[July News] News From Around the Pest Control Industry - Collaborative Effort Tackles 'Tree Termite'

DENVER — United Horticultural Supply (UHS), a national distributor of turf and ornamental products, acqauired York Distributors, a distributor for the structural pest control industry, on May 9. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

The acquisition is integral to UHS’s strategic growth plan, UHS Marketing Director Brian Payseno told PCT.

"For years, we’ve seen some crossover with the PCO business, with a lot of the same suppliers and, in some cases, the same customers," Payseno says. "We were aware of York being a strong company, so we thought this would be a good opportunity to find some efficiencies between the two companies and achieve some growth."

York Distributors, based in Forest Hill, Md., primarily services the East Coast and Southeast, while Denver-based UHS has a network of warehouses throughout the U.S.

"There are a lot of resources available to us that might not have been available to York and vice versa, so I think the acquisition will open markets for both sides," Payseno says.

As part of the agreement, York Distributors will continue to operate under the same name and Cliff Mohrhaus will serve as general manager of the PCO business. Payseno says all of the York offices will continue to operate as usual and that UHS is not planning any immediate changes to the York sales team.

INDIANAPOLIS — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in May granted registration for Recruit III termite bait with the active ingredient noviflumuron, an enhancement to the Sentricon Termite Colony Elimination System. Developed and manufactured by Dow AgroSciences LLC, Recruit III provides even faster colony elimination, resulting in fewer monitoring visits and increased customer satisfaction, the company says.

"Recruit III is the most advanced termite bait ever developed. Its increased potency means less bait consumption is required to eliminate a termite colony and colony elimination is achieved much faster," explains Dr. Jamey Thomas, customer technologist for Dow AgroSciences. "Faster elimination means Authorized Operators can monitor less often, helping them increase productivity, while at the same time solving their customers’ termite problems faster."

Independent research and pest management professional field trial use have proven the speed and efficacy of new Recruit III, company officials say. Intensive field research on Recruit III began in 1998 and since that time it has been evaluated on more than 300 sites in the United States alone. It has been tested against all economically important subterranean termite species in the United States with more than 100 trials using proven mark-recapture research techniques to characterize termite populations and prove colony elimination, Dow AgroSciences reports.

"Our research performance comparisons show that Recruit III has a clear advantage over the original formula in time to elimination," explains Gail Getty, researcher at the University of California, Berkeley. "We also found a reduction in the amount of active ingredient required for colony elimination, so you can use less Recruit III."

In October 2001, the U.S. EPA classified noviflumuron as a Reduced Risk Pesticide, resulting in a higher priority status for registration. Dow AgroSciences is pursuing registration of Recruit III in individual states with availability anticipated in most states by late 2003. In addition, Dow AgroSciences is researching and developing noviflumuron for pest control solutions on ants, cockroaches and other key urban pests.

SANDY, UTAH — A new consortium of pest management firms, the goal of which is to connect the companies to a national network so they can pursue regional and national accounts, has been founded. The group, called Symbiot, is headed by Drew St. John II, the firm’s president and COO. Larry Spruill, a pest control industry veteran who spent 27 years at Orkin, has been named as the director of the Symbiot Pest Management Network.

Modeled after two successful consortiums it established in the professional landscape and interior landscape industries, Symbiot’s Pest Management Network consists of emerging and established pest management companies invited for partnership to join the consortium. The group’s goal is to join together independent pest control firms of varying sizes to enjoy benefits that many larger regional and national firms already enjoy. Members can hold their own in negotiations where the "big guys" bring efficiency and convenience to the table because, together, several independents form one, strong front.

"We’ve been able to develop some very good programs and benefits for our partners," St. John said. "And, our partners are able to offer ‘national coverage with a local commitment’ to their customers. It’s been a very successful concept and it works."

On the landscape side of Symbiot’s business, the group represents about 250 firms that have combined sales of more than $904 million and is currently the second largest landscape entity in the country, Symbiot reports.

"I know we have a proven track record," St. John said. "The key to building these networks is you have a seasoned recognized veteran of the industry to bring these people together."

Symbiot decided to enter the professional pest control market and this spring the firm began offering memberships to pest management firms. The group intends to have one national sales partner in the pest control market in every metropolitan area.

Symbiot says pest management firms that join the group will reduce costs, be able to participate in national purchasing programs, receive the group’s monthly newsletter, have access to Symbiot products with discounts, be a part of Symbiot’s best practices Web casts and much more.

For more information about Symbiot call 678/445-1811 or e-mail pestmanagementnetwork@symbiot.biz.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Syngenta Professional Products has been granted an Experimental Use Permit (EUP) from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to begin testing the Zyrox Termite Baiting Technology containing the active ingredient lufenuron. Zyrox is a ready-to-use formulation of the insect growth regulator lufenuron designed for installation in and around structures where termites are active below the ground. Zyrox is not yet registered for control of termites in the U.S., and cannot be used outside of the EUP until all federal and state regulations have been obtained.

A ready-to-use formulation composed of a cellulose bait matrix treated with lufenuron, which is a slow-acting insect growth regulator, Zyrox provides effective control or population suppression of subterranean termites. Designed as an integrated pest management tool for termites, Zyrox can be used as a means to control active infestations of termites in structures, or to reduce populations of termites in areas surrounding structures.

"Studies are currently underway at more than 50 locations throughout the United States," said Dan Kidder, technical manager for Syngenta Professional Products. "These studies indicate that lufenuron provides high levels of mortality within a relatively short period of time, and provide a strong basis to expand field-testing of Zyrox under the EUP."

Testing of Zyrox encompasses a wide range of construction types, as well as various soil and environmental conditions. Each structure will be inspected for termite infestations prior to installation of Zyrox, and periodically for two years thereafter. Commercial trial applications of Zyrox will be made by licensed pest management professionals under the supervision of Syngenta technical personnel or designated consultants. Research trials will be conducted in collaboration with university or private researchers specializing in termite work.

According to Syngenta, lufenuron, the active ingredient in the Zyrox Termite Baiting Technology, has a proven history of safe and effective use for urban pests, is widely used as a dog and cat flea control product in the U.S., and has been commercially used in the past as a spot spray for flea and cockroach control outside the U.S.

Zyrox is not yet registered for control of termites and other structural pests in the U.S. Use of the product for these uses is not permitted until all federal and state registrations are obtained.

To learn more about Syngenta products and services for the pest management market, call 800/395-8873 or visit www.syngentaprofessionalproducts.com.

LEXINGTON — The 33rd Annual University of Kentucky Pest Control Short Course will be held Oct. 7-9. The conference features an impressive lineup of topics and speakers.

Featured topics include: backyard mosquito management; emerging termite service strategies; ant tips that work; an afternoon’s worth of advice from attorneys; and even a session on the "psychology" of servicing around dogs. Scheduled speakers include: Greg Baumann, Greg Crosslin, Paul Hardy, Raleigh Jenkins, Richard Kramer, Dave Mueller, Larry Pinto, Fred Strickland and Fred Whitford.

For more information contact Dr. Michael F. Potter, Department of Entomology, S-225 Agric. Sci. Bldg. N, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546-0091; Phone: 859/257-5955; e-mail: dthorpe@uky.edu.

MENDHAM, N.J. — Specialty Products Consultants LLC (SPC) recently completed a new, more expansive market research study of the structural (urban) pest control industry in the United States. Previously, SPC completed a "benchmark" study of the pest control industry in May 2001.

According to the report, the number of professional pest control companies in the U.S. increased 3.2 percent over the last two years to about 18,425 firms. Together, these companies amassed $5.65 billion in total service revenues nationwide. This reflects an annualized revenue growth rate of 3.8 percent when compared with 2000 service revenues of $5.24 billion. Almost three-quarters of this revenue were generated from residential and commercial general pest control service.

The remainder came from termite control services, which includes post-construction treatments, pre-construction treatments, fumigations and termite renewal service fees. Seventy companies profiled in the report generated nearly 60 percent of the total service revenue.

Overall, revenue from residential pest control service (e.g., ants, cockroaches, rodents, etc.) declined somewhat over the last two years. This decline was offset by good growth in the commercial market segment and double-digit growth in the termite control market. The latter was no doubt spurred by record level sales of new and existing homes.

Led by the Maxforce brand of insect baits, Tempo (cyfluthrin), and Suspend (delta-methrin), Bayer Environmental Science (2002 pro forma sales) is the leading supplier of insecticides with nearly 30 percent share. The JohnsonDiversey Inc. subsidiary, Whit-mire Micro-Gen, St. Louis, Mo., is second with almost 20 percent share from its broad portfolio of Prescription Treatment insecticide products.

Sales of Dow’s Sentricon (hexaflumaron) Termite Colony Elimination System continued its strong growth despite the expanded use of the non-repellant liquid termiticides. Termidor (fipronil) termiticide, now owned by BASF, continued to experience extraordinary growth in the post-construction termite market segment and is the leading liquid termiticide by a margin of more than two to one. FMC, with its line of synthetic pyrethroid termiticides, continues to control the largest share of the pre-construction treatment market.

Bell Laboratories, Madison, Wis., controls more than half of the rodenticide market. Bell’s Contrac (bromadiolone) is the leading seller, followed by Syngenta’s Talon and Weatherblok (brodifacoum) products.

Specialty Products Consultants LLC, headquartered in Mendham, N.J., is a strategic marketing and business development consultancy dedicated to the specialty (non-crop) products industry. For more information about the report, call 973/543-5195.