Ray Meyers, president of RJM Contracting, Lake Mary, Fla., is not unlike a lot of leaders in the pest control industry. While his contributions are numerous and have been critical to the industry’s success, he’s not one to draw attention to himself, but rather he is content to be one of the industry’s ultimate behind-the-scenes contributors. As an independent contractor who works with product manufacturers, he’s become an invaluable resource, helping to bridge the gap between lab research and in-the-field practicality.

“Even though Ray wouldn’t tell you, and he may never agree, he’s had the greatest impact of anyone on research and development for the modern pest management industry,” according to Paul Hardy, owner of J. Paul Hardy Consulting and longtime senior technical services director at Orkin.

As Bob Cartwright, technical manager, Eastern U.S., Syngenta, explains, the depth and breadth of knowledge that Meyers, a former PCO, brings to the table, is invaluable. “He’s helped Syngenta and other chemical manufacturers bring products to market. Having had his own pest control business he understands what ... customers want, but he sees the research side of it too. He is really unique in having the ability to bridge that gap.”

In a career that spans five decades, Meyers has helped advance the pest control industry whether it’s working with manufacturers, training technicians, or the many other ways he’s served as a solutions provider. “Some would probably say I’m an educator, but I don’t think of myself as an educator,” he says. “I share what I did that was successful and present it in a way that somebody else can repeat it and possibly have a good outcome, too.”

In His Blood

Meyers is a second-generation PCO. His dad, Ray Meyers, Sr., owned several pest control companies, including American Pest Control, a large business in Orlando.

“Ray started his career, like many of us working in pest control, from the ground up. So, he’s ‘been there’ and ‘done that,’” said Hardy.

Paul Deets, who retired from Univar Solutions after a 40-plus-year career in pest management, said, “To appreciate working with Ray and his success in the pest management industry, it is very helpful to have known his parents first. In many, very positive ways, Ray is a ‘chip off the ol’ block.”

Deets added, “His dad had quite an entrepreneurial spirit. In the early years of the industry, I watched Ray Sr. build multiple pest control businesses in Florida, sell them, and then do it again. His dad taught him the decisions that had to be made regarding effective pest control; the products to use; calibration rates; dilution rates; and overall application rates for a specific targeted pest.”

Meyers started working for his dad’s lawn care company (which had 15 to 20 routes) when he was a kid. “I’d go down and wash trucks, do office stuff or clean up,” he recalled.

He got more serious about work when his dad started to pay him. “It was about 1967 and I was making around $1.65 an hour.” One of the technicians would pick him up from high school to finish the day’s remaining service calls. “All the service techs liked me, because they’d get some fresh blood on the truck,” said Meyers. When the route was complete, he’d “ride the truck back to the office with the technician, then ride home with my dad.”

After graduating from North Carolina State University in 1970, Ray Jr., began working full-time for his dad. In 1978, Ray Sr., decided to expand his lawn service company to include general pest control. “We decided we needed some pest control training, so my dad, a couple service technicians and I got in the car and drove north to the Purdue Pest Management Conference,” recalls Meyers. After about three days they decided, “That’s plenty of training. We’re just going into business. I’m not sure how much we actually learned while we were there, but man, we decided that we definitely belong in the South!” Meyers said, reacting to the cold Indiana weather they experienced during the conference.

Years later, Meyers’ career evolved from attending the Purdue conference to learn about pest management to speaking at the conference.

Construction Interest Pays Off

Had it not been for his father being in the pest control industry, Meyers said it’s doubtful he would have followed the same career path.

“You know, I always had an interest in insects and things, but I’m not sure I would have gone into pest control. I really thought I had more of an aptitude for construction,” explained Meyers. “If I had it all to do over again, I probably would have gone into construction. I don’t mean to be boring, but I sit around and look at construction magazines.”

Photo Courtesy of Scott Cook Photography

His construction interests range from commercial to residential, especially slabs and crawlspace-type construction, “the kind that most pest control guys are dealing with to treat for termites.”

He’s been able to meld his interest in construction with his passion for pest control, leading to a specialization in termite work. He was interested in teaching technicians “what a footer actually looks like.” He wanted to know “how to go about accessing critical areas, treat a footer and be certain of where the materials go.”

Meyers added, “I had a little talent at understanding construction methods, and I was able to share that knowledge with some PMPs, so it helped them with difficult termite treatments,” said Meyers.

But it’s not just the construction part of pest control that Meyers found to his liking. “I enjoy some aspects of the work more than others. I kind of like the whole process; however, I found inspections to be incredibly interesting and rewarding.”

In the end, Meyers’ greatest reward in working in the pest management industry is simply to be helpful.

“When I go to a person’s home — let’s just use a lady who has ants in her home, as an example. She’s been dealing with the ant problem for a long time and tried some remedies on her own, but the ants are still there,” explained Meyers. “My satisfaction comes from being able to go in there, assess the situation, make a thorough inspection and figure out where the ants are coming from or what the circumstances are surrounding the infestation, then fix it. That’s very rewarding.”

Meyers understands the importance of addressing peoples’ emotions, which often accompany pest problems.

“People either have a lot of fear, shame, animosity or whatever you want to call it, with regards to insects. There are a lot of feelings associated with having an infestation of ants or any other pest,” Meyers added. “Maybe a friend comes over, they see ants all over the kitchen and the homeowner is embarrassed. There’s also the potential for economic damage or aesthetic issues with infestations.

“It’s heartwarming when you’re able to help someone that’s having that kind of problem; otherwise, the issue may not have been solved,” he says. “I take it kind of personally and I think people appreciate that. I enjoy it because of the rewards. You get rid of the bugs and everybody is happy.”

Success as a Distributor Rep

Meyers’ pest control path shifted to distribution in the 1980s, first as a sales representative for Southern Mill Creek Products and later for Cypress Sales & Marketing. At the time, termites were the industry’s bread and butter, so Meyers’ construction knowledge came in handy.

“Termites became my focus as a pest control distributor salesman around the early 1980s in Norfolk, Va., because there was a lot of difficulty in the industry at the time controlling termites due to ineffective control materials and lack of technical knowledge,” explained Meyers. “Some of it had to do with techniques for termite work. A lot of it had to do with construction. Because I had a pretty good understanding of construction, I understood how to treat for termites. I was pretty good at putting those two things together — pest control and construction — and I solved a lot of termite issues PMPs were having.”

In the mid 90s, foaming was a new methodology for applying termiticides in which Meyers made significant contributions. “We used foam to reach areas of houses and buildings that, prior to that, weren’t accessible,” said Meyers. This demonstrated to technicians how to use foaming for treating with contact termiticides. “I think foaming as a method of treatment is something very useful to the industry that I have helped with.”

Whether termite control or general pest control, there’s one consistent thread throughout Meyers’ career: the satisfaction he receives from pursuing and achieving his goals. “I’ve worked for large pest control companies, owned a pest control business and I’ve been a consultant,” said Meyers. “Of all the things I’ve done in the industry, I really enjoy managing a portion of a business, being in charge of a company, division or branch, or being able to lead a team toward success.

“I think it’s about accomplishing a goal — succeeding at something. I just enjoy that sort of thing. I like being challenged. I like succeeding. And I’ve had plenty of opportunities to do that. I enjoy being in charge, being successful in growing a business, making money, as well as having satisfied customers. There’s a lot of pleasure in all of that.”

Photo Courtesy of Scott Cook Photography

A Consulting Business is Born

In 1998, after having worked in the pest control industry in so many capacities, the natural progression for Meyers was to launch his own consulting business. RJM Contracting was founded in 1998, as a resource for providing real-world, in-field testing of products, services and equipment.

“I don’t do lab work. I conduct field research for large industry manufacturers. If they have a new compound, they want to know if it’s effective. I try it out in the field. That’s the sort of research I do,” said Meyers.

Meyers continues to be a research consultant to many manufacturers in the pest control industry. He has served as a consultant to Syngenta, BASF, Bayer and DuPont (Syngenta acquired DuPont’s Insecticide Business in 2012), among others, conducting numerous experimental use permit (EUP) evaluations based on the guidelines of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and good laboratory practice (GLP). He provides manufacturers the data necessary to support EPA registration and labeling.

Hardy shared just some of the R&D Meyers has worked on: “Field testing new service procedures; pesticide development; outdoor and indoor service techniques; the use of borates to treat for structure-infesting insects; flow meters; using foam for pest management; field studies of baits for all pests; modern treatment equipment and technologies, such as infrared cameras, resistor graph, x-ray, moisture meters, and acoustic emission sensors.”

According to John Paige, III, Ph.D., principal scientist, Bayer Pest Management and Public Health, “Ray’s brought a lot of technology to the industry and taught people how to use that technology. Most of the products on the market today, especially ones that have been registered in the last 10-15 years, Ray worked on through his consulting business. He’s worked directly on those products. The work he did was submitted to the EPA for registration for a lot of companies.”

Syngenta is another manufacturer that has benefited from Meyers’ experience. Syngenta’s Cartwright cited as an example Meyers’ assistance when the company was developing Optigard for drywood termites. “Ray was instrumental in that he has always been at the forefront of using detection technology and equipment and adapting it to uses in our industry,” Cartwright said. “This is a good example of us going to him knowing he can help us on some of the things we don’t know that much about, like how to use infrared and sound detection.”

Meyers says he’s enjoyed working with Paige, Cartwright and Tom Nishimura (now-retired BASF rep) and he has learned from them as well.

Giving Back as a Trainer

One constant throughout Meyers’ career is that he has always given back to the industry in the form of training others, whether it’s giving individual or small group presentations, or speaking in front of large crowds at industry events. He said it’s the one industry contribution for which he hopes he is remembered. “I hope [others] would say I tried to share what I learned and that at my presentations or training programs I was able to clearly explain what needed to be done and that they enjoyed the session.”

Conference attendees like Meyers because of his approachability, Paige said. “People love to work with him. It seems like he knows the folks in the audience and how to connect with them. Nobody hesitates to come up to him with a question. Helping people is just in his DNA.”

Meyers said he enjoys the interaction at industry conferences and the many perspectives pest management professionals bring from across the country.

Said Deets,“Ray has an engaging personality. He’s fun to be around and you can be assured there’ll be lots of laughter no matter what the task at hand may be. Ray never met a stranger.”

Added Paige,“Ray has taught untold thousands of pest control operators all over the country on every subject from how to detect termites and how to control them, and every subject in the middle.”

What’s Next?

One thing unique about Meyers is that after finding success as a consultant, he returned to his roots, purchasing a pest control business — Pro-Line Professional Service, in DeLand, Fla., in 1998. “I kept it for nine years, then sold the pest control portion of the business,” said Meyers. “I kept the fire ant part of the business. I want to stay active. It’s kind of physical and it keeps me on the move. I think I can do the work for a long time — as long as I’m physically capable. I also have the research consulting work. That’s what I’m doing these days.”

Meyers — an avid fisherman and hunter, particularly duck hunting — continues to work for another very personal reason, “I like to get a new shotgun every year and that’s where the money is going to come from,” said Meyers.

He added, “My retirement goal will be to spend more time enjoying life, seeing the country and spending time with my grandchildren.”

Meyers said he has “put a pin in the wall” that he’ll retire around 75. “I’m in pretty good physical shape, so as long as I can get out there and keep working, I want to do it. But I don’t want to wait too long to retire. The kind of work I’m doing now, there are pretty long stretches when I’m not involved in a project. So, I might be able to pull off 30-day RV trips.”

While “headed down the road toward retirement,” Meyers remains a vibrant presence in the industry, looking forward to the day when Carol, Daisy and he can spend more time RVing throughout the country.

The pest management industry is full of stories of people who entered the industry accidentally and never left, and of people who were literally born into the profession.

Tom Jarzynka, senior director of pest prevention quality assurance for Massey Services, falls into the latter category and his early pest control narrative involved more than riding along with his dad or hanging out at the office. It involved the sale of a termite job at the ripe old age of 10.

Jarzynka, known as “TJ” to his Massey and industry peers, was sitting at the kitchen table in his Cub Scout den mother’s house working on a craft project when he noticed a baby food jar on the windowsill with some dirt and insects in it.

The naturally curious Jarzynka picked it up, looked it over and put it back. The ensuing conversation with his den mother went something like this:

“Tom, your daddy is a bug man. What kind of bugs are those?”

“Termites,” answered Jarzynka.

“How much does your Daddy charge to get rid of termites?”

“$300”

Deal closed.

“My dad was working for Lystads Pest Control at the time and the company sent out a mailer that shared company news and listed all the sales for the company. It was called “The Squeak!!!” recalls Jarzynka. “The next issue had my name listed for a termite sale of $300!”

Jarzynka isn’t sure if he received a commission on the sale, but it did spur his desire to follow in his father’s footsteps and embark on a career protecting people’s homes and businesses from pests.

The Early Years

Jarzynka’s father, Joe, started with Lystads Pest Control when Tom was six and the family moved from Grand Island, Neb., to St. Joseph, Mo., to Hutchinson, Kan., before settling in Ft. Worth, Texas. Tom was around the shop quite often growing up and the seeds were planted for him to join the company even though the seeds didn’t bloom right away.

After initially studying journalism in college, Jarzynka looked for something different and was employed in IT, but continued to work for his dad performing termite renewal inspections and treatments in the afternoons and weekends.

“I eventually came to the point where school did not interest me the way it should have and I was looking for a career change and there it was right in front of me,” says Jarzynka.

His father hired him full-time and assigned him to an open route in Lubbock, Texas with the understanding Tom would do that until he figured out his next move. That move turned out to be running routes in Ft. Worth and then Dallas, and the start of a nearly 40-year career in pest management.

Lystads was the first acquisition by Ecolab when the Minnesota-based company launched its pest elimination business and Jarzynka moved with the company to Memphis and Orlando, and eventually was named region vice president for Florida and Puerto Rico.

After 17 years with Lystads and Ecolab, Jarzynka moved to Centex HomeTeam Pest Defense and after a two-year stint with the company decided to switch gears.

“I took a week off after leaving Centex and painted the inside of the house and then set out on finding the company where I was going to spend the rest of my career,” recalls Jarzynka. “I mailed 38 resumes, did 22 interviews and then found my home — Massey Services.”

Jarzynka started as a commercial sales manager before moving to the company’s technical and training department.

“Initially I thought this was an odd move being that my background was in operations and sales, but it gave me the chance to use the problem-solving skills I learned at an early age in new ways,” says Jarzynka. “I was able to fully engage in the gears and pulleys of Massey’s Pest Prevention Program and share that knowledge with our team members. It has been a great fit.”

His passion for training and education is two-fold: Jarzynka feels an obligation to repay those who invested in him by paying it forward to others and he is thrilled by the opportunities the pest management industry offers.

“My father was able to support a family of eight by being a pest management professional and I am deeply grateful for the opportunities given to me by people who took the time to recognize my energy and passion, and gave me the space and guidance to grow,” says Jarzynka.

Jarzynka acknowledges that the industry’s training and education efforts need to continue to evolve, which includes deploying the latest technology and being mindful of the growing sophistication of both residential and commercial clients.

“Today’s customers are more well-informed than at any time before and, yes, they want a pest-free home and yard, but not with risk to their children, pets, and the environment,” says Jarzynka. “Our training needs to reflect that we understand our customers’ wants and needs and our service must meet and exceed their expectations.”

This knowledge is what drove Jarzynka to find a better, more environmentally responsible way to eliminate bed bugs. He began working with a heating vendor to determine the efficacy of eliminating bed bugs using convection heat. Massey’s Bed Bug Heat Remediation program eliminates bed bugs at all stages of life, reduces the amount of chemical treatment required as well as the time hotel rooms are required to be off market (typically only 48 hours to complete the entire treatment). This program earned Jarzynka a patent in 2011.

Jarzynka’s pursuit for finding innovative solutions to customers’ pest issues doesn’t go unnoticed within the halls of Massey.

“TJ never stops thinking about what’s next,” says Jeff Buhler, senior vice president, customer service at Massey Services. “Even when he’s not at the office or in the field, he’s still working but having fun doing it, such as testing a different type of mosquito treatment in his backyard. That type of commitment to excellence is what has allowed him to be so successful in his career.”

Photo Courtesy of Tom Jarzynka

Learning for a Lifetime

Jarzynka has taken valuable lessons – from the importance of creating value for the customer to understanding efficient service models — from each of his career stops and has brought those experiences together at Massey.

“The sum of what I have learned is stronger than the individual parts,” says Jarzynka. “The Massey culture provides the structure to maximize the parts. It’s hard not to come away from time spent with Harvey L. Massey, chairman and CEO, Tony Massey, president, Ed Dougherty, EVP and COO, Jeff Buhler, Adam Jones, vice president of quality assurance, and countless others in our organization and not be better for it.”

He also credits being blessed with strong mentors throughout his career who let him be himself.

“I sometimes see the world through a different lens and having worked for and with people who let me be me has been incredible,” adds Jarzynka.

In his role at Massey he encourages mentoring among team members.

“Mentors are critical to our success as those relationships allow people to gain confidence in one another and invest in one another,’ says Jarzynka. “Our company has a strong commitment to provide mentoring and training for our team members. We know the more knowledgeable a technician is, the more satisfied our customers will be. That’s why we’re so focused on training.”

At 6-2 and over 200 pounds with an outgoing personality that lights up a room, Gene White isn’t who comes to most people’s mind when they hear the word entomologist (salesman perhaps, but “bug guy”…not so much).

But spend any time with White and you will realize that he is every bit the entomologist. He has a love for insects and a curious mind to learn all he can about these creatures. And like any good entomologist he loves to share his enthusiasm and interest in insects with others.

During a career that spans 38 years, White has used his knowledge and skill set in many capacities, but perhaps his most important contribution has been as a trainer and educator. Whether it’s training service technicians or speaking at industry conferences such as the Purdue Pest Management Conference or Kentucky Short Course, White has been instrumental in the professional development of countless pest management professionals.

In his current role as global director of vector management, Rentokil-Initial, White continues to educate and help others succeed, developing vector training programs, and cultivating relationships with a global group of industry professionals.

An Unlikely Entomologist

White’s journey to the pest control industry began in Ohio. The son of Marjorie “Peggy” and the Reverend Eugene White, Gene grew up in a strict Pentecostal household, just south of Akron, Ohio.

His early interests were art, nature and sports, particularly track and football. White was a standout wide receiver at Green High School (just 5 miles north of the Pro Football Hall of Fame), a powerhouse football program in the 1970s. His team went undefeated in his senior season.

White’s football prowess helped him earn a scholarship to Glenville State College, a small liberal arts college in West Virginia. It was at Glenville State that White met his first mentor: Dr. Robert Deal.

White first met him at a science building and he mistakenly thought Deal was a janitor. “He saw me resting between football practices next to the bird feeders outside the science building and came down several times to eat lunch with me,” White said. “One afternoon I commented on the variety of bird species and, much to his surprise, after quizzing me, he found I knew them all. He said I should be a biology major and needed to talk with the department head. I asked him who that would be, and he replied, ‘You’re looking at him!’ This moment changed my life.”

Deal, now in his 80s, was impressed by how White ingratiated himself with other biology majors. “Football players were not particularly well liked by our science majors as they found them to be, mostly, poor students and clannish with other athletes. Not so for Gene. He quickly fit in and interacted with fellow students and us faculty,” Deal recalled.

White also explored his interest in the theater while at Glenville State and was voted “best actor” by his peers in 1978 and 1979.

Pest Control Path

After graduating from Glenville State with a major in biology and minor in oral communications, White moved back to Akron (1981), and went to work for Orkin for a brief period of time as a service technician.

White also continued to pursue his interest in football, playing for the semi-professional Canton Bulldogs. A teammate of White’s was working for Metro Exterminators, a company that primarily serviced public housing, and he told him about opportunities at the firm. White was hired as technical director, a position he held for two years.

Through his tenure at Metro, White became associated with Bio-Serv, the distribution arm of Rose Pest Solutions (at the time Rose Pest Control). Bill Baker, longtime president of Rose Pest Control, recognized that White would be a good addition to his team, and kept track of White’s career path. White eventually was hired by Baker as a technical sales consultant (1984) with a four-state territory and then “to manage Rose’s Ft. Wayne office (1986).” This offer was contingent upon White going to Detroit to become the “trainer” within one year.

White’s long tenure at Rose Pest Solutions proved to be personally and professionally fulfilling. In 1987, he moved to Detroit and became the company’s trainer under the guidance of the late Walt Stuckman.

When White came on board, one of the challenges Rose (and the pest control industry) was dealing with was high technician turnover, and at the root of this problem was not hiring the right people. White worked with hiring consultant Brad Bartlett to create an employee hiring template for technicians. From there, he developed and fine-tuned training programs based on insect identification, which then led to the choice of products and treatment protocols. The goal was to make service technicians as self-sufficient as possible. “We started building technicians from the ground up, and they started getting better and better and better,” White said.

Among White’s favorite training activities was role-playing, for which he harkened back to his college theater days. White, along with fellow thespian enthusiast Mark “Shep” Sheperdigian, vice president of technical services, Rose Pest Solutions, put on fun and informative training sessions on stage. “We were two entomologists in a very operations-oriented company who relied on each other for support,” Sheperdigian said. “You come into an office with a really strange insect no one’s ever seen before and there is going to be one other person who’s gonna care. It was truly a benefit to have someone who has the same interests as you to help support you, and you feed off that.”

In addition to training, the support White provided to employees was instrumental in their successes — and to the company’s success, said Rose Pest Solutions President Russ Ives. “Gene would know everyone in the company. He would know who they are and what they did — beyond what they were doing professionally. And that is because he was genuinely interested in them. He helped us strengthen our company’s commitment to lifelong learning and our culture as a learning organization.”

White’s time at Rose Pest Solutions also was important to him personally. In 1985, he married his first wife, Nancy. The couple have three children Kelsey, Kyle and Karey.

Photos Courtesy of Gene White

Opportunity Knocks

While White was enjoying his time at Rose Pest Solutions, in 2013 he was presented with a great personal and professional opportunity. Rentokil North America (now Rentokil Steritech) was on a buying spree, including the 2013 acquisition of Omaha, Neb.-based Presto-X, a $30 million firm with a large service territory in the central U.S. Rentokil was in need of a technical director for the Central Market, which spanned from Mexico to Canada.

“They wanted someone who could oversee direct reports from all of the technical people in the various [Central] regions,” White recalls. “My responsibilities included troubleshooting problems in the field and working with clients to build the proper training protocols.”

This opportunity to travel the country and develop training and technical programs appealed to White, whose daughters were all adults by 2013. But that’s not to say this position did not come without challenges. White said Rentokil was up front with him about land mines that come with leading technical services in a company that was growing rapidly via acquisition. “They said they are filling gaps and holes in their service areas and this is going to come with some heartache because whenever you convert a company over to your style, and your service protocols it can be difficult. However, the one thing that I really liked was that Rentokil doesn’t force their culture onto newly acquired companies, but rather they look at what those newly acquired companies are doing well and incorporate it into what they are doing.”

After two years in this position, in 2015, White was promoted to technical director of Rentokil North America, where he was responsible for leading Rentokil NA’s technical strategies, including supporting the company’s team of approximately 25 entomologists and biologists.

John Myers, president of Rentokil North America, said he believed White had the unique combination of technical and people skills to take on the challenges that came with that position. “When you have a conglomeration of new colleagues and high growth, and a little bit of chaos, you are looking for leaders who inspire, who communicate and who answer questions about why we’re doing something, or how we are doing something; and to do so on a down-to-earth, man-on-the-street level.”

A New Chapter

White’s time at Rentokil took an unexpected turn in 2017. Rentokil had been expanding its global vector management segment, accelerated by the 2017 acquisition of Vector Disease Control International (VDCI), a holding company with the largest mosquito control and lake management service divisions in the U.S.

As part of this growth strategy, Rentokil needed to ramp up its technical services in this sector. White was offered by Rentokil a newly created position, global director of vector management, with responsibilities for creating and improving on the vector management space in the company.

While Myers recognized that vector management was not White’s specialty, he thought his other qualities made him a good fit for the position. Rentokil has vector control businesses in 30 countries. Myers said the Vector Management Center of Excellence brings together leaders of these businesses to share best management practices. The objective is to give them strategies for explaining to local governments and populations the importance of vector control and the value that Rentokil’s vector management program brings.

“Our CEO Andy Ransom’s vision was to sculpt this from a glob of clay. We needed someone who was charismatic, energetic and a creative communicator. We think Gene is ideally suited to make something valuable out of that glob of clay,” Myers said.

White says he serves as a communication conduit. For example, let’s say Rentokil’s business in the United Arab Emirates lands a government contract, White would be called upon to bring together Rentokil, UAE and any third-party stakeholders in the project. “It’s been really interesting,” he said. “I know these people here, and I know these people here, and they need to come together, so I am a bridge for them.”

What White likes about his current position is that no two days are the same. One day he might be attending a USAID meeting and the next day he might be on a plane heading to Brazil. Or he might spend several days evaluating new products and/or novel mosquito management programs.

As White prepares for his 39th year in the pest control industry, he shows no signs of slowing down. He’s enjoying the successes (and occasional missteps) that come as the trailblazer of a newly created position. As he joked, “I’m better than the last guy because there wasn’t one.”

Ingenuity, passion, fearlessness, tenacity, exuberance — when it comes to making life better for those around her, Claudia Riegel knows no bounds. As director of the New Orleans Mosquito, Termite & Rodent Control Board (NOMTRCB), she is committed to protecting the residents of New Orleans, focused on staying a step ahead of potential outbreaks and natural disasters. As a collaborator, she enthusiastically engages with other experts and organizations to develop solutions for communities not only in her own region but across the nation and around the world. And as a teacher and mentor, she generously shares all that she knows for the good of each individual and the pest management industry as a whole.

Riegel’s leadership qualities made their debut on the national stage when, as a new member of NOMTRCB, she tackled the devastating impacts of Hurricane Katrina with then-director Ed Bordes in 2005. “Claudia and I were the only staff members whose homes had not been damaged, so we went into action immediately,” he says. “In fact, she cut her honeymoon short to get back to New Orleans, where she worked tirelessly on the many challenges we faced.”

Bill Horan, retired president of Operation Blessing International, who led the nonprofit’s successful expansion into disaster relief efforts, met Riegel in 2005. “Claudia’s work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina proved that she is a true force of nature — a pest killer for the ages,” he attests. “In New Orleans, we teamed up to manage mosquitoes and rats. Years later, we continue to collaborate on a variety of issues both at home and overseas.”

“A Pest Killer for the Ages”

In the wake of Katrina, Riegel had plenty of opportunities for collaboration, and she rose to every occasion. Her actions in addressing a variety of unusual issues resulting from the storm illustrate her resourcefulness and ability to engage others in fighting the good fight against pest-borne disease.

Mosquitoes in pools: Who saw that coming? Natural disasters bring about some unlikely circumstances and challenges. For example, Katrina’s landfall in late August 2005, followed just three weeks later by Hurricane Rita, caused abandoned swimming pools throughout New Orleans to overflow with water — not the clear, clean, chlorinated water that pools generally contain, but brackish waters that quickly became breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

“I got a call from the Mosquito Control Board a couple months after the storm, and they said that mosquitoes were reproducing like crazy in about 5,400 pools across the area. I asked what I could do to help,” says Horan. “Steve Sackett, the mosquito supervisor at that time, had a solution in mind — introducing mosquitofish (Gambusia) into their IPM program to control the larvae. They didn’t have a source, so I found a supplier and negotiated a deal to buy a million of these tiny fish at 10 cents apiece. When the supplier ran out at 60,000, we figured out how to raise them ourselves in the lab.”

Riegel collaborated with Horan to pull together seven teams of volunteers, including many college students, for this effort, which was largely funded by Operation Blessing. Dr. Imelda Moise, assistant professor of Geography & Regional Studies at the University of Miami, who was at the time working toward her Ph.D., was among them. “I had been studying the impact of fish ponds on mosquito ecology and learned of New Orleans’ struggle with mosquito breeding in swimming pools. We knew that if we shared our knowledge and experience, we would have greater success in resolving the issue.”

The team did resolve the issue. In fact, Horan reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told them they had staved off potential outbreaks of West Nile virus and St. Louis encephalitis. “New Orleans residents were very vulnerable at this time given the state of their living conditions. We were so happy we were able to help,” Horan says.

Photos courtesy of claudia riegel

Moise says another positive emerged from this experience: Riegel had the opportunity to shine as a leader. “From the first day we worked together, I could see that Claudia really cares for her people and that she sees the good in everyone she interacts with,” she says. “In an encouraging and empowering way, she pushes people to do better than before, and rather than taking any credit herself, she wants others to be celebrated. She sees her leadership through others’ success.”

Rats in the street: An ounce of prevention… A more predictable challenge resulting from a natural disaster is the proliferation of rats. Riegel knew that the unprecedented damage to homes and other structures, coupled with the exorbitant volume of water, would mean displacement of not only people but also rodents. As people began cleaning out and repairing their homes, the trash and debris in the streets became rat magnets, drawing rodents into neighborhoods where they discovered that they and their families would be well-fed.

“We went from door to door to evaluate the pest issues plaguing residents during this devastating time,” says Riegel. “In some areas of the city, we saw a lot of fresh burrows in backyards. We knew we needed to act immediately to prevent an explosion of rat populations.”

Recognizing the need to protect pets and other non-target animals while effectively controlling rats, Riegel decided to bait the storm drains in these hard-hit neighborhoods, which certainly didn’t need another problem complicating their recovery efforts. Due to the sheer size of this project, she reached out for support. “The pest control manufacturers were incredibly generous after the storm, donating bait, insecticides, and other pest control products and supplies. Their generosity enabled us to quickly provide abatement in areas with residents and first responders,” she says.

Horan also lent a hand, mobilizing teams of Operation Blessing volunteers, who were trained and supervised by Mosquito Board inspectors. The teams moved from storm drain to storm drain, attaching flexible metal rods holding rodenticide blocks to thousands of cast-iron storm drain grates in and around the city. Riegel’s team monitored the blocks, replacing them as needed, to ensure ongoing control.

One more: The trouble with tires. Sometimes the answer to a problem isn’t as much about creative pest management methods as engaging and educating the community. In the years following Katrina and Rita, the practice of dumping tires — practically anywhere — became commonplace. Mosquito infestations became severe. Riegel asked Moise to help. “We worked together to identify areas where people were most likely to dump tires and we increased surveillance there. We also identified which species of mosquitoes were likely to breed in tires, and we analyzed how those species react to various pesticides. Most importantly, we recognized the need to bring in the city to communicate the health risks, work out a plan for mobilizing the community and empower them to work with us,” says Moise. “Claudia and her team engaged community groups and residents, building awareness of the health threats and of the city’s policy to pick up as many as four tires from a residence with each regular trash pickup. They effectively mobilized the community, as they so often do, to take responsibility for their own health and well-being.”

Extraordinary Scholar & Researcher

Riegel was born in Chicago, four years after her parents moved to the United States from Brazil in 1965. When she was 4, the trio went back to live in Brazil for a couple of years, but they returned to the Chicagoland suburbs in 1974, the year her brother was born. In spite of not knowing English well at that time (“Kids are adaptable; it took me a while to learn the language, but then it was never an issue again.”), Riegel says that she couldn’t have asked for a better childhood.

“My parents both worked for United Airlines, so we went to Brazil every summer. In fact, we traveled a lot,” she recounts. “My family was also extremely supportive of my education. Education was a priority in our household, and I loved school. I knew very early on that I wanted to go to graduate school for an advanced degree.”

At Purdue University, Riegel worked for two summers in Dr. Don Huber’s lab, where she found she enjoyed plant pathology. She earned a Bachelor of Science in plant molecular biology at Purdue and went on to earn her Master of Science in plant pathology at the University of Georgia. But it was her next move, joining Dr. Donald Dickson’s plant pathology program at the University of Florida (UF), that led to the pivotal change in the course of her career.

“We were lucky to get Claudia,” says Dickson, who worked with Riegel in testing soil fumigants on nematodes. “Her grades proved that she was obviously very smart, and her energy was boundless. When she gave presentations, she sold that information in a way few people can. She’d light up the room and engage every person in that audience.”

She was also very good at delivering on Dickson’s trademark directive to “Just get the job done.” He recalls, “We spent long days in the field, mainly working with peanuts to measure the product’s efficacy and identify any adverse effects. Claudia would be covered in dirt from head to toe — it didn’t bother her a bit.”

It didn’t bother Dow AgroSciences, either, according to Dr. Philip Koehler, endowed professor of urban entomology at UF, who set Riegel up with a fortuitous interview with the company. “Dow AgroSciences would conduct student interviews each year to help the students develop their interviewing skills. Although Claudia was not one of my doctoral students, we often talked and she hung out quite a bit with my entomology students. I scheduled her for one of these interviews, but when it was her turn, she had just come in from the field, covered in dirt and grime. She said, ‘I can’t go in like this.’ I said, ‘You have to.’ They not only liked her, they offered her a position working with Formosan termites in Baton Rouge, which she accepted.”

And so Riegel entered the field of entomology. “Sometimes you have to just see what opportunities come along and know when to take advantage of them,” she says. Opportunities continued to come her way as she collaborated with various members of the City of New Orleans Mosquito, Termite & Rodent Control Board.

“I met Claudia when I was a research entomologist with the city. We conducted field trials for termite control products together,” says Dr. Janet McAllister, now a medical entomologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases in Fort Collins, Colo. “When I got the job at the CDC, she took over my role with the city.”

Riegel joined NOMTRCB in 2004, hired by Bordes, who would retire in 2007. He recalls, “Claudia’s work on this important termite research helped us expand that arm of our operation. When Janet decided to accept a position with the CDC, I knew that Claudia would be outstanding in that position. She went on to do amazing things for New Orleans and the pest control industry.”

Among those amazing things was expanding educational opportunities, both internally, among the Board’s team, and externally, with the community and the industry. Riegel worked with Bordes to establish the Board’s Pest Control Academy in 2006, to help pest management professionals learn and share their knowledge and discoveries.

“As we rebuilt after Katrina, we decided to add a classroom to our building,” Bordes says. “We had always enjoyed sharing what we knew with others in the industry, but this program gave Claudia the opportunity to truly bridge the gap between science and operations.”

Since becoming director of the Board in 2011, Riegel has expanded her educational influence even further, drawing people from all over the world to the Academy to learn about, and share their own insights into, mosquitoes, termites, rodents and other pests. She also focuses on the educational development of her team.

“Claudia’s commitment to education begins with her own staff,” says McAllister. “She makes sure they are all cross-trained to be not only competent and confident in their daily work but also prepared to pitch in when needed for special projects — maybe they regularly work with termites but can help with mosquito or rodent work when the need arises, for example. Hiring people can be a true challenge when you’re working in a city program, but Claudia has found ways to build a strong, capable team that gets things done.”

So committed is Riegel to her team that she recently approached Koehler about setting up UF graduate studies right at the Board’s lab in New Orleans. “Unofficially, Claudia has served on graduate committees for the past 10 years, but last year, she officially became an adjunct faculty member, as our provost signed off on placing grad students under her supervision,” Koehler says. “It’s the first time we’ve gotten approval for this type of off-site arrangement. Claudia’s reputation for research excellence and her vision for developing well-rounded students, who are able to take distance classes with us as they learn practical applications in the lab, clinched the university’s decision to move forward.”

All in a Day’s Work

“Every day is different,” Riegel says about her job. It’s no wonder. There’s an administrative component, which includes budgeting, program decisions, working with city administrators, prioritization of projects and such. Then there’s the research component, which focuses on identifying and controlling threats to public health and property due to mosquito, rodent and termite infestations. Finally, the outreach component ranges from informing and educating the community to speaking to audiences around the globe and collaborating with partners who need assistance in other countries.

Among Riegel’s notable collaborative efforts: the development of a rat mitigation program for Haiti’s only pediatric hospital, St. Damien’s, following the catastrophic 2010 earthquake there, and of a comprehensive pest control program for Zanmi Beni, a home Horan co-founded in Port-au-Prince for abandoned children left homeless by that devastating event. In fact, Riegel and her colleagues frequently lend their expertise to efforts in Honduras, Guatemala, Cuba and many other countries when they are threatened by diseases such as Zika, West Nile virus, chikungunya and dengue.

Here at home, she collaborates often with the University of Florida, University of Miami, Texas A&M and other educational institutions on research; with private industry on product testing; and with other organizations who either need her help or have help to offer New Orleans.

“Claudia is great at building partnerships with agencies and with scientists; she appreciates what each of us brings to the collaboration,” says Moise. “When we had a Zika outbreak in Miami, she came down to witness and understand what we were doing to determine whether some of our practices might be applicable to her communities. She is always thinking ahead and anticipating the next challenge.”

It’s all very exciting and rewarding to Riegel. “I have one of the best jobs anyone could ever want because there is the potential to impact a lot of people’s lives for the better,” she says. “Whether I’m developing plans, testing products, offering learning or career opportunities, or changing a policy to help improve someone’s quality of life, it’s all fantastic. I love what I do.”