Time To Let Go Of Your "First Love"

PCOs involved in the termite market still talk wistfully about the glory days of chlordane, much like a middle-aged man talks about his first love. The problem with “first loves” is they’re often viewed through the selective memory of time. In hindsight, one’s first love is always more attractive, always more engaging, always more “idealized” than is probably healthy. The result? Unrealistic expectations for anyone who follows.

In my opinion, that’s exactly what is happening in the termite market as we approach the new millennium. During the second half of this century, chlordane was so widely used and so effective that when it was “voluntarily” taken off the market by Velsicol Chemical Corp. in 1987, PCOs immediately began pining for the popular termiticide. And when it became clear several years later that Velsicol wasn’t going to reverse its position (thanks to the EPA), PCOs began their search for the next “silver bullet” — a product so effective, so PCO-friendly that it could provide 30 years of control, even at less-than-label rates. Needless to say, they’re still looking.

So what’s the answer? Take the advice of a panel of experts who recently participated in a session titled, “The Termite Market Revolution” at the PCT Dialogue Conference in New Orleans, the epicenter of the country’s termite problems. “There are two things we can definitively say, chlordane is gone and Elvis is dead,” said Jim Wright, an outspoken regulator from South Carolina. “Someone has got to step up to the plate and say there’s no silver bullet.”

That’s not to say, however, that termite control cannot be achieved with the currently available technology. It’s just going to take more work and a wider range of products to do the job, as indicated by Dr. Michael Potter’s informative two-part article titled, “The Changing Face of Termite Control” Part 2 appears in this month’s issue of PCT magazine.

In his series of articles, Potter highlights the entire spectrum of products available to forward-thinking PCOs including baits, liquid termiticides, borates, microbial pesticides and preconstruction barriers. While at the moment none of these products are likely to perform as well as chlordane did in its heyday, they provide ample ammunition for the open-minded PCO until the next “silver bullet” arrives, if that day ever comes.

In the meantime, here’s some advice for those PCOs who still have a soft spot in their heart for chlordane: “First loves” provide wonderful memories, but they should remain just that, memories. To hold on to those memories too long does a disservice to both your company and the pest control industry. It’s time to move on.

The author is editor/publisher of PCT magazine.