Most insect problems in a Plettenberg Bay home don't need fumigation. Ants, cockroaches, fleas and spiders are handled with a normal treatment, and you can stay in the house while we do it. Fumigation is for the cases where insects are living inside something: the timber of a piece of furniture, a stack of stored goods, bags of feed or dry stock in a storeroom. Gas reaches places a spray never will. The trade-off is that the sealed area has to be empty of people and pets until we've cleared it.
Signs it's a fumigation job
- Small round holes in wooden furniture, beams or flooring, with fine powder collecting underneath. That's wood borer, and the larvae are inside the wood.
- Moths, weevils or beetles that keep turning up in a pantry or storeroom even after it has been cleaned out.
- Webbing or clumping inside sealed bags of flour, rice, seed or animal feed.
- Infested items you want to keep, like an antique chest, a set of dining chairs or boxes of stored goods, that can't be sprayed without damage.
If the insects are only on surfaces, it isn't a fumigation job, and we'll point you to insect control in Plettenberg Bay instead.
Why Plett homes run into this
Plett has a lot of well-furnished homes full of timber furniture, wooden ceilings and pieces brought down from elsewhere in the country or bought second-hand. Wood borer often arrives inside one of those pieces and works away unseen for years. The holes you notice are exit holes, made by adult beetles leaving, which means larvae have already been feeding inside for some time.
The seasonal pattern matters too. A pantry or storeroom that stays shut from February to November gives weevils and pantry moths a long, undisturbed run. Lodges, restaurants and caterers that stock up for December can find a whole delivery of dry goods spoilt by a few infested bags.
The off-season advantage
Here's one thing in Plett's favour. Because gas fumigation needs the area vacated and sealed until it's cleared, the quiet months are the easiest time to do it. An empty holiday home, a closed guest wing or a storeroom between seasons can be sealed for the full exposure time without disrupting anybody. If you suspect borer in a holiday home, booking the work for winter means it's finished and aired long before the family arrives.
How we fumigate
- Look first. We confirm what the insect is and how far it has spread. One infested cabinet is handled very differently from a room full of borer-damaged furniture.
- Decide the method. Sometimes the best option is to move infested items into one space and seal that. Other times we cover items with gas-proof sheeting, or seal a whole room or store.
- Seal and apply. Vents, gaps and doors are sealed, and a registered fumigant such as phosphine is applied by trained operators.
- Hold the exposure. The space stays sealed for the time the label requires. That's what kills every life stage, including eggs and larvae deep in the wood.
- Clear and test. We ventilate and check that it's safe before anyone goes back in.
Please note: nobody, pets included, can be in the sealed area during fumigation. We'll tell you before we start how long it needs to stay closed, and warning notices go up so nobody wanders in by mistake.
What people get wrong about borer
Painting over the holes or filling them with wax. It hides the evidence, but the larvae carry on eating inside, and a few months later new holes appear. The opposite mistake is assuming old holes mean an active problem. Sometimes the borer died out years ago. Fresh, pale powder under the holes is the sign that something is still alive in there, and it's worth checking that before paying for a fumigation.
After fumigation
Fumigation kills what's there on the day. It doesn't stop new insects arriving. Check second-hand furniture before it comes into the house, keep dry goods in sealed containers rather than open packets, and when you close up a holiday home, take the flour, cereal and pet food with you or throw it away. A bare pantry over winter is the simplest prevention there is.
How much will it cost?
Fumigation is priced on the volume being sealed, how easily the space can be sealed properly, and what's being treated. Sheeting one piece of furniture is a far smaller job than sealing a full room or a commercial storeroom, and larger commercial stores can be put on a regular schedule. We'll come out, look at what you've got and give you a free quote that includes the exposure time and what you'll need to do on the day.
We're SAPCA registered and have been working in the Garden Route for more than 25 years. For more background, see our page on fumigation in George. To talk through whether your Plett property really needs fumigating, call us on 044 012 5011.
Questions we get asked
How long does the house need to stay empty?
The sealed area must stay empty until we've ventilated it and confirmed it's clear, which usually means a few days. We'll give you the exact timing before we start.
Do you have to fumigate the whole house for borer?
Not always. If the borer is limited to a few pieces of furniture, we can often sheet or seal just those items, which is quicker and far less disruptive.
Can I fumigate furniture myself with a bomb from the shop?
No. Supermarket foggers aren't fumigants and don't get into the wood. Real fumigants are dangerous and may only be used by trained, registered operators.
Will fumigation affect anything else in the room?
Possibly. Phosphine is applied as a gas, so nothing is sprayed onto surfaces, but it can corrode some metals and electronics. We'll tell you what to remove before we seal the area.
Is fumigation needed for pantry moths?
Usually not in a house. Throwing out infested food and treating the cupboards normally solves it. Fumigation is for larger stores or stock you need to save.