Newsworthy, April 2000

Washington, D.C. — About 525 PCOs from around the country made their way to Capitol Hill Feb. 28-29 to discuss with their legislators critical issues facing the structural pest control industry.

"We were very pleased with the event," said Bob Rosenberg, director of government affairs for the National Pest Management Association. "I think it was far and away the best meeting we’ve ever had as far as the program and attendance. There was a lot of enthusiasm on the part of the PCOs."

Much of the discussion at Legislative Day centered on pesticide use in schools, pesticide-use reporting and local ordinances that regulate pesticide use. According to Gene Harrington, manager of government affairs for NPMA, in the last several years, at least 27 states have considered school pesticide use legislation.

"Having to notify all parents and teachers prior to each pesticide application clearly suggests that there is a potential problem. Pest control operators use only products that are registered for use by both the EPA and their respective state pesticide regulatory agencies and they use them according to label directions," NPMA said. "And if industry had its druthers, treatments would only be performed by state certified or licensed applicators, or at least ones with some mandatory verifiable training."

Speakers at Legislative Day included Elizabeth Dole and Trent Lott, majority leader of the U.S. Senate. After hearing speakers and participating in a variety of roundtable discussions on Monday, Feb. 28, PCOs headed to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to meet with their senators and representatives to talk about issues facing the pest control industry, including the Food Quality Protection Act and pesticides in schools legislation.

At the Ohio Pest Control Association’s meeting with Sen. Mike DeWine, (R-Ohio), PCOs discussed the implications of FQPA. Ohio’s John Patton, former NPMA president, told DeWine, "When (EPA) eliminates our tools, it’s like sending a carpenter out to do his job without a hammer. They’re eliminating products that have been used around homes for 20 years."

In other Legislative Day news, FMC awarded its 2000 FMC Legislative Day Award to Richard Berman, technical director, Waltham Services, Inc., Waltham, Mass. The award was created to honor those individuals who have distinguished themselves in the pest control industry through their participation in industry activities and events or through their contributions to advancing the industry. Berman has worked at Waltham for more than 30 years, is a member of the Massachusetts Pesticide Board and was winner of the 1994 PCT and Zeneca Professional Products Leadership Award, among many other industry accomplishments.

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) has added an amendment to an existing bill that would require parental notification 48 hours before a pesticide application is made in or around a school.

The amendment, added in early March as part of the Education Savings Account bill, also directs the Environmental Protection Agency to improve its outreach to help schools reduce their use of pesticides, according to a Boxer press statement. The notification amendment was originally part of Boxer’s Children Environmental Protection Act (S. 1112), a broader bill that is still sitting in the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee.

The Education Savings Account bill has already passed in the Senate and now moves into a committee in the House. The amendment would require schools to give parents 48-hour notice before the application of any pesticide that "contains a known carcinogen, a developmental or reproductive toxin, or an acute nerve toxin," according to a statement from Boxer. The amendment also directs EPA to distribute its existing school pesticide booklet.

"This amendment will protect children by giving parents an opportunity to express their concerns in a timely manner and giving schools an opportunity to learn about reducing the use of toxic compounds," Boxer said.

At press time, the National Pest Management Association was meeting with other associations and various legislators to discuss the bill and its implications.

New York City — TomPaine.com, a website magazine about politics, government and media, recently criticized the pest control industry and its products by placing an ad on the editorial page of the Feb. 9 issue of the New York Times. The ad denounced Dow AgroSciences’ Dursban (chlorpyrifos) and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Food Quality Protection Act reevaluation of the product.

"(Dursban is) so common it shows up everywhere. Trace amounts of Dursban and a chemical cousin have even been found in some bagels," the ad read. "Mounting evidence suggests everyday exposure may harm people. Kids are especially vulnerable."

Tim Maniscalo, manager for government and public affairs for Dow AgroSciences, said that some environmental groups have been proposing various stories to different media outlets about a variety of pesticides, including Dursban. "Chlorpyrifos is going through the reevaluation process and the activists need to chum up the media," he said. "This is all part of the process."

Although Dow didn’t respond directly to the ad, the company did release a statement that addresses the ad’s concerns.

"Chlorpyrifos products have been on the market for more than 30 years," Dow’s statement said. "No insect control product available for use has been more thoroughly studied."

EPA responded to the ad via a letter to the editor of the New York Times. As of press time the letter had not been printed, EPA had posted the letter on its website.

In its letter, EPA wrote, "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has taken significant strides to provide the public, especially children, with unprecedented protection from the risks of pesticide exposure. In August 1999, we announced the first tough new measures ever to protect children under FQPA by banning many uses of the most toxic insecticides used on kids’ foods. At that time, we also announced a very ambitious schedule for scientifically assessing the risks of all organophosphate insecticides, which include chlorpyrifos, or Dursban."

Maniscalo said the only response Dow AgroSciences received regarding the ad were several calls from the company’s New York-area customers.

Princeton, N.J. — American Cyanamid is currently developing a new termiticide/insecticide that the company expects to launch December 2001. The product, Phantom, contains the active ingredient chlorfenapyr, which belongs to the class of chemistry called pyrroles. Chlorfenapyr is registered for crop and specialty uses in more than 25 countries, including Japan and Brazil.

Laboratory and field testing have shown the product to be effective against a range of structural pests, including subterranean termites, the company says.

"We’ve seen a number of different reactions with termites," said Susan Burkart, technical strategy manager, American Cyanamid. "We’ve seen dead and dying termites within a few hours to several weeks."

Burkart’s comments were based on a presentation she made at an Entomological Society of America meeting in Atlanta in December 1999.

Termites and other insect pests pick up Phantom via ingestion and through contact with the product. After the insecticide enters the pest, it is converted to an active form by enzymes called "mixed-function oxidases." This active form disrupts the electrochemical gradient in the mitochondria. As a result, the exposed insect is unable to generate its own energy and dies.

The product is non repellent and slow acting. This allows termites to transfer the lethal dose to other colony members via grooming, close contact and feeding behaviors.

"We don’t think non repellents have yet begun to reach their full potential in the industry," Burkart said. "I think they are a very important tool for the pest control industry."

Although the company has explored using chlor-fenapyr as a bait formulation, Burkart said she doesn’t think the product would be ideal for use as a bait. "In the bait formulation, it’s too fast. You need something a little bit slower in a bait to ensure distribution from feeding," she said.

Burkart’s summary of EUP trial research at the ESA meeting generated a lot of interest among attendees. "People had a real interest in the performance on the variety of termite species, particularly on the Formosan termite," Burkart said.

Two years ago, EPA granted American Cyanamid a two-year Experimental Use Permit to evaluate chlorfenapyr in 22 states for post-construction termite control and a revised program in July 1999 added 11 states and the District of Columbia. According to the company’s research, in more than 91 percent of the structures treated with Phantom, termite infestations have consistently been eliminated from structures within one month after treatment.

The EUP structures (more than 330) continue to be monitored to demonstrate efficacy via commercial applications. Currently, a registration petition for post-construction termite control and general urban pest control was submitted to EPA and is pending review of performance results.

Austin, Texas — Van Waters & Rogers has named John Bolanos vice president of Professional Products & Services (PP&S). PP&S is the company’s specialty chemical business unit servicing the structural pest control, public health, turf and specialty agricultural markets. He succeeds Bevan Cates, who retired April.

A 23-year veteran of VW&R, Bolanos has served the company in a variety of sales and management positions in the Industrial Chemical division as well as PP&S. He is currently the general manager of PP&S and is located at its headquarters in Austin.

"John brings many years of valuable experience and knowledge to this leadership position," said Paul Hough, president and CEO of VW&R. "Bevan Cates has laid a strong foundation for John to build on."

Cates retired after a 28-year career at VW&R. He held several senior management positions with the company, including six years as vice president of PP&S.

Oakland, Calif. — Maxforce Professional Insect Control recently announced that the "IPM 2000" Training Video featuring Dr. Austin Frishman is now available on video for $20. The video features Frishman, an industry expert on baiting, and focuses on carpenter ant biology and baiting control using the Maxforce Carpenter Ant Program.

Frishman discusses the proper use of baits and why insecticide bait use is the fastest-growing trend in the pest control industry. He also provides insights on topics such as account retention, business-building techniques and the latest technologies. Proceeds from this video will be donated equally to the Phil Spear Research Fund and Dr. Austin Frishman Scholarship Fund at Purdue University. The video can be ordered by sending a $20 check made out to The Clorox Company and sent to: B&W Sales and Marketing, P.O. Box 2072, Stone Mountain, GA 30086.

Parsippany, N.J. — American Cyanamid’s Siege gel insecticide "Free-For-All" promotion has been extended to April 28. The "Free-For-All" program rewards PCOs who have bought $75 worth of Siege gel insecticide with a selection of free items. Redemption forms are available from distributors or from the American Cyanamid website at www.pestcontrolfacts.com.

St. Louis — Spectrum Brands Professional Products Group has announced two programs that are designed to help PCOs promote their businesses. The first program, an industry promotion campaign called "Know How, Know Who," is aimed to help raise consumer awareness of professional pest control services, while also giving a boost to PCO business development efforts.

The goals of the campaign are to teach consumers to "know how" to identify pest problems, to use pesticides properly and to "know who" to call for professional pest control assistance.

"We believe strongly in promoting the industry and this program will have a very direct benefit for smaller PCOs," explains Mark Sargent, director of sales and technical service for Spectrum Brands Professional Products Group. "Smaller PCOs frequently don’t have the time to work on ways to increase consumer awareness about the knowledge and service they offer homeowners. The campaign is designed to increase homeowner awareness of the services their local PCO provides, as well as to attract new customers to them who might not presently use a professional pest control company."

Homeowners will be targeted for this program through doorhangers and direct mail pieces. These materials will be produced by SpectracidePRO and given to participating PCOs who will then use these materials to market themselves to homeowners. The materials will invite customers to contact the participating PCO for help in dealing with a pest problem they cannot control on their own. The materials will be formatted for PCOs to add their company name and telephone number.

Spectrum Brands is providing these materials free to PCOs. "Because we believe in helping the small, independent operator, and because of our unique nature of distribution through Home Depot locations, we’re spending our own money to develop the program and bring it to PCOs," Sargent says.

SpectracidePRO is also introducing a series of free continuing programs for PCOs that will provide industry education and training. The CEU programs will be offered periodically at various Home Depot stores nationwide.

To find out more about the programs, PCOs can contact their local SpectracidePRO sales manager or call 877/SPECPRO.

Indianapolis — As part of its emphasis on continuing product stewardship, Dow AgroSciences announces changes to the product label for Vikane gas fumigant. Vikane is a "restricted use" pesticide.

As of February, label notifications involving direct supervision, chloropicrin and secondary locks have been in effect and will be seen on the product label early second quarter, at which time, all fumigators are required to comply with the new label. These changes reflect a greater refinement of the product label supporting the product stewardship efforts of Dow AgroSciences.

Under the general information section of the product label, it specifies that two people trained in the use of Vikane, at least one being an applicator who is licensed/certified by the state, must be present at all times during introduction of the fumigant, reentry prior to aeration and during the initiation of the initial aeration procedure when exposures exceed 5 ppm. The verbiage on the warning agent section of the label now incorporates more information on chloropicrin evaporation containers and dosage requirements. A section on securing structure entrances has been added to the label and explains secondary locks and their use for securing structures during fumigation.

For more information about Vikane gas fumigant, visit www.dowagro.com, call the Customer Information Center at 800/352-6776 or contact your local distributor of Vikane gas fumigant.