[View Point] A 'net' gain of lives

Thanks to a collective industry effort among PCOs, industry manufacturers, and groups like the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) and Professional Pest Management Alliance (PPMA), pest management professionals are now more than ever viewed as “protectors of public health.” It’s a development that has been instrumental to the industry’s overall growth, but this is a message that requires continual reinforcement.

Many PCOs are “putting their money where their mouths is” not simply by controlling pests of public health significance, but by contributing to causes whose goals include the protection of public health. Currently, a worldwide fundraising effort is underway that presents the pest control industry with a golden opportunity. You probably have seen or heard television and radio public service announcements (PSAs) or read newspaper or magazine articles with this simple message: “Donate $10 to buy a mosquito net to save an African child from malaria.” A recent story in the New York Times described this campaign as “a modern version of the March of Dimes, created in 1938 to defeat polio, or like collecting pennies for Unicef on Halloween.”

Several net campaigns exist, the best known of which is Nothing But Nets, which has raised $20 million from 70,000 individuals. The money raised helps purchase long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito bed nets that are distributed throughout Africa. The goal is to stop the spread of malaria, which is transmitted by mosquitoes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), malaria kills more than 1 million people worldwide each year, 90 percent of whom are children in Africa. Unlike old nets, which either had no insecticide or had to be dipped twice a year, the new ones keep killing or repelling mosquitoes for three to five years. When more than 60 percent of the inhabitants of a village use them over their beds while they are sleeping, malaria rates usually drop sharply. (Bayer Environmental Science’s deltamethrin is the pesticide used in the majority of the nets in these campaigns.)

Some pest control companies have gotten involved, including Orkin Pest Control, which recently launched its Fight the Bite campaign. Orkin and its sister pest control companies will donate at least $100,000 to Nothing But Nets for 10,000 nets, with funds being raised through a company-wide employee net drive, customer net drive, and consumer contributions. Additionally, Orkin will donate one mosquito net to Nothing But Nets for every mosquito service purchased this season. 

Another company that got involved was Atlanta-based Arrow Exterminators, which partnered with a local elementary school that collected funds for Nothing But Nets through various school-sponsored events. Arrow presented the school with a check to help them reach their goal.

These and other companies involved in fundraising efforts should be commended for taking the lead. But why not make this an industry-wide campaign? Programs like Nothing But Nets are easy to become involved in and are ideal for small and large companies alike. According to a National Pest Management Association 2006 survey, the pest control industry is composed of an estimated 19,200 pest control companies. If each of these companies were to donate $100 for nets, more than 1.9 million lives could potentially be saved. It’s a tremendous opportunity to show that those involved in the pest control industry truly are “protectors of public health” and it’s the right thing to do.

The author is Internet editor and managing editor of PCT.