Maxam AP Anti-Pest Additive Proves Superior Performance in Live Animal Test by Independent Laboratory July 7, 2005. Live animal tests by the world’s largest manufacturer of drip-irrigation products demonstrated that tubing made with the AP Additive were untouched by the rodents during the 3-week test period, while tubing employing proposed other anti-pest solutions were destroyed within 1 to 5 days after the start of the tests. Damage to drip-irrigation tubing by gnawing animals is a pervasive and costly problem. While drip- irrigation is highly efficient and the most effective in conserving water, holes in the tubing caused by gnawing animals result in too much water at the holes and insufficient water downstream, affecting the crops in both cases. Damage to urban fiber-optic and hard wires and cables by gnawing animals also is a pervasive and costly problem. One recent year-long study in New York City reported that 18% of all phone-cable disruptions were caused by rats. [Sullivan 2004 "Rats"]. TeliaSonera of Sweden reported that February 2005 outages to over 4,000 fiber optic customers were from animals gnawing through fiber-optic cables after squeezing through 2 cm wide gaps between cement valves and locks that were designed to protect the lines from animals. AT&T estimates that 1% of its outages nationwide are caused by rodents, and Verizon and others are experiencing such problems. Damage to landfill liners and covers by gnawing animals/burrowing rodents is another pervasive and costly problem. The liners at the bottom of the fills prevent noxious/toxic liquids from the dumped materials from leeching into and contaminating the ground and aquifers. The covers prevent water from entering the fill area. A review of the dormant Rock Flats Plant Site in Golden Colorado found numerous holes in the landfill cap from burrowing rodents [Dwyer, 1/28/2005]. Similarly, three studies of the Sandia National Laboratories Landfill in New Mexico funded by the Monitoring and Technical Assessment Fund indicated that burrowing by rodents through the cover was significant in bringing contaminants to the surface and allowing infiltration of water to the landfill. Previous attempts by numerous entities to incorporate Capsaicin within a plastic matrix, typically polyethylene, were unsuccessful because the resin will not absorb or otherwise capture/retain the Capsaicin and it leeches out quickly, usually within a week, but up to 3 months or so in some cases. Maxam developed a patent-pending method that retains effectively the active component of the Capsaicin at potent levels in both slurry and polymer pellet formats with a significantly longer effective life. The slurry can be used in the manufacture of paints, binders, caulking and many other products, the latter designed to be easily added during polymer extrusion by customers. Back to News & Events