Sentricon – Safe, Proven, Durable, Strong.
The Sentricon System has a history dating back 30 years. Here in Australia, Dow AgroSciences Australia Ltd launched the Sentricon System in 1997. It was the first monitoring and baiting system to be launched in Australia.
In 2004, they launched Sentricon II Advanced Termite Control which saw a change it the Sentricon Business Model and a far superior bait matrix.
In 2015, Dow AgroSciences who became Corteva Agriscience in 2019, launched Sentricon AlwaysActive which has been a game changer in termite management systems.
As the name suggests, it is active from installation, can be used as a preventative and curative system as Corteva also have the Sentricon Above Ground Termite Bait which compliments Sentricon AlwaysActive, both having the same active ingredient, hexaflumuron at a 5 gram per kg active loading.
Sentricon AlwaysActive can be installed pre or post construction as it is Codemark Certified as long as the scope and limitations are adhered to.
Over the last 6 years since the introduction of Sentricon AlwaysActive to the market, Joanne George, Business Manager for Sentricon, has been asked the question from many pest managers as to how the termiticide rods hold up in flood waters, particularly in areas subject to seasonal tropical rainfall, and more recently with the Mid North Coast of NSW where they had flooding back in March.
So let’s share a couple of studies that have been conducted by Dow/Corteva.
The first study was done in November 2010 in the United States which was when they launched Sentricon AlwaysActive. Recruit HD is the name for their AlwaysActive rods and the only difference is that the active ingredient being noviflumuron, not hexaflumuron, but the composition of the rod matrix is exactly the same.
Study No 1 was simulating flooding of Sentricon stations with Recruit® HD termite bait for up to three months Recruit® HD – active ingredient 0.5% noviflumuron. One Recruit® HD was placed in a Sentricon® station and covered with purified water in a jar. The flooding experiment conducted in triplicate and the water was analyzed by a sensitive analytical technique to determine the concentration of noviflumuron on the day of flooding and monthly up to three months.
What that study revealed:
- If Sentricon AlwaysActive stations are flooded, there is virtually no potential for the active ingredient to leach outside the Sentricon station.
- The a.i. concentration in water around the rods was extremely low and below the acute toxicity level for even the most sensitive aquatic species.
- Any free a.i. is locked into the soil matrix, even when flooded, and does not move into the surrounding environment.
- The a.i. concentration in water did not increase with length of time that the Sentricon rod was flooded.
The second study was conducted in 2015 on our termiticide rods – A Summary of Determination of the Aqueous Hexaflumuron Concentration after Flooding of Termiticide Rods. The termiticide rods were placed in glass graduated cylinders and covered with aqueous calcium chloride in the dark at an ambient temperature. Single samples were taken on day one and triplicate samples on day 36 and 92 after flooding. The termiticide rods were removed and the flood solution poured into glass jars. The graduated glass cylinders were rinsed with methanol and added to the flood solution. Replicate aliquots of each sample was then diluted and analysed to determine the aqueous hexaflumuron concentrate.
And what that study concluded was:
- No significant difference in results between day 1 and day 92 results.
- Most likely any hexaflumuron measured in the simulated stagnant flood water was rinsed off the exterior of the rod rather than leached from the rod.
- Design of the study represented a worse-case scenario, as length of time the rods were flooded was excessive suggesting extremely low environmental exposure due to flooding of hexaflumuron.
In New Orleans in the US., much of the city is protected with the Sentricon System. Several year ago they battled with Hurricane Matthew. Due to a hurricane and subsequent flood waters, many of the Sentricon Stations sat in stagnant water for a good few weeks. Dow/Corteva were sent some of the nasty baits from the flood waters and were asked to test them for their palatability. In the lab test, termites readily accepted them despite their apparent gnarly appearance due to excessive exposure to flood water. It was also reported that the Sentricon Stations were again hit by termites after the water subsided demonstrating their palatability and durability in again worse case scenarios.
After a visit to Darwin back in 2017 and being asked the question as to how the rods hold up in flood water a few years back, Ms George decided to do her own experiment at home. She placed a rod in a jar and immersed it fully in water for over a year. The first photograph on the left was the day it was put in the jug, the second photograph is at 3 months and third photograph is after 6 months.
As you can see, there is a crack after three months, but we know that it totally normal and to be expected, but its condition didn’t change by six months, nor after twelve months. It was still as solid as day one which is pretty outstanding durability wise.
What does this mean for you? Due to minimal leaching of the a.i. or degradation of the rod by excessive water, Sentricon AlwaysActive delivers you peace of mind that even in the worse possible scenario, it is environmentally friendly and it’s durability is undeniably outstanding.
