AU2006201468B2 - Termite bait station - Google Patents

Description

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 ORIGINAL COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: "TERMITE BAIT STATION" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: 1 TITLE: TERMITE BAIT STATION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention THIS INVENTION relates to a termite bait station, in which bait 5 may be inserted to suppress or eradicate colonies of termites. The present invention is particularly suitable for, but not limited to, an above-ground termite bait station. 2. Prior Art Termites cause billions of dollars damage to objects such as 10 structures, agricultural crops and trees around the world. For many years, termite control relied upon the use of environmentally-persistent pesticides at points of possible termite entry and attack. However, in recent years, environmental concerns about the pesticides used would have resulted in the proscribing of such pesticides, at 15 least in developed countries. One viable low-impact solution has been the adoption of termite baiting, where the termites are aggregated at a fixed point and are eliminated due to their consumption of a toxicant-containing bait placed at the point of aggregation. 20 Both inground and above-ground termite bait stations have been adopted. With the above-ground stations, problems have included: a) fixing the stations toe the articles infested with termites; b) providing sufficient bait to kill all the termites in the infestation; and 2 c) enabling the interior of the station to be monitored without disturbing the termites in the station. SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an above 5 ground termite bait station which is easy to install and easy to operate. It is a preferred object to provide such a bait station which is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture. It is a further preferred object of the present invention to provide such a bait station which is attractive to the termites to encourage 10 their ingress into the station. It is a further preferred object of the present invention to provide such a bait station where, when termites have aggregated in the bait station, that bait can easily be monitored with minimal disturbance. It is a still further preferred object to provide a bait station 15 where two or more such stations-can be "piggy-backed" to multiply the volume of bait. Other preferred objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description. In a broad aspect, the present invention resides in a termite 20 bait station, including: a rigid housing, having a lower portion with at least one lower side wall and a bottom wall, and an upper portion with at least one upper sidewall connected to the or each lower side wall by at least one connecting wall, the lower and upper portions forming a cavity to contain a termite bait 3 material; a removable cover to provide access to the cavity; at least one termite bait material locatable in the cavity; and at least one hole in the bottom wall of the housing, to enable 5 termites to gain access to the termite bait material in the cavity. Preferably, the lower portion is square or rectangular in plan view with opposed lower side walls and lower end walls, to form a well. Preferably, the upper portion is also square or rectangular in plan view, but of greater length and/or width than the lower portion, with 10 opposed upper side walls and upper end walls. One of the upper and lower side walls and/or one of the upper and lower end walls may be aligned. Preferably, the or each connecting wall extends substantially parallel to the bottom wall to interconnect the upper and lower side walls 15 and/or upper and lower end walls. One or more cut-out or break-out portions may be provided in the or each connecting wall to enable provision of holes in the or each connecting wall to enable the termites to access the cavity. Preferably, the removable cover has one or more cut-out or 20 break-out portions to enable the provision of one or more viewing holes in the cover, the or each viewing hole being preferably closable by a plug releasably engageable with the removable cover. Preferably, one or more viewing holes in the removable cover are aligned with the one or more holes in the bottom wall, to provide 4 communication between the respective cavities when two or more of the bait stations are arranged in a piggy-back arrangement. Preferably, the housing and the removable cover are formed of termite-resistant plastics material, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC, 5 and one or more of the external faces may be of dark colour so that sunlight on the bait station will warm the cavity. Preferably, the bottom wall and/or the or each connecting wall is secured to the article, infested with termites, by suitable fasteners, such as screws, bolts, staples. 10 Preferably, the bait material comprises a carrier or matrix with a toxicant, which is preferably at a level which will not kill the termites in the station, but where the termites will transport the bait material to a termite infestation site in the article to kill all the termites at that site. Preferably, the carrier or matrix has a "doughy" texture, ranging 15 from runny to a semi-flowable or slurry texture. Preferably, the matrix has a higher water content in summer than in winter. A particularly suitable matrix is alphacellulose. The active constituent, or toxicant, in the bait may be chlorfluazoron (eg., at lgm/Kg) or hexaflumuron (eg., at 5gm/Kg). 20 Preferably, the bait material, eg., 1OOmL per cavity is placed in the cavity using a caulking gun. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS To enable the invention to be fully understood, a preferred embodiment will now be described with reference to the accompanying 5 drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is an "exploded" top perspective view of the removable lower end housing of the bait station in accordance with the present invention; 5 FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the housing; FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the housing; FIG. 4 is a sectional end view of the housing taken on line A-A on FIG. 3; FIG. 5 is a sectional side view taken on line B-B on FIG. 3; 10 FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the removable cover; FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 are respective top plan, sectional side and expanded sectional side views of a plug for the removable cover; FIG. 10 is an schematic side view showing the toxicant bait being applied to the housing using a caulking gun; and 15 FIG. 11 is a schematic sectional side view showing two of the bait stations fixed to a wall. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, the termite bait station 10 has a rigid 20 housing 20, injection-moulded of termite-resistant plastics material, eg., polypropylene, and is preferably of a dark colour (eg., black/charcoal) so that sunlight will cause the housing 10 to be heated as termites prefer a warm, moist atmosphere. The housing 20 has a lower portion 21, which is rectangular in 6 plan view, with opposed lower side walls 22, 23 and opposed lower end walls 24, 25, and a bottom wall 26 with a rectangular hole 27 (to allow ingress of the termites from the article (not shown) to which the bottom wall 26 is fixed). Fixing holes 28 in the bottom wall 26 allow the bottom wall 26 to be fixed to 5 the article infested with termites by screws, nails or other suitable fasteners. The lower portion 21 forms a substantially rectangular "well". The upper portion 31 of the housing 20 is also rectangular in plan view, but has a larger "footprint" - see FIG. 1 - and has opposed upper side walls 32, 33 and upper end walls 34, 35. 10 An L-shaped connecting wall 36 interconnects the upper and lower side walls 32, 22 and upper and lower end walls 35, 25 (with upper and lower side walls 33, 23 and upper and lower end walls 34, 24 being aligned). The upper portion 31 has an open mouth 37 which has a rim 38 to sealably receive a removable cover 40 (to be hereinafter described). 15 One or more "break-out"f'cut-out"/"knock-out" pieces 39 are provided in the connecting wall 36 to enable termites to enter the bait station 10 when the connecting wall 36 lies against the article infested with the termites. The "stepped" profile of the housing 20 allows the housing 20 20 to be fixed to a non-planar article (eg., a wall with an architrave or cornice see FIG. 11). Posts 29, with bores 29a, are moulded in the housing 20 to receive screw-fasteners to releasably secure the releasable cover 40 to the housing 20. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 6, the removable cover 40 is 7 rectangular in plan view, with a peripheral rim 41, and peripheral flange 42, for sealing engagement with the upper side walls 32, 33 and upper end walls 34, 35 of the housing 20. Holes 43 in the body 44 of the removable cover 40 are aligned 5 with the bores 29a in the posts 29 of the housing 20 to enable screws (not shown) to releasably secure the removable cover 40 to the housing 20. A number of "break-out"/"cut-out"/"knock-out" portions 45 are provided in the body 44 to provide viewing holes 46 into the cavity 50 defined by the upper and lower portions 31, 21 of the housing 20 and the removable 10 cover 40. Preferably, the view hole, or holes, are selectively closed by plugs 60 - see FIGS. 7 to 9 - where each plug has a head 61 and a circular rim 62. The rim 62 is profiled - see FIG. 9 - to releasably engage the rim of a view hole in the removable cover 40 and can be released using a tool 15 engaging under the chamfered peripheral edge 63 of the plug head 61. In use, the housing 20 is fixed to the article which is infested with termites, using screws S, nails, adhesive, sealant or the like. A mixture of bait material 70, approximately 100mL, is prepared, with alphacellulose (and water) as the matrix and, eg., 1gm/Kg 20 chlorfluazoron as the toxicant. The quantity of water will depend on the consistency of the bait required, with more water used in summer. The bait mixture 70 is placed in the cavity 50 using a caulking gun 80, as shown in FIG. 10. The removable cover 40, with at least one viewing hole closed 8 by a plug 60, is fitted to the housing 20 to enclose the bait material 70 in the cavity 50. As the bait material 70 is more attractive to the termites than the material of the article, the termites will enter the cavity 50 via the hole 27 in the bottom wall 26 of the housing 20, and via any holes 39a in the 5 connecting wall 36. Periodically, the operator can remove the plug(s) 60 and view the termite activity in the cavity 50. The concentration of the toxicant in the bait material 70 is selected so that its presence in the matrix will not deter the termites from 10 entering the bait station 10 and that the termites will transport the bait material back to the infestation site so that all the termites, not just those who enter the bait station, will be eradicated. As previously described, the bait station 10 may contain 1 OOmL of bait material 70. For larger infestations, two or more of the bait stations 10 15 may be piggy-backed, with the holes 46 in the removable cover 40 of the bait station 10 fixed to the article 90 aligned with the hole 27 in the bottom wall 26 of the superimposed bait station 10 to enable the termites to access the bait material in the cavities 50 of both bait stations 10 - see FIG. 11. The "stepped" configuration of the housing 20 allows the bait 20 station 10 to be fixed to non-planar articles, eg., wall 90/architrave 91, and the termites can enter the cavity 50 via the hole 27 or any holes 39a in the connecting wall 36. The configuration allows a relatively slim profile of the bait station 10, while enabling the bait station 10 to contain an effective volume 9 (eg., 100 ml) of bait material 70, Furthermore, the termite activity in the bait station 10 can be observed without disturbing the termites therein. The bait station 10 is relatively easy and inexpensive to 5 manufacture, and is easy to install. The selection of the matrix material, and toxicant or active ingredient, will be dependent on the combination found best suitable for the species of termite in the infested article. Various changes and modifications may be made to the 10 embodiments described and illustrated without departing from the present invention.

Claims (10)

1. A termite bait station, having a lower portion with at least one lower side wall and a bottom wall, and an upper portion with at least one upper side wall connected to the or each lower side wall by at least one 5 connecting wall, the lower and upper portions forming a cavity to contain a termite bait material; a removable cover to provide access to the cavity; at least one termite bait material locatable in the cavity; and at least one hole in the bottom wall of the housing, to enable 10 termites to gain access to the termite bait material in the cavity.

2. A station as claimed in Claim 1, wherein: the lower portion is square or rectangular in plan view with opposed lower side walls and lower end walls, to form a well; and the upper portion is also square or rectangular in plan view, but 15 of greater length and/or width than the lower portion, with opposed upper walls and upper end walls.

3. A station as claimed in Claim 2, wherein: one of the upper and lower walls and/or one of the upper and lower end walls is aligned. 20 4. A station as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein: the or each connecting wall extends substantially parallel to the bottom wall to interconnect the upper and lower side walls and/or upper and lower end walls.

5. A station as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein: 11 one or more cut-out break-out portions are provided in the or each connecting wall to enable provision of holes in the or each connecting wall to enable the provision of one or more viewing holes in the cover, the or each viewing hole being closable by a plug releasably engageable with the 5 removable cover.

7. A station as claimed in Claim 6, wherein: one or more viewing holes in the removable cover are aligned with the one or more holes in the bottom wall, to provide communication between the respective cavities when two or more of the bait stations are 10 arranged in a piggy-back arrangement.

8. A station as claimed in any one of Claims I to 7, wherein: the housing and removable cover are formed of termite resistant plastics material, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC; and one or more of the external faces are of a dark colour so that sunlight on the 15 bait station will warm the cavity.

9. A station as claimed in Claim 8, wherein: the bottom wall and/or the or each connecting wall is secured to an article, infested with termites, by suitable fasteners, such as screws, bolts, staples. 20 10. A station as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 9, wherein: the bait material comprises a carrier or matrix with a toxicant, which is at a level which will not kill the termites in the station, but where the termites will transport the bait material to a termite infestation site in the article to kill all the termites at that site, 12

11. A station as claimed in Claim 10, wherein: the carrier or matrix has a."doughy" texture, ranging from runny to a semi-flowable or slurry texture, and the matrix has a higher water content in summer than in winter. 5 12. A station as claimed in Claim 10, wherein: a suitable matrix is alphacellulose; and the active constituent, or toxicant, in the bait is chlorfluazoron at 1gm/Kg, or hexaflumuron at 5gm/Kg.

13. A station as claimed in Claim 11 or Claim 12, wherein: 10 the bait material, at 100mL per cavity, is placed in the cavity using a caulking gun.

14. A termite bait station substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 15 DATED this seventh day of April 2006. PCT HOLDINGS PTY LTD By its Patent Attorneys FISHER ADAMS KELLY