The Other Side Of Pest Control

Every day brings something new to a pest control operator.

Some days may be "easy" while others may be filled with uncooperative customers and a ton of paperwork. But a PCO’s job is not just about killing bugs — I think most would agree that they’re in a people business. In just one day, a PCO may deal with controlling pests, complaining customers, new technology, negative press and someone wanting to buy their company. That’s why we always try to include articles in PCT that cover a wide range of topics.

This month’s issue of PCT focuses on fly control. But the fly stories featured this month aren’t just about how to control flies. These stories consider the many angles of fly control — from increasing your revenues by performing fly control work, some tough case study examples and the effects of fly control on public health.

In other features this month, we have a PCT exclusive story written by Dr. Michael Potter about the new non-repellent termiticides and how they’re working in the field. He maintains that this new chemistry could change the way PCOs perform termite control in the future. Be sure to check out "The New Termite Killers" and see how these new termiticides could affect your company.

But as I said earlier, a PCO’s job concerns more than just bugs. And virtually every day there’s a news story on TV or in the paper about pesticides harming the environment (and the people in the environment). A recent study in Massachusetts found that cancer rates among women from Newton, Mass., were higher in areas where women were affluent, well-educated and had mammography screenings. The study found that 65 percent of the women in the areas with higher breast cancer rates had used a professional lawn care service, compared with 36 percent of the women in the lower incidence neighborhood. How do you respond to customers who express concern about such potentially alarming studies? Read PCT Associate Editor Brad Harbison’s story to see how the pest control industry reacted to this controversial report.

We have several additional stories this month that discuss other aspects of pest control that I don’t have room to mention here. But I hope this month’s issue is informative and useful to you. But more important, I hope it helps you run your business — and deal with your customers — more effectively.

The author is editor of PCT magazine.