A PEST control company has found a way to exploit insects' vulnerability to heat in order to kill common house pests. The Californian company, called Isothermics, encases a house in a canvas tent, installs propane burners and fans inside, and raises the air temperature to around 66 Degree C. After four hours at that temperature, every part of the building will have reached more than 50 Degree C, which is enough to kill cockroaches, ants, flies, ticks, moths and even termites.
The pest control industry has known for some time that heat can kill insects, but until recently it was content to use chemical pesticides.
According to Isothermics, there are several articles in scientific journals from as long ago as 1916 showing that insects can die at temperatures quite bearable to humans. 'Cockroaches can withstand a higher dose of radiation than humans can, but they cannot thermoregulate, so heat that ...
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