ONLINE EXTRA: Terminix Takes The Lead In Termite Baiting

Editor's note: The January issue of PCT magazine included a special supplement commemorating Terminix’s 75th anniversary. CLICK HERE to learn more about the past, present and future of the nation’s largest pest control firm. In addition to the features that appeared in the magazine, the following article on Terminix’s involvement with baiting can only be found on PCTOnline.

Terminix was among the first companies in the industry to embrace the termite baiting technology as the primary control method for termites. The company began offering the service to customers in late 1996, using Dow Agrosciences’ Sentricon Termite Colony Elimination System.

“We were the biggest company to jump on the bandwagon out of the chute,” said Terminix President and Chief Operating Officer Albert Cantu. “When we first partnered with DowAgroSciences, it was kind of a leap of faith, but we had enough foresight to realize this was the wave of the future.” Furthermore, by partnering with Dow AgroSciences, Cantu said, the technology received instant credibility. “That facilitated the acceptance of the baiting technology among consumers, and I think all PCOs benefited from that.”

Norman Goldenberg, Terminix’s senior vice president of government/public affairs and technical services, added that the company’s adopting baiting technology has demonstrated the company’s confidence in changing technologies. Furthermore, Goldenberg said, university surveys have indicated that consumers prefer baits as opposed to liquids.

“The industry sees us adopting new techniques such as termite baiting programs,” he said. “We’ve embraced that and we believe in that and it represents an overwhelmingly large majority of the work we perform.”