It doesn’t matter whether you call it a donger, a tapper, a probe, a termite inspection tool, or that long stick in the back of the ute. As long as it assists you to detect termites, you’re cheering.
The same goes for soil and slab injectors. Termite equipment goes by many different names, and us Aussies are accustomed to referring to our gear with all kinds of weird words. After all, we are the country that likes to (endearingly) call the token ginger on the worksite ‘Bluey,’ and refer to plumbers as ‘Dunny Divers.’ It might not make sense to any other nationality, but we know what we’re going on about. At the end of the day, as long as the tools you’ve got get the job done, it doesn’t really matter what you call them! So let’s take a look at the essential equipment you need to identify and manage termites.
Donger/tapper
Here at Austates, we think the good, old-fashioned donger doesn’t quite get the recognition that it deserves. It’s a sturdy, reliable tool that every termite or pest management technician should have in the back of the ute. Yes, it looks a bit like a fencing sword that a Dad somewhere has tried to make safe for the kids to play with. Or that swatch your gran used to whip you round the buttocks with (before that was frowned upon) when she caught you chasing the neighbour’s chickens. Give your donger a good tap on any structure in a house and have a close listen to see if it’s hollow inside. It’s the perfect way to determine whether termites may be present before going in with all your high-tech mumbo jumbo like heat detectors and motion sensors. The donger is severely underrated. It’s affordable, reliable and doesn’t destroy your client’s house in a race to discover termites, like a few other detection devices on the market.
Slab injector
A slab injector is another essential in the termite controller’s repertoire. But the DELUXE slab injector? Now she’s a beauty. The deluxe slab injector features a pressure gauge, footplate, adjustable sealing cork, and splash deflector. The pressure gauge is particularly helpful as it allows you to see whether you’re experiencing any resistance when applying termiticide. This can happen if there’s heavy clay obstructing your application, for instance. The splash deflector will also keep your incredible good looks intact by preventing any harmful chemicals from spurting back at you if resistance is indeed met. The deluxe slab detector is also designed to combat rust so that you get more life out of it. All parts that are in contact with fluid are made from either brass or stainless steel, and the seals are viton and teflon. Put simply, you’ll get more bang for your buck with the deluxe slab injector.
Soil injector
It’s easy to get mixed up with your slab injector and soil injector. They look similar and essentially do the same things, but in different environments. But you wouldn’t take a knife to a gunfight, and you certainly wouldn’t use a slab injector to maintain a chemical termite barrier around a large area. That’s the job of a heavy duty soil injector, made to (yep, you guessed it) penetrate soil. The heavy duty soil injector is made for the quick and efficient treatment of expansive areas of soil. The hardened chisel point and solid footplate ensure that the penetration of soil is hassle-free. It’s also designed to reduce operator fatigue, which is always a bonus as it means you get to reserve your energy for blasting termites out of the ground. Just kidding. There’ll be no Will Smith-esq Bad Boy explosions on your job site.
Austates stock a wide variety of essential termite treatment equipment. Shop our range today or contact us to discover how we can optimise your work vehicle to accommodate your gear seamlessly.