Working Together Leads to Success

In today’s competitive pest control industry landscape, PMPs need all the resources they can get, including the latest product innovations, as well as access to leading technical experts. Fortunately, BASF provides PMPs with the pest control solutions and technical support they need to give them that edge.

COMPLEMENTARY SOLUTIONS. BASF has a long history of providing the pest control industry with effective, innovative technology. But BASF is more than a solution provider; the manufacturer’s scientists and technical experts are constantly seeking ways to get the most out of technology.

“Having such a broad portfolio of products gives PMPs the chance to not only choose a product for a particular situation, but also the ability to rotate within their use patterns and their protocols,” said Warren Vannest, senior sales representative, BASF Professional & Specialty Solutions.

For example, many PMPs have found success treating for ants using a combination treatment of Termidor® SC termiticide/insecticide and Alpine® WSG water soluble granule insecticide. Both are non- repellent products that can take advantage of the natural behavior of ants to affect other nest mates and eventually eliminate the colony. While Termidor SC is used for exterior perimeter treatments, Alpine WSG is for interior, exterior perimeter and off-structure treatments.

Both products complement each other extremely well. “This may be oversimplifying, but where Termidor SC can’t go for ants, Alpine WSG can,” said Travis Chambers, senior sales representative, BASF Professional & Specialty Solutions.

Todd Leyse, president of Adam’s Pest Control, Medina, Minn., said he and his team were early adopters of this combo treatment.

“We’ve always loved Termidor SC. That non-repellency coupled with the transfer effect has really been helpful with many species of ants,” said Leyse. “So, it was a natural fit to use Alpine WSG indoors” because it is also a non-repellent and has some transfer effect.

HELPING CONNECT CUSTOMERS. Use of multiple products extends to other BASF technology, including its termite control solutions.

In Georgia, termite pressure is high — and so is competition. Horne’s Pest Services, Martinez, Ga., sought a termite offering that was not only effective, but helped the company stand out in a crowded canvas of pest control companies. Horne’s devoted time and resources into developing a comprehensive three-pronged termite service.

David Horne, owner of Horne’s Pest Control, explained his service. “We install the Trelona ATBS Annual Bait Stations around the outside of the house. We’ll do a localized treatment to the infested area with Termidor Foam, and then oftentimes we will do a liquid treatment around the foundation with Termidor SC.”

Horne said his company got away from the use of termite baits as a stand-alone treatment after they had some failures in the late 1990s. However, because of recent improvements in this technology, the company now does offer stand-alone bait treatments in newly constructed homes using Trelona Annual, or if customers want the home under warranty. Horne’s has found success using Trelona Annual, whose label gives PMPs the flexibility to check stations just once a year. Horne said his customers like termite baits because they are less disruptive to flowers and shrubbery.

If a house has an active infestation, Horne recommends the three-pronged approach that includes the localized treatments “because our objective is to take care of the problem as quickly as possible.”

Horne also likes the marketing materials provided by BASF that he can show to potential customers. “If we go to a house and they’ve got termites, and they contact us and other companies, we believe that the majority will be more comfortable with our combination treatment. And we’ve had many customers tell us that they like the idea of the combined approach.”

BASF-PMP PARTNERSHIP. BASF prides itself on the deep relationships it has built with its PMP partners.

Chambers has been working with the Adam’s Pest Control team, including late co-founder Harold Leyse, for more than 20 years. “He was such a great person with a wonderful sense of humor, background and a real ambassador for an industry I have come to love,” he said.

Chambers then got to know Harold’s son, Todd Leyse, and the rest of the Adam’s team. “We have collaborated over the years to bring many innovations to the industry. This is a people business, and all the folks at Adam’s are great people and great for our industry,” Chambers said.

Leyse said it’s important for his company to work with manufacturers like BASF “who are doing the research and supporting their products.” He also appreciates that BASF approaches him with new product innovations such as Selontra® Rodent Bait (see related article, left).

Another BASF rep who has developed deep relationships with customers is Vannest, who counts Horne as a long-time PMP partner. One of the things Horne has come to appreciate about Vannest is his willingness to further research a product. Vannest explains, “I’ve been in the industry since 1977, but I’m not an entomologist, so I still refer things to our technical services team and research team to give me advice to take back to customers.”

Horne said Vannest will give him an immediate answer, or if he doesn’t know he will confer with the technical services team and “he is always good about helping me with any graphics and anything that I need to put a brochure together,” as well as making on-site visits to teach classes.

BASF looks forward to continuing these and other PMP partnerships, just as it does to building on its legacy of providing innovative pest and business solutions.