[Internatioal Pest Control] News From The North

Currently there is little information available, or surveys conducted, that focus solely on the Canadian business, but Gardex Chemicals is hoping to change that. Part of the reason for the following survey was to gain more information on Canadian pest management professionals and to share the information throughout the industry worldwide.

The survey was sent to about 50 percent of the companies performing pest control in the province of Ontario, and in the Maritimes. Additional surveys are planned for the rest of the country in the future.

Even though an informal process, the data collected is informative. It gives Canadian pest management professionals — as well as others around the world — an idea of what others are seeing and doing in the business, issues that should be focused on and where the greatest product needs are for suppliers and pest management professionals.

One important note for readers outside of Canada is that the products available and labeled for pest control in Canada is estimated at just 30 percent of those in the United States. Products such as pyriproxifen, lambda cyhalothrin and numerous baits have yet to receive full registration on certain target pests. As more products are removed from the Canadian market — without replacements — the difficulty in controlling the most prevalent insects increases dramatically.

PEST COMPLEXITY. Not surprisingly, termites are not a factor with pest management professionals in Canada (although they do exist to a minor extent). The No. 1 pest overall is ants (all species), followed by mice. As illustrated in the chart at left, mice are the No. 1 treated pest if carpenter ants are separated from other ant species found in Canada. Ants though, in total, accounted for more than 27 percent of the treated pests mentioned, followed by the house mouse and roaches. According to survey results, ants are the most difficult-to-control pest in Canada (see chart above).

SERVICES. The second part of the survey dealt with common business practices in place with pest management professionals in Canada. Separating general pest control as a separate service, pest management professionals were asked which other services they provided. As a rule most pest management professionals in Canada provided two other services outside of general pest control — animal and bird control. Other areas of significance for Canadian pest management professionals include deodorizing, fumigation, drain services and lawn care (see chart below).

Although most respondents were satisfied with their current service offering, 40 percent of the respondents expressed an interest in expanding services to include deodorizing and animal control.

CUSTOMER CONTACTS. On average, according to the survey, Canadian pest management professionals provide 60 percent of their pest control services on a contract basis and 40 percent as "one-times." About 20 percent of respondents rely on more than 75 percent of their customer base as one-time customers, while 27 percent of the respondents rely on greater than 75 percent of their business through contract sales.

Pest management professionals in Canada use the same means of increasing their customer base as their counterparts in the States, although the percentages vary. For example, Internet marketing has been rapidly increasing, as has use of the Internet for information gathering. The chart at right shows what percentage of pest management professionals use various means of communications, not specifically which provides the greatest sales.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. Canadian pest management professionals rely heavily on the Internet for technical information, along with trade journals available primarily from the United States. About 54 percent of the respondents said they use the Internet frequently, while 39 percent said they sometimes access the Internet.

Although technical information is important, the buying influences for the Canadian pest management professionals are similar to their neighbors to the south. When asked to rank factors on a scale of 1 to 5, efficacy and safety proved to be the most important factors when making product decisions. This is the same result of critical buying factors reported by U.S. companies in previous surveys.

Regarding trade and other associations, about 40 percent of those surveyed belong to their Provincial Pest Management Association and the Canadian Pest Management Association. Other associations mentioned, though to a smaller degree, were the National Pest Management Association, the EntomologicalSociety of America and their local chambers of commerce.

The author is director of operations, Gardex Chemicals, Toronto, Canada. He can be reached at rpercy@pctonline.com.