Name: Ed Martin
Company: Terminix Services
Location of Headquarters: Metairie, La.
Number of Years in the Industry: 42
Career Highlights:
• Graduate LSU, Entomology Degree
• Past President, Louisiana Pest Control Association
• Past President, Greater New Orleans Independent Pest Control Association
• Past President, Terminix National Council
• Committee Chairman, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Formosan Termite Tree Program
• Interviewed in The Times-Picayune, N.Y. Times, Baton Rouge Advocate, State Business Magazine, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Time Magazine, U.S. News and World Report, New Orleans City Business, PCT Magazine, Pest Control Magazine
• Television appearances on the Discovery Channel (in the U.S. and in France), BBC, CNN and PBS. Numerous appearances on local network affiliate newscasts
• Married to wife Loretta for 42 years; father of four and grandfather of seven.
For Ed Martin, owner of the Metairie, La., Terminix franchise, pest control is more than protecting public health and safeguarding the environment — it is about preserving his city’s heritage.
Martin, a lifelong New Orleans resident, has spent the last 42 years working to protect his city’s homes, businesses, picturesque old-growth trees and other historically significant structures from highly destructive termites.
"In New Orleans this is a fight for our survival," he says. "Everyone in New Orleans knows at least one person who has had to pay $30,000 or more to repair their house from termite damage. And it’s more serious than just saving homes — it’s saving the French Quarter and our famous old oak trees."
In addition to owning and operating one of the most successful Terminix branch offices in the country, Martin has been performing important termite field research, most notably on Formosan termites, since the 1960s.
Martin’s science background and problem-solving abilities, his reputation for having uncompromising integrity and his years of field experience have made him one of the industry’s most prominent and sought-after termite experts.
Chemical manufacturers rely on the research findings of Martin and other entomologists who field test termiticide candidates under government-granted experimental use permits or "EUPs." Nearly every currently available termiticide underwent EUP testing by Martin prior to being brought to market.
Martin’s termite research is vital because he provides practical data by testing termite control products on all different construction types in "real world" situations and testing them throughout New Orleans, a city whose below-sea level elevation and hot, humid climate have earned it the nickname "the buckle" of the southern United States termite belt.
"I consider it my contribution to the pest control industry," Martin says. "New Orleans has the highest Formosan termite populations in the U.S. Since it has such high termite pressure and the testing can be done here, it should be done here."
A NEW ERA. Martin’s research is more important than ever, now that the industry has taken a new approach to these destructive pests. In the last five years, every major manufacturer that has developed a termite baiting system has had it tested by Martin and relied on his data.
Finding bait systems that work to eliminate colonies is exciting work for Martin, who has seen the industry and his city wrestle with Formosan termite problems for years.
"In the late 1960s and 70s we were treating defensively using chlordane, Dursban and others," Martin explains. While these termiticides helped eliminate termites from structures their overall effects on colonies were minimal. Colonies were allowed to sit out in nature and get stronger and stronger.
"We now have three offensive baiting systems and at least two liquid products," Martin said. "In years past we were putting down a treated zone that termites would have to go through and then affect the colony. Now we are going after them."
Martin’s field tests are respected because they are extensive and documented. Ed Bordes, director of the Mosquito and Termite Control Board for the city of New Orleans, has been comparing notes with Martin since the 1960s.
"People respect Ed because he is very forthright and honest and also because he has spent countless hours in the lab. He is a meticulous bookkeeper and has recorded a ton of information," Bordes said.
ENTRENCHED ROOTS. If Martin seems passionate about his work, it’s because for him there is more at stake than just receiving accolades from his colleagues. Martin knows that any product that his research proves is successful in eliminating Formosan termites will move one step closer to becoming available on the market, and thus one more tool professionals can use to help New Orleans in its war against Formosan termites.
Martin was born and raised in the Big Easy. Growing up he developed a great appreciation for the historical structures and natural beauty of Southeastern Louisiana. He graduated from Louisiana State University with a bachelor of science degree in entomology. Upon graduation he gained experience as a technical director for a small New Orleans pest control firm and in 1962 he purchased the Metairie, La., Terminix office.
Martin first made a name for himself on the Formosan termite research front in the late 1960s, when these problematic pests began wreaking havoc on the Southern seaport.
Prior to Martin’s research, Formosan termites were unsuccessfully being treated in New Orleans using ground treatments — the same way other native subterranean termites are treated. Ground treatments were not working because, in most cases, Formosan termites that had been in a building for one to two years would nest inside the structure. In the mid-1970s it was Martin who theorized that the Formosans would best be eliminated from a structure by combining ground treatment and fumigation.
Martin’s research was influential in Dow AgroSciences’ decision to change its Vikane fumigant label to include use for Formosan termites in April 1983.
SERVING HIS CITY. Martin’s termite control contributions did not stop with fumigation. Throughout the years he has been at the forefront of termite research, testing just about every termite product to come down the pipe, including biological products.
Moreover, Martin has given his time and termite knowledge to help preserve important New Orleans landmarks, such as the St. Louis Cathedral and the Ursuline Convent, the oldest standing building in the Mississippi Valley.
Martin has also been active in associations, serving as past president of the New Orleans Pest Control Association, Louisiana Pest Control Association and Terminix National Council.
As chairman of a committee for the Louisiana Department of Agriculture, he rewrote the state’s specifications for termite treatments, as well as the home inspection report form for wood destroying insects. Recently, Martin served as committee chairman for the depart-ment’s Formosan Termite Tree Project. He was in charge of recruiting New Orleans-area PCOs to volunteer their time to treat Formosan-threatened old oak trees with non-repellent termiticides. The program just completed its first year of experiments in August.
Martin has also realized that he can’t fight New Orleans’ Formosan termite problems by himself and regularly assists other non-Terminix pest management professionals.
"Ed is very concerned and interested in preserving historical structures and is willing to share what he knows and that does not always happen in this business because it is competitive," Bordes said.
Martin explains that if a competitor’s termite work fails, the real loser is the city. "Our enemy is not each other — our enemy is the termite," he says.
INDUSTRY ADMIRATION. It’s not just New Orleans-area pest management professionals who have come calling to Martin for his termite expertise.
Reporters from many national magazines and newspapers have quoted him and used him as a reference in termite-related stories. He has also been interviewed for a number of TV news spots and is a speaker at industry and community meetings and conventions.
Pest management professionals from countries such as China and Japan have visited New Orleans to get a firsthand look at the tests Martin is using on termiticide candidates.
"I guess the theory is that if you can control the tiger, controlling the pussycat will be easy," Martin says. "In other words, if a product works to control Formosans in a setting like New Orleans then it should work to control most native subterranean species."
With manufacturers busy developing new termite products, Martin’s research continues to play a vital role in the process to bring to market the products that will ultimately save homes, trees and other structures.
The author is associate editor of PCT magazine.
