All Articles
10/1/2022
Whitetails, Blacktails and Mule Deer Wintertime’s Triple-Threat for American Gardeners Condensed from the complete Wintertime's Triple Threat for American Gardeners, compiled by the makers of all-natural Deer Scram – America’s Finest™ granular deer repellent. No matter where deer are found in North America, the survival of white-tailed, black-tailed and mule deer through winter depends a lot upon how well the deer prepares for winter’s “drought” of foods. Their winter survival tactics will soon be ...
9/1/2022
JASON MEYERS, Ph.D.Senior Technical Services Representative IIBASF Professional & Specialty Solutions A few years ago, the spotted lanternfly made its entrance into the occasional pest market in the U.S. and has spread around the State of Pennsylvania and into surrounding states. It continues to spread at a rapid rate. Newly established populations have been found in Ohio and Virginia, among other states. Some have even been found in Kansas, although they are not yet established. The spotted lanternfly is primarily a threat for the fruit industry, such as the grape jam...
8/1/2022
More than 70+ million homes in the United States are built on crawl spaces. Houses are built on crawl spaces because it is cheaper than basements or because ground conditions make building a basement impractical. In most climate zones, properly designed, installed, and conditioned closed crawl spaces can work well. You might not offer encapsulation as part of your current business model, but as a pest control professional, you are often in crawl spaces that have already been closed or encapsulated. You can observe if the best “conditioning” method (a commerci...
7/1/2022
We are committed to the proper use of BASF chemistries Day in and day out, pest management professionals (PMPs) are making decisions about the use of insecticides that protect their customers’ homes and businesses from harmful pests. BASF develops insect and rodent management solutions for PMPs to control pests that carry and spread disease, contaminate food, and cause property damage. With a portfolio of solutions that meets nearly every need, it is important that we, as a company, demonstrate our commitment to their proper use and reinforce the ...
6/1/2022
Keep Pests at Bay All Year Long FMC guarantees 90 days of no retreatments* after a Scion Insecticide with UVX Technology exterior perimeter barrier application1 on a recurring residential pest management service2 done in accordance with the best management practices outlined and made within the program period. If any retreatment is required during the 90-day period, FMC will provide the amount of Scion insecticide needed to make a reapplication to the treated area as outlined in the best management practices section of this program. Pre-application Inspectio...
5/1/2022
By Dr. Chris Keefer, technical services manager, Professional Pest Management, Syngenta Ants are the top pests in many urban areas across the U.S. In many cases, these ants are large-colony pests such as Argentine ants, tawny crazy ants or odorous house ants. Successfully controlling these large-colony ants in urban environments requires an integrated pest management (IPM) plan that includes inspection, understanding the species and using multiple formulations and active ingredients. Inspect and identify conducive conditions Ants need...
4/1/2022
Overview Scorpions are eight-legged arachnids with two front large pincher type claws for grasping and holding prey. The claws can range in size from small and thin to large and robust. Scorpions have an elongated tail that can be laid out behind the body or curved over the body. It contains a bulbous stinger that in some species contains a potent venom with the ability to severely hurt or kill humans. There are several species present in the U.S. including the Arizona bark scorpion (Centruroides sculpturatus), the Striped bark scorpion (Centruroides vittat...
3/1/2022
The use of tamper-resistant bait stations at accounts is a key factor in keeping other rodent control products, such as rodenticides, snap traps, and glue boards, inaccessible to non-targets. Selecting the right bait station is a critical step in implementing proper integrated pest management (IPM). One size does not fit all when it comes to rodenticide stations, which is why there are so many options available to choose from. Make sure you understand the differences and pick a station that best fits your needs. The first step is to determine your target, as some bait sta...
1/6/2020
Formerly a division of Univar Solutions, Univar Environmental Sciences has been sold to affiliates of AEA Investors. With the ownership of AEA, the future remains bright for Environmental Sciences (ES), its customers and suppliers. AEA brings a solid understanding of the ES business and a strong appreciation and desire for growth through product distribution and services offerings across pest control and other specialty chemical markets. What hasn’t changed is the continued commitment and organizational focus on growing the business for customers and suppliers. Read th...
11/26/2019
As a group, ants are often the number one pest encountered and the number one cause of callbacks. There are many variables to consider when picking the best ant bait for your operation, but choosing a bait is only half the battle. As good as today’s ant baits are, they still have to be applied in the correct environment and match the ant food preference or they will not bring satisfactory results. First and foremost it’s important to correctly identify the ant species you’re dealing with. Misidentification or, more frequently, no identification,...
7/1/2019
Outsourcing brings out mixed emotions among business owners. Some quickly see an opportunity to eliminate tasks, whereas others fear no one can properly and reliably execute the tasks at hand. When it’s done right, outsourcing can offer pest management companies with greater stability, flexibility, and a higher degree of expertise than you alone can provide. Here are three steps that will help you find the best providers to handle your needs: 1. Assess your current situation. Which tasks can you outsource so your staff has m...
5/29/2019
Note: This article originally appeared in the February 2019 issue of Pest Management Professional magazine and is reprinted with permission. It can be found at https://www.mypmp.net/2019/02/27/place-your-headshots-in-the-no-selfie-zone/ Place your headshots in the no-selfie zone By Grant Hunker While there is definitely a time and place for selfies when it comes to your pest control company’s social media presence, headshots for media announcements about new employees, job promotion...
4/17/2019
At Veseris, we take pride in providing customers with the most current industry news and knowledge — within local communities and nationwide. Here’s an overview of early Q1 2019’s biggest trends as reported by Veseris managers across the country: [click to enlarge]
4/15/2019
Schedule termite inspections 24/7, online By Heather Gooch Homeowners, business owners and real estate agents seeking termite inspectors typically want immediate results. That’s why one family-owned pest management company created and launched TermitePro.us, a website that lets customers schedule termite inspections online. “We saw this as a basic next step for our industry,” says Isaac Camacho, marketing and sales director for Irvine, Calif.-based Accurate Termite and Pest Control. “We live in a world w...
12/13/2018
Q. I am dealing with a German roach issue in an apartment complex broken into buildings. The maintenance people seem to think it’s okay to leave whole panels out under kitchen and bathroom sinks for access to the plumbing. One building has at least 12 units with roaches. I’ve tried everything from baiting, dusting, baiting and dusting, to recently hitting all of the penetrations with a knockdown product, an IGR and again baiting and dusting. What do you recommend? --Kenton, IN A. I think you may be throwing too muc...
12/4/2018
Q. I’ve had a problem with a couple of bed bug jobs. I will have my customers prep their home and then schedule treatments at two-week intervals. Afterwards, the homeowner will go a month with no bites or sightings. Then, out of the blue, they will call about finding a dying bed bug. I think it was there the whole time and just taking time to die. Do you know how or why this happens? — Mike, OH A. One reason could be that a bed bug harborage was overlooked during treatment. Even if you’ve done your best, that’s just the nature of bed ...
11/27/2018
Looking for a smarter way to collect — and correct — product requests across your team? Today’s Better Business Tip will help you save time and reduce errors every time you restock your inventory. Click the video below to see how you can use team Quick Lists to share shopping lists and approve orders for your entire team. Get More Business Tips We’re continually adding to our library of Better Business Tips videos with more ways to streamline your business. Stay tuned for more videos coming soon &#...
10/16/2018
Rob Seeger – President, RJS Pest Management – New York, NY When you ask Rob Seeger, President of RJS Pest Management, what the secret to building a successful company is, you’ll get a simple answer. “Hard work,” Rob said. “We’ve earned and built everything we have today. No mergers, no acquisitions, just hard work.” Rob began putting in the hard labor on his very first day as president of RJS six years ago. His first task was to build a team that could match h...
10/10/2018
Q. Rodents are not going into a bait station and consuming bait. They go around and over it. How can I control activity? — Armando, CA A. If we’re talking about rats and a newly placed bait station, it might be a matter of patience until they’re ready to go inside. Or, it may be size - some rats are too big for low profile bait stations. Does your program consist of anything besides this one or other bait stations? The rats might better accept food baits on snap traps. If we’re talking about mice, then wind-up multiple catch trap...
1/9/2018
Q. What products and steps are needed to treat multiple cats in a bed bug infested home? The customer has two dogs and eight cats living indoors with them. Hours after I heated and sprayed the home, the homeowners called complaining about seeing multiple live bugs. The only variable in this home is the large number of cats. I tend to have problems with cat owners in general, especially if their cats runs the neighborhood. -- David, OH A. It shouldn’t be unexpected to see a few live bed bugs after a treatment. How many ar...
1/5/2018
Q. Can a crack and crevice treatment be performed with a microencapsulated product in an office while people are working? -- George, CA A. The answer mostly depends on the product label. Product labels normally have restrictions against applications in occupied patient rooms or classrooms. They may have an additional restriction against applications when occupants are in the immediate area or room being treated. So you should choose a product that doesn’t have this additional restriction. However, I don’t recommend spraying a liquid product ...
11/27/2017
At Veseris, everyone’s a customer service representative in addition to their formal job title. But, we do have some people who devote themselves entirely to making our customers’ lives easier, and Joanna Harris-Goveia is one of them. As a Customer Service Manager, Joanna oversees representatives in eight Veseris ProCenters in the northeast region. “I work with my Customer Service Reps to ensure our customers are getting the very best service in the industry, leading them to become a customer for life,” she says. Every great cus...
11/16/2017
At Veseris, we take pride in providing customers with the most current industry news and knowledge - within local communities and nationwide. Here's an overview of this fall's biggest trends as reported by Veseris sales manager across the country. (click to enlarge)
10/23/2017
Starting today, the industry’s two most respected training catalogs will be available through a single online platform: ProTraining by Univar. We have partnered with PCT to integrate their entire Label Training library directly into ProTraining on PestWeb, giving professionals unparalleled access to courses approved for CEUs in most of the United States and Canada. See the end of this article for the full list of everything that’s been added today. With two course libraries available on a single unified platform, technicians and managers can now review traini...
9/18/2017
If there’s one word that seems to frame every element of Cris’ life, it’s drive. For starters, you’ll find her at the golf course, driver in hand, almost every weekend. Cris had toyed with the sport on and off for years, but started playing seriously around 2007. Since then she’s upped her game, lowered her handicap, and made her way to the Masters twice — as a spectator, at least. “It was awesome and was definitely on my bucket list,” she said of the tournament. Her enthusiasm about “the holy grail of a...
