels.
This type of pest control treatment typically takes around 1.5 hours to complete.
If you or a member of your family suffers a Redback spider bite, follow the DRABCD action plan and perform basic First Aid steps.
If severe pain occurs, call 000 for an ambulance immediately.
• Remove all webs from structures, under eaves and backyard equipment such as swings, trampolines.
• Store children’s toys in one location, preferably off the ground – always take care when handling toys after storage.
• Don’t leave shoes on the ground outside doorways – if you have to, hit them together on against a wall before fitting to your feet.
If you would like more information on how to manage Redback pest problems at your property, call Amalgamated Pest Control.
With summer well under way, there are a number of things we can do around our home to minimise the impact of pests in our lives.
Look after the furry friends:
Around the House and Garden:
1300 383 160
Termite DIY Checklist
Termites are busy everywhere – especially in summer months.
In Australia, every fourth home in your street will have an encounter with termites at some point during its life.
It’s really important to make sure that you keep an eye on your property.
Here are some things that you can do to make sure that you don’t encourage them to set up home in your place.
1300 383 160
Fleas Fact Sheet
Fleas are best controlled with you don’t let them get of hand. Once the problem gets too far out of hand you’re going to need outside help!
But before you get to that stage here are some things that can help you keep them at bay.
If after all this the flea population explodes around your place, you’ll need to get some professional help.
What to do BEFORE we come to treat your home:
Much of the success of a fleas treatment is what happens after we leave. Because of the flea biology, time needs to pass the next ‘generations’ need to mature before the problem is fully solved. This can take a number of weeks.
What to do AFTER the treatment over the next 3-4 weeks or so…
1300 383 160
As we move well into spring, the days are starting to get much warmer and one pest that can cause some grief to home owners is the Paper Wasp. Throughout Sydney from now and through summer, these wasps can be found building their nests under eaves, window ledges and various other places around homes.
There are many species of native Paper Wasps which vary in size and appearance. Their nests are made from chewing weathered wood and mixing saliva which produces the soft paper like nest. Naturally they attach these webs to a branch, rock face or twig but in urban environments such as ours they often construct these nests on our property. If you look around your home to see if there are Paper Wasps present, they are usually found on north and west facing sides of a building so they can gain maximum benefit of the sunlight.
New nests will be started by female wasps that have been in active through the colder months. They are social insects like bees and will build up a nest and tend to it in a similar way. The queen is similar in appearance to the workers. The queen will move through the nest and lay eggs into the bottom of empty cells. These eggs will hatch and larvae are fed with chewed up caterpillars fed to them by the workers. Once the larvae are fully grown the cell is closed by the workers and the larvae turn into pupae and emerge an adult wasp and remain with the colony. Nests will grow in size over summer. When the weather starts to cool male wasps are produced and mate with the females which will then find a place to hide such as cracks and crevices. The females that survive the winter will then begin new colonies the next spring.
Control of this insect is best left to professionals who have very good products capable of controlling the adult wasps very fast and have the appropriate protective equipment to avoid stings. They are not an aggressive wasp most stings from these wasps are inflicted when a nest is disturbed or threatened. Most stings will happen when you don’t realise that the nest is there for example if you brush past a branch or plant which they have built a nest. The wasps in this case will swarm out and sting. Sometimes they will pursue the threat. They’re capable of stinging multiple times which can be painful and may swell and remain itchy for several days.
Wasps will sting when threatened and we recommend that homeowners DO NOT try and address any infestations themselves. For any patient that is allergic to bee stings and shows signs of anaphylaxis, call 000 for an ambulance, and have the patient taken immediately to the emergency department of the nearest hospital. If you or a family member are stung by bees, follow these general first aid steps:
If an allergic reaction takes place call 000 for an ambulance.
Ref: Summer Safety with St John First Aid
If you would like more information on how to manage wasp pest problems at your property, call Amalgamated Pest Control.
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