November News

NOTIFICATION BILL SIGNED IN CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES — Calif. Governor Gray Davis in September signed a bill that requires parents and teachers to be notified any time pesticides are used on school campuses in the state. The bill requires signs to be posted at a spray site 24 hours prior and 72 hours after an application.

Similar to the neighbor notification law passed in August in New York, many in the pest management industry feel the bill is unnecessary.

"Having blanket notification of pesticides when statistics have shown that there’s only an extremely small percentage that really want [notification] only alarms people in the long run," said Harvey Logan, executive vice president, Pest Control Operators of California (PCOC).

Logan said the bill is insufficient because it does not include any training regulations. That legislation, Assembly Bill 786, still sits on Gov. Davis’ desk waiting to be signed.

Bill 2260 was initially prompted by the concern that some pesticides are carcinogenic or pose a number of other health risks including respiratory and neurological ailments. "When pesticides are applied properly and when schoolchildren aren’t present, I certainly don’t believe they’re harmful," Logan said.

But there are many who disagree with those in the pest control industry. More than 70 educational, environmental, health and civic organizations that supported the California bill say they believe that pesticides are harmful to the public.

Gene Harrington, manager of government affairs for the National Pest Management Association, said that what such organizations fail to recognize is that the average person is not going to stand for pest problems and will do what is needed to control them.

"There is a lot of unwarranted concern about pesticides due to the media, but I have yet to see a subsequent acceptance of pests," he said. "I just don’t see the average American saying, ‘I heard this story about pesticides causing cancer…maybe I could live with these cockroaches after all."

Harrington said that "the pest control industry’s problem will begin when people decide they want to live with pests, but I don’t sense that happening yet."

ALLEN JAMES NAMED PRESIDENT OF RISE

Washington, D.C. — The governing board of RISE (Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment) named Allen James president of the specialty pesticide industry association. James has served as executive director of RISE since it was founded in 1991.

"Allen’s appointment to president of RISE is in recognition of his 10 years of service as well as the broad base of support he’s gained in the specialty industry and on Capitol Hill," says Keelan Pulliam, chairperson of the RISE governing board. Pulliam says James was successful in meeting the needs of the association throughout the past year despite increased public scrutiny of pesticide use. The announcement was made during the RISE annual meeting in September in Washington, D.C.

In addition, the RISE governing board elected two new members to a three-year term. The new board members are Dan Untied, director of sales and marketing for McLaughlin Gormley King Company, and Bill Culpepper, president of SePRO Corporation. Retiring from the Board are Randy Williams, Novartis Crop Protection, and William Burke, The Scotts Company.

RISE is the national association representing manufacturers, formulators, distributors and other industry leaders involved with pesticide products used in turf, ornamental, pest control, aquatic and terrestrial vegetation management and other non-food/fiber applications.

INDUSTRY MOURNS LOSS OF TEMP-VENT FOUNDER

Shelby, N.C. — Dr. Paul Sarazen, founder and former owner of Temp-Vent Corporation, died in his home in August of cancer.

Sarazen founded Temp-Vent Corporation, which manufactured ventilation systems for crawlspaces used by the pest control industry, in April of 1975. He successfully grew the business until he sold it to CertainTeed in June 1999.

Sarazen was a graduate of Duke University and Duke University School of Medicine. He served in the Navy during World War II and in the U.S. Medical Corps of the Air Force in Alaska during the Korean Conflict.

In 1955 he began a pediatric medicine practice in Shelby, Texas, and co-founded the Shelby Children’s Clinic with Dr. Richard Bowles. He was the first board-certified pediatrician in Shelby.

Sarazen is survived by his wife, Jo, four children and four grandchildren.

STORED PRODUCT PEST WORKSHOP UPDATE

West Lafayette, Ind. — A small group of leading university and USDA-ARS researchers, food company managers and product developers met in West Lafayette, Ind., in July to participate in a 1½ day meeting sponsored by the Purdue University’s Center for Urban and Industrial Pest Management. The meeting was convened as a follow-up to two workshops in 1999. One goal of the workshop was to help coordinate stored product pest research to advance the development of new pest control tools for the food industry. The second goal was to prepare an action plan to identify and canvas potential funding sources.

Much more needs to be learned about the major stored product insect pests in the United States if the food processing industry is to have viable control options in this time of pesticide withdrawals and phase-outs, according to Eileen Eliason, a research entomologist at Purdue University. At the workshop, research questions were prioritized into four categories: insect pest biology, ecology, monitoring and management in mills, food/feed processing plants and warehouses. Some identified data gaps were action levels for treatment, economic thresholds, critical factors contributing to pest resurgence, insect life stage susceptibility to control treatments, pest movement inside and outside of facilities and how to most efficiently and accurately sample incoming and outgoing food commodities for pests.

An action plan was drafted during the meeting to promote a research initiative, which would include educating potential supportive and impacted parties, garnering their financial and political support and preparing research proposals. The group concluded that the food milling and processing industry needs to be the driving force behind this research initiative and that the researchers need to work closely with them.

If you are a food industry member, researcher, consultant, or pest control product developer interested in assisting this research initiative, contact Linda Mason at 765/494-4586 or at Linda_mason@entm.purdue.edu for further information.

BAYER OFFERS REWARDS PROGRAM

Kansas City, Mo. — Bayer Garden & Professional Care has introduced a new program that will help PCOs earn rewards by choosing the company’s products. "Bayer Accolades" is a reward program in which pest management professionals earn points for each purchase of a Bayer product, such as Premise Insecticide, Tempo Insecticide and Pre-Empt Professional Cockroach Gel Bait. Professionals then trade their points for rewards.

PCOs can enroll by filling out a short information form and they will then receive a membership kit, a membership card and more details about how the plan works. To earn rewards, PCOs submit originals or copies of invoices for Bayer products from approved Bayer distributors with submission forms to begin earning points. Once points are accrued, PCOs can choose from a selection of rewards and redeem rewards by mail, fax or at www.bayeraccolades.com. For further information, contact your area sales representative or call 800/842-8020.

MASSEY OPENS NEW FACILITY

Orlando — Massey Services recently opened its new 15,200-square-foot, multi-use service center in Orlando. The facility, built on the site of the original headquarters of the Walker Chemical and Exterminating Company, will house four Massey Services business units and a fully equipped learning center.

"This complex houses our flagship residential service center for Massey Services Pest Prevention and Termite Protection," said Harvey Massey, president and CEO. "It also is headquarters for our largest GreenUP Lawn, Tree & Shrub Care service center, our Orlando Preven-Tech Commercial Pest Prevention service center and our Massey Services New Construction Termite Pretreat division."

In other Massey news, the company recently acquired Belmont Pest Control, a 16-year-old company in Naples and Collier Counties, Fla.

AVITROL BANNED IN SOME NEW YORK CITIES

NEW YORK — Governor George Pataki signed a bill in August that bans the use of Avitrol in New York cities with populations exceeding 1 million people. Avitrol is an avicide that prevents pigeons from congregating in undesirable areas by causing those affected with the product to display erratic behavior and emit distress calls that frighten other birds of the flock. Some view the use of this product as controversial.

Kelly Swindle, president of Avitrol, said the ban will hurt the city’s efforts to control diseases since pigeons are often carriers of diseases such as encephalitis, the West Nile virus and cryptococcosis.

"We’ve lost one of our vital tools in protecting people from these illness in this area since now we have one bird we cannot control by using Avitrol," Swin-dle said.

VW&R RELOCATES DISTRICT OFFICE

Austin, Texas — Van Waters & Rogers Inc. recently relocated its PP&S Atlanta (Norcross) office to Chamblee, Ga. The new 40,000-square-foot warehouse location has a full service will call display area as well as a conference center that is available to rent for meetings. The Chamblee facility will continue to support sales operations for all the Southeast District locations.

SECURE OFFERS PROMOTION PLAN

Wyomissing, Pa. — As a "thank you" to the 240 pest management companies that contributed a two percent investment to its original incarnation during 1987-92, SECURE Insurance is rolling out a Goodwill Promotion plan. The plan gives each company the option of either receiving a payout of its original investment throughout 10 years or the company is eligible to receive a discount on insurance coverage. It doesn’t matter whether the company is currently a SECURE policy holder. For deceased investors, a payout will go the surviving spouse, the company said.

WELLMARK ANNOUNCES PCO AND VECTOR REORGANIZATION

Schaumburg, Ill. — Wellmark International has announced a recent reorganization that unites its PCO and vector markets. The restructuring included a realignment of field personnel. According to Wellmark management, the reorganization allows the company to better use its internal resources to facilitate more fluid distribution channels and lend enhanced brand support.

"The reorganization supports the broadening need for effective mosquito control within the pest market," explained Brad Chalk, vice president of sales and marketing for Wellmark International.

"It’s a direct response to the industry’s need for effective control products for both pests and mosquitoes. These changes will improve Wellmark’s ability to unilaterally serve the entire marketplace," Chalk added.

Besides reflecting the pest industry’s increasing interest in mosquito control, the unification of Wellmark’s sales teams showcases the convergence of technologies developed to manage pests in high-sensitivity applications, Chalk said.

MAXFORCE REDUCES PRICE ON CARPENTER ANT GEL BAIT

OAKLAND, Calif. — Clorox and B&W Sales have announced a price reduction on Maxforce Carpenter Ant Gel, effective immediately. Cases of the gel are now available to authorized Maxforce distributors for nearly 30 percent off the original price and will remain at this lower cost.

"The end goal is to switch pest management professionals more quickly from conventional broad-spectrum treatments to targeted baiting using Maxforce Carpenter Ant Gel," says Gordon Morrison, national sales manager for Maxforce Products.

To purchase the product, PCOs can contact their local authorized distributor. For more information on the product, PCOs can call 800/843-6334 or visit www.maxforce.com.

COMINGS & GOINGS

Copesan has announced that Tim Chamberlain has been appointed to quality control auditor.

Bill Barrs has been named district manager for the Florida District for Van Waters & Rogers’ Professional Products & Services business unit.

Clarke Mosquito Control recently announced the appointment of Michael Cavanagh as the manager of market development, West Coast.

Bill Mang has been named vice president and CFO for Massey Services, Orlando, Fla.

Whitmire Micro-Gen recently announced the promotion of Brian Mann to the newly created position of customer solutions manager. Also at the company, Steve Walsh was named regional technical specialist in the upper Northeast.

Whitmire Micro-Gen has also announced the promotion of Jim Derby-shire to product manager.

Hal Paul has recently been named territory sales representative for Zeneca Professional Products.

PermaTreat Pest Control Company has named Jack R. Broome president of the company.