Running alongside the exhibition at Disinfestando were a series of seminars. In addition to those organised by ANID were four workshops arranged by Bleu Line for their customers. One of these covered the use of heat for the control of insects in particular bed bugs.
Visit PestWorld in America and the array of heat treatment systems is mind-boggling. Within Europe this type of non-chemical control method is growing in significance, so what is Thermo-bug all about?
| Debuted in Germany First seen at the German PestProtect event in Stuttgart last March, Thermo-bug is now distributed by Bleu Line in Italy and in several export countries. At the workshop for overseas distributors, the managing director of Fleschut UG from Germany, Thilo Fleschhut, explained what it was all about. As with all good presentations, he started by identifying the problem! Thilo ran through the pest in question – bed bugs – and gave a resumá© of the ever increasing control challenges faced by pest controllers when confronted by these pests. The message with all heat treatments is simple – raise the temperature to at least 55°C, proteins are denatured and the insect dies. To be on the safe side, Thermo-bug aims to raise the room temperature to a maximum of 70°C. To ensure uniform heat penetration two heater units are recommended. Amongst the benefits of using heat are that all stages of the insect life cycle are killed, including those resistant to insecticides, no chemicals are used and there is little down-time, for example when used in hotels. There are three models in the Thermo-bug range. The classic Thermo-bug model, Thermo-bug Compact, which as the name implies, is a smaller easier to transport model and the airblower with tripod designed to circulate the hot air. Not just bed bugs… Dr Verdone highlighted the use of such thermal equipment within the food industry e.g. mills and pasta factories, catering establishments and within the transport world, such as in ships & ferries as well as hotels, private homes, prisons and the like. And bed bugs are not the only pest that can be controlled – heat works on all insects so cockroaches, stored product pests and wood boring insects can also be a target. Concluding the workshop, Blue Line’s Stefano Scarponi encouraged all those present to think seriously about this non-chemical means of control. Stefano made the offer of asistance with the first treatments for anyone trying the system for the frst time. |
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Thilo Fleschhut standing next to a