[Backtalk] letters, e-mails and faxes from PCT readers

A COINCIDENCE?
Your headliner on the January 2003 cover of PCT magazine — Stayin’ Alive — reminds me of my own 20-year-old logo. I may be interested in dressing my boy up a little bit; I just need to know where to buy the four-legged pants.
Phil Corsmeier
Owner
Corsmeier Pest Control
Tallahassee, Fla

STAY ALERT
What an excellent article on bait aversion/resistance by cockroaches! It was a good reminder that we need to be alert for changes in pest populations. Pests will change and adapt in reaction to many things we do to control them.

In my accounts, similar reactions have occurred in ants. When I used one ant bait my clients reported that the bait was taken in by the ants the day I put it out and then thrown out of their nests the next day. Then I applied a bait with a different attractant and the same active ingredient and the ants accepted the bait.

Manufacturers should notify us not only of active ingredient but also of the attractants: protein, perhaps the source of the protein, sucrose, glucose, etc. In this manner we can rotate baits more knowledgeably. We should remain vigilant in watching our pest populations and their reactions to what we do.
Ingrid Carmean
Board Certified Entomologist
Carmean Pest Management
Fresno, Calif.

German cockroaches: the ultimate survivors
Thank you for bringing out the well-known secret about cockroach baits to the public.

Hopefully, this will bring attention back to the German cockroach, which is one of the most adaptable organisms. As baits — especially gels — become the dominant method of control for the pest management industry, it is just a matter of time for German cockroaches to become behaviorally or physiologically resistant.

Dangsheng Liang

President
Apex Bait Technologies
San Ramon, Calif.

Readers with comments are invited to write to PCT Letters, 4012 Bridge Ave., Cleveland OH 44113. Letters also can be e-mailed to jdorsch@pctonline.com or faxed to 216/961-0364. Letters may be edited for space or clarity.