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Fumigation Services
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Increasing trade equals increasing movement of wooden packaging materials (WPM). WPM are cost effective and easy to find and handle. Unfortunately, they are likely the carriers or transporters of insect pests around the globe. Insects destroy not only timber and construction wood, but are a global threat to ecosystems. Non endemic species become extremely harmful in a new environment, like forests and woods, due to the absence of natural enemies and predators. Some of the most feared insects are the Asian Longhorn Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) , the Pine Shoot Beetle (Tomicus piniperda), the Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis), the Wood Wasp (Sirex juvenicus), and the Pine Wood Nematode (Bursaphelencus xylophilus) which are capable of destroying vast forests. To prevent the pandemic threat, measures must be taken to thwart the spread of these species on traded timber, wood packaging materials or wooden artefacts. Fumigation offers an effective measure to control insects prior to export or shipment. The International Plant Protection Convention has issued the ISPM 15 guideline to prevent the spread of insects harbouring in WPM materials like pallets and dunnage.This guideline stipulates the treatment requirements for all wood products used for packaging or shipping purposes. The only measures approved are fumigation with methyl bromide or heat treatment. Logs and timber wood must equally be treated prior to shipment. Fumigation is equally one of the most efficient measures approved for these products. The treatments required are mandated by the phytosanitary authorities in the respective countries. |
