[Green Pest Management] Fixing the Message

As the public becomes more and more aware of the need to safeguard our planet’s environment, and as homeowners and owners of businesses become more and more concerned about the quality of the micro-environments in which they live, work and raise their children, green practices will continue to be an important part of the way pest management professionals do business.

Considering the fact that accepted pest management practices protect human health and property with minimal impact on the environment, we’re already green. What we must do is fix our message. We must adjust our marketing, advertising and public-relations efforts towards letting our customers know that our industry is green.

Adopting so-called “natural” pesticides is probably the least important of the green things we can do; it’s not about the pesticides, it’s about our methods and the way we communicate. But the fact is that an increasingly significant number of our customers want to be assured that the things we do in their homes, schools, stores and places of business will not harm them, their children or the environment. This is why we should work to increase public awareness of our green practices.

Our clients may ask for low-impact methods and materials; they also want effective pest elimination. They will not tolerate pests in their homes and places of business, even in the name of minimizing their ecological “footprint.”
Fortunately for us, there are many ways for us to deliver green service, and many innovative pest control materials that support this goal.

WHAT IS 'GREEN'? “Green” means many things to many different people, but most would agree that green practices minimize pollution, conserve natural resources, safeguard the health of humans and their pets, and prevent contamination of food and living spaces. Non-reliance on chemicals in pest prevention and control is part of most people’s perception of what is “green.”

WHY SHOULD WE CARE? To most of us who make a living as pest management professionals, it’s clear that we are already green, so why bother trying to pay lip service to the green movement? The obvious answer is that the market will drive us to become more responsive to green consumers, either by showing how environmentally responsive our practices are, or by using certain “natural” pest control products. Green-minded consumers buy pest management services, and they would prefer to buy services that match their idea of what green looks like.

Homeowners, schools, daycare centers, hospitals and clinics and — more and more frequently — retail store chains are asking our industry to supply services that support their decision to embrace green practices.

So, we get to choose between getting swept along, or leading the way.

THE GREEN MOVEMENT. However you define “green,” it’s clear that PCOs already practice green pest control. The National Pest Management Association’s logo proclaims that we are “Guardians of Your Environment.” We practice Integrated Pest Management, relying only secondarily on pesticides and — when appropriate — choosing low-impact pest control materials. Almost no one sprays baseboards anymore (except when that’s where the pests are hiding).

But we only need turn on the radio or television, or look at a newspaper or magazine, to know that the green movement is real, and growing. Many forward-thinking pest management professionals are finding a niche for themselves, marketing their services to green consumers.

CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY 101. Most of us, and most of our customers, have a genuine concern for the environment. Probably many of our customers feel some deep-seated guilt about living in one of the wealthiest nations of the world, with its throwaway culture and its disproportionate consumption of the world’s natural resources. The media are full of stories about global warming and pollution. We see news stories about the polar ice caps melting, and it saddens us and makes us want to contribute something, however small, to a solution. At the very least, we’d like to feel a little less like a part of the problem.

Today’s green consumers want to do the right thing, but may not want their contribution to hurt too much, or require them to do without the conveniences they’re used to. We buy the monster SUV to tote the kids to soccer practice, then plant a grove of trees to neutralize the car’s ecological impact — our so-called “carbon footprint.”

Our desire to do something — however small — to help save the environment is even older than the first Earth Day back in 1970, but surely the message of that day lives in the mind of the green consumer: It’s up to me to do my part to save the planet.

We must be clear about one thing: The structural pest control industry is not the problem. If we stopped doing what we do today, the world would be an immeasurably worse place tomorrow. Our industry’s share of the total amount of pesticides applied worldwide is very, very small. Our puny little crack-and-crevice bait applications don’t make a difference one way or the other, as far as the health of our environment is concerned. It’s all about perception.

But it doesn’t make sense to turn green-minded consumers away, either.

SPREAD THE WORD. Pest management companies could benefit from more effective advertising of the ways in which we are already “green.” And the best place to start may well be your company’s Web site. In pictures and words, show that your company practices Integrated Pest Management, that your procedures are Earth-friendly, and that your foremost concern is protecting your clients’ health and property. Explain your company’s philosophy, and say that your service consists of:

• Inspection
• Consultation
• Use of low-impact pest control materials where needed, and
• Application of materials to the exterior where possible, to minimize the use of pest control materials indoors.

The same goes for your Yellow Pages ad, and for any other advertising you do. It sounds cynical, but if you want to be seen as “green,” you’ve got to tell people in so many words.

What publications do environmentally-aware people in your area read? Where do they shop? Aim your advertising dollars at these outlets.

JUMPING IN. If you decide you’d like to specialize in green pest management, do these things:

1. Get ready: Study the market. Does your market want green services? Could your company benefit from occupying this niche? If so, jump in. If not, keep doing what you’re doing. It’s already enough.

2. Write a vision statement and a mission statement, declaring your intent to work in an Earth-friendly manner.

3. Choose a name and logo that tells people you’re environmentally responsible.

4. Consider opening a branch or subsidiary to differentiate yourself in the marketplace. In this way, you can pursue one market without losing your existing client base. Green certification agencies may require that, in order to be certified, you offer green services via a separate division.

5. Develop specific programs (combinations of service elements and pricing, with supporting proposals and other printed material) for homes, for schools, for hospitals and healthcare, and for retail establishments.

6. Along with the new programs, develop treatment protocols for your staff to follow in servicing green accounts.

7. Develop training for your technicians, sales staff and client service representatives.

8. Design marketing support pieces that educate your prospective clients. State your commitment to responsible environmental stewardship, and state your intention to provide service based on monitoring and inspection, with application of pesticides to take place only when necessary. Explain the role of the client, and set expectations.

Besides just becoming more effective communicators (the most important thing we can do), there are essentially three choices for offering “green” pest management services:

1. “Green” materials only (sanitation and maintenance/repair consulting, using only such pest control materials as boric acid and essential oil-based products)

2. Combination of “green” materials and perimeter treatment with a non-repellent insecticides

3. Conventional insecticides used as part of an IPM program

Which of these regimens you choose depends on your own philosophy, as well as on the demands of your market.

NUTS AND BOLTS. Actually providing service to green clients starts with the service technician. This person is well-trained in pest identification, biology and behavior, and has the tools and skills required to do true Integrated Pest Management service. These include materials needed for effective pest-proofing. Things that are not the job of a “conventional” pest control technician are the job of an IPM technician. Tasks like closing rodent entry holes and gaps, installing new door sweeps and other minor pest-proofing repairs are very much within the purview of an IPM technician’s job. Think of all those things you ask your clients to do to reduce pest pressure on their homes and businesses; then consider offering a service that includes performance of those tasks — within reasonable limits, of course.

Here are a few other tasks you might be able to offer as part of a green service program:

• Drain cleaning, especially in commercial and food-service/food processing accounts
• Spider web removal in warehouses and other accounts
• Air management with fans and dehumidifiers
• Sale of lighting products reduce attraction to flying insects
• Landscaping or yard maintenance to remove pest attraction and harborage
• Gutter cleaning

TOOLS. Tools include inspection and monitoring equipment, pest-proofing supplies and pretty much everything else you’re used to carrying. You’ll need some tools for effective pest-proofing, such as stock sheet metal and hardware cloth, metal shears for cutting these materials, a selection of door sweeps (or quick access to nearby hardware stores), and an assortment of hammers, saws, screwdrivers, etc.

You’ll need cleaning supplies, to be used in making minor sanitation improvements where needed.

“Green-compliant” pesticides are optional, but they do help you to establish yourself with “green”-minded consumers. A variety of liquid, granular and dust insecticides are available, with active ingredients based on horticultural oils, diatomaceous earth, boric acid, and other “natural” materials.

So-called “conventional” pest control materials are not excluded from the green toolbox. If a conventional pesticide is necessary in order to most effectively protect your client’s health and property, its use obviously is justified — unless you have promised not to use such materials as a matter of program.

Most of the available cockroach and ant baits are considered low-impact, and are likely to be accepted by all but the most rigid green consumers. Non-repellent barrier treatments will be accepted by most clients by virtue of the fact that they reduce the amount of pest activity that needs to be dealt with inside of the home.

Company vehicles should present a clean appearance, whether or not they are emblazoned with the name and logo of your green program or division. It goes without saying that showing up at a client’s home in a gas-guzzler might cause them to question your sincerity when it comes to the environment.

YOUR GREEN PRESENCE. Perhaps the most important thing you can do to communicate your green intentions in the marketplace is to be a green activist in your community. Your Web site and company newsletter should communicate information on green living — pest prevention tips, energy conservation hints, recycling information and articles on ways to reduce pollution in your clients’ daily lives.

Bring the kids into your effort — children help to generate interest at the family level; they are endlessly interested in insects; and they are the next generation of your customers. Kids’ activities in your newsletter or on your Web site will help to keep you in touch with your target market.

To the extent possible, be involved in community education. Take all opportunities to offer yourself as a resource to local TV, radio and newspapers, and use this avenue to communicate your company’s green message.

Be a volunteer, and let your company be seen helping in community improvement efforts, such as Adopt-A-Highway programs, Habitat for Humanity, neighborhood beautification activities and Earth Day.

FINAL THOUGHTS. However you decide to respond to our industry’s green challenge, do it with pride — our industry has been practicing environmentally responsible pest management for a long time. We protect health, property and the environment — it may be just a matter of doing a better job of telling the public about what we do. Join and be active in your state’s pest management association and NPMA, and support the Professional Pest Management Alliance (PPMA) — little by little, our customers will catch up with us.

The author is technical director, Plunkett’s Pest Control, Fridley, Minn.

Is ‘Green’ the Same as ‘Organic?’

“Green” and “organic” may have been born of the same environmental consciousness, but they are not the same thing.

“Organic” pertains to a set of established rules with a statutory basis. The National Organic Program, in force since October of 2002, contains a Facility Pest Management Standard that describes in no uncertain terms what constitutes acceptable pest management practice in a food plant whose products are to be marketed under the organic logo. The National Organic Program was created pursuant to the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, and it is administrated by the United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Marketing Service.

“Green” is a state of mind and buying stimulus, and it’s less clearly defined. Certainly, there is no statutory definition of what “green” means.

Looking for Green Certification?

Depending on the particulars of your market and the clients you are targeting (some may require formal certification), you may choose to become certified through any of the green certification programs. Green certification agencies can supply their certification criteria and evaluate your company’s practices, including training, adherence to IPM principles, and formal “green” programs. For a fee, they will allow qualifying companies to advertise using their logo. (Click here for additional information about such programs.)

Rockwell Labs Enters the ‘Green Zone’

Cisse Spragins, CEO of Rockwell Labs Ltd, North Kansas City, Mo., has always been a proponent of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). In fact, when she opened the doors to her company in 1998, it was with the goal of developing innovative products that could be readily incorporated into traditional IPM programs. “I’ve always promoted the benefits of IPM because I think it’s the best way for PMPs to go,” she said. While “green” may be the buzzword of the day, Spragins argues that green pest management is simply a natural extension of traditional IPM. “While I question the merits of a 100 percent green approach to pest control, I’ve always been a strong proponent of IPM,” she said. “That’s why we’ve chosen as a company to educate PMPs about IPM, not necessarily about green pest control.

“IPM doesn’t mean you should never spray any pesticides on a surface,” Spragins added. “It means you should integrate multiple elements into your pest management program to solve a pest problem (i.e. inspection, chemical and non-chemical controls, follow-up visits, etc.),” something forward-thinking PCOs have been doing for generations.

Only recently, however, has the conversation turned to green pest management, according to Spragins, prompting Rockwell Labs to brand a portion of its product line as Green Zone products.

“I came up with the Green Zone concept in 2005, but didn’t implement it for a number of years. I thought it was a great name and communicated what we wanted it to communicate — that these products are ideally suited for use in sensitive environments, so-called green zones like schools and health care facilities — but the timing wasn’t right.”

With the public’s growing appetite for all things green, however, the timing is right now, she said.  “We began hearing from PMPs that their customers were responding to green product positioning, so we developed our Green Zone brand to address that market need. It gives the PMP and their customers something visual they can respond to.” The Green Zone product line contains registered pesticides that meet the requirements of the USDA National Organic Program, according to Spragins. They include: InTice Sweet Ant Gel, InTice Granular Bait, Intice Select Ant Granules, Intice Thiquid Ant Bait, Intice Smart Ant Gel, Intice 10 Perimeter Bait, InTice Roach Bait and BorActin Insecticide Powder. The company’s InVade bio product line and InVite lures line, which do not contain registered pesticides, also feature the Green Zone brand.

“I’ve always considered the products that we’ve developed and the treatment techniques we recommend to be green,” she said, “but we haven’t historically promoted them as green.”  

Spragins said the industry’s growing emphasis on green pest management may be largely marketing driven, but the public’s desire for green product technology is undeniable from a broader cultural context. “I think to a certain degree the green movement within the pest control industry is a fad, but you can’t deny that it exists. The country’s general environmental consciousness is not going to go away, so we as an industry need to respond to those trends. People feel good about themselves if they’re taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint or doing things to protect the environment, so I don’t think we’re going to see it go away any time soon.”