December News

PCT on the Road: University of Kentucky Short Course Coverage

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Pest management professionals have to wear lots of hats during their daily routines and work: technician, manager, psychologist, attorney, and minister.

That was the message Mike Potter, an urban entomologist with the University of Kentucky, gave to the nearly 500 assembled pest management professionals at the 38th annual U.K. Pest Control Short Course, held last month in Lexington, Ky.

Potter told attendees that, a generation ago, diseases like malaria and typhoid were common. “Most people, the folks down the street, have forgotten this,” he said. That theme — that the pest management industry safeguards public health — was reinforced throughout the three-day conference.

The first day’s speakers included George Rotramel and Pepe Peruyero, who covered two add-on services becoming more important to pest management professionals: rodent exclusion and prevention, and bed bug detection dogs.
Sponsors of the short course are BASF, Bayer Environmental Science, Bell Laboratories, Dow AgroSciences, DuPont Professional Products, Ecosmart, FMC Professional Solutions and Oldham Chemicals.

SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE TECHNICIANS. George Rotramel, who runs a consulting company in Chicago, gave assembled pest management professionals a list of seven challenges – and opportunities – for rodent control. He said that companies can use these situations to sell their inspection and prevention services to current clients.

1. Abandoned homes. Home foreclosures are increasing mosquito calls, but the abandoned homes (and their stagnant swimming pools) are also going to increase rodent calls, Rotramel said. Companies can develop inspection and rodent-proofing services and programs for lenders and Realtors.

2. Less-frequent garbage pickup. With many cities struggling to make ends meet, services are bound to be cut. Sanitation departments may be picking up garbage less frequently, which can increase pest pressure, exposure and rodent harborage, he said.

3. More sanitation citations and business closures. As the economy tightens, local governments will try to increase their revenue through increased ticketing of out-of-compliance restaurants. Rotramel said technicians should emphasize their exclusion and evidence removal services, and discourage customers from using glue boards and sticky traps on their own.

4. More bans on inside smoking. As people move outside to light up, they prop doors open. “When the rat goes busting down an alley, (the door is) a scoop,” Rotramel said. “Exclusion is what you should be concentrating on, because we’re more and more limited on our options (for product use) indoors.”

5. More plastic garbage carts and Dumpsters. Rotramel cautioned attendees that these trash receptacles are not rodent proof; mice and rats can easily chew through the bottoms, creating instant buffets. “A Dumpster with the lid down and chains around it may make the health department happy but that Dumpster is feeding rats,” he said.

6. More curbside dog feces pickup laws. When building associations and governments require pet owners to dispose of their dog waste in unsecured containers, they create feeders for rodents, Rotramel said.

7. EPA’s rodenticide mitigation decision. This recent rule change will mean more DIY mouse control failures, Rotramel said, which creates an opportunity for pest management professionals. “This is an opportunity for the people who know what they’re doing. It’s going to be a zoo,” he said.

A HAIRLESS DOG NAMED NUDEY. Jose “Pepe” Peruyero, president and CEO of J&K Canine Academy in High Springs, Fla., spoke to attendees about the use of dogs to detect bed bugs.

Dogs can be used to find drugs, bodies, even some types of cancer, and have been gaining popularity as an add-on service for pest management professionals, who use them to locate termites and bed bugs.

Dogs used for insect detection can differentiate between dead and live bugs, as well as eggs, and other distractors (e.g., cast skins and feces), Peruyero said.
J&K, which developed a proprietary dog training method and has offices in Florida, California, Georgia, and Washington, D.C., recently did work at a 728-unit condo complex. Peruyero said it would have taken 15 human inspectors to do the work of three bed bug detection dog teams.

“Bed bugs are the new termites,” he said, adding that IPM programs are “one of the most critical parts where a dog can be beneficial.”

Peruyero offered these tips to companies thinking about using dogs in their service offerings:

• Ask how long the dog has been working
• Don’t try to make the dog a part of your family. Remember that the dogs are there to work
• Make sure the handler and the dog can work as a team
• Make sure you have a direct line of communication to the trainer of your dog

• Be certified. Otherwise, your work might not hold up in court
He said his company sells dogs for $9,500, which covers the dog and a one-week training course for the dog’s handler. In all, a company could spend between $80,000 and $100,000 to buy and train a dog and a dedicated handler (including a truck, insurance, vet bills, etc.).

The conference’s second day of presenters included:
• Jerome Goddard, Mississippi State University, who spoke about the importance of pest management to maintaining public health, and the entomology of stinging and biting pests
• Mark “Shep” Sheperdigian, Rose Pest Solutions, Troy, Mich., who spoke about how companies can approach seemingly impossible problems
• Jay Bruesch, Plunkett’s Pest Control, Fridley, Minn., told attendees that their methods of pest management are already “green” and that they just need to communicate that to their customers
• Ted Granovsky, Granovsky Associates, Bryan, Texas, spoke about how technicians can use pest scat and other evidence to help identify and solve their clients’ problems
• T.J. Neary, Insect Technologies, Lexington, Ky., led a discussion about real-world strategies for treating bed bugs and pest management in restaurants
In addition, attendees viewed exhibits during evening and morning receptions from manufacturers and industry suppliers. For more images from the conference, visit www.pctonline.tv. — Chuck Bowen

Target associates send care package to Marines in Fallujah, Iraq

SANTA FE SPRINGS, Calif. — First Lt. Ian Plummer of the U.S. Marine Corps and 74 of his fellow Marines received a 4th of July care package from the associates and friends of Target Specialty Products. Plummer and his unit shipped off for Fallujah in March and are due to return home this month.

The care package included a Hoppe’s BoreSnake gun cleaner, Oakley sunglasses, socks, beef jerky, trail mix and mixed nuts for each Marine.
Target began sending care packages to U.S. servicemen and women in 2006. The first donation was coordinated through a service called My Soldier. Since then, four other shipments have been distributed to more than 200 service men and women representing the U.S. Army, Marines, Air Force and Navy. Target has raised more than $13,000 dollars in donations from Target associates, suppliers, customers and friends. Target matches the donations dollar for dollar.

“We truly appreciate the generosity of individuals and organizations that continue to contribute to our adopt-a-platoon care packages,” said Target President Lon Records. “When we first started the program, we envisioned it as an internal program, but as customers and suppliers have learned of the care packages, they have asked to be included, and we welcome their contributions.”

Target learned of Plummer’s service through his father, Steven Plummer, a customer and general manager of Tustin Ranch Golf Club in Tustin, Calif.

NPMA announces new member benefit for joint state associations

FAIRFAX, Va. — The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) has announced a new benefit available to all of its joint state pest control associations: software that allows the associations to generate letters, faxes and e-mails to state legislators and regulators.

NPMA’s new Pest Management Legislative Action Center will enable industry members to have a stronger, more unified voice for the professional pest management industry.  NPMA is providing this service at no charge to all of its joint state association members.

Available on NPMA’s Web site, the Pest Management Legislative Action Center allows members to look up their elected officials. When a grassroots campaign is mounted by the state association, an e-mail will be sent to each association member of the specified state with a link that will take them directly to information about the issue at hand. Once a grassroots campaign is set up, joint state members will only have to click their mouse three times to send a powerful message to their elected officials.

To view the Pest Management Legislative Action Center, visit votervoice.net/groups/npma. For more information, contact Bob Rosenberg, Gene Harrington or Meghan McCluskey at 800/678-6722 (or by their respective e-mails: rosenberg@pestworld.org, gharrington@pestworld.org or mmccluskey@pestworld.org).

Copesan Announces the Addition of New Partners

MENOMENEE FALLS, Wis. — Copesan has added two Partners: Cooper Pest Solutions, Lawrenceville, N.J., and Pestco, Pittsburgh.

Cooper Pest Solutions provides Integrated Pest Management solutions for residential and commercial customers, and works extensively on the prevention and treatment of bed bugs. The company employs 30 technicians who provide service to 11 counties in New Jersey. Cooper is a certified QualityPro company, was the U.S. Small Business Administration’s New Jersey and Region Two Small Business of the Year for 2007 and was a finalist in the national competition that same year. Richard Cooper, co-author of Bedbug

Handbook: The Complete Guide to Bedbugs and Their Control was recently on the NBC Today Show with Matt Lauer to talk about the rising epidemic of bed bugs in college dorms.

Founded in 1948, Pestco provides commercial establishments in western Pennsylvania with a holistic approach to pest control. Pestco offers the area’s most comprehensive package to address pest, odor and maintenance issues with a fully integrated array of environmental services and products. Pestco employs 10 service technicians and requires that every employee be certified and understand the pest control business. Pestco was recently awarded the Green Shield Certification from the IPM Institute of North America, is a member of the Green Building Alliance of Pittsburgh and recently rolled out its X-TermiGreen Pest Protection Program.