A New Message?

AgrEvo’s “DeltaGard Partnership Program” provides advanced technical support, cooperative advertising and a national public awareness campaign to assist PCOs in promoting the benefits of responsible pesticide use.

In an attempt to stay one step ahead of ever-changing market conditions, AgrEvo Environmental Health recently introduced a comprehensive stewardship program designed to help PCOs and distributors respond to customer concerns about pesticides. “The professional pest control industry is changing right before our eyes,” says AgrEvo Business Manager Mike McDermott. “The days of the ‘spray first and ask questions later’ philosophy are gone — largely due to the public’s growing concern about pesticide use in and around the home.”

In response to these rapidly changing public attitudes, AgrEvo created the “DeltaGard Partnership Program” as a means of promoting the benefits of responsible pesticide use, while highlighting the benefits of “low-dose” pesticides (i.e. synthetic pyrethroids — see related story at right). The program is centered on the availability of the active ingredient deltamethrin, a highly active synthetic pyrethroid that can be used at low doses, typically 0.0015% to 0.1% depending on the target insect.

“Because deltamethrin is effective at such low rates, it is well suited for use in sensitive environments, including those frequented by children and pets,” says Dr. Mark Coffelt, technical director for AgrEvo. “It fits well into virtually any integrated pest management (IPM) program, which is what more and more customers are demanding.”

PROGRAM COMPONENTS. Responding to this trend towards IPM, the DeltaGard Partnership Program targets three key audiences, offering (1) advanced technical support and training materials to distributors; (2) a turn-key regional communication package and cooperative advertising program for PCOs; and (3) an extensive national and regional awareness campaign for the public.

McDermott described the program as an opportunity for PCOs to take a proactive role in responding to the demands of their customers by providing participating businesses not only with a series of training materials, but with the means of marketing their commitment to responsible pest management.

“It’s time for us as an industry to change the way we do business,” McDermott explained. “Our customers want a pest-free environment, yet are demanding an alternative to traditional pesticides. We must take the initiative to publicly and actively respond to those needs with a solution – and the DeltaGard Partnership Program is an important first step.”

“Today’s consumers are becoming increasingly wary of the types and amounts of chemicals that are used in their homes,” adds AgrEvo Marketing Manager Bill German. “As a result, they are demanding that the pest control industry address their concerns by employing IPM and other non-traditional methods whenever possible, and by using products with the lowest levels of active ingredient when chemical application is absolutely necessary. The Partnership Program is our attempt to respond to those customer concerns and assist PCOs in marketing their services more effectively to a public wary of pesticide use in and around their homes.”

McDermott says AgrEvo feels so strongly about the need to respond to the public’s concerns, the company has set up a toll-free consumer hotline, 1-888-DELTA31, to provide callers with information on how to contact pest control firms in their area who are participating DeltaGard Partnership Program. PCOs interested in participating in the Partnership Program should contact their AgrEvo Environmental Health sales representative or call 1-800-331-2867.

PYRETHROIDS: HIGH-PERFORMANCE PESTICIDES

Pyrethroids are synthetic versions of a botanical insecticide called pyrethrum, which is found in members of the chrysanthemum family. While pyrethrum continues to be one of the most trusted naturally-occurring insecticides on the planet, it is found only in a select few regions of East Africa, and its availability is greatly limited by world demand.

Decades ago, scientists from AgrEvo Environmental Health’s parent companies became the first to produce the chemical structure of pyrethrum synthetically. The resulting insecticides – pyrethroids – have become the most widely used ingredients for general-purpose pest control products in the world, used to protect everything from crops to private homes from the damage and disease caused by insect pests.

In the course of modifying several generations of synthetic pyrethroids, AgrEvo chemists created deltamethrin, a highly active compound that is effective at very low rates, typically 0.0015% to 0.1% depending on the target insect.

As the world’s principal pyrethroid supplier, AgrEvo Environmental Health – with U.S. headquarters in Montvale, N.J. – brought deltamethrin to the United States in 1994 and, in 1997, branded it as DeltaGard. Today, DeltaGard is the active ingredient in three ultra low-dose general purpose insecticide formulations. They include:

• Suspend SC Insecticide, a low-odor suspension concentrate.
  
  
• DeltaDust Insecticide, the world’s only completely waterproof insecticide dust.
  
  
• DeltaGard G water-soluble insecticide granules for perimeter pest control.
  
  

Together, the DeltaGard formulations provide professional pest control operators with a complete line of high-performance products to control a wide variety of problem pests.

“DeltaGard’s effectiveness at fractions of the dosage required by traditional formulations allows applicators to use it in a variety of integrated pest management (IPM) programs, further meeting the growing consumer demand for conservative chemical use,” says Dave Buzzelli, national sales manager for AgrEvo.