COVID-19 has caused pest management professionals to adapt on numerous fronts, including the most significant annual event where they gather nationally to advocate for pest control regulatory and business issues: the National Pest Management Association’s Legislative Day. NPMA announced this year’s event will take place virtually, March 16-17.
While the format is different, the need is as great as ever to educate congressional representatives about the important role pest management professionals play in protecting public health, food and property — and why PMPs need to remain classified as essential service providers.
HOW IT WILL WORK. NPMA is organizing visits with U.S. House Representatives and U.S. Senators using online platform Soapbox.
With Soapbox, in advance of meetings with congressional reps and aides, NPMA Legislative Day attendees will be able to see up-to-the-minute schedules with pertinent information about their meetings, including what committees their representatives sit on, if they are in leadership, etc.
“We were a little worried about how [Legislative Day attendees] would be able to talk about the issues that are important to us and bring our perspective forward, but after talking with the folks at Soapbox and trying out the technology, I’m actually really excited. It will be very much the same, but a little different,” said NPMA Vice President of Public Policy Ashley Amidon.
NPMA has done its best to make sure programming mirrors previous Legislative Day events as closely as possible. For example, there is still time on the schedule for Legislative Day attendees to meet with others from their states and discuss strategy prior to visits.
While Amidon acknowledged that not meeting face-to-face can be challenging because you can not observe body language, there are some advantages to virtual meetings. “It doesn’t have to be like the meetings that we all have internally where there’s an agenda and we sort of knock one item out after the other and then we’re done,” she said. “It’s really getting folks to realize that everybody loves to chit chat. Everybody loves the chance to really connect on a personal level and we want to make sure that that element remains.”
In addition to the transition to the President Joe Biden administration, Congress now looks different following the November 2020 elections. It will be important for Legislative Day attendees to make inroads with first-time representatives, some of whom have no idea how PMPs protect public health.
At press time, NPMA was still finalizing issues members will be taking to the (virtual) Hill, but Amidon said the following three issues will most likely be the focus.
GENERAL PESTICIDE ADVOCACY. Amidon said the pest control industry must remain vigilant defending pesticide usage, including advocating for preemption and opposing the recently introduced PACTPA.
Preemption. NPMA and other groups, have for many years urged Congress to codify the exclusive role of state lead agencies as pesticide co-regulators with EPA. Currently, 44 states have preemption, meaning the state lead agency preempts the local government when it comes to determining how pest control products and services are employed.
For PMPs who operate in states without preemption, they are challenged with having to comply with different laws and regulations in each of the communities they service. In addition to the six states that do not have preemption, efforts are being made in Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York and Wisconsin to repeal preemption.
PACTPA. In August, U.S. Representative Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) and U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) introduced H.R.7940, “Protect America’s Children from Toxic Pesticides Act (PACTPA).” The Protect America’s Children from Toxic Pesticides Act would ban organophosphates and neonicotinoids — pesticides commonly used by PMPs.
One of the most problematic elements of this bill is a nationwide repeal of preemption, which would allow every local community to enact legislation and other policies without being vetoed or preempted by state law.
“We knew that bill wasn’t going anywhere, but were really concerned that a lot of the elements could be included in future packages,” Amidon said.
The call to action for Legislative Day attendees is to educate their legislators that despite its claim of protecting children, PACTPA includes arbitrary pesticides bans that have the potential to take away tools that PMPs need to safeguard people and property from pests.
COVID-RELATED ISSUES. A number of COVID-related bills are making their way through Congress or are expected to be introduced. A COVID relief package was expected to be introduced in February.
Legislative Day also will ask their congressional reps to support the Assistance and Gratitude for Coronavirus Heroes in Agribusiness who are Invaluable to the Nation, also known as the AG CHAIN Act. Introduced in May 2020 by Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) and Rep. Dwight Evans (D-Pa.), the bill is an extension of the previously introduced GROCER Act. It would provide a federal tax holiday and a payroll tax exemption for all essential employees in the food and agriculture industry defined by recent Department of Homeland Security guidance. “Given that we have a lot of folks in our industry who protect facilities ranging from grocery stores to food processing plants from pests, we fall into to this,” Amidon said.
NPMA has done a lot of work educating legislators that many pest control companies perform disinfection services. Along with that education, they are encouraging Congress to provide a tax credit to small businesses so they can hire professionals to provide disinfection services.
EDUCATION. Amidon said it will be important for NPMA members to raise awareness of the pest control industry during the Legislative Day meetings. With a new administration comes new administrators, heads of agencies, and new leaders at department levels. “We’ll be working to tear down incorrect ideas about what we do as an industry. We have to do this with every Congress,” Amidon said. “You get folks that come in and they’ve never dealt with our industry, and they have this preconception that all pesticides are bad. That’s why we feel that the public health aspect is so important.”
THE VILLAGES, Fla. — Bart Baker, former senior vice president of J.T. Eaton & Co., passed away on Jan. 3 from COVID 19-related complications in Leesburg, Fla. He was 78.
Baker’s father, Stanley Z. Baker, purchased J.T. Eaton & Co in 1949. The company was founded 17 years prior as a mail-order house for pest control products. Bart and his brother Ben grew up in the business, helping their parents fill orders at the warehouse and eventually learning the sales and management operations.
Baker
In the 1980s, Baker wrote the popular column “Bart Baker Speaks” for Pest Control (now Pest Management Professional) magazine. Baker always enjoyed working with pest management professionals, whether it was demonstrating J.T. Eaton’s latest Integrated Pest Management (IPM) innovation at a trade show or helping to troubleshoot a tough rodent or insect account on phone or in person. He retired from the business in 2012.
Bart is survived by his wife of 23 years, Priscilla Baker, children Rachel Calipetro (James), Jennifer Fullam (Jeff), Michael Puleo (Lisa) and Dale Baker (Tabitha), his brother Benjamin Baker (Janet), and his brother in-law Gregg Henry (Dale Walker). Bart was very proud of his grandchildren Mackenzie Fullam, Madelynn Fullam, James Calipetro III, Megan Calipetro and Jacob Calipetro.
In Memoriam: Doug MacPherson
BATON ROUGE, La. — Doug MacPherson, longtime owner of Dugas Pest Control and former NPMA president, passed away on Jan. 14 from COVID-19 complications. He was 89.
MacPherson
An Ohio native and Korean War veteran, MacPherson became involved in the pest control industry after graduating from Ohio State University in 1955. His first job in the industry was as a pest control business franchisee, then later as a manager for Redd Pest Control in Mississippi.
In 1973, MacPherson purchased Dugas Pest Control, and he grew the firm to serve Baton Rouge, La., and surrounding areas. In the late 1980s/early 1990s, MacPherson began transitioning leadership of Dugas to his daughter, Laura Simpson. He remained active with the company until 2003.
Simpson said the key to her dad’s success was that he was fair and respectful to his employees. “Between watching him and then doing it myself, I learned very, very early that your people are everything.”
MacPherson also took an active role in associations, serving as president of the Louisiana Pest Management Association (1971) and the National Pest Management Association (1979-80).
One of MacPherson’s greatest contributions to the pest management industry was as a founder of LIPCA, an insurance agency for the pest control industry. During the mid-1980s, pest control companies in Louisiana (and other parts of the country) were struggling to get general liability policies renewed by insurance providers. MacPherson and other pest control owners in Louisiana joined forces, found investors and formed LIPCA as a stock insurance company. In order to become a member of the Louisiana Pest Management Association, a pest control company had to be a LIPCA policy holder. As a result, Simpson noted that at one time 90 percent of PCOs in the state of Louisiana were LPMA members, which made the association one of the strongest in the country.
Simpson, whose background is in accounting, joined Dugas full time in 1979. Simpson also became an association leader, serving as NPMA president in 2013-14. Simpson’s family is still involved in the pest control industry. Her son, Jeremy Clark, is a Rentokil district manager, overseeing the Dugas operation. Clark is an LPMA past president, former NPMA board member, and he is married to Julie Tesh, daughter of Pest Management (PMi) Owner Billy Tesh. Dugas was sold to Rentokil in 2018.
MacPherson is survived by his wife of 65 years, Joanna Penn MacPherson, and his daughters, Laura Simpson (Floyd), Traci MacPherson, and Kelly Johannessen (Bob); grandchildren, Jeremy Clark (Julie), James Clark (Natalie), Alex Day (Danielle), Suzanne Otwell (Travis), Andrew Jones, Rob and Anna Johannessen; and eight great-grandchildren. — Brad Harbison
GIE Media, PCT Announce Technology Conference
VALLEY VIEW, Ohio — The Lawn & Landscape Technology Conference will take place Aug. 31-Sept. 2, 2021, at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate in Orlando, Fla. Lawn & Landscape is a sister publication to PCT magazine. This year’s three-day event will offer both virtual and face-to-face options, as well as expanded education for PMPs. Additionally, attendees will experience organized networking as well as access to an exhibit hall featuring industry-leading technologies, solutions and innovations for green industry and pest management professionals.
The Lawn & Landscape Technology Conference will bring together landscapers, lawn care operators and pest management professionals to learn from technology experts as well as fellow professionals who have successfully integrated software and technology into their companies to operate more efficiently.
In addition to the educational program, attendees have access to the trade show portion of the event, where they can discover some of the best software and technology serving the professional “green” and pest professional markets.
“We are excited to bring the industry back together in 2021 and to offer the opportunity for green industry and pest management professionals to reconnect and discover new ideas, tools and processes that will give their companies the competitive edge,” says Brian Horn, editor of Lawn & Landscape.
“Recognizing lawn care operators and pest control professionals can benefit from the same technologies to advance their businesses, we are excited to engage the pest control industry and offer both a high-level education track as well as the latest technology that will allow PMPs to continue to grow their business,” says Jodi Dorsch, editor-in-chief of PCT.
“This year’s conference offers a one-of-a-kind networking opportunity between two service industries that not only survived, but in many cases excelled, during the recent worldwide pandemic,” states Dave Szy, publisher Lawn & Landscape. “The exchange between professionals in both industries will be just as valuable as the education programming.”
Booth space and sponsorship opportunities for the event will be available soon.
Initial details are now available at www.lltechconference.com. More information including speakers, sessions, registration pricing and other conference events will be announced in the coming months.
Rentokil Announces Acquisition of Eight Companies Across U.S.
READING, Pa. — Rentokil North America recently announced the acquisition of eight companies across the United States.
“The Rentokil family continues to grow with the acquisition of these strong companies,” said John Myers, president and CEO of Rentokil North America. “We are proud to add to our legacy of protecting people and enhancing lives, and adding to our valuable employee base and customer service areas.”
The recent acquisitions add more than 900 colleagues to the company. In January, Rentokil also announced the acquisition of Environmental Pest Service (see related story below). The other companies acquired in the fourth quarter of 2020 include:
Bain Pest Control: Bain Pest Control is based in Lowell, Mass., and serves communities in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Maine.
Blue Chip Pest Control: Founded in 1971, Blue Chip Pest Control is based in Fenton, Mo., and serves commercial and residential customers in the metro St. Louis area as well as communities in Illinois.
Garrie Pest Control: Garrie Pest Control, founded in 1972, serves residential and commercial customers in the New York Hudson Valley communities and Fairfield County, Conn.
Griffin Pest Solutions: Griffin Pest Solutions, founded in 1929, has built a strong client base in Michigan as well as Northern Indiana and Northwest Ohio.
Ja-Roy Pest Control: Ja-Roy Pest Control is based in Louisiana and provides residential and commercial services to customers in the Northshore area of Lake Ponchartrain, north of New Orleans.
McNeely Pest Control: The North Carolina-based McNeely Pest Control serves customers in North Carolina and southwest Virginia.
Suburban Exterminating: Based in Smithtown, N.Y., Suburban Exterminating serves commercial and residential customers on Long Island, including Nassau, Suffolk and the East End.
The Bug Man: The Bug Man is based in Murfreesboro, Tenn., and serves the metro Nashville communities.
Certus Enters Georgia With Peachtree Acquisition
Left to right: Mike Givlin (Certus), Jimmy Arnold (Peachtree) and Rand Hollon (Preferred Business Brokers).
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Certus announced the acquisition of Peachtree Pest Control, which has five branch offices in South Georgia and Florida — Brunswick, Savannah, Warner Robins, Jacksonville and Ormand. The company was founded in 1976 by Steve Arnold, the uncle of the firm’s current president, Jimmy Arnold, who opened the Brunswick branch with his wife Tammy in 1995.
Jimmy Arnold, president of Peachtree, said, “As the pest control industry grows, innovates and changes, you have to do the same. At Peachtree Pest Control, we consistently look to do that every day. Partnering with Certus was that next step for realizing opportunities and growth for our team and our company. Their ‘people first’ mentality is what really connected with me. The most important asset we have is our people. It’s such a great opportunity to continue to grow our team and do something different in the pest control industry.”
Mike Givlin, CEO and co-founder of Certus, said, “Jimmy has built a fantastic company. He has been able to achieve tremendous organic growth, provide world-class service to his customers and create a great work environment for his people. I am very excited about working with Jimmy over the coming years as he continues his career here at Certus. This partnership highlights our desire to keep pest control local, as Jimmy Arnold and Peachtree Pest Control have been ingrained in the local community for over 20 years. Peachtree has a great reputation in their service area and we welcome them into the Certus family.”
Rand Hollon of Preferred Business Brokers acted as exclusive adviser/intermediary for Peachtree.
West Coast Rodent Academy Goes Virtual
IRVINE, Calif. — The West Coast Rodent Academy recently went virtual for the first time since its creation in 2016. With the help of sponsors BASF, Bell Laboratories, Liphatech and VM Products, the academy was able to offer a number of scholarships for people to attend the virtual event.
“It is important to me to ensure that we reach underserved communities,” said Niamh Quinn, a human-wildlife interactions adviser with the University of California’s Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. As such, the academy reached out to women in pest control, professionals serving k-12 schools, and tribal stakeholders in particular for scholarships.
“Now, more than ever, pest control is so important in our communities, and this is also true for our underserved communities. It was a pleasure to be able to reach out to a diverse group of participants and offer a total of 22 scholarships,” she added.
The program has a tradition of offering scholarships at in-person training and as a result have been able to serve diverse audiences that would not normally be supported in their attendance.
The Rodent Academy also raised $20,000 to support rodent research in Dr. Quinn’s lab.
The next West Coast Rodent Academy will be held on March 3-4. It also will be a virtual event. Dr. Bobby Corrigan is on the program. Learn more.
First-Ever ICUP Webinar To be Held in March
Barcelona, Spain — The International Conference on Urban Pests (ICUP) announced it will be holding its first free-of-charge online webinar on March 9.
The webinar will consist of a series of presentations by leading scientists on a range of urban pest mangement topics, with an opportunity for a questions and answers session with the speakers.
The event will take place on March 9 at 10 a.m. (EST), and will last for no more than three hours. For those who are unable to attend the live event, recordings of the presentations also will be available for viewing later. Full details of the program and the registration process will be posted and regularly updated on the ICUP website.
Until 2020, the ICUP events consisted of a conventional, in-person conference that was hosted every three years. However, with the global COVID-19 pandemic, the tenth iteration of the conference, which was due to be held in Barcelona, Spain, was postponed.
Rollins/Northwest Acquires McCall Service
Left to right: Josh Cooksey, current general manager, McCall Service; Stanford Phillips, division vice president, Rollins; Jennings Cooksey, former executive vice president, McCall Service; Bryan Cooksey, former president/CEO, McCall Service; Jerry Gahlhoff, president/COO, Rollins; John Cooksey, former COO, McCall Service; David Cooksey, former CFO, McCall Service; Steve Leavitt, group president of Rollins Brands, Rollins; and Jeff Dunn, chief progression officer, Northwest Exterminating.
ATLANTA — Rollins and Northwest Exterminating in January welcomed McCall Service into the Rollins family of brands. McCall will join Northwest to create a Southeast-focused, regional platform business.
Based in Jacksonville, Fla., McCall Service has provided residential and commercial services for more than 90 years throughout North and Central Florida and South Georgia. This service territory fits in well with that of Northwest Exterminating which had previously expanded from Georgia into Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina, the companies reported.
This transaction highlights one of Rollins’ core acquisition philosophies — maintaining involvement from the families that have helped to build the industry over generations, the companies said. McCall Service has been led by the Cooksey family for generations, and Josh Cooksey will continue as general manager. “With the support that our partnership with Rollins and Northwest offers McCall, I look forward to remaining focused on the overall growth and success of each teammate and looking for opportunities to better serve our customers for years to come,” he said. The combined McCall/Northwest business will continue to be led by members of the third generations of the Cooksey and Phillips families.
“McCall has an incredible reputation in our industry and with their customers,” said Stanford Phillips, Rollins division vice president. We’re excited to welcome the extraordinary team into our Northwest Family. We are grateful McCall chose to trust Northwest as a partner in growth moving forward and for the opportunities ahead for both brands.”
LR Tullius represented and acted as exclusive financial adviser to McCall on the transaction.
PCT No Longer Seeking CEUs For Online Label Training
VALLEY VIEW, Ohio — Effective immediately, PCT is no longer applying to states to have its online label training courses approved for continuing education credits.
All courses that are currently approved for credits will continue to be processed until they expire, or are otherwise made ineligible by a state’s certifying agency. Once they have expired, the courses will no longer count towards CEUs.
To find out when currently approved online training courses expire in your state (and/or the state you are applying them towards) refer to https://training.pctonline.com/content/state-by-state.pdf, which provides a summary of states that accept online courses and contacts within in each state’s certifying agency.
Online label training modules will remain active on PCT Online and can be used by applicators as a training tool.
PCO News
Departments - PCO News
Please send press releases about your firm to jdorsch@giemedia.com.
Abell Pest Control, Toronto, gave every Abell employee in North America a $500 gift, taxes paid, to incentivize spending in their communities in support of local businesses during the recent holiday season. In addition, Abell Branches in both Canada and the U.S. contributed another $500 per branch to local food banks to help meet the needs of individuals experiencing food insecurity.
Doctor Dead Bug, Ellwood City, Pa., recently was acquired by Plunkett’s Pest Control, Fridley, Minn. In 1980, Robert and Georgia Servick founded Doctor Dead Bug. Their son, Sam Servick, began operating the business in 2001 and expanded the business’ footprint into western Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio. Stacy O’Reilly, owner of Plunkett’s Pest Control, said, “Doctor Dead Bug in Ellwood City, Pa., fits perfectly into our existing service territory and we are so excited to make this acquisition and bring in their field service talent and their customers to join our team. It is our pleasure to get to know and work closely with Sam and Melanie Servick, the prior owners of Doctor Dead Bug.” The Aust Group represented Doctor Dead Bug as the exclusive financial adviser on this transaction.
Left to right: Stuart Aust, Scott Steckel, Stacy O’Reilly, Sam Servick, Melanie Servick, Dan Aust and Chris Aust.
Moxie Pest Control of Arizona recently announced the acquisition of Eastern Arizona Exterminating. Eric Fletcher, owner of EAE said, “I have been following [Moxie Owner] Austin Clark and Moxie Pest Control closely over the past seven years. When Austin approached me about acquiring EAE I was excited about the opportunity to join forces with someone whom I felt so aligned with from a business perspective.”
Turner Pest Control, an Anticimex company providing services to residential and commercial clients in Florida and South Georgia, acquired Hobson’s Termite and Pest Solutions, based in Sarasota, Fla. According to Turner Pest Control President Bill Talon, “Hobson’s Termite and Pest Solutions is a first-class addition to the Turner team. They’ve made it a priority to provide exceptional customer service from a highly trained staff and customized programs for their customers. We are committed to making sure Hobson’s Termite and Pest Solutions customers continue to receive the same high level of service and attention.” Hobson’s Termite and Pest Solutions Owner Paul Hobson has more than 15 years of pest management industry experience.
Truly Nolen Pest Control recently announced the acquisition of Shields Pest Control. Both firms are headquartered in Tucson, Ariz. “Shields is our second acquisition this year and we thank Randy and Lisa Shields for entrusting our company to continue to provide their customers with top-notch pest control service,” said Greg Weatherly, Truly Nolen’s acquisitions director.
Like many of PCT’s readers, I’ve found a few silver linings during the pandemic. I’ve used the time I’ve saved commuting to and from the office to work out on our treadmill. OK, that hasn’t happened, but it’s something I’ve thought about doing! Joking aside, I’ve enjoyed the extra time with my family on those occasions when we are all working/doing schoolwork from home, and we’re also making some progress cleaning out our basement.
Professionally, COVID-19 has forced me to do some things differently — and for the better. During the last 10-plus years I have presented the annual PCT/BASF Technician of the Year Awards at NPMA Legislative Day in Washington, D.C. It’s been an honor to recognize three industry professionals for their contributions to the pest control industry at such a great venue. However, during the last couple years I started thinking that my actual presentation was getting a bit stale, and needed some reworking, perhaps with the use of video. But just as I thought about working out on our treadmill but failed to do so, I never put a plan into action to freshen up my presentation. That was, until the pandemic forced my hand.
In early January, NPMA announced that Legislative Day was being moved to a virtual event, meaning my presentation would be in the form of a video, something I had long considered. As of this writing, I have recorded the video presentation and I am in the process of gathering photos, supplemental interviews, etc., and working with GIE Media’s videographer on the editing process. I’m really excited for the final product and I guess I have COVID to thank for giving me that push. Let’s hope for everyone’s sake it won’t take another pandemic to get me on that treadmill!
In speaking with PMPs throughout the country, our staff is hearing of similar stories where forced change has proven to be beneficial.
In this month’s Tech Talk column, Plunkett’s Pest Control Training Coordinator Caroline Kirby reflected on some positives resulting from Plunkett’s shifting its “very hands-on, in-person training program to one that was entirely virtual.” Kirby scheduled virtual check-ins several times a day with new hires to help them develop problem-solving skills and work on specimen IDs — tasks normally done through hands-on training. “I found these regular, one-on-one check-ins allowed me to connect with our individual trainees in a different way than I had connected when training in person,” Kirby wrote. Specifically, Kirby found that new hires were able to relax and learn at their own pace during virtual training because they were not comparing their progress to their classmates. In addition, since new hires knew that Kirby was planning to call them and pose scenarios, they were “kept on their toes” and motivated to make sure they fully understood the material. Kirby added that she plans to continue this practice of more intentional check-ins with new hires, even after the company returns to in-person training.
Similarly, in this month’s feature, “Broken Engagement” PCT examined how ABC Home & Commercial Services in Austin, Texas, is using technology to keep customers and employees engaged during COVID-19. ABC already had a lot of customer engagement technology — texting in advance of service visits, sharing photos/videos with service reports, website chats — in place prior to COVID-19. Now, “Customers have been eating up those features,” said Julie Fredlund, director of technology/office operations at ABC, who added, “Once a customer becomes used to engaging in a certain way, they’ll stick with it.”
ABC employees have made “Meet the Anteater” profiles, which are 30- to 60- second videos in which they introduce themselves, share their job position and experiences at ABC, and provide some insight into their hobbies and interests. The videos are posted on the ABC “Community” page and several are highlighted at weekly meetings. “Making people feel less isolated was the inspiration behind the ‘Meet the Anteater’ but this will certainly become a part of the company culture long after the pandemic is over,” said Fredlund.
In the coming years I am excited to see what practices born during the COVID-19 era will become adopted and integrated into your pest control businesses!
The author is senior digital editor of PCT.
Comings & Goings
Departments - Comings & Goings
If your company has added new personnel, send a photo and press release to jdorsch@giemedia.com.
Laura Lentz recently was promoted to operations manager at McHenry, Ill.-based Schopen Pest Solutions. Over the past five years, Lentz has held many positions at Schopen, including customer service representative, head programmer and office manager.
Atlanta-based Arrow Exterminators announced that Chief Executive Officer Emily Thomas Kendrick was recently named one of the Most Admired CEOs in Atlanta by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. This recognition is awarded by the publication each year to CEOs who demonstrate a strong record of innovation in their field, outstanding financial performance, a commitment to quality, a strong vision, a commitment to diversity in the workplace and contributions to the metro community.
Truly Nolen Pest Control, Tucson, Ariz., recently announced the promotion of three employees in the company’s IT department. Jesse Hagardt has been promoted to assistant IT manager – infrastructure; Jose Martinez has been promoted to assistant IT manager – engineering; and Garrett Rabe has been promoted to helpdesk team lead
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PermaTreat Pest Control’s CEO Emeritus Joe Wilson was included in Virginia Business’ “Virginia 500: 2020 Power List,” a list of the state’s most powerful and influential corporate and community leaders. Wilson and PermaTreat were included in the list’s retail/wholesale services section. Prior to purchasing PermaTreat Pest Control in 1982, Wilson spent 17 years with Orkin Pest Control. In 2014, PermaTreat was acquired by Rollins. Today, PermaTreat has more than 120 employees serving more than 30,000 customers.
Jason Curry joined Douglas Products as a business development manager to support Southern California pest management companies that use Vikane gas fumigant.
Brad Harbison
