MORE TERMITICIDE QUESTIONS
Q I have been seeing and hearing a lot
of information about various "offers" that termiticide manufacturers are making today — rebates, special incentives and "new programs" for termite control. What’s the real story?
A The real story is the same old story.
Even with all the stories surrounding "new" methods of treatment, it still comes down to the basics of termite control — put the pesticide where the termites are.
In the case of baits, "putting the pesticide where the termites are" means managing the systems so termites find the monitors or baits as soon as possible. This may even mean using above-ground baits (yes, inside the structure). When using a liquid treatment, this means getting the best treatment scenario for the structure.
Termite control products today have certainly opened new opportunities for marketing termite control. Companies offering perimeter liquid treatment (check with your regulatory folks before proceeding with this scenario), monitoring with bait systems and spot treating, monitoring with monitors and no treatment…the list goes on. You have probably seen a couple of renditions of these last year — expect more this year.
The industry has taken to non-repellent termiticides. And with the impending (rumor has it) "perimeter treatment label" submitted for registration for Termidor, the termite control industry is on the edge of its seat. I have heard that this label will have caveats on it, namely when termites are present in the structure, spot treatments inside may be required. We will have to wait and see what the label says when it finally comes out. But you can bet the state regulators have seen the label and are looking closely at the data surrounding this procedure.
In the meantime, pest management professionals continue to try "new" marketing ideas for termite control. As I see it, the documentation needed for these must exceed the past programs we offered, i.e., inspections and annual inspections. Some companies have begun to take digital pictures during inspection for their files. Companies are looking at hand-held computers to log data relating to termite treatments and inspections, downloading the information to the files in the office. My feeling is this industry can ill afford to shortcut termite inspection and treatments. Although termiticides today offer some interesting technology and results, they are not the silver bullet this industry always seems to be looking for. The success is or should be directly linked to the technicians and salespeople, not the chemistry.
The author is president of George Rambo Consulting Services, Central, S.C. Fax questions to him at 864/654-2447 or send them via e-mail to grambo@pctonline.com.
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