Newsworthy, October 1999

The virus was also discovered in Greenwich, Conn., and a third case of the virus was confirmed in an adjacent county in New York. In Connecticut, officials found the virus in mosquitoes trapped on a Greenwich golf course.

St. Louis Encephalitis is transmitted to humans via the bite of a mosquito (primarily from the Culex species), and can cause symptoms ranging from headache and high fever to coma, convulsions and death in severe cases. According to the CDC, symptoms of the infection usually show up five to 15 days after transmission.

While the virus usually causes only minor symptoms in young people, the elderly are especially susceptible to problems with the viral infection. According to the CDC, mortality rates for the virus can be as high as 30%, especially in the aged.

Helicopters and truck-mounted units have been used to treat hundreds of acres in the area — including New York City’s Central Park — with malathion. City officials have also been distributing free insect repellant, urging residents to wear long sleeves and pants and to stay indoors during dusk.

David Kane, president, Pelican Pest Control, Inc., Brooklyn, is one of the few PCOs that has participated with city officials by conducting adulticide treatments in several New York City boroughs. Kane says the entire city has been treated at least once and "hot spots" have received as many as three treatments. "The city has done a great job," Kane says.

Kane says his company has received numerous calls from commercial customers, housing developments and municipalities expressing concerns about mosquitoes in their parks and areas with bodies of water and ponds.

Ken Vanderoef, vice president of Dependable Exterminating Co., New York City, says that his company has received calls from concerned residents. "We’ve received a few calls with questions and concerns, mainly people asking about standing water on roofs and that kind of thing," Vanderoef said.

Mosquitoes become infected with the virus by feeding on infected birds and then spread it to other animals and humans by biting them and taking a blood meal. Though they harbor the virus, mosquitoes and birds are not affected by it. Officials from the CDC have been testing birds in the area to try and estimate areas where the virus is concentrated.

The disease is not transmitted from person to person, but there is no vaccine for the virus. There are also few effective drugs available to fight the virus, as the disease does not respond to traditional antibiotics and antiviral drugs. According to the CDC, since 1964, 4,478 cases of St. Louis Encephalitis were reported with an average of 128 cases reported per year.

Such a concentrated outbreak of the virus, like the one in New York, is rare, officials say. The last major outbreak occurred in the Midwest from 1974-77, when more than 2,500 cases in 35 states were reported. A minor outbreak occurred in 1999 in New Orleans, with 20 reported cases, according to the CDC.

REGULATORS DISCUSS KEY ISSUES, BAITING PR NOTICE

LEXINGTON, Ky. — From FQPA and IPM, to RED and FTC, these days the pest control industry is full of hot issues, buzzwords and regulatory activity. Armed with these and other issues as fuel for discussion, pest control regulators from around the country gathered in late August in Lexington, Ky., for the annual meeting of the Association of Structural Pest Control Regulatory Officials (ASPCRO).

The five-day event, held Aug. 21-25, featured discussions about several key industry issues, including the Federal Food Quality Protection Act, HUD warranty changes, IPM in schools and pest control litigation issues. Several government and regulatory officials also spoke at the conference including Scotty Baesler, U.S. Congressman from Kentucky; Albert Chandler III, Kentucky’s attorney general; and Kevin Sweeney from the registration division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Pesticide Programs.

Sweeney and Carl Falco (president of ASPCRO) updated attendees on the status of a PR Notice for termite bait efficacy that is currently in development at EPA.

The genesis of the notice was the desire to hold all termite baiting products to a uniform performance standard similar to what has been done for years with liquid termiticides. The PR Notice will also provide labeling recommendations for termite bait products, as was done with liquid termiticides through PR Notice 96-7.

Sweeney said labeling recommendations for baits as specified by the draft PR Notice will include a number of items, including disclaimers that manufacturers must make based on efficacy data generated on their product. The testing protocols for generating efficacy data for termite baits were designed by Brad Kard, U.S. Forest Service, and are currently under review.

Consumer issues will also be addressed by the notice, Sweeney said. Those issues include specific unique testing and labeling requirements for baiting products that are to be sold directly to homeowners. This comes in the wake of last year’s action from the Federal Trade Commission against United Industries, the manufacturer of Terminate, an over-the-counter termite bait. The FTC forced United Industries to modify its advertising, which claimed that the bait product alone was effective in preventing termites and eliminating active termite infestations in homes.

The PR Notice is still in development and will undergo a number of reviews and revisions before it is posted for public comment. Sweeney estimated the draft will be posted to the public by early 2000, after which it will again be revised by EPA. The final step before enacting the notice is review by a Scientific Advisory Panel, which Sweeney estimates will transpire by the spring of 2000.

Stay tuned to PCT for further regulatory stories from the ASPCRO meeting and for further coverage of the termite bait PR Notice.

CLOROX OFFERS NATIONWIDE SEMINAR SERIES

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Clorox Company, manufacturer of Maxforce Professional Insect Control baiting products, recently announced the sponsorship of a nationwide seminar series. The fourth annual Maxforce Seminar Series, co-hosted by B&W Sales and Marketing, features Dr. Austin Frishman, noted industry expert on baiting and pest control. Pest control professionals will be provided information on the latest methods of carpenter ant control, new technologies, business building and account retention.

"This year’s seminar program is focused on a broad range of topics," said Joe Barile, national field technical manager for Clorox. "We will address new carpenter ant control strategies, as well as provide valuable techniques for improving business and retaining accounts."

"With the industry’s focus on integrated pest management, professionals are looking for ways to add value to their services," said Gordon Morrison, national sales manager for Maxforce. "At these seminars, they will learn how to keep customers even when ‘the problem is gone.’"

Attendees may receive continuing education units towards state recertification. Industry professionals can contact their local B&W Sales representative or the B&W Sales national office at 800/843-6334 for the number of CEUs offered for the seminar in each state.

WHITMIRE MICRO-GEN AND CLARKE ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES JOIN FORCES

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Whitmire Micro-Gen and Clarke Engineering Technologies announced an agreement in principle to form a strategic alliance whereby Clarke will manufacture the Whitmire Micro-Gen line of fogging equipment.

The core business at Whitmire Micro-Gen is structural pest control, including insecticide products and equipment used to solve insect problems. Whitmire Micro-Gen manufactures products and offers training programs and delivery systems.

Clarke is one of the largest and oldest mosquito control businesses. Based in the Chicago suburb of Roselle, the firm today is a scientific, computer-aided firm that provides professional contract mosquito control services, products and equipment to customers throughout the U.S. More than 50 years of service and growth have made Clarke a leader in the mosquito control industry.

Whitmire Micro-Gen says it chose Clarke as its manufacturing partner based on the company’s success in providing the mosquito control industry with environmentally sensitive and economically feasible control methods.

"THIS OLD HOUSE" PERFORMS PREMISE TERMITE PRETREATMENT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Homeowner awareness of termite pretreatments will receive a big boost this month when the show "This Old House" airs its first new housing treatment. The show’s producers selected Premise Insecticide as the chemical to perform the treatment.

Although the show traditionally focuses on remodeling and updating older homes, in April "This Old House" began the construction of a new home on a site where the previous home was completely destroyed by a fire.

Producers were interested in using Premise for the pretreatment because of how it forms a treated zone rather than a chemical "barrier" to repel termites. Termites enter the treated zone unknowingly and their ability to cause damage is stopped.

In a two-minute segment, the program will feature Waltham Chemical of Boston applying Premise to the soil at the foundation of the new home construction. A Waltham technician is shown explaining the attributes of the chemical in an interview.

"Doing the show was a great opportunity to raise homeowner awareness of the importance of pretreatments," said Warren Sukernek, Waltham Chemical general manager. "We were happy to be involved in our second episode with the show."

STUDY SAYS CHILDREN AT RISK YEARS LATER FROM HOUSE DUST MITE ALLERGY

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Allergy to house dust mites may affect children’s lung functions years later, says a study by the American Lung Association.

The study of 408 children and teens, ages 7 to 17, found that youths without asthma who were allergic to house dust mites were more likely s without asthma who were allergic to house dust mites were more likely than those not allergic to dust mites to have reduced lung function six years later.

While the allergy/house dust mites relationship and development of asthma has been previously shown, researcher Dr. Charlotte Suppli Ulrik from Rigshopitalet in Copenhagen, Denmark, notes that this is the first study to show a relationship between sensitivity to house dust mites and growth of lung function in children and adolescents.

Cockroach exposure in the home may increase the risk of repeated wheezing in the first year of life for babies with at least one parent who has asthma or allergies, even when cockroach infestation isn’t obvious, according to a study published by the American Lung Association.

Dr. Diane Gold of the Channing Laboratory at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and colleagues studied 499 children with asthmatic and/or allergic parents in metropolitan Boston.

A report in The New England Journal of Medicine links serious asthma cases in children to cockroaches, according to the Chemical Specialties Manufacturers Asso-ciation’s A Better Indoor Environment Through the Use of Household and Family Care Products.

The report recommends controlling the pest pollution with cleaning and insecticides. There are 15 million asthmatics in the U.S., almost one-third of who are under the age of 18, according to the association.

INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL MATTHEWS DIES AT AGE 75

COLUMBIA, S.C. — George Glen Matthews, president of Modern Exterminating Co., died in July. He was 75.

Matthews was a member of the South Carolina Pest Control Association and was elected into its Hall of Fame. He was also an honorary life member of NPCA and a member of Associated Pest Control Services, Inc. In addition, Matthews was a 1990 PCT/Zeneca Professional Products Leadership award winner.

In addition to his involvement in pest control associations, Matthews served on the advisory board of the Salvation Army. He served in the United States Army Medical Corp during World War II.

Memorials in honor of Matthews can be made to the Salvation Army Building Fund, P.O. Box 1374, Columbia, SC 29202 or to the charity of one’s choice.

PI CHI OMEGA SPONSORS SCHOLARSHIPS

CONYERS, Ga. — To help with the cost of schooling, the honorary fraternity Pi Chi Omega offers scholarships to those studying entomology at various institutions of higher learning throughout the country.

To date, the fraternity has awarded more than 60 scholarships totaling in excess of $70,000. Pi Chi Omega scholarship recipients are traditionally named each year during the Purdue Conference.

Last fall, Pi Chi Omega initiated the Pi Chi Omega Founders Endowment Scholarship.

If you’d like to contribute to the scholarship fund, or would like more information about the project, contact Paul Bello, 2340 Weatherstone Circle, Conyers, GA 30094 or at 770/922-1675.

FISCHER ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES ESTABLISHES SCHOLARSHIP

NEW ORLEANS — Fischer Environmental Services, Inc. has established the Fischer Environmental Service Company Scholarship in Life Science.

The scholarship provides an annual support of $2,000 to a needy and deserving college freshman whose studies have the potential to benefit the environment and pest control industries.

The recipient will be chosen by an independent committee composed of the president of Resource Bank of Louisiana, the head of Hammons Insurance and the president of the accounting firm Skarda & Silva.

NJPCA HOSTS "COCKROACH RACES"

This was also the 10th annual New Jersey Cockroach Derby. The race featured a cockroach named "Al Gore" vs. a cockroach named "Bill Bradley." Both were Madagascar hissing cockroaches. The race this political year was conducted as candidates compete for their party’s nomination. The Bradley cockroach won easily.

The event was featured in three New Jersey daily newspapers, on News12 New Jersey cable television and on numerous radio stations, including the Associated Press radio syndicate.

NEW REBATE PROGRAM OFFERED BY SPECTRUM

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Spectrum, a division of United Industries, is offering a new rebate program to those who purchase the company’s SpectracidePRO line of professional pesticides. Operators who purchase $100 worth of SpectracidePRO pesticide, complete a rebate coupon and attach it to the original Home Depot receipt, will receive a $25 check from SpectracidePRO.