Redefining IPM

Industry consultant Jeff Tucker told attendees at the Whitmire Micro-Gen Prescription Treatment IPM Specialist Skill Development Seminar in Baltimore on Feb. 3 that the service technician is the key to successful Integrated Pest Management.

About 60 people attended the free seminar, the first in a series put on by Whitmire Micro-Gen. (See additional dates in box at right.) Tucker stressed a move toward a judicious use of chemicals and a redefinition of IPM to make it more useful to PCOs.

"Just about everyone in our industry has heard the term ‘IPM,’ but most view IPM as a special kind of service reserved for only special accounts. This is in part due to the confusing definitions and rigid process of IPM found in its agriculture roots," said Brian Mann, Whitmire Micro-Gen’s SPC education and market development manager, who also spoke at the event. "There is a world of difference between agricultural pest management and structural pest management. We break down this barrier by teaching a practical system, Prescription Treatment IPM, that guides client-centered solutions, keeping the focus on the most important elements of problem solving, service and communication."

AG ORIGINS. IPM finds its origins in the agricultural industry of the 1950s: Farmers traditionally applied pesticides by the calendar, regardless of pest activity or need, until entomologists found that, by inspecting, they could cut back the chemicals used on crops.

And while Tucker said the techniques used in agricultural IPM don’t transfer well to the world of structural pest management, the basic idea of inspection before treatment does.

The problem comes from people inside and outside the industry trying to define IPM. Tucker said he found 180 published definitions of IPM from a variety of sources. Many, he said, were confusing, long-winded and unclear.

"That is not helpful. That doesn’t do anybody any good," he said. "That damn definition doesn’t help anybody."

Tucker calls his approach to IPM "structural pest management," but stressed that the approach should not be orthodox; it must be fluid, he said as he bounced back and forth on the balls of his feet.

"It don’t happen until you show up. It doesn’t exist in a book. It doesn’t exist in the owner’s mind or the manager’s mind," he said. "(It’s not) people out in the field reading a piece of paper instead of trying to solve pest problems. That’s the job we’re in."

Tucker defines structural pest management ("SPM") as "an approach to pest control in and around buildings that relies on inspection to determine if, when and where intervention is needed."

A NEW JOB DESCRIPTION. His approach relies heavily on inspection and prescribing the best treatment for each account. It calls for companies to move away from the broad application of chemicals to a more judicious one. Applying insecticide is not the job of a technician, he said. "It’s a lot more."

The job, Tucker said, requires that a technician know:

how to identify the pests in his area

how buildings are put together

how landscaping and sanitation changes will impact the account

how to use non-chemical solutions

how to make targeted pesticide applications

how to talk to and persuade customers

Some things technicians suggest to a customer — caulking cracks and crevices or vacuuming up debris or moving a pile of wood away from a house — may seem trivial, but they are important and can have significant impact on the pest pressures at that account.

Tucker said he approaches this like elephants and mice: Give the plant manager or the homeowner two big things that will have the most impact on preventing pests at that account to work on, not a list of 27 things.

"Clean it up, fix it up," he said. "It’s not some obscure science…. It’s that simple."

After Tucker’s presentation, Whitmire Micro-Gen Regional Technical Specialist David Nardolilli raffled off a collection of Whitmire Micro-Gen products, including a System III, a Vector Eclipse fly trap and Visa gift cards.

"The economic outlook for the next few years is tough, putting increased pressure on PMPs to find ways of provide more value in the services provided to retain and attract new customers," Mann said. "Through the SDS we intend to make PMPs aware of some changing trends with their customers and teach them ways in which they can improve retention and sales through client-centered solutions."

The author is assistant editor of PCT magazine.