Why Heat Treated Wooden Pallets are the Best Deterrent to Pest Infestation |
Posted: June 27, 2024 |
Pallets are the foundation of your shipping and storage needs and should be given the proper attention and the highest priority. While wooden pallets are still the most popular choice of pallets, there could be a risk involved. Insect infestations can cause damage to wooden pallets, affecting their structural integrity. This can affect your profit margin through lost revenue, cause damage to your reputation and create unsafe working conditions for your employees. Let’s discuss the importance of heat treating your wooden pallets. Why you need to heat-treat First, you need to understand the threats to your wooden pallets. Insects such as termites, carpenter ants and beetles, rodents, and even fungi can seriously affect the integrity of a pallet. If they’ve been there long enough to reproduce and raise their young, it can cause breakage and collapse during shipments which can cause: · Potential harm to any material handlers. When a stack of pallets collapses due to structural damage, it can seriously injure your workers or transporters. · Potential health issues to your workers. Mould and bacteria pose health problems, especially in people with allergies. The spores can also transfer to your product and other products in close proximity during shipments. · Financial loss. Once the pallet is broken, your product may be lost due to the packaging being compromised. By then, the pallet can no longer be repaired or reused, resulting in more money spent on new pallets and re-working the order. · International shipping regulations. If your product is being shipped internationally, there are strict laws in place that might mean your shipment is rejected at the border, causing delays and possible quarantine costs. This affects not only your exports, but any material you might be receiving. · Increased shipping weight. Wooden pallets are heavy by nature, and when moisture collects, it adds even more weight resulting in higher fuel consumption and greater shipping costs. By heat treating your pallets you are ensuring your pallets are in the best condition for transportation and storage of your product, in compliance with international shipping regulations, protecting the health and safety of any handlers and decreasing the weight of the pallets. Additionally, once treated, they are protected for future use and you will not have to repeat the heat-treating process. Identification of pest infestations Early identification of potential pest infestations is crucial. The pests might be small or bored in deep making them hard to spot. Here are some signs to look for: · Small holes or tunnels throughout the wood. This can be a sign of wood boring insects such as beetles which are the cause of most of the damage done to wooden pallets each year. · Sawdust or wood shavings around the pallets. This is a sure sign of insects such as carpenter ants or wood-munching rodents. Termites leave behind ‘frass’ which looks similar to sawdust. · Insect carcasses. Remnants of dead pests indicates there are also live ones. · Live pests swarming around the pallets. This is the most obvious and easily spotted sign. By identifying the pests, you have a greater ability to eradicate them before they do untreatable damage to your pallets. The Heat Treatment Process In 2002, the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) was introduced as a standard for wood packaging materials in international trade. The ISPM-15 was set and accepted by over 70 countries worldwide, including all major producers of goods. All companies registered in these countries must abide by the standards. The process to reduce moisture and make it less likely to attract pests and fungus growth is as follows: · Construction of pallets using raw wood · Load into a specialized kiln · Heat to a temperature of 56°C (132.8°F). · Maintain the temperature for a minimum of 30 minutes Once treated, the pallets are certified and stamped as safe to use for global exports and it also allows for peace of mind in domestic shipments. The stamp is a rectangular stamp with the letters “HT” and the country code of the treatment provider. Pallets can be purchased already heat-treated, or existing pallets can be treated by authorized providers. Sustainability Heat treated pallets are environmentally friendly. Heat treatment is natural and does not use harsh chemicals like other extermination processes. This non-toxic form of pest control is natural and safe to humans. Heat treated pallets are safely recycled since they don’t add pesticides to the soil while composting. And they can be used over and over again without further treatment. It’s all about sustainability which will go a long way in securing your reputation with clients and customers as a business that cares about the environment. Prevention of pest infestation is crucially important to your business. Some ways to ensure your pallets do not attract unwanted pests are as follows: always store your pallets in a clean, dry and well-ventilated area, stack your stored pallets well off the ground to avoid moisture seeping in and conduct routine examinations to identify any problems early. However, the best way to ensure your wooden pallets are pest free is to only use heat-treated wooden pallets in the first instance.
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