[PCT On The Road] Research Revealed

As the pest management industry continues to reshape its rodent control business model, the need for more and more research on these complex animals has come into sharper focus.

Syngenta Professional Products recognized this need for more rodent research and responded with the Regional Rodent Research Initiative (RRI), a project in which Syngenta called upon leading pest management professionals from the Midwest and Northeast to perform important rodent research, with the goal of crystallizing the pest control industry’s future rodent management needs.

These pest management professionals exchanged their rodent control knowledge, as well as their field research findings, in November at the Syngenta RRI meeting, held at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Syngenta Senior Technical Representative Dale Kaukeinen opened the meeting by noting that although rodent behavioral research dates back to the 1930s and 1940s, the industry lacks documented studies on best practices for professionals working in the field.

“Our cities are becoming more and more populated,” he said. “Rodents’ natural environments have changed and they have adapted, but we are still doing the same things to stress their environments.”

Kaukeinen, along with Bobby Corrigan, RMC Pest Management Consulting, Richmond, Ind., were the driving forces behind the RRI.

Corrigan spent the better part of this year working in New York City, including performing rodent control at Madison Square Garden, in preparation for the Republican National Convention. He reminded RRI attendees of the importance of their work by describing some of the conditions he witnessed, including rats flourishing in New York City’s aging infrastructure (e.g., sewer system) and in substandard NYC apartments, where Corrigan witnessed rats literally crawling in baby cribs.

Corrigan stressed the importance of research in getting to the root of these problems. “There are reams and reams of studies on these animals, but what you won’t come up with very often is research on control of rodents in real-life situations,” he said. “That’s why we say that in America we are in an age of exploration. I can just see a rodent observing a pest management professional on a third callback and thinking, ‘Homo sapiens don’t have a clue.’”

THE RESEARCH. Earlier this year, Syngenta contacted various pest management professionals throughout the northern United States and asked them to address one or more topics of specific interest to pest management professionals. From June 1 through early September, these pest management professionals performed their research and recorded their findings, which were then shared and thoroughly discussed during the meeting.
Pest management professionals who participated in the RRI and shared their research findings included:
• Richard Kramer, Innovative Pest Management Inc., Brookeville, Md.
• Jeff Pruitt, APM Termite & Pest Management; Salisbury, Md.
• Sonny Pecana, Royal Pest Management, New Castle, Del.
• Justin Hedlund, Waltham Services, Waltham, Mass.
• Dan Collins, Action Pest Control, Evansville, Ind.
• Ted Snyder, Batzner Pest Management, New Berlin, Wis.
• Tom Dobrinska, Anderson Pest Control, Elmhurst, Ill.
• Mark Sheperdigian, Rose Pest Solutions, Troy, Mich. (whose research findings were presented by Syngneta’s John Thieme)
• Jim Anderson, Smithereen Pest Control, Chicago, Ill.
• Dave Ramsey, Varment Guard Environmental Services Inc., Columbus, Ohio
• Jason Everitt, Rottler Pest & Lawn Solutions, St. Louis, Mo.
• Brian O’Dwyer, Springer Pest Solutions, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
• Eric Snell, Snell Scientifics, Barnesville, Ga.

Kaukeinen, along with Syngenta’s Dan Kidder and Geoff Foster, also talked about Syngenta’s research and development program, and product developments in the rodent control area specifically.

The following is a synopsis of some of the important research findings and discussions from the RRI meeting.

Burrow baiting — There are two broad ways to bait — using bait stations and burrow baiting. In his research, Kramer focused on burrow baiting, specifically the issue of kick out and the threat of bait translocation. Kramer’s studies involved placing blank bait blocks down into burrows in different ways, including loose and on wires, and recording whether the bait was disturbed.

His studies showed that with burrow baiting, except on the wire rods, there is potential for kick out — albeit low — but that this practice has good potential for monitoring. Kaukeinen showed the potential for successful burrow baiting with pellets in which specially designed applicators are used to directly insert measured amounts of pellets into burrows.

Rodent baiting vs. rodent trapping — This is an important issue for the future of rodent control. EPA, environmental groups, anti-pesticide-use groups and others are increasingly scrutinizing exterior rodenticide use, so it will be important for the pest control industry to take a closer look at the practice of placing traps inside bait stations in order to trap rodents.

Service cards — Are the current service cards in rodent bait stations sufficient? Some RRI participants suggested that in addition to the month the stations were serviced, they want more space on the cards to include the date and record other observations. Some said they would rather use punch cards, especially in situations where technicians are checking stations in winter, when it can be difficult to write with pens.

Non-target pests — A number of participants showed slides where squirrels and other non-target pests had gotten into stations and their propensity to do damage. What is the significance of non-target rodents and other species and is this a factor that needs to be addressed? For example, sometimes the simple choice a technician makes with bait block placement — whether to place a bait block on a horizontal or vertical rod and in which hole — can affect whether non-targets such as squirrels and raccoons will get to the bait. The prevalence of squirrels in areas where commensal rats and mice may be present suggests add-on opportunities for pest management professionals — removal of squirrels and then baiting, trapping or monitoring for commensal rodents.

How do species affect design? Collins and Corrigan observed that when they service food plants and warehouses, oftentimes mapping shows mice activities in places like electrical rooms and custodial closets. Do the mice prefer places where there is a deadening of noise? If so, how do manufacturers take advantage of this knowledge when it comes to bait station design? Do they make the station walls thicker?

Are more modifications needed to Syngenta’s Multiplex Station? Does the Multiplex Station best meet the needs for accommodating rat traps? Or should it be made with one compartment for rat trapping and one for rat baiting?
Securing Stations —Everitt and others reviewed the various products for securing stations such as stakes, wires, cables and adhesives, in relation to the myriad accounts they service. They concluded that all of the various methods for securing stations have both advantages and drawbacks and that the situation dictates the securing measure.

Slugs and ants — How can rodent bait stations be modified and/or what types of measures (e.g., use of salt) can be taken to keep slugs away from baits? Should the stations be used as ant monitors or is it better to keep ants out? How should the stations be modified to either keep ants out or to allow more to come in without affecting rodent baits?
More research is needed to better understand variables such as predators, temperature, station location, station colors and station designs.
Data handling — The development of pest control software and other electronic technology is rapidly changing the way the industry performs rodent control. Advancements in this technology have resulted in less paperwork and increased servicing efficiency. Future developments will reshape the pest control industry’s rodent control business model.

The author is Internet editor for www. pctonline.com and can be reached via e-mail at bharbison@giemedia.com.