Fumigation in George: when you need it, and how it's done safely

You need fumigation when insects are inside something rather than on it: weevils right through a pallet of flour, beetles in a stack of feed bags, borer in a wardrobe, or pantry moths that have spread through an entire storeroom. A registered fumigant gas works its way into all of those places and kills every stage of the insect, eggs included. If the insects are only on walls, floors and surfaces, gas isn't needed, and we'll recommend a normal treatment instead.

Fumigation or a spray treatment?

• A spray or bait treatment is for pests that move around on surfaces, like ants, cockroaches and fleas. Nobody has to move out, and treated areas are safe for children and pets once dry.
• Fumigation is for insects hidden inside goods, timber or a sealed space. The area is sealed with the gas inside, and it must be vacated by people and animals until we've ventilated it and cleared it.

What we fumigate in and around George

George is the biggest commercial centre in the Garden Route, and most of our fumigation work here comes from businesses that store things: warehouses and distribution stores in the industrial areas, food businesses with dry stores, shops with stock rooms, and anywhere that handles grain, flour, seed or animal feed. We also fumigate for homeowners, usually for furniture, a single room or stored household goods with borer or another hidden insect.

• Bulk stored products such as grain, flour, maize meal, seed and animal feed
• Pallets and stacks, sealed under gas-proof sheeting
• Storerooms, containers and sections of warehouses that can be sealed
• Furniture and household items with wood-boring beetles

The insects we're usually after

Stored product insects cause most of it: grain weevils, flour beetles, lesser grain borers and Indian meal moths. You'll notice small holes in grain or kernels, webbing in bags, fine dust collecting at the bottom of a bin, or little moths around the storeroom lights. In furniture and timber, it's usually wood borer, which leaves neat round exit holes and a small pile of powder underneath.

How a fumigation is done

1. Assessment. We look at what's infested, how much of it there is and how well the space can be sealed. That tells us whether to fumigate the whole room or store, or tarp off a stack.
2. Preparation. We give you a list of what to do before the day, including what needs to come out of the area and who needs to be told.
3. Sealing. Doors, vents and gaps are sealed, or the goods are covered with gas-proof sheeting, and the area is marked off.
4. Application. A trained, registered operator applies a registered fumigant such as phosphine.
5. Exposure. The space stays sealed for the time the product label requires, usually a few days, so every life stage is killed.
6. Ventilation and clearance. We air the space out and test it before anyone goes back in, and we tell you when it's safe.

Getting ready for the day

• Arrange for staff, family and pets to be out of the area for the whole exposure period, not just the morning we set up.
• If the building is attached to or shared with others, let the neighbours or landlord know in advance.
• Remove or cover the items we flag during the assessment, and move anything you'll need over the next few days.
• Make sure we can get to every door, vent and gap that needs sealing, and back in again to ventilate.
• Give us one contact person, so there's no confusion about who hears first when the area is cleared.

Safety: everyone out until it's cleared

Fumigant gases are dangerous to people and animals. Nobody goes back into a fumigated area until we've cleared it, not to grab a forgotten file, not to feed the cat. In attached or shared buildings, we also look at whether gas could reach neighbouring units, and that affects how the job is set up. Fumigation is never a DIY job, whatever you can buy online.

After the gas has gone

Fumigation kills what's there on the day. It leaves no lasting protection, so infested stock coming in next week can start the whole thing again. Check deliveries before they go onto the shelf, rotate stock so old bags don't sit at the back for a year, sweep up spills and keep doors closed. A local point: a lot of storage in George happens in garages and outbuildings that get damp in our wetter months. Keep sacks of feed or flour on pallets, off the floor and away from the walls, so you can see behind them and sweep.

The mistake we see most

Waiting because the top of the stack looks fine. Stored product insects often start low down and in the middle of a pile, and by the time you see moths or webbing on the surface, much more of the stock is affected. If you spot any sign, call early, while it may still be one pallet rather than the whole store.

Fumigation across the Garden Route

We fumigate throughout the region, including Mossel Bay, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Hartenbos and, over the pass, Oudtshoorn, where feed and grain stores keep us busy.

How much will it cost?

Fumigation is priced on the volume being treated, how easily it can be sealed, how long it needs to stay sealed and how far we travel. A single tarped pallet is a very different job from a full storeroom. Businesses with regular deliveries of grain or feed often move to scheduled inspections, which cost less than losing stock. If an ordinary treatment will solve your problem, we'll tell you before we quote for gas.

We're SAPCA registered, based in Denneoord, and have worked in the Garden Route for more than 25 years. To book an assessment, call 044 012 5011.