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Heat Remediation

July 1, 2007 By    

Propane has its place in the pest industry, says a national pest association official, in an application that has been common over the years — heat treatments to eliminate infestations within a structure.

 TEMP-AIR uses its THP-4500 and THP-1400 heater models to treat a flour mill, with power from propane.
TEMP-AIR uses its THP-4500 and THP-1400 heater models to treat a flour mill, with power from propane.

“What’s unique about our history is the use of propane for heat treatments,” says Greg Baumann, vice president and senior scientist for the National Pest Management Association. “The food industry has built plants conducive to heat treatments — they’ve put heating ducts in for raising the temperature quickly, through natural gas or propane. It’s not new.”

Raj Hulasare, senior scientist and product manager at TEMP-AIR, a provider of temporary heating and cooling services based in Burnsville, Minn., notes heat treatments were first documented in 1762 in France on the Indian meal moth, which contaminated corn and stored grain. The method was introduced in the United States as early as 1910.

“What’s happening today, food operations want to emphasize a systems approach to pest management,” Baumann says. “When they find infestation in an area, they will immediately schedule heat treatments. It’s more mainstream as far as a process today. Food plants are geared toward removing insects with heat; they are built that way. Today’s plants are more conducive with their tight seals, and they’re more conducive to propane-based heating.”

The availability of propane at many plants, Baumann says, makes it a viable fuel to use in the heat-treatment process, which involves raising the temperature within the structure to a certain degree and holding it there. The type of structure and pest and the extent of the infestation determine time and temperature factors, which can vary between 120 and 160 degrees for one to 24 hours.

“It’s a fast heat, an efficient heat and a consistent heat,” Baumann says of propane. “You set the temperature, and it doesn’t fluctuate. You have a consistent temperature, and you don’t have to worry about it shooting up uncontrollably.”

TEMP-AIR INFO
TEMP-AIR INFO

Adds Tom Danley, TEMP-AIR’s vice president Western Region, “The portability of propane has really helped. If a customer is doing treatment for the first time, we roll in propane and it’s pretty simple.”

Heat treatments to control pests can be done in commercial, industrial and residential settings. Many of TEMP-AIR’s jobs target stored-product pests and are done in flour mills, pasta mills, pet food processing plants, feed mills and bakeries.

“One of the beauties of heat treatment is the ability to perform spot heat treatment or heat-treat specific areas in a facility and still have the rest of the facility running,” Hulasare says. “Using chemicals to treat these specific areas would still require the entire facility to be shut down.”

According to materials from TEMP-AIR, chemical fumigation had become a preferred practice in the pest industry since the early 1900s because of its effectiveness and low costs.

“We’re a society of convenience. Chemicals are convenient, and that’s what we’re used to,” Danley says. “That’s why we (TEMP-AIR) are trying grassroots efforts to try not only to grow our business but grow awareness that heat is a viable alternative.”

Methyl bromide was a widely used pesticide until its curtailment in 2005 because of its ozone-depleting qualities. Now companies are pushing the benefits of heat over chemicals to rid structures of pests.

“More and more pesticides being used have an effect on the environment and health,” says David Hedman, president of Ventura, Calif.-based Precision Environmental Inc. and owner of E-Therm Inc., which licenses pest control companies to use ThermaPureHeat technology.

“People are looking for the best non-toxic alternative, which is heat,” he adds. “Why would we want to increase the chemical burden on the planet when we have the technology that can replace it with comparable efficacy and price?”

Sue Fries, president of California-based Ecola Termite Services Inc., adds, “People are concerned about not putting poisonous gases in their home, so they’re using heat. You don’t have to tent the whole house and people don’t have to leave for three days or two nights. That’s a benefit to the customer.”

Depending on the job type, propane will be delivered to the site, especially for massive structures, or the company will bring its own propane, more for residential applications, Hedman says.

“This is more of a customer preference,” says TEMP-AIR’s Hulasare, who estimates 100,000 gallons of propane are burned per day with the company’s heaters. “Generally, customers prefer to contact local propane suppliers or dealers and arrange for propane to be delivered. If the customer wants TEMP-AIR to arrange for propane delivery, we do that too.”

Fries estimates that she spends about $18,500 annually on propane. She doesn’t have room for a tank on her property and is open to building relationships with propane retailers to further her company’s effort.

“The propane industry is an industry we need to tap into because it would be a synergistic relationship,” Hedman says.

Danley sees a future of growth by using heat to treat pests in food-processing plants and shipping pallets, with propane playing a significant part. Already, he estimates some of TEMP-AIR’s weekend jobs at large food-processing plants each use 6,000 to 8,000 gallons of propane.

“If we look in the next five years, I don’t see heat overtaking all chemicals, but I see it being a more substantial player in the market,” Danley says. “If you look at the number of plants we treat, it’s minimal compared to the potential.

“We can’t even grasp how big it is — there’s that much potential out there.”

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