[January News]

Mississippi State University launches Formosan termite research field site

STARKVILLE, MISS. — Mississippi State University recently opened a new Formosan Termite Research Facility Field Site and Laboratory, located in McNeill, Miss.
Under the direction of Dr. Terry Amburgey and Research Associate Michael Sanders, the site is a component of the university’s Southern Climatic Housing Research Program designed to provide an organized approach to developing, testing and transferring new housing technologies to prevent the premature failure of residential structures. The project received initial funding via a $126,000 grant from the U.S. Forest Service. It is part of that agency’s Coalition for Advanced Housing and Forest Products Research Laboratory.
McNeil, Miss., was chosen as the Formosan Termite Research Facility Field site because multiple active Formosan subterranean termite colonies were located on the experiment station prior to the establishment of the test site. Alates were captured within the test site in the spring/summer of 2004.
At the site, MSU researchers in the Department of Forest Products are evaluating the resistance of building materials to the Formosan subterranean termite. They are also evaluating the effectiveness of construction techniques in preventing infestation and evaluating the efficacies of biocides and non-biocidal control measures.
Tests to be conducted at the facility include, but are not limited to: field stakes, framing, siding and panel product testing in small-scale houses and near-ground exposure. All tests are being conducted over established colonies. Each colony site consists of a buried colonized wood source and four trenches filled with aged wood that radiate from the colony center. Tests conducted at the site will provide data required by building product and termiticide manufacturers, code officials, architects, contractors and entomologists to assure that houses built in Mississippi and other areas colonized by Formosan termites will have a reasonable service life.
Included on the research site are housing structures built to hold roughly 16 (4- by 8-foot) building panels (OSB, plywood, etc.) that will be exposed to termite, decay and general weathering conditions. This research site is the only one of its kind in the world, Mississippi State University reports.
In addition to Formosan termites, the site will be used for general insect studies and chemical and alternative wood treatment methods will be evaluated.

Pest control market
research study underway
MENDHAM, N.J. — Specialty Products Consultants (SPC) has undertaken its sixth syndicated study of the professional pest control market in the United States. The pest control market represents one of the largest professional service markets in the country. Changes in distribution channels, new brand introductions, and the impact of post-patent products are just a few of the topics that will be analyzed in “A Strategic Analysis of the U. S. Structural Pest Control Market — The 2005 Season.”
The U.S. structural pest control industry generated an estimated $6.5 billion in service revenue in 2004. According to SPC, the professional pest control industry has grown service revenue at an annualized rate of 5.6 percent over the last four years. “In large part, this growth has been due to the strong housing market and an improving economy,” said Gary Curl, president of SPC. “Additionally, we believe that the PPMA’s (Professional Pest Management Alliance) promotional initiatives have had a positive impact on the industry, and have increased awareness of the value of professional pest control services.”
The 2005 Season market study will involve telephone interviews with more than 800 owners or managers of professional pest control operations across the country. The Olson Research Group, working in conjunction with SPC, will conduct the interviews. The report will measure the awareness and usage of leading brands of insecticides, rodenticides and termite control products in the professional pest control market. Additionally, end-users will be queried on manufacturers providing the most value, and asked to rate leading manufacturers’ service attributes, including quality of technical support, sales representatives, training, commitment to the industry and others.
“We encourage professional pest control operators to participate in this survey if they’re contacted, said Cindy Mannes, vice president, NPMA. “SPC has been very helpful in providing key statistics on our industry that the NPMA and the PPMA use primarily for media purposes.”

EPA approves pre-treat
label for Termidor SC
RALEIGH, N.C. — EPA has approved a supplemental label for BASF’s Termidor SC product for use as a pre-construction termite treatment.
“This supplemental label gives PMPs another effective Termidor option — along with Termidor 80 WG — for pre-construction termite prevention,” said Karl J. Kisner, senior marketing manager, BASF.
Pre-construction treatments are defined to include treatments made during all phases of construction, up to and including installation of the final grade. BASF reports that effective preconstruction termite control is achieved by establishing a thorough and complete horizontal or vertical treated zone using 0.06%, 0.09% or 0.125% Termidor SC.
Until packaging reflecting this new label amendment is produced, BASF Partners looking to apply Termidor SC as a pre-construction termite treatment must have a copy of the supplemental label on-hand for use. Partners can download the new label online by clicking on “Product Labels/MSDS” at www.PestControlFacts.com.

FPMA Past President Doug Vander Poest passes away
MELBOURNE, FLA. — Doug Vander Poest, owner of Slug-A-Bug Pest Control and a past president of the Florida Pest Management Association, died on Nov. 11. He was 52.
Vander Poest graduated from Cornell University and in 1982 he founded Slug-A-Bug, Melbourne, Fla. The company began as a one-man operation but it grew to be one of the largest pest management companies serving Brevard County.
 “We all loved Doug for his compassion, his intelligence, his wit and his giving spirit. Everyone who met him came away a better person,” said Steve Lum, general manager of Slug-A-Bug. “We will miss him every day.”
Vander Poest is survived by wife Cindy, daughter Grace, parents Doug and Helen, and two sisters.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Doug Vander Poest Memorial Fund, c/o Slug-A-Bug, 2091 N. Harbor City Blvd., Melbourne, FL 32935. The family will contribute donations to the charities Vander Poest supported.

Dr. Lee Truman passes away
INDIANAPOLIS — Dr. Lee Truman, a former PCO and author of “Truman’s Scientific Guide to Pest Management Operations,” died Nov. 12. He was 91.
A native of Butler, Pa., Truman and his family moved to Indianapolis post-WWII and he went to work for Arab Pest Control as a service technician. In 1950, he opened his own company, Pest Control Services.
In 1961, Truman began authoring articles for a correspondence course in structural pest control. The course was published in Pest Control magazine, a lesson at a time, over a period of 18 months. Later these chapters became the “Truman’s Scientific Guide to Pest Control Operations,” according to the book “The Ratcatcher’s Child.”
Truman served as president of the National Pest Control Association in 1964. He sold Pest Control Services in 1979, but remained active in the industry, serving as consultant. “Everyone who ever worked with Lee couldn’t help but admire and like him,” said friend and colleague George Mountain, owner of Mooresville Pest Control, Mooresville, Ind.

Terminix announces
five acquisitions
MEMPHIS, TENN. — Terminix International recently announced that five pest management firms have merged with the company.
The acquisitions include Comet Termite Service in Southern California; Mesquite Pest Management, Dallas; Pratt Pest Control, Omaha, Neb.; Quantum Pest Management, Melbourne, Fla.; and Silver Creek Pest Control, Indianapolis.
In 2005, Terminix acquired nearly 40 pest control providers in the United States.
Delaware Pest Control
Association announces 47th annual Short Course
NEWARK, DEL. — The Delaware Pest Control Association will hold its 47th Annual Pest Control Short Course at the University of Delaware in Newark, Del., Feb. 15-16.
Speakers include Drs. Harold Harlan speaking on the health significance of urban pests; Dini Miller on bed bugs; Cisse Spragins covering pest management using baits and lures; and Susan King and Mark Lacey presenting a wood-destroying organism damage workshop. Others speakers include Mike Goldstein, Gary Marcucci and Fred Strickland. The conference will include a multi-state panel discussing what’s hot and what’s not in termite management.
For information call 302/736-2668.

Pest Management
Foundation seeks
research proposals
FAIRFAX, VA. — The National Pest Management Association’s charitable organization — the Pest Management Foundation — in November issued a solicitation for grant proposals related to the management of structural pests and pests in urban and suburban environments.
Any submission deemed worthwhile by the foundation will be eligible for a grant of up to $50,000. Eligible entities include, but are not limited to, institutions of higher learning, non-profit organizations, for-profit businesses and individuals.
While the solicitation lists specific project ideas, such as the effectiveness of emerging pest inspection methods, bed bug management techniques and the efficacy of pyrethroid alternatives in mosquito misting systems, the foundation is interested in any proposal that pertains to the management of pests in structures and urban and suburban environments. The Foundation recently funded research published by University of Kentucky and Spokane Falls Community College researchers on the efficacy of residential mosquito control and the effectiveness of various methods to control the black widow and hobo spiders. The foundation also is funding pending research on the prevalence of a specific rodent-borne disease and the overall impact of urban pests.
“Our main intent is to generate the submission of numerous different proposals,” said Gene Harrington, the foundation’s executive director. 
The deadline for submissions is Feb. 5 and the target for identifying a worthy applicant is by the beginning of March. The solicitation is available at www.npmapestworld.org. Questions and proposals should be directed to Harrington at gharrington@pestworld.org or 703/352-6762.

Orkin Termite Training
Facility to be constructed
at the University of Florida
ATLANTA — The O. Wayne Rollins Foundation in Atlanta pledged $150,000 to the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences to help establish the Orkin Termite Training Facility at the Mid-Florida Research and Education Center in Apopka.
Construction of the facility — the first of its kind in Florida — will begin this year and completion is expected by the end of the year.
John Capinera, chairman of UF’s entomology and nematology department in Gainesville, said the donation will benefit Floridians as public and private organizations use the facility to learn about the most effective inspection and treatment methods for subterranean termites.
“Part of the foundation’s goal is to promote pest control innovation that enhances health and lives,” said Glen Rollins, president and chief operating officer of Orkin and grandson of O. Wayne Rollins, for whom the foundation is named. “The Orkin Termite Training Facility will provide expert termite education, benefiting homeowners throughout the Southeast and nation.”
UF faculty and staff, along with other industry professionals, will provide statewide training to a wide range of participants including pest control professionals, government employees and students. The termite training facility also will be available for lease by manufacturers and other companies, including pest control firms from northern states where training schedules are restricted by climate.

HomeTeam Pest Defense’s Mitt Foley passes away
PALM HARBOR, FLA. — Howard “Mitt” Foley, Florida regional vice president, HomeTeam Pest Defense, was killed in an automobile accident in northern Florida on Dec. 3. Foley is survived by children Kayla and Kyle.
Foley joined HomeTeam Pest Defense in 1989 and opened the company’s second branch in Tampa, where he served as the only employee for a period. He was instrumental in the growth of the company’s pest management services and helped with the Centex HomeTeam Services acquisition in 1996.
Builder sales brought Foley to Florida in the mid-1980s. Throughout the years, he remained actively involved with the Tampa area builder associations and earned HomeTeam’s Region Manager of the Year award twice.
Foley grew up in the Atlanta area as one of five children. He attended the University of Georgia.

Univar opens branches, gets CEU approval for Maryland
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Univar USA announced that CEUs have been granted by the state of Maryland for the company’s online training courses at www.PestWeb.com.
Certificate holders in Maryland can satisfy their eight credits needed for certificate renewal by taking four courses on PestWeb, with a Certificate of Completion available online following completion of the final exam. A variety of course topics is offered for most categories of certificates in Maryland.
In other Univar news, the company announced the opening of new branch offices in Sylmar and Palm Desert, Calif.
The Palm Desert branch, located at 74-850 Joni Dr., Unit E, is a 1,350-square-foot warehouse location and has a full service Pro Center featuring a will call display and shopping area. The phone number for this new office is 760/340-2413.
The Sylmar facility is located at 12473 Gladstone Ave., Unit K. It is a 2,650-square-foot warehouse location and has a full service Pro Center featuring a will call display and shopping area. The phone number is 818/361-2398.

Critter Control’s Saucier
returns from duty in Iraq
SANFORD, MAINE — One of southern Maine’s wildlife control experts, Ray Saucier, is glad to be home. Deployed for nine months in Iraq, Saucier, Army reservist, sergeant first class and a recipient of the Bronze Star, is now back in business serving his community with specialized wildlife control services, his other occupation. But Saucier’s active military status came with a price. He is the entire staff at Critter Control of Southern Maine so when Saucier was called to active duty and deployed to Iraq, his business had to be temporarily closed.
Kevin Clark, founder and CEO of Critter Control, said he was so moved by Saucier’s dedication that he decided to take action by offering special financial incentives to retiring U.S. Armed Forces Veterans seeking a Critter Control franchise. “We’re proud to be able to offer our veterans who are leaving the military an opportunity to have a piece of the American dream, the very dream they’ve defended,” Clark said.
Critter Control is a member of the International Franchise Association’s Veterans Transition Franchise Initiative.

Syngenta announces winners from NPMA PestWorld
GREENSBORO, N.C. — At PestWorld 2005, more than 500 PestWorld attendees registered for a sweepstakes at the Syngenta booth for the chance to win one of 12 prizes. In a random drawing held after the close of the conference, Joseph Lupini, CEO of Loyal Termite & Pest Control, Richmond, Va., was selected as the grand prize winner of a Pest Tracker termite tracking device valued at $3,000.
A second prize of a Jack II compressor and electric foaming unit was awarded to Leslie Withoelter, Rottler Pest & Lawn Solutions, St. Louis, Mo. Ten other Syngenta booth attendees received Optigard ZT foamer kits.