Helping You Achieve

Successful pest management professionals (PMPs) have been able to recognize a market demand, develop a business plan, put policies and procedures in place and — perhaps most importantly — surround themselves with a winning team. A crucial part of that team is innovative manufacturers like BASF, which offer a full suite of solutions and innovations, as well as resources, training and field support.

PMPs that have partnered with BASF have been able to take their businesses to new heights.

“We look forward to growing our relationship with BASF and finding out what new products and technology they will be introducing,” said Rob Tillery, general manager, Golden Circle Exterminators, Jackson, Tenn. “We trust them to help take the company where we want to go.”

Another progressive company reaping the benefits of BASF is Turner Pest Control, Jacksonville, Fla. “In the pest control industry, there are a lot of companies that continue to do things the way they’ve always done them, but Turner is always open to finding better, faster ways of doing things, so they’ve been an excellent fit for BASF,” said Corey Meudt, sales representative, BASF Professional Pest Management, St. Augustine, Fla.

TERMITE SOLUTIONS. Termite control remains a core segment for the majority of U.S. pest control companies. Although this line of work is profitable, it is labor-intensive and requires a deep understanding of termite biology and behavior, home construction, as well as termite control products and technology.

For a company like Turner Pest Control, which operates in the heavy termite-pressure Florida market, having multiple termite control options is imperative. BASF, whose termite control solutions include liquid termiticides and bait solutions, has been a great partner for Turner.

As BASF’s Meudt noted, “For Turner to grow to the size they wanted to be, they needed ways to do efficacious treatments faster and treatments that were better overall for the homeowner.”

During his tenure at BASF, Meudt has worked closely with several Turner Pest Control branch managers, sharing with them the various BASF termite product offerings, including Termidor® HE High-Efficiency Termiticide; Termidor® HP II using the Termidor HP High Precision Injection System; and Trelona® ATBS Annual Bait Stations.

Termidor HE’s molecular technology allows for half the water, 50 percent shallower treatment depths, 33 percent fewer drill holes and 77 percent smaller trenches.

The Termidor HP High Precision Injection System, which uses Termidor HP II, allows companies to do termite treatments with potentially no drilling for sub slab injections.

Trelona ATBS Annual Termite Bait Stations feature the Trelona Compressed Termite Bait with the active ingredient novaluron. With its larger station size and unique vertical slots, the stations are specially designed to allow easy access, as the soil directly contacts the cartridge that contains the bait matrix. PMPs have ownership and the flexibility to check stations just once a year, or more frequently if they prefer. This can save labor costs with fewer visits to inspect stations each year.

Meudt said Turner has embraced the entire BASF portfolio because it ensures they always have the right product for the treatment.

“If they go to a house and there’s a lot of concrete — if there is a parking pad on the side of the house, or a super wide driveway or a big pool deck on the back, then automatically that house is either going to be Trelona or Termidor HP II because those two products don’t require drilling,” Meudt said. “If they treat a house where there is not a lot of concrete, but instead easy access to soil (and thus less drilling), that house is either going to be Termidor HE or Trelona, depending on if they want bait or liquid.”

Another way Meudt has been able to assist companies like Turner is by supporting sales and marketing efforts. BASF supplies Turner with marketing materials and Meudt has followed up with visits “to facilitate sales training to help them be able to talk about the products and the services that Turner can provide.”

ADDRESSING THE LABOR CHALLENGE. Another company benefiting from the use of BASF innovation is Golden Circle Exterminators, Jackson, Tenn.

Golden Circle’s Tillery has seen the evolution of Termidor first-hand. Tillery was a proponent of using Termidor® SC Termiticide/Insecticide, and at the urging of his sales representative, Nick Iverson (BASF Professional Pest Management, Knoxville, Tenn.), Golden Circle switched to Termidor HE when this product came to market.

Tillery said Golden Circle has not experienced any failures with Termidor HE. “It kills termites every time,” he said. “People keep talking to me about using other products and other systems, but we’re totally committed to doing the best thing for our customer. And you can’t do much better than 100 percent effective.”

As a former termite technician, Tillery remembered how labor-intensive it was to dig six-inch trenches. “When Nick [Iverson] talked about digging two-inch trenches and treating at two gallons per 10 linear feet, I was all in. It meant we can do more jobs every day,” Tillery recalled. “Right now, it saves us an entire termite truck and crew just by allowing more to be done in a day.”

Tillery added that service technicians benefit too. “We are production-based on our pay, so our guys make a lot more money, which means everybody’s happy.”

And being able to do more jobs with fewer technicians has proven invaluable during the recent labor shortage. Iverson said, “If [companies] are down two or three termite technicians, BASF has the innovative products to still be able to keep up with the volume of jobs that they need.”

A TRUE PARTNERSHIP. While BASF representatives support pest management professionals by bringing them new products and technology, PMPs also provide BASF with invaluable feedback. For example, not long after BASF had introduced Alpine WSG Water Granule Soluble Insecticide, BASF’s Iverson provided Golden Circle with a sample.

As Iverson recalled, “In the beginning, Alpine WSG wasn’t really taking off, but Rob [Tillery] was one of the first people to tell me ‘This stuff is dynamite on German cockroaches.’”

In particular, Golden Circle used Alpine WSG at a high-pressure German cockroach account — a Chinese restaurant that had permanently closed in the middle of the night, vacating the premises and leaving all of the food behind.

“I’ve been doing this for close to 40 years, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a roach situation worse than that, and it literally cleaned it all up in one treatment. We went back for a two-week follow up and found one live cockroach nearby. And there were thousands and thousands of roaches. So, I knew that we were on to something with Alpine WSG.”

Another example of BASF bringing beneficial technology to Golden Circle was the launch of Selontra® Rodent Bait. Featuring the active ingredient cholecalciferol, rodents eat only enough for a lethal dose, leaving more for the rest of the colony.

“It works different than other rodenticides,” Iverson said. “Golden Circle was having rodent issues at a soft drink bottling plant, and I remember Rob saying he would give [Selontra] a try. And man, it worked. It did what it was supposed to do.”

This and other successes persuaded Golden Circle to include Selontra among the bait products it rotates at accounts.

ALWAYS INNOVATING. BASF has been built on a foundation of innovation. BASF sales and technical representatives work hand in hand with pest management professionals to understand their needs, which in turn drives innovation. As the pest control industry continues to evolve, count on BASF to continue to provide PCOs with the cutting-edge solutions they depend on to take their businesses to the next level.