Savings on products give Swat Pest Management, a 2019 Pest Control Technology Top 100 company in Evansville, Indiana, the additional financial resources to invest in vehicles, rigs and equipment—rebate dollars that go to work directly for the business. “We can put more back into our company,” says Shaun Waters, service manager.

Swat Pest Management participates in the PestPartnersSM 365 Program from Syngenta, the industry’s first loyalty program of its kind when it launched in 2015, and now the longest running. The mission of PestPartners 365 is simple: to provide pest management professionals (PMPs) with a portfolio of yearlong savings.

Photo courtesy of Syngenta

Yearlong rebates for purchasing any product is one aspect of the program that differentiates it from others in the market. So is agency pricing and SummerPayTM terms on select products, a feature that allows PMPs to buy Syngenta products October through April and pay in June. “That helps PMPs manage their businesses because they can see some natural movement in product and cash flow first,” explains Marshall Gaster, market manager for Professional Pest Management (PPM) at Syngenta, North America.

PMPs can plan and purchase products during the Oct. 1, 2019 to April 30, 2020 time period so they will be ready when their busy season ramps up.

“We think of PestPartners 365 as so much more than a loyalty program,” says Kristen Oakley, communications manager for PPM at Syngenta, North America. “It’s about helping PMPs plan their year without the worry of chasing down discounts on products. They always know they are getting quality products at a great value year-round, so they can focus on providing customers with quality pest services for a life uninterrupted by pests.”

Yearlong Rewards

Enrolling in the PestPartners 365 Program is as simple as purchasing the minimum $200 in base rebates on any Syngenta products from an authorized distributor. “We don’t have to stress—our Syngenta representative takes the paperwork completely out of our hands,” Waters says.

For Waters, the ability to ask questions and sit down with a representative who can guide him through the program and opportunities is a huge advantage. “Every single product Syngenta offers has a base rebate, and our distributor sits down and helps us figure out what is best for our company, and we go from there,” he says. “I can leverage the best rebates that are the most advantageous to our bottom line.”

Waters likes that his company can avoid the time-consuming process of tracking coupons to access savings.

“The rebates come to you without you having to track every purchase,” Waters says. As long as he’s making purchases through the authorized distributor he depends on, they take care of the rest. “It takes the process completely out of our hands,” he says, noting what a relief this is, particularly during the busy season.

More Benefits

The program continues to evolve to meet PMPs’ needs. During the last five years, Syngenta has invested in refining PestPartners 365 to create an optimal experience for its members.

“Since this is the longest-running loyalty program of its kind in the industry, we’ve had a chance to mold it and make it a program that really fits PMPs’ needs so they get the best products, savings and planning tools to help with their businesses,” Oakley says.

For example, Syngenta offers an online calculator so PMPs can plug in sample orders and determine potential rewards. “The calculator does all the math so PMPs can find out what their rebate total would be for different orders,” Gaster explains.

PestPartners 365 provides easy product grouping sheets so PMPs can review sample orders that might work for their businesses. “If you are looking for perimeter spray products, there is a sample order for that—or if you are looking to manage ants or cockroaches, there are sample orders that get PMPs to the $200 base rebate,” Gaster says.

Because of all these benefits, Gaster shares that PestPartners 365 experienced record growth in enrollment last year and is on pace to include even more PMPs who can benefit from yearlong savings. “We have received great feedback from our channel partners and PMPs,” he says.

Best for Business

There is no limitation on which products qualify, so PMPs can buy what’s best for their operations.

“Everything from baits to insecticide sprays—we offer products that all PMPs can use in the field to treat the full gamut of pests, and we are one of the few, if not the only manufacturer with a loyalty program that offers savings on every product,” Oakley says.

Ultimately, PestPartners 365 is a business solution that helps PMPs reduce costs and helps increase potential profits, while alleviating the stress of product purchasing during their busiest times. Because of benefits like SummerPay terms and yearlong rebates, PMPs can focus on customers’ needs without missing out on valuable rebates that help deliver bottom-line benefits to their businesses.

To learn more about the program, visit PestPartners365.com.

©2019 Syngenta. Important: Always read and follow label instructions. Some products may not be registered for sale or use in all states or counties and/or may have state-specific use requirements. Please check with your local extension service to ensure registration and proper use. The trademarks or service marks displayed or otherwise used herein are the property of a Syngenta Group Company. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Syngenta Customer Center: 1-866-SYNGENT(A) (796-4368).

Cockroach-induced asthma and allergies are on the rise, and more people recognize and are concerned about disease transmission from pests like mosquitoes and ticks. Public health is in the public eye and for good reason. Pest management professionals (PMPs) play an integral role in guarding individuals’ health, safety and wellbeing—and there are more tools at their disposal today to support this mission.

Specifically, the SecureChoice^SM assurance programs from Syngenta take the guesswork out of controlling public health pests like mosquitoes, ticks, fire ants, spiders and more. For PMPs who want to add a program that heads off these invaders, or enhance offerings they already provide, SecureChoice is a recipe for success that gives them confidence and a wide range of expert-tested products and protocols.

“The bottom line is, SecureChoice programs are built to support our customers by developing protocols that incorporate our top-performing products and best management practices for target pests,” says Nicky Gallagher, technical services manager for Professional Pest Management at Syngenta, North America. “Ultimately, we are giving PMPs the support and tools they need to deliver results for their customers and help control public health pests.”

SecureChoice assurance programs blend good science and smart business.

“We can help PMPs pinpoint how to take advantage of SecureChoice programs and provide them with pathways to increase their business in various market segments, from mosquitoes to cockroaches and spiders,” Gallagher says.

How It Works

SecureChoice programs give PMPs the products and protocols to handle specific pest issues—plus the support from the Syngenta technical team and a library of tools that guide PMPs on how to properly execute each program. SecureChoice is a recipe for guaranteed control, including the ingredients and instructions for use.

Syngenta currently offers seven SecureChoice programs: mosquito, tick, flea, scorpion, spider, fire ant and a new cockroach program. Each SecureChoice program provides a guaranteed window of pest control. “So, if you follow our SecureChoice Mosquito Assurance Program with the recommended products, rates and protocols, you will get 60 days of mosquito control,” Gallagher explains. “If you get a callback during that time, Syngenta then provides the product back to you so you can handle the service call at no extra cost.”

PMPs can participate in the program by simply buying products and following the outlined protocol. “Once you have appropriate Syngenta products for an assurance program—and you purchase from an authorized distributor—you follow the protocols and you are officially participating,” Gallagher says.

Documentation of participation comes from product purchases. PMPs also have access to a toolbox of resources, from biological information about target pests, product technical information, training videos and webinars from leading researchers. “It’s the whole package: education, product mixing, pest biology, how to use equipment and how to apply our field-proven Syngenta products,” Gallagher says. “It’s multi-layered control.”

The level of testing conducted to create SecureChoice assurance programs can give PMPs peace of mind that they are giving their customers the best solutions, Gallagher adds. “We have already done the testing and are bringing together the products and science to help customers in any way possible,” she says.

Products + Protocols

“SecureChoice means guaranteed results,” Gallagher says, noting that the assurance behind the programs’ products and protocols prepares PMPs for success in the field. “There is a lot of planning and thought behind these programs—they are scientifically supported, and we’ve thought of all the details down to cost. The programs are very cost-considerate.”

Accessibility is a critical component of SecureChoice: ensuring PMPs can easily adopt the products and best practices into their IPM programs so they can deliver the best results possible to customers.

Gallagher emphasizes the research-driven nature of SecureChoice and other Syngenta programs. “We invest heavily in research and that includes pest biology and the protocols we develop,” she says. “We work with universities and private cooperators to develop these protocols for our products, and we are constantly determining what could be the next pest problem and how we can solve it.”

To learn more about any of the SecureChoice programs from Syngenta, visit SyngentaPMP.com/SecureChoice.

©2019 Syngenta. Important: Always read and follow label instructions. Some products may not be registered for sale or use in all states or counties and/or may have state-specific use requirements. Please check with your local extension service to ensure registration and proper use. The trademarks or service marks displayed or otherwise used herein are trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company or third parties. Syngenta Customer Center: 1-866-SYNGENT(A) (796-4368).

© Henrik_L | iStockphoto

The customer calls roll in fast in late spring and early summer—complaints that those ants are at it again. Pest management professionals (PMPs) who deal with large-colony ant species like Argentine and tawny crazy ants know just how fast these mega families multiply.

“We call them super colonies because they take up acres of land, and they don’t fight—it’s one big colony where the ants are not aggressive toward each other,” says Daniel Suiter, an entomologist at the University of Georgia, who has been testing Advion® WDG insecticide from Syngenta on these large colonies.

“Most ants that come from the same species (but different colonies) fight, and that limits their foraging range,” he explains. “But super colonies have multiple queens with hundreds of thousands of workers that can dominate a large area.”

So, Suiter and his team tank-mixed Advion WDG with Demon® Max insecticide. They applied the product to sites where large-colony ant invasions are a perennial problem—and they made the first test application in May, in hopes of heading off infestations and improving service. A second application was scheduled for late July, when these ants are notoriously high-pressure.

“Six weeks after the early-season treatment, the [Advion WDG] control was still performing really well,” Suiter reports, adding that this efficacy is especially notable. Managing large-colony ant species is a real challenge.

Additionally, Advion WDG is versatile because it is labeled for control of an expansive range of pests, from cockroaches and termites to pantry pests and ants. All told, there are 40 different pests listed on the label. “PMPs gain a lot of flexibility with this product,” Suiter says of the non-repellent, non-pyrethroid and non-neonicotinoid formulation.

Versatile, Low-Toxicity Control

PMPs can give customers peace of mind with Advion WDG because of where and how the formula works. The sprayable product can be used in high-volume, low-concentration applications in areas where a PMP might use an Advion gel bait, but needs more widespread control, particularly for managing large-colony ants.

The active ingredient indoxacarb works by blocking insect neuron sodium channels. The formula’s MetaActive^TM effect differentiates between pests and non-target organisms, which makes it well suited for treating inside and outside homes and commercial sites, in commercial kitchens and food-handling facilities, and up to 10 feet out from a structure. “Indoxacarb requires metabolic activation by the insect before it can block the sodium channel,” explains Chris Keefer, technical services manager for Professional Pest Management at Syngenta, North America.

“Indoxacarb has low toxicity to mammals because we have different enzymes in our bodies than insects,” Keefer says, relating that PMPs can assure customers that by incorporating Advion WDG into a program, they can control pests with a solution that is targeted and effective. “The active ingredient was registered under the EPA’s Reduced Risk Program^*,” he adds.

Keefer explains how the high-volume, low-concentration Advion WDG applications can help manage complex, widespread ant colonies. “You want to attack these ants in early spring when they have their brood up in the upper echelon of the soil profile, and by using a higher volume, you are encouraging the product’s active ingredient to push into the soil profile to attack the insects before they become a problem,” he says.

Suiter adds that the gradual action of Advion WDG allows ants to spread the product to nestmates, enhancing efficacy. “It gives the ants time to move it around,” he says.

The convenient sprayable formulation makes treating roughly four dozen other pests efficient and effective. Plus, PMPs say that customers recognize the Advion product name.

“Our Advion cockroach baits are number one in the market, and people know that,” Keefer says. “Everyone knows the brand name and they associate it with great control. Now, we have introduced a sprayable Advion to the market, and that is an advantage to PMPs and their customers.”

Photo courtesy of Syngenta

A Turnkey, Tested Solution

“There’s only so much room on a pest control technician’s truck,” Keefer says matter-of-factly. The versatility of Advion WDG and its impact on a broad range of pests allows PMPs to consolidate their inventory. “With a product like Advion WDG, you can use it on residential and commercial sites, commercial kitchens and food-handling areas.”

PMPs can even make room for other products like termiticides or rodenticides on the truck, which can expand business opportunities. “It gives them the ability to carry other products they might not have had the capacity for before,” Keefer says.

Tank-mixing Advion WDG with Demon Max or Optigard® Flex liquid insecticide can enhance efficacy. This has been proven in field testing, Suiter points out, referring to the Advion WDG-Demon Max mixtures applied to control large-colony ants on problem sites.

Advion WDG has a product label with concise, easy-to-read information that is formatted so it’s simple for PMPs to follow, Keefer says. “The fact that PMPs can use Advion WDG indoors and outdoors is a big advantage compared to some other insecticides.”

In fact, PMPs visiting a commercial kitchen or food-handling facility can make crack-and-crevice applications of Advion WDG while the operations are open—yet another advantage for PMPs and clients who are struggling to run a business uninterrupted by pests.

Advion WDG is just one result of research and development efforts at Syngenta, which invests billions annually in product development. “I encourage PMPs to support large manufacturers that are reinvesting in PMPs’ futures, because with more regulations coming down the road and more active ingredients being phased out, it’s important for us to continue searching through our catalogue of molecules and investing in new products to bring to the market,” Keefer says. “Being a steward of the industry is critical.”

To learn more about Advion WDG, visit SyngentaPMP.com/AdvionWDG.

*A reduced risk pesticide use is defined as one which may reasonably be expected to accomplish one or more of the following; (1) reduces pesticide risks to human health; (2) reduces pesticide risks to non-target organisms; (3) reduces the potential for contamination of valued, environmental resources, or (4) broadens adoption of IPM or makes it more effective. Advion WDG qualifies under one or more of the above criteria.

©2019 Syngenta. Important: Always read and follow label instructions. Some products may not be registered for sale or use in all states or counties and/or may have state-specific use requirements. Please check with your local extension service to ensure registration and proper use. Advion^®, Demon^®, For Life Uninterrupted^™, MetaActive^™, Optigard^® and the Syngenta logo are trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Syngenta Customer Center: 1-866-SYNGENT(A) (796-4368).

Former secretary of state and retired four-star U.S. Army Gen. Colin Powell once said, “Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty and persistence.” In the pest management industry we have seen so many professionals who have embodied these traits, and once again Syngenta is proud to sponsor the Crown Leadership Awards to recognize some of our industry’s most successful and impactful leaders.

2019 has been a year of challenges that unfortunately are not new to our industry – increased regulation and opposing public policy, ongoing threats from public health pests, and unpredictable weather and environmental conditions that continue to make pests an ever-moving target. The leaders we are honoring continue to be persistent in defending the industry against increased pressure, defending the public from pest-related health threats and defending against all types of pests with new innovations and hard work.

We are excited to congratulate this year’s Crown Leadership Award winners: Claudia Riegel, City of New Orleans Mosquito, Termite & Rodent Control Board; Gene White, Rentokil Steritech; Tom Jarzynka, Massey Services; Ben Walker, Gregory Pest Solutions; and Ray Meyers, RJM Contracting. The Lifetime Achievement Award winner, chosen by his or her peers for outstanding contributions to pest management, will be announced during the Crown Leadership Awards ceremony at PestWorld 2019. We are thrilled to honor these individuals, who have shown great loyalty to this industry and have worked hard to leave lasting impacts on our industry.

At Syngenta we are also working hard to support these professionals and the industry with needed solutions for controlling pests and growing your businesses. In 2019 we have been excited to introduce Advion® WDG insecticide, a sprayable formulation of the trusted Advion brand, as well as the seventh SecureChoiceSM assurance program, which offers a proven combination of products and integrated pest management strategies to control cockroaches. Additionally, we continue to offer a portfolio of trusted brands, all of which qualify for yearlong rebates through the industry’s longest-running loyalty and savings program, PestPartnersSM 365. We’re persistent in our development of new solutions and programs to support your business and we value your partnership.

Once again, congratulations to the Class of 2019 Crown Leadership Awards recipients and to the Lifetime Achievement Award finalists! Thank you for your hard work, loyalty and persistence to ensure we can all experience life uninterrupted by the nuisance and threat of pests.

Pat Willenbrock

Head of Marketing, Professional Pest Management

Syngenta, North America