[Market Watch]

PCO field reports from across the United States

Hatfield Pest Control
La Porte, Ind.
Greg Campbell, owner of Hatfield Pest Control, LaPorte, Ind., said business conditions in his region were fair in the third quarter. Campbell said new employment opportunities in the LaPorte area have tightened the labor market and  rising gas prices continue to present challenges.
“We are looking at a possible 25 percent increase in natural gas prices in the months ahead,” Campbell said. “Medical costs and health insurance also continue to skyrocket.”
Campbell says 2005 has been a steady year and that this summer’s drought has created interesting and challenging pest activity. “A lot of insects and rodents have been forced into structures to seek more favorable conditions,” he said.
 In the last three months, carpenter ants, wasps, spiders, yellow jackets and fleas have kept Hatfield technicians busy. Dry conditions combined with an abundance of lakes and old growth trees have allowed these pests to prosper.
Hatfield celebrates its 61st year in business in 2005, longevity that Campbell attributes to the outstanding performance of his employees, whose experience ranges from 13 to 21 years.
Campbell is a past president of the Indiana Pest Management Association, a former instructor at the Purdue Pest Control Training Center and currently serves as chairman of the Purdue Pest Control Conference Industry Planning Committee. “I am a strong believer in that one of the most important things we can do is to educate our employees, our customers, and our fellow pest management professionals,” he said.

Adams Pest Control
Alexandria, La.
Butch Morrison, president of Alexandria, La.-based Adams Pest Control, says post-treatment termite work has been down 25 to 30 percent from last year. “I’ve talked to a lot of PCOs, not just in Louisiana but in other parts of the country, and they are all facing the same thing,” Morrison said. (Adams Pest Control is located in Central Louisiana, so Hurricane Katrina’s direct effects on the company were minimal.)
However, helping to offset the termite downturn has been increases in termite pretreatment work (up 20 percent) and general pest control (up 24 to 30 percent). Morrison attributes the rise in general pest control services not so much to increased pest pressure but to a more aggressive marketing strategy.
“We’re one of the few companies that still does monthly services and we’ve been marketing that as being the best value for your dollar — that someone who comes around more often can take care of problems like spiders and wasps,” Morrison said. “Also, we are seeing a resurgence in flea work. Our flea work is up from last year, which was up from the previous year.” 
In addition to typical Central Louisiana summer pests such as honeybees and yellow jackets, Morrison said Adams has received an increase in requests for fire ant control. He said that this is most likely due to heavy rains making the ants more visible above ground.
Morrison added that in 2006 Adams Pest Control turns 60, a milestone that will be celebrated within the company and locally.

Clark Pest Control
Lodi, Calif.
Terry Clark, vice president of Lodi, Calif.-based Clark Pest Control, said that all businesses and residents of California are feeling the pinch at the pumps more these days. In late August, the average price of gasoline in the Stockton-Lodi area topped $3 per gallon, nearly a dollar higher than at this time last year, according to AAA of Northern California.
“With the public having less money available for services, their buying decisions become more difficult and this raises the performance expectation for the services they are buying,” Clark said.
Despite the higher fuel costs, Clark says his company has been having a record-setting year, because “we offer the highest quality service available and the public appreciates that,” he said.
While Clark remains optimistic about business in the fourth quarter, he is aware of the trickle-down effect of Hurricane Katrina. “I am afraid that Hurricane Katrina will have a lasting effect on the entire nation,” he said. “Higher costs for every product that comes by ship, truck or air, if they are available at all, will have a ripple effect that will continue to multiply over time. The economy is going to take a big hit across the board consistent with the last quarter of 2001.”
As in years past, Clark technicians are being kept busy with Argentine ants, a consistent challenge in Northern California.