[VIEWPOINT]: Covering All Our Bases

In the calendar, 2002 is almost over. But this magazine is months ahead of the calendar, so in my mind 2003 has already begun. About six months ago, the PCT Media Group began planning for 2003. In particular, we started tossing around ideas about what stories we’d like to include in PCT magazine and on www.pctonline.com for the coming year. Like I do every year, I make calls, talk to people at shows and send out e-mails asking folks what’s new in their area and what "hot topics" they’d like to see covered in the magazine.

One idea kept popping up in my conversations the past few months. Harry Katz, a long-time contributor to PCT, told me he thought it would be a good idea to write about international pest control. "How do the pest problems of PCOs in other countries differ from ours?" he wrote.

The topic also came up when interacting with another well-known industry source. Cindy Mannes, executive director of the Professional Pest Management Alliance, said, "I don’t recall seeing anything on international pest management in the recent past, but (learning about) how they treat...would be interesting."

We agree. That’s why this month’s issue of PCT is dedicated to a variety of topics from around the globe — from pest management in "paradise" (page 50) to a review of Canadian and European pest management practices (pages 58 and 64, respectively).

This issue is a perfect example of how you — our readers — drive the content of our magazine. If you have an idea for a story, took some great photos at an industry event or have a terrific employee that we need to know about, send that information along to us.

We want everything that the PCT Media Group brings to market — from the magazine and our Web site to technical resources and conferences — to help you and your business.

If we’re not doing that, we’re not doing our job.

At the National Pest Management Association’s annual convention last month, much of the buzz was about what was going to happen to Bayer Environmental Science’s fipronil-based product, Termidor. Well, the wait is finally over. At the end of October, Bayer announced that it had sold one of the industry’s most popular products to BASF Corp.

Since there is so much interest at all levels of the structural pest control industry about the sale, we held on to the issue a couple extra days at our offices in Cleveland. Although we featured news stories and quotes on our Web site immediately following the announcement, we also wrote a full-page feature story on the topic in this issue. See page 16 for additional insights, quotes and thoughts from some of the industry’s most influential players regarding this important sale.

The author is editor of PCT magazine.