A sheeted stack in the garage looks a lot like a tent. To a six-year-old, that's an invitation. At a family home, keeping children away from a fumigation is the part of the job that matters most.
Families in Fraai Uitsig call us about fumigation for things like borer in a bunk bed or a wooden toy box, or beetles that have worked their way through stored goods in the garage. The gas used, phosphine, is deadly, and it doesn't need much of it to make a child seriously ill. If the whole house is being fumigated, everyone is out anyway, and the job is making sure nobody comes back early. If it's a garage or outbuilding and the family is staying at home, the gas is a few metres from where the children play, and the safety plan has to be built around them. Here's how to do that.
Why the sheets are so tempting
Gas-tight sheets crackle, they make a hidey-hole, and the long sand-filled tubes holding the edges down look like something to drag about. A warning sign means nothing to a child who can't read yet, and not much more to one who can but is curious. Lifting a corner to peek underneath is exactly what a child might do, and it's exactly what lets gas out into their face.
What to tell the children
Keep it short and true, at their level:
- Little ones: "There's poison air under that cover. If you lift it, you'll breathe it and get very sick. Don't touch it, and don't go into the garage."
- Older children: show them the warning sign on the door and explain what it means: the gas is invisible, and a nose is no guide to whether it's there
- Teenagers: explain properly. A quick look can seem harmless at that age, or to nip into the garage for something from the freezer
Tell them all that if anyone, a friend or a younger brother or sister included, goes near it, they must come and fetch an adult straight away.
Make it hard to get to
Words help, but locks help more. Before the sheets go on:
- Take out everything the children will want during the days ahead: bikes, scooters, school bags, sports kit, the cricket bat
- Lock the garage or outbuilding, and keep the key somewhere the children don't know about
- Close side gates and any back way into the yard near the building
- Move the trampoline or paddling pool if it's next to the outbuilding
The less reason there is to go near the building, the less temptation there is.
The pets the children look after
Hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs and fish in the garage or on the back stoep next to it need to move to the far side of the house, or to a friend's place, for the whole period. While you're at it, look in the bag of rabbit or hamster food. If there are moths or small beetles in it, throw it out rather than keeping it for later.
Friends and visitors
Children visiting to play don't know about the garage. Tell their parents when they drop them off, keep play to the house and the front garden for those days, or arrange for the children to play at someone else's place instead. Let the neighbours know too, especially those whose children are used to wandering between gardens.
If a child has been near the gas
Get the child into fresh air straight away. Don't go under the sheet or into the building yourself to look. Watch for headache, dizziness, feeling sick, vomiting, stomach cramps, a tight chest or trouble breathing, and if any of these appear, or if you're not sure, take the child to a clinic or call an ambulance and tell them it was phosphine from a fumigation. Then phone us.
When the sheets come off
Once the fumigant has been aired and the area has been tested clear, the warning signs come down and we tell you it's safe. That's the moment the children can go back in, and not before, even if the sheets are off and the doors are open. Sweep or vacuum up any dead insects before the garage becomes a play space again.
Better still, avoid the need
The pantry weevils and moths that families notice in a kitchen never need gas. Throwing out the infested food and cleaning the cupboard deals with them, and our insect control in Fraai Uitsig page covers the rest of the garden. Ordinary insect treatments are a different matter from gas, and our page on pets, children and pest control explains why.
Nearby
Down the valley, Groot Brak has its own fumigation page. Rats at the compost heap, wasps near the jungle gym and the other pests of a family garden are covered on our Fraai Uitsig pest control page, and every stage of a gas treatment on fumigation.
Cost
A bunk bed or a toy box under sheets is a small job, a sealed room or a whole house a bigger one, and the price follows. You'll have a quote after we've had a look.
Worried about the gas with small children at home? Say so when you ring 044 012 5011 or write to us through the enquiry form, and we'll go through the safety plan with you before anything is booked.
Frequently asked questions
Can we stay at home if only the garage is being fumigated?
Sometimes, if the garage is separate and can be sealed properly. If it shares a roof space or an inside door with the house, the house may need to be empty too.
What should we tell our children about the fumigation sheets?
That there's poison air under them and they must never touch or lift them. Show older children the warning sign, and ask them all to fetch an adult if anyone goes near.
What if a child has lifted a sheet?
Fresh air first, and don't go under the sheet yourself. If the child shows any symptoms, or you're unsure, go to a clinic and say it was phosphine. Then phone us.
When can the children play in the garage again?
Only once the area has been aired, tested clear and the warning signs have come down.
Should we tell the parents of children who come over to play?
Yes. Visiting children don't know about the garage. Keep play away from it, or arrange for them to play elsewhere for those days.
Our child's hamster lives in the garage. Where should it go?
To the far side of the house or a friend's place for the whole period, until the garage has been cleared.