Month: April 2019

The Asian ambrosia beetle, also called the granulate ambrosia beetle, is an invasive pest first introduced in Carolina peach orchards in the 1970s. They have since spread all over the United States and caused many millions of dollars in damages. Several tree species are susceptible to attack, including oak, dogwood, maple, cherry, peach, crape myrtle, hickory and many more.

Ambrosia beetles are small wood-boring insects that spend most of their lives inside trees. This makes it difficult to control. Females emerge for a short time in spring to find suitable nest sites. They usually fly to young trees (1-3 years old) and bore into branches or trunks.

Ambrosia beetles do not eat wood, but they carve out tunnels and galleries in which to lay their eggs. Their sawdust, frass, tends to collect on the outside of the bark and will form “toothpicks.” This “toothpick” frass is very delicate and can be blown away by a slight breeze or washed away by rain.

The females carry a fungus on their backs that they use to feed the newly-hatched larvae. The fungus will then spread to the tree and clog up its vascular system. The fungal infestation usually results in tree death.

It’s not so much the insects that damage trees as much as what they carry. Each species of ambrosia beetle brings its own species of fungus, which breaks down cellulose in the tree’s cell walls.

After boring into the tree, the beetles release the fungus and farm it, creating food for their offspring, she said. A new generation of mature beetles emerges from the tree, begins mating and starts the cycle all over.

New mystery to bug citrus growers

By Kevin Bouffard │January 22, 2019

LAKE ALFRED – As if Florida citrus growers didn’t have enough pests and diseases to worry about – including an 800-pound gorilla called citrus greening – another possible threat has come onto the radar.

Diepenbrock began hunting for the little bug with a pleasant name in October, when a commercial citrus grower in Hernando County reported some unusual damage to one of his Hamlin orange trees, including nail-sized holes in the trunk and a collection of sawdust at the base.

The entomologist determined the visual damage was created by several species of Ambrosia beetle, a wood-boring insect common in nature.

But they’re not common in citrus trees, said Diepenbrock and Chris Oswalt, the citrus extension agent in Polk County who took the initial report from the Hernando grower.

Tiny beetle is killing SA’s trees – and nothing can stop it

Riaan Grobler │September 5th 2018

A beetle smaller than a sesame seed is killing huge trees throughout South Africa, and little can be done to stop it.

The polyphagous shot hole borer, a native of southeast Asia no bigger than 2mm, has found its way to South Africa and is infesting trees at an alarming rate.

“It’s an ambrosia beetle, which means it carries a fungus which it feeds its babies on. When it introduces that fungus into trees that have never experienced it before, it threatens those trees with illness or death.”

Trunk sprays using pyrethroid insecticides are sprayed. Even traps are used to control these beetles. But how effective and efficient are they?  Even barrier sprays are applied as a preventative measure for other borers but are not effective on these beetles.  

A reliable and effective solution is the need of the hour. And C Tech Corporation can provide you with one such solution.

The unique product Combirepel™ manufactured by C Tech Corporation is an anti-insect aversive which repels insects.

Combirepel™ works on the mechanism of repellency. It temporarily inhibits the mating cycle of the insects. The product impairs the ability of the insects to reproduce, that is the insects will not lay eggs or the laid eggs will be infertile. The product causes feeding disruption in an insect by triggering an unpleasant reaction within the insect which might try to feed on the application.

The product temporarily blocks the reproduction system of the insects by hindering the release of the vital hormones for growth.

Combirepel™ is an extremely low concern, low toxic, low hazard, non-carcinogenic and non-mutagenic insect aversive. It does not kill or cause harm to insects as well as to the environment which indirectly helps to maintain the ecological balance.

Combirepel^TM is available in the form of the masterbatch, which can be incorporated into polymeric applications like polymeric tree guards, pipes, etc.

The product available in the form of liquid concentrate can be mixed in paints in a predetermined ratio and be applied on the fences in gardens to keep the ash borer away from these places.

Our product in the lacquer form can be applied topically on the applications. The lacquer is compatible with most of the surfaces like wood, concrete, metal, polymer, ceramic, etc.

The lacquer can be applied to the tree trunks protecting it from the attacks. The product is also effective against other pests thus protecting the trees from other pest attacks. Combirepel™ can also be injected in the tree trunks to repel the beetles.

Combirepel™ is thermally stable and does not degrade on exposure to heat and sunlight. It does not kill or harm the insect but repels them. It does not volatilize and does not degrade the soil. It is RoHS, RoHS2, ISO, EU BPR, REACH, APVMA, NEA compliant and FIFRA exempted.

Contact us at technical.marketing@ctechcorporation.com to keep the pests away.

Also, visit our websites:

http://www.ctechcorporation.com/
http://www.rodrepel.com/
http://www.termirepel.com/
http://www.combirepel.com/

Follow our Facebook pages at:

1] https://www.facebook.com/Combirepel-411710912249274/
2] https://www.facebook.com/Termirepel-104225413091251/
3] https://www.facebook.com/Rodrepel-120734974768048/

Follow us on our Twitter pages at:

1] https://twitter.com/rodrepel
2] https://twitter.com/termirepel
3] https://twitter.com/combirepel

Do you encounter any tunnel system (ref. below fig.) of some 18 inches below ground and some fresh mounds all over your landscape? Then these are definitely done by a rodent called GOPHER, commonly referred to as Pocket Gopher.

Let’s get introduced to this tiny critter creating a great havoc in the backyards.

Gophers are attracted to moist, light-textured soil with edible vegetation. Their main runways are located up to 18 inches below the surface, though their nesting chambers are much deeper, often six feet below the surface.

Gophers are the notorious hoarders. They carry their food in cheek pouches and stockpile astounding amount of food in the huge underground settlements, hence the name pocket gophers.

They create fan-shaped mounds that are large enough to damage irrigation systems, dams, fields and of course homeowners’ lawns and gardens. Following are the pieces of evidence explaining the damage.

Gophers slowing construction in Thurston County

Posted 12:36 pm, April 26, 2017

The Mazama pocket gopher is listed as threatened in Thurston County, and that is putting the construction on hold, regardless of what property owners may want.

“They have more rights to our property than we do,” Deborah Mclain told Q13.

“In one instance, I had to give up 64% of my property where we built the house,” homebuilder Larry Weaver said. “It was a little over an acre of ground, and 64% had to be fenced off as gopher habitat.”

‘Pest’ pocket gophers to be killed off

By Daniel J. Chacón, The New Mexican, Jan 10, 2017

The city of Santa Fe is going on a killing spree.

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of pocket gophers are the target.

The little critters — rodents, really — have infested two parks in the south-central part of the city, dotting them with dirt mounds and, according to city officials, compromising irrigation lines, ruining the turf and making the areas unsafe for sports and other recreational activities.

“Go to Franklin Miles, and you can see that it looks like thousands of little landmines have exploded, and that’s throughout the entire park,” Trujillo said Tuesday. “These pocket gophers dig.”

“Pocket gophers are not protected by any state or federal law or local ordinance,” said Victor Lucero, manager of the city’s integrated pest management program. “They’re not considered endangered. They are a rodent pest.”

“One pocket gopher has the potential to create 60 mounds in the course of one month,” he said.

Pocket gophers – No. 1 enemy in subsurface drip irrigation in western alfalfa

Cary Blake | Dec 31, 2015

The continued farming skirmish pits western alfalfa growers – who want to upgrade from traditional surface irrigation systems to more water efficient subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) systems – against vertebrate pests, mainly pocket gophers, which chew up underground SDI drip tape.

While the stakes are high and producers have an upper hand, gophers remain the No. 1 enemy.

“Rodents are undoubtedly the major challenge for SDI in alfalfa in northern California,” said Dan Putnam, University of California Extension alfalfa and forage specialist based at Davis.

Are you now aware of the Gophers nuisance? Then let think for the solution and which is provided by CTech Corporation’s product COMBIREPEL^TM  

The evidence shows the havoc created by gophers and it so great that people tried to kill them by using insecticides. Killing the animal is not an economically and environmentally feasible solution.

CTech Corporation provides you with an eco-friendly solution against gophers. Our product Combirepel^TM is an extremely low toxic, extremely low hazard, non-mutagenic anti-rodent, anti-animal aversive repellent. It can be effectively used against gophers and other similar damage causing rodents like voles, moles, rats, etc.

Combirepel^TM is the product manufactured on the basis of green technology. Our product is RoHS, RoHS2, ISO, EU BPR complaint, and FIFRA exempted which proves are low toxicity and environment safety concerns.

Combirepel^TM  is available in the form of masterbatch, liquid concentrate and lacquer.

Combirepel^TM Masterbatch is incorporated while processing in polymer-based products such as drip irrigation pipes, electric supply cables, etc.

Combirepel^TM Liquid concentrate is to be mixed in paints in proper proportion and Combirepel^TM lacquer is a direct topcoat application which can be applied on fences, installed products, walls, etc.

If you are facing nuisance caused by rodents, write about it to us at technical.marketing@ctechcorporation.com

Also, visit our websites:

http://www.ctechcorporation.com/
http://www.rodrepel.com/
http://www.termirepel.com/
http://www.combirepel.com/

Follow our Facebook pages at:

1] https://www.facebook.com/Combirepel-411710912249274/
2] https://www.facebook.com/Termirepel-104225413091251/
3] https://www.facebook.com/Rodrepel-120734974768048/

Follow us on our Twitter pages at:

1] https://twitter.com/rodrepel
2] https://twitter.com/termirepel
3] https://twitter.com/combirepel

The nutria invasion of California continues.

Native to South America, nutria is now found in at least 40 states and three Canadian provinces, and in Europe, Asia, and Africa, thanks to the booming fur trade at the end of the 1890s. The word nutria refers to the animal’s pelt and has been adopted to denote the species in the states. Elsewhere they are called coypu, an Ancient Greek interpretation meaning beaver rat. The critters also are called river rats. They migrate via rivers.

As long as there is water nearby, nutria will hang around. They live in burrows that have openings below the water surface. They are semi-aquatic, wetland-dwelling rodents. They are omnivorous mammals, eating mainly vegetation and small creatures like snails and mussels.

Nutria can grow to 2 1/2-feet long, not counting their tail, weigh from 12 to 20 pounds and live up to 10 years.

Their most notable feature is their orange incisors.

However, the bad news about these animals quickly came to light. They can eat a quarter of their body weight in plant matter every day. They eat leaves, stems, and roots. Their voracious eating habits destroy wetlands vegetation, land crops, and residential lawns and gardens.

Their burrowing causes major erosion and eventual damage to natural and public flood control systems, banks and levees.

That’s not all, they are incredibly prolific. The female can have two to three litters a year, giving birth to five to 13 young each litter.

This invasive 20-pound rodent could devastate California’s agriculture industry

Jaymi Heimbuch │March 18, 2019

“They can consume up to 25% of their body weight in above- and below-ground vegetation each day, but they waste and destroy up to 10 times as much, causing extensive damage to the native plant community and soil structure, as well as significant losses to nearby agricultural crops,” notes the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW).

Nutria have enormous potential not only to damage the infrastructure critical to delivering water to cities and farms, but they also threaten wetlands and riparian habitat as well as existing restoration projects. They can carry tuberculosis, septicemia, tapeworm and other parasites that can contaminate water supplies. They are certainly not a welcome visitor, and they can quickly become an expensive problem.

“Within five years, the state estimates there could be nearly a quarter million nutria chewing up California’s endangered wetlands,” reports The Sacramento Bee.

As of February, 386 nutria have been found by CDFW, up from 20 nutria a year ago.

$1.9 Million to Be Spent on Ridding California Marshlands of Giant Rodents

February 16, 2019, By Los Angeles Times

For more than a year, giant rodent invaders with orange-hued teeth have munched through California’s marshland, threatening significant damage to the state’s wetlands and water infrastructure.

Nutria populations not only destroy the state’s already diminished wetlands by consuming vegetation, but also burrow into the ground, potentially damaging irrigation canals and levees. This poses a risk to the state’s drinking water supply and could expose communities and farm fields to flooding, said Peter Tira, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Combirepel™, a C Tech Corporation’s product is an anti-rodent aversive repellent which repels rodents and thus prevents the nuisance caused by them. This product acts through a series of highly developed intricate mechanisms ensuring that rodents are kept away from the target application.

This innovative product is available in masterbatch form, which can be incorporated within the tubes, pipes, agricultural films, wires, and cables, etc. The product does not leach out from the polymer matrix, thus preventing soil pollution.

The product in form of liquid concentrate can be mixed with paints and be applied on the interior and exterior of the houses, already installed wires and cables, pipes, house fencing, etc. to keep nutria away from human areas.

Our product in lacquer form can be coated over wooden fences around wetlands, tree guards, and on a variety of surfaces like metals, concrete, polymer, ceramic, etc. which would ensure complete protection against these creatures.

Our product provides a safe and environmentally friendly solution to avoid rodent infestation!

If you are facing nuisance caused by rodents or insects, write about it to us at technical.marketing@ctechcorporation.com

Also, visit our websites:

http://www.ctechcorporation.com/
http://www.rodrepel.com/
http://www.termirepel.com/
http://www.combirepel.com/

Follow our Facebook pages at:

1] https://www.facebook.com/Combirepel-411710912249274/
2] https://www.facebook.com/Termirepel-104225413091251/
3] https://www.facebook.com/Rodrepel-120734974768048/

Follow us on our Twitter pages at:

1] https://twitter.com/rodrepel
2] https://twitter.com/termirepel
3] https://twitter.com/combirepel

Feeding whiteflies extract important plant nutrients, causing defoliation, stunting and poor yield. Sticky honeydew is excreted by whitefly nymphs and adults, promoting the growth of black sooty mold on leaves. The sticky residue allows the fungus to grow, turning the leaves black and making it harder for them to photosynthesize.

Silverleaf whitefly has been reported on an estimated 500 plants worldwide. Silverleaf whitefly populations feed on various plants, particularly the undersides of leaves. They are also known to feed on crops, such as tomato, eggplant, and cucumber.

Direct damage is caused by the removal of sap, and indirect damage as a disease vector. The Silverleaf whitefly is a vector for several important virus diseases of lettuce and melons in the southwestern United States. Both the adult and nymphal stages contribute to direct damage.

A major crop pest can make tomato plants lie to their neighbors

Whiteflies use plants’ chemical eavesdropping powers to get an easier meal

By Susan Milius │April 4, 2019

Don’t blame the tomato. Tiny pests called Silverleaf whiteflies can make a tomato plant spread deceptive scents that leave its neighbors vulnerable to attach.

Sap-sucking Bemisia tabaci, an invasive menace to a wide range of crops, are definitely insects. Yet when they attack a tomato plant, prompting a silent shriek of scents, the plant starts smelling as if bacteria or fungi have struck instead. Those phony odors prime neighboring tomato plants for an attack, but not from an insect, an international research team found.

Those plants prepare to mount a fast and strong resistance against an incoming pathogen. But that high alert suppresses the plants’ chemistry for resisting insects and “leaves them far more vulnerable to the whiteflies when they arrive,” says Xiao-Ping Yu, an entomologist at China Jiliang University in Hangzhou.

Control of Silverleaf whiteflies is difficult because the eggs and older immature forms are resistant to many aerosol and insecticide sprays (in addition, the adults are extremely resistant to dry pesticide residue). Evidence or the same is given below:

Pesticide-resistant whitefly could ‘devastate’ many US crops

By Kerry Sheridan

Having whiteflies outdoors makes the problem “much more difficult to control,” and they may never be fully eradicated, said Lance Osborne, a professor of entomology at the University of Florida.

“The resistance to pesticides—that is what really sets them apart,” he told a few dozen growers who attended a recent session to learn about the whitefly in Homestead, an agricultural area south of Miami.

C Tech Corporation offers a range of extremely low toxic and extremely low hazard insect aversive repellent, which can be successfully used to keep these pesky creatures at bay.

Combirepel™ is an insect aversive repellent manufactured by C Tech Corporation, used against all types of insects and which works on the mechanism of repellency. It means that it does not kill the target insects but only repel them, thus balancing the ecology and helping in maintaining the goal of sustainability.

This product can be easily used against a number of insects.

The product available in the form of masterbatch can be incorporated into the base polymer of applications like the wire and cables, pipes, agricultural films, and mulches, irrigation pipes, etc.

The lacquer can be applied as a topical application on the fence, wooden objects, furniture, frames, etc.

Combirepel™ liquid concentrate can be diluted in paints in a pre-determined ratio can be applied on walls and many other end applications to keep the Silverleaf whiteflies away from homes, gardens, and greenhouses.

Combirepel^TM pest repellent spray can be sprayed on infested and susceptible areas to keep them away from the application.

Contact us at  technical.marketing@ctechcorporation.com to keep the pests away.

Also, visit our websites:

http://www.ctechcorporation.com/
http://www.rodrepel.com/
http://www.termirepel.com/
http://www.combirepel.com/

Follow our Facebook pages at:

1] https://www.facebook.com/Combirepel-411710912249274/
2] https://www.facebook.com/Termirepel-104225413091251/
3] https://www.facebook.com/Rodrepel-120734974768048/

Follow us on our Twitter pages at:

1] https://twitter.com/rodrepel
2] https://twitter.com/termirepel
3] https://twitter.com/combirepel

These days, the number of animal lovers is gradually increasing and it’s good to be an animal lover but what if some of these creatures are eating up your gadgets and thus not allowing you to take advantage of some of the greatest inventions by the mankind. Shocking?? Yes, but it is true!!

Believe it or not, a certain furry rodent is responsible for more than half of U.S. power outages. Sometimes rodents gnaw through insulation guarding power lines and sometimes they end up lurking in high voltage system due to their inability to read the high warnings. There have been myriad cases of damages to power systems. In June 2015, squirrels caused a power outage for 45,000 people in East Bay, Berkeley in the USA. Another incident of March 2013 shows that these rodents are suicide bombers where a rat caused a power outage in Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant. The damage caused by rodents proves to be very expensive for the plant and owner of the equipment. Rodents have a bad habit of chewing; therefore they are allured by wires and other appliances as they are hard and help them in sharpening their teeth

Squirrels often use power lines as their roadways; the line is high, convenient, and offer safe routes over roads, near to food-bearing trees and roof-lines. Of course, this means that squirrels can bridge the space between wires, transformer components, and other pieces of the electrical grid that can lead to a short circuit. What you’re left with is a dead squirrel and several people and businesses without power.

According to the American Public Power Association, the squirrels are a frequent cause of such power outages. These rodents are such a problem to the society that the American Public Power Association tracks the blackouts caused in America through the SquirrelIndex. These power outages and blackouts are increasing day by day and the worst part is that we cannot do much to prevent them.

The rodents are no less than a threat to cybersecurity. In 1987, a squirrel took out the data from NASDAQ computer centers which eventually lead to the loss in trading. There have been various such cases. There is even a site, CyberSquirrel.com which especially runs to create awareness about the harm caused by these rodents to cybersecurity. CyberSquirrel, an organization that tracks the outages caused by the furry beasts, says it logged 560 events in 2015 in the state of Montana alone.Yes, the squirrel is a bigger threat to cybersecurity than hackers, and there’s data to back this up. According to the officials of Georgia Power (US), squirrels can cause up to $2 million dollars’ worth of damage yearly. To avoid these issues, one must take precautions.

Most electrical cables are jacketed or sheathed by several layers of electrically insulating materials such as lead, rubber, jute, cotton, tar asphalt, or various synthetic resins. A layer of steel or copper tape is often wrapped about the insulated cable to protect it from external damage, and finally, a water repellent layer or coating is added to prevent corrosion of the metal tape. Although the deterioration of electric cables is usually caused by mechanical, electrical and chemical forces, it can also occur in consequence of biological processes. On or more of the layers of protective or jacketing materials is often destroyed by microorganisms, marine invertebrates, insects, rodents, or other gnawing animals.

This Threat To America’s Energy Grid Is Driving Security Experts Nuts

Posted to Energy April 10th 2019 by Erin Mundahl

Last week, President Donald Trump released an executive order intended to protect the U.S. from electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attacks against the electric grid. But there is another threat to the grid, one that is far more low-tech and far more common, than a smuggled EMP device:

Squirrels.

“I’m all for increasing grid resilience, but here’s a threat priority list: 1. Squirrels 2. Tree branches 3. Heat waves/hurricanes/other climate-amplified threats” joked Costa Samaras, an Adjunct Senior Researcher at the RAND Corporation in a tweet.

To try to stop the furry menaces and to keep equipment safe, utility companies employ a variety of deterrents like wheels, cages, and guards. Despite these efforts, squirrels are a constant operating hazard.

According to CyberSquirrel1, a website and Twitter feed that tracks “all unclassified Cyber Squirrel Operations that have been released to the public that we have been able to confirm,” squirrels have caused 1,254 outages since 2013. These include a fire department call for an “exploding squirrel” that caused a neighborhood in Massachusetts to lose power last month and 135 customers in New Hampshire who temporarily lost power because of a squirrel on March 12, 2019.

Squirrels are nature’s furry little terrorists

By Tim Grobaty in Commentary │November 20, 2018

When I read that a squirrel had caused a power outage in California Heights and Signal Hill last weekend, you could’ve knocked me over with a wrecking ball swinging from a crane.

The association reports that in 2016 alone, utilities reported 3,456 outages caused by squirrels that cut off power to more than 193,873 customers. North Korean hackers drool at such numbers.

A 1989 University of Nebraska study noted that some of the POCBS incidents may be caused by squirrels hiding their food and noted that incidents of squirrel-related incidents occur in neighborhoods where there are more acorn-producing oak trees.

The damage caused by rodents proves to be very expensive for the plant and owner of equipment.

So then what’s the solution? This question has been answered by C Tech Corporation’s Combirepel^TM. It acts as an effective way to repel rodents, overcoming the limitations of the general rodenticides. The general properties of Combirepel^TM are:

•     Low toxic

•     Low hazardous

•     Non volatile

•     Environmentally safe

Combirepel^TM does not kill but only keeps the animal away by making use of the sensory mechanisms. The product functions from a distance generating a typical fear response in the animal. Thus, Combirepel^TM actually helps in modifying animal behavior. Rodents being social animals also communicate the bad experience to their population in the vicinity.

The masterbatch of Combirepel^TM can be incorporated into wires and cables.

The product in the form of liquid concentrate can be diluted in Paints and organic solvents and applied to cables. The lacquer which is a topical application can be directly applied to the already installed wires and cables.

Our newly developed product,  Combirepel™ Pest Repellent Sprayis an easy to use product which can be sprayed on wires and cables, electronic appliances, cabinets, so as to as avoid the rodents from entering them.

Combirepel^TM is RoHS, RoHS2, REACH, NEA, EU BPR, APVMA compliant and FIFRA exempted

Contact us at technical.marketing@ctechcorporation.com if you’re facing problems with rodents and get best remedies to combat the rodent menace.

Also, visit our websites:

http://www.ctechcorporation.com/
http://www.rodrepel.com/
http://www.termirepel.com/
http://www.combirepel.com/

Follow our Facebook pages at:

1] https://www.facebook.com/Combirepel-411710912249274/
2] https://www.facebook.com/Termirepel-104225413091251/
3] https://www.facebook.com/Rodrepel-120734974768048/

Follow us on our Twitter pages at:

1] https://twitter.com/rodrepel
2] https://twitter.com/termirepel
3] https://twitter.com/combirepel

An ant infestation can be annoying for the average homeowner, but there are other ant species which can be devastating to those who are in the agricultural industry or growing a garden. One particular ant that can be a threat to plant life is Leafcutter Ant. Leaf cutter ants get their name due to their habit of cutting into leaves and carrying pieces of leaves around. Leafcutter ants are known to damage residential areas but are also considered an agricultural pest and do a lot of damage to vegetation when they infest areas in heavy numbers. High populations of leaf cutter ants have the ability to defoliate plants in the span of a day and have lead to annual decreases in plant yield, affecting the agricultural economy.

Leafcutter ants prefer to live in warm areas, and unlike other species of ants, leafcutter ants cultivate and feed on fungus within their nests.

While leaf cutter ants are usually a problem in rural and agricultural areas they can also travel to urban areas and be a problem for homeowners because of their ability to rapidly defoliate lawns and gardens.

Leaf cutting ants damage weeds, grasses, fruit trees, blackberry bushes and much other fruit, nut, and ornamental plants as well as several grain and forage crops.

Leaf cutter ants are often regarded as the planets first farmers. What’s surprising about the leaf cutter ant is that they actually don’t eat the leaves they cut down. In fact, they use them to grow a fungus garden which becomes both their food and living space. They keep their fungus garden well maintained with bacteria on their body. Bacteria on the body of a leaf-cutter ant keep harmful microbes from damaging the fungus.

Wherever leaf cutting ants are plentiful, it can be nearly impossible for plantlife to grow and survive because of how efficient they are in tearing down plants, grasses, and other foliage.

Britain’s biggest colony of leafcutter ants has self-destructed after chewing through a power cable in its tank

By Sophie Jane Evans │22^nd May 2014 

More than a million of the tropical insects – who can carry 20 times their weight in their jaws – had been living at Butterfly World near St Albans, Hertfordshire.

They were dominated by a giant queen ant, the size of a small mouse, who was protected by an inner circle of soldier ants.

But in recent weeks, some of the ants had started nibbling on a power lead in their glass cabinet, which was linked to a water tank regulating their temperature.

They finally bit through the lead and sent an electric current shooting through the colony – killing the queen and her soldier guards. 

Most of the worker ants escaped the shock as they were in a separate part of the enclosure cutting leaves. But carnage erupted when they returned to find the queen and her inner circle dead.

Without a queen to protect, fighting broke out and the leaderless ants started dying in huge numbers as they killed each other or starved to death.

Homeowners Left Vulnerable To Leafcutter Ant Excavations

April 15, 2005

Leafcutter ants can be a huge pain when it comes to your house’s landscape and foundation.

“Their large colony sizes, impressive soil excavating power and destructive potential against plants makes them a serious pest,” said Merchant, who is based at the Texas A&M University System Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Dallas.

Not only do leafcutter ants strip landscape foliage of leaves, they create huge underground storage vaults for the leaves they gather. They don’t actually eat the leaves, but use them in a form of ant agriculture, inoculating the leaves with a fungus. The fungus eats the leaves; the ants eat the fungus.

Though vegetarian ants may sound charming, in the process of excavating, they can cause both sunken areas in lawns and create large unsightly mounds. On many occasions, they have reportedly tunneled under house slabs and cause them to crack, Merchant said.

Control of leafcutter ants used to be fairly straight-forward with a bait product called Volcano, Merchant said.

Because these ants eat only the fungus they cultivate, they do not respond to most conventional ant baits, such as those labeled for fire ants.

So what can be used efficiently to keep the leafcutter ants away from your plants?

C Tech Corporation offers a range of low toxic and low hazard insect aversive repellent, which can be successfully used to keep pesky creatures at bay.

Combirepel™ can be easily described as insect aversive repellent, used also against all types of insects and which works on the mechanism of repellency. It means that it does not kill the target insects but only repel them, thus balancing the ecology and helping in maintaining the goal of sustainability.

This product can be easily used against a number of insects.

The product available in the form of masterbatch can be incorporated into the base polymer of applications like the wire and cables, pipes, agricultural films, and mulches, irrigation pipes, etc.

The lacquer can be applied as a topical application on the fence, wooden objects, furniture, ceilings, frames, etc.

Combirepel^TM liquid concentrate can be diluted in paints in a pre-determined ratio can be applied on walls and many other end applications to keep the leafcutter ants away from homes, gardens and farms.

Combirepel^TM pest repellent spray can be sprayed on infested and susceptible areas to keep them away from the application.

Combirepel™ is thermally stable and does not degrade on exposure to heat and sunlight. It does not kill or harm the insect but repels them. It does not volatilize and does not degrade the soil. It is RoHS, RoHS2, ISO, EU BPR, REACH, APVMA, NEA compliant and FIFRA exempted.

Contact us at  technical.marketing@ctechcorporation.com to keep the pests away.

Also, visit our websites:

http://www.ctechcorporation.com/
http://www.rodrepel.com/
http://www.termirepel.com/
http://www.combirepel.com/

Follow our Facebook pages at:

1] https://www.facebook.com/Combirepel-411710912249274/
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In most recent aspects, ‘the rodent problem’, as it has come to be known, is a perfect nightmare. Wherever humans go, they follow, forming shadow cities under our metropolises and hollows beneath our farmlands. They thrive in our filth, making homes of our sewers, abandoned lanes, and neglected parks. They poison food, bite babies, undermine buildings, spread disease, decimate crop yields, and very occasionally even bring the nation’s defence activities to a still.

Yes, you read it right.

They have also followed soldiers to the battlefield and caused irreversible damage there!

Rodents have two pairs of continuously growing front incisors which are kept short by gnawing. This essential habit of the rat causes major damage to any facility and equipment which are available around its living environment. They  chew  objects  such  as  pipes,  wires  of  electric  facilities,  gas  hose,  etc.  causing extensive destruction of military bases.

Wires and cables find extensive applications in the military. Any damage to any one of these types of equipment would result in a huge loss of revenue and pose a threat to a country’s security!

Recent news reported is as below:

Pentagon on Emergency Shutdown as Critical Comm Cable Severed

By Staff | Published April 1, 2019

Arlington, Virginia–A main fiber optic communications cable was severed at the Pentagon, forcing the Department of Defense to shut down all critical functions and seal off its headquarters for emergency repairs. All 40,000 Pentagon personnel are being told to expect to stay home for as much as two weeks beginning April 1 until the damage can be fully assessed and service restored.

A groundhog is being blamed for incapacitating the command center and symbol of the world’s largest military.

Tech Sergeant Phil Robbins was on night watch when he heard chewing noises in the wall near a central passage. “I thought it was just a hungry security guard eating a pizza,” he said.

Then everything went dark.

“I heard him in there, but there was nothing we could do. The walls are thick, the walls are a special concrete. We just couldn’t get through to the groundhog in time to stop the damage,” TSGT Robbins said.

Eventually, intelligence specialists lured out the saboteur with corn and clover.

Pentagon spokesperson Patricia Marmet said the closure was necessary to repair the critical cable and clean up all the take-out containers and Snickers wrappers the groundhog left behind.

This is not the first time a rodent has caused damage to the military application. There are many such evideces, one of them is as below:

How One Nuclear Missile Base Is Battling Ground Squirrels

By Joseph Stromberg │August 30, 2013

In Montana, squirrels have been tunneling under a base’s fences and setting off intruder alarms, prompting researchers to strengthen its defenses

Malmstrom Air Force Base, in Western Montana, is home to 150 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, each tipped with a nuclear warhead. Each of these missiles is housed in an underground silo, staffed by two military personnel around the clock, and can be fired on a moment’s notice.

But in recent years, the base has been dealing with an enemy so relentless that they’ve been forced to call in outside help to defend against it. That fearsome enemy is a species of rodent known as Richardson’s ground squirrel.

The squirrels, each about a foot long and 1-2 pounds, dig extensive underground tunnel networks (they’ve been known to excavate tunnel systems more than 30 feet in length). At Malmstrom, they’ve developed an annoying habit of tunneling underneath the fences that protect each nuclear missile’s silo.

Such a loss at the military base is intolerable. What if something like this happens at a crucial time?

Pesticides are extremely harmful to both the target species as well as the non-target species. Armored cables have proved to be ineffective against these rodents since they have a bite force of about 24000 psi by which they can easily gnaw on these cables.

An effective solution is the need of the hour and C Tech Corporation can provide you with that effective solution.

Combirepel™ is a product manufactured by C Tech Corporation which is an extremely low toxic and extremely low hazard, and environmentally safe anti-rodent additive specially developed for a range of polymeric and coating applications including pipes, wires, and cables, etc. It is also effective in case the target species are other animals.

The wires and cables used by the military for radar, communication, control, signaling, data transmission, lighting, surveillance, etc. can be incorporated with Combirepel™ masterbatch to prevent them from pest attack and ultimately avoid any signaling loss, communication disruption or fire hazard. The masterbatch can also be incorporated while manufacturing the landmines thus making them rodent repellent.

Combirepel™ is also available in lacquer and liquid concentrate form and can be easily coated onto an application to repel the rodents.

The liquid concentrate can be blended with paints and applied to the interior and exterior of the building structures to prevent the entry of pest in them. The liquid concentrate can be applied to the interior and exterior of the airports and the offices. The liquid concentrate can be used in accommodation areas of pilots and crew members. The liquid concentrate is compatible with all types of paints and it dries off easily.

The lacquer can be applied on already installed wires and cables, pipes, polymeric and metallic equipment, etc. The already installed arrestor cables can be coated using our Combirepel™ lacquer which will prevent the rodents from chewing them. The lacquer is an easy application which is compatible with most of the surfaces like wood, concrete, polymer, ceramics, concrete, etc.

We have developed our product in the form of a spray, the Combirepel^TM pest repellent spray which is an easy to use product. The product can be sprayed on components from the base camps and military areas, offices, kitchen and canteen areas, storage areas, etc. after clearing the dust and waste from components. It can be sprayed on infested areas and entry points. The product when applied properly repels the pests and protects the components from damage. The expensive components can thus be protected, and unnecessary maintenance cost spent on replacement of the parts damaged by pests can be saved. The product does not cause any harmful effect on human health, non-target species or even target species. The product is safe for the environment.

Defence is one of the major sectors defining the growth and development of a nation. It is needless to describe how important these areas are to a nation’s security and prosperity.

Contact us at technical.marketing@ctechcorporation.com if you’re facing problems with rodents and get best remedies to combat the pest menace.

Also, visit our websites:

http://www.ctechcorporation.com/
http://www.rodrepel.com/
http://www.termirepel.com/
http://www.combirepel.com/

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Street trees keep the city cooler, reduce the runoff to the winter, and provide aesthetic benefits. We have to have trees in the city to make it a livable place. But these trees are often attacked by insects and other pests thereby affecting the trees and ultimately resulting in their death. the ash trees are one such for now.

The ash tree was thought to have medicinal and mystical properties and the wood was burned to ward off evil spirits. In Norse Viking mythology, ash was referred to as the ‘Tree of Life’. Even today it is sometimes known as the ‘Venus of the woods’. In Britain they regard ash as a healing tree. 

But in the recent times, this tree is under the threat of the emerald ash borer (EAB) beetle attack.

More than 60 million ash trees, ranging from one inch to five feet in diameter, have been killed by EAB in the southeast Michigan area alone and tens of millions throughout other states and Canada.

Once EAB populations begin to build, nearly all ash trees in the forest, swamp or urban area are likely to become infested and die — often within a time span of only a few years.

The EAB larvae bore into the ash tree and feed under the bark, leaving tracks visible underneath. The feeding disrupts the tree’s ability to transport water and nutrients, resulting in dieback and bark splitting.

Recent news reported were:

Ash Borer Threat To Continue In Manitoba Despite The Cold

Written by Connor Gerbrandt │ February 28^th 2019

It looks like emerald ash borers will continue to be a problem in Manitoba, despite the extremely cold weather we had in Southern Manitoba.

Many people were hoping the twin polar vortexes that brought nearly a month of frigid weather would drive the invasive species extinct within the province. Unfortunately, Manitoba Sustainable Development says this will not be the case.

“What we do know is that the cold weather will kill some of the ash borers,” says Pest Management Biologist Fiona Ross “but we also know that it will not kill them all.”

According to Ross, recent in-lab testing shows that roughly 75% of the ash borers die at temperatures colder than minus 30. However, she acknowledges that in a real-world scenario that number is likely much lower.

Emerald ash borer has spread so much in NH that quarantines are no longer worth it

By  David Brooks | September 4, 2018 

Five years after the invasive insect known as the emerald ash borer was first spotted in Concord, it has spread so far throughout the state that officials may end the quarantine which tried to contain it.

The move would not be a surprise since scores of other states have tried and failed to stop the spread of the beetle known as EAB, which can fly five miles or more at a time.

Insecticides and some biological control practices are being implemented but these have proved to be ineffective.

We need a solution that is effective, eco- friendly and easy to use.

C Tech Corporation can provide you with one such effective solution. The unique product Combirepel™ manufactured by C Tech Corporation is an anti-insect aversive which repels insects.

Combirepel™ works on the mechanism of repellency. It temporarily inhibits the mating cycle of the insects. The product impairs the ability of the insects to reproduce, that is the insects will not lay eggs or the laid eggs will be infertile. The product causes feeding disruption in an insect by triggering an unpleasant reaction within the insect which might try to feed on the application.

The product temporarily blocks the reproduction system of the insects by hindering the release of the vital hormones for growth.

Combirepel™ is an extremely low concern, low toxic, low hazard, non-carcinogenic and non-mutagenic insect aversive. It does not kill or cause harm to insects as well as to the environment which indirectly helps to maintain the ecological balance.

Combirepel^TM is available in the form of the masterbatch, which can be incorporated into the polymeric applications like polymeric tree guards, pipes, etc.

The product available in the form of liquid concentrate can be mixed in paints in a predetermined ratio and be applied on the fences in gardens to keep the ash borer away from these places.

Our product in the lacquer form can be applied topically on the applications. The lacquer is compatible with most of the surfaces like wood, concrete, metal, polymer, ceramic, etc.

The lacquer can be applied to the tree trunks protecting it from the attacks. The product is also effective against other pests thus protecting the trees from other pest attacks.

Combirepel™ is thermally stable and does not degrade on exposure to heat and sunlight. It does not kill or harm the insect but repels them. It does not volatilize and does not degrade the soil. It is RoHS, RoHS2, ISO, EU BPR, REACH, APVMA, NEA compliant and FIFRA exempted.

Contact us at technical.marketing@ctechcorporation.com to keep the pests away.

Also, visit our websites:

http://www.ctechcorporation.com/
http://www.rodrepel.com/
http://www.termirepel.com/
http://www.combirepel.com/

Follow our Facebook pages at:

1] https://www.facebook.com/Combirepel-411710912249274/
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