Despite having high pest activity all year-round, the peak of Mackay's pest activity often coincides with our tropical wet season.
Mackay has an average of 160+ days of rain equating to an annual rainfall of 1585mm. A large proportion falls in the months December through to March (peak times for pest activity).
We've answered the most common questions asked when a pest control treatment coincides with rainy weather.
If it is overcast and raining, can my pest control treatment still go ahead?
Occasionally pest control treatments happen with an afternoon storm or rainy period and clients biggest concern are their treatments will be ineffective. In almost all cases, rain has no affect on our treatments - whether they are applied before or after rain!
Don't let a rainy day put you off rescheduling your pest control just yet.
There’s 4 reasons for this –
Most homes throughout the Mackay region have eaves and guttering that overhang wall edges, protecting where treatments are applied – so, unless the rain is coming in sideways with strong wind gusts blowing directly against the walls, it’s not going to have any affect and the treatment can proceed as usual.
Pesticides are fast drying and insoluble. In fact, when applied to a dry external surface, liquid pesticide will adhere to the surface and dries on impact or within 10 minutes. 'Insoluble' meaning, once applied and dried, the pesticide cannot be washed away or diluted by a downpour of rain after its application.
Granular treatments for pests such as ants, ground spiders, fleas and lawn grubs are specially formulated pellets which actually need water to activate. When the rain makes contact with this treatment, the insecticide can penetrate into the soil deeper and destroy any nearby insects. In cases of dry periods or sandy areas, we'll often advise our clients to soak their yard (before or after) our treatment to assist in making it the most effective.
When it’s wet and the ground’s soft and damp, most pests, especially ants & ground spiders, will actually come out from hiding underground because they’re looking to escape the moisture from their nests. This results in the treatment being more effective, as we are applying the treatment directly to the pests!
When should I cancel my pest control treatment?
There will be some exceptions depending on the treatments being done, but for most cases, you won’t need to reschedule your appointment.
Obviously if you’re only having the inside of the property treated there is no need, but there are a few things you need to be aware of if it’s been raining and you intend on having the outside done.
As mentioned above, many of the insecticides that we use are insoluble and won’t be washed away by rainfall, however if it’s been raining heavily for days on end and the weather only looks to be getting worse, then it might be best to reschedule those external treatments.
Pesticides need to “bind” to the surface it is being applied to. In other words – we don’t spray soaking wet walls. If it’s been raining heavily for hours on end and the external walls are soaking wet, our technician will advise a treatment to the protected & internal areas only and then pop back to complete external areas once the weather has improved.
In Summary
If poor weather prompts a reschedule we highly recommend proceeding with your internal treatment anyway to give your home protection from the pest activity that will ensue from the rains outside.
Then, once's the weather clears up we can finish the external area without needing access to your home.
When treating the outside of the home, especially when spraying, we apply a thin film of insecticide spray. The product dries within 10 minutes, so if it rains a short time later, it won’t affect the treatment.
Any treatments performed at ground level, work best if it’s damp. Again we’ll usually advise, “If it’s not wet, get out there and give it a bit of a hose.”
So, in summary it really depends on the type of treatment as to whether or not the treatment might need to be rescheduled or affected in any way, but typically this isn’t the case.
All Things Pest Control will always contact you beforehand or the technician will discuss this with you on the day if a reschedule is required. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to give our team a call today.
