WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The 62nd Purdue Pest Conference in January began with an introspective look into the pest control industry’s history, challenges and future.
 |
From left to right, |
“We have to look at the past to understand the present to impact the future,” said John Osmun, professor emeritus of entomology at Purdue. Osmun started the keynote address with a look at how pest control began centuries ago. “Insects have repeatedly impacted and changed the course of history,” he said. Osmun cited the pest-borne plagues of the Dark Ages, as well as the deadly role insects and disease played in the Civil War.
Dr. Austin Frishman of AMF Pest Management, Farmingdale, N.Y., examined the industry’s recent history and present state, detailing the enormous amount of technological change the pest control industry has witnessed throughout the last several decades. Frishman called the 1950s “an era of uncontrolled use of pesticides.”
“No one cared how much material we used. The public confidence in us was quite high,” Frishman said. That all changed however, Frishman recalled, with the publishing of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.
“From that day on, pesticides would never be perceived the same way again,” Frishman said. That anti-pesticide attitude has evolved and grown, pushing the industry toward the use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) control programs. “Yesterday’s extremists are today’s norms,” Frishman said.
 |
Winners of the 2nd Annual Technician of the Year awards program were honored by the event’s co-sponsors, Service Technician magazine and Zeneca Professional Products, at the Purdue Conference. The winners from left to right: Fred Wiemann, L. C. Spivey and Mark Lopez |
Judy Dold of Rose Exterminator Co., Northbrook, Ill., explored the industry’s future and the opportunities that will be created by increased use of computers. “We’re going to make appointments and leave notes through E-mail,” Dold said. Citing the increasing importance of the Internet on business, Dold said, “now the same amount of information is available to everybody in this room with a click of a button.”
Dold also said the increasing involvement of women in pest control would help shape the industry of the future. “There are more women in the field today as PCOs than ever before. We need to acknowledge the differences between men and women and use it to our industry’s best advantage,” Dold said. Stating that women consumers are the principal decision-makers when it comes to buying pest control services, Dold suggested companies mold their messages to cater to this female-dominated consumer base. Furthermore, Dold said, “it’s not just in residential settings. These women are now impacting commercial accounts.”
In addition to the keynote address, the Purdue conference’s more than 700 attendees witnessed 45 presentations over the four-day event. Attendees were also invited to a reception honoring three service technicians, who were named “Technicians of the Year” through Service Technician magazine’s 2nd Annual Technician of the Year awards program. The decidedly veteran Technician of the Year class, with the three winners logging 27, 24 and 12 years in the field respectively, included Fred Wiemann, University Termite and Pest Control, Tucson, Ariz.; L. C. Spivey, Orkin Pest Control, Atlanta, Ga.; and Mark Lopez, Western Exterminator, Long Beach, Calif. “We are especially pleased to place the spotlight on these deserving technicians,” said Jeff Fenner, editor of Service Technician magazine. “Too often technicians are overlooked when it comes to receiving credit for the success of the pest control industry.” The Technician of the Year awards program was co-sponsored by Zeneca Professional Products, and the winners were selected from more than 100 entries. The three winners received complimentary registrations to the Purdue conference, a complete set of the PCT Educational Library and a one-year subscription to Service Technician magazine.
— Steve Smith
SNAPSHOTS FROM LEADERSHIP ‘97 |
|
 The 1997 Leadership Awards, sponsored by Zeneca Professional Products and PCT magazine was a special night for the 10 winning PCOs, as well as the close to 100 other guests in attendance. |
 Paul Bello of Zeneca (left) congratulates Gordon Redd Jr. and his wife, Donna. Redd owns Redd Pest Control, Gulfport, Miss. |
 Fred Rottler of Rottler Pest Control and Lawn Care, St. Louis, Mo., and his wife of 45 years, Ann |
 Two of the three Jenkins brothers, from left: Bobby Jenkins of ABC Pest Control, Austin, Texas, with his wife Jan; and Raleigh Jenkins with his wife Kimberly. Their father, Robert Jenkins Sr., is a 1989 Leadership Award winner. |
MAXFORCE INSECT BAIT APPROVED IN ALL STATES
OAKLAND, Calif. — Maxforce Professional Insect Control announced recently that Maxforce Granular Insect Bait was approved for indoor applications in both commercial and residential buildings to control ants, large cockroaches and crickets. The new indoor use labeling allows pest control professionals to treat cracks and crevices and apply the granular bait as a broadcast application in unfinished, inaccessible attics and crawlspaces. Before applying any pesticide, PCOs should read the entire product label and follow the directions carefully, according to Maxforce.
The product was initially developed for outdoor ant control and was formerly named Maxforce Granular Ant Bait. According to Joe Barile, Maxforce national technical manager, the new name more accurately describes the versatility of the product, which provides excellent long-term control of ants, cockroaches and crickets, both indoors and outdoors.
 |
Maxforce bait stations and granular insect bait. |
According to Maxforce, the bait is specially formulated with a complex mixture of sugars, fats, proteins and carbohydrates, which has a high acceptance rate among a wide variety of insects. The Maxforce granular bait contains the active ingredient hydramethylnon, using Maxforce’s Domino Effect, in which target insects such as ants and roaches carry the bait back to the nest where other insects consume it and die. Maxforce Granular Insect Bait is available in 10-ounce service containers and 6-pound bulk containers that can be used for large jobs or to refill the service containers.
The company also recently redesigned its Maxforce FC Ant and Roach Bait Stations for improved child resistance and ease of use. Manufactured with a new advanced welding technique, the stations are stronger and more tamper-resistant.
Maxforce also recently announced a new brand management team. According to Maxforce, with new products and new personnel, the company is better able to provide PCOs with the products and marketing tools to expand their businesses into new and profitable markets. The members of the brand management team, Mary Jo Cook and Paula Brownstein, bring both extensive marketing expertise and pest control experience to Maxforce. Responsible for developing marketing strategies and guiding product development, Cook and Brownstein will help PCOs expand into new markets with innovative pest control products.
EPA NAMES NEW DIRECTOR OF PESTICIDE PROGRAMS
WASHINGTON — As of February, Marcia Mulkey is the new director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Pesticide Programs. Dr. Lynn R. Goldman, assistant administrator of the EPA Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances made the announcement in December.
Previously, Mulkey served as regional counsel for the EPA’s Region Three, which includes Virginia, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Mulkey has a master’s degree in communications from the University of Georgia and a law degree from Harvard Law School. Before joining the EPA in 1980, Mulkey worked for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
“I am excited about the opportunity to work with Marcia because she shares my enthusiasm for the work of the Office of Pesticide Programs,” Goldman wrote in an internal EPA memo.
Mulkey’s promotion is part of a restructuring in the pesticide and toxics branch of the EPA, the branch responsible for overseeing, among other things, the pest control industry and the pesticides it applies. Goldman cited the rewrite of the Food Quality Protection Act, and the resulting increased workload and 80 new employees, as cause for the restructuring process.
The restructuring involves creating a new office called the Office of Consumer Safety and Right-To-Know which will be headed by Steve Johnson. Johnson served as interim director of the Office of Pesticide Programs while a new permanent director was being selected.
The vacancy at the top of EPA’s pesticide program was caused by the departure of Dan Barolo, the office’s previous director. Barolo, who served as director since 1994, will be joining the Washington environmental consulting firm Jellinek, Schwartz and Connolly. Clients of the firm have included pesticide manufacturers such as Cheminova Agro, which hired the firm to help it deal with environmental issues surrounding its methyl parathion product.
— Steve Smith
BUETTNER FUND TOPS $5,000 |
|
During the 1997 NPCA Convention in Minneapolis, Cheminova, Inc., along with Western Industries, Patton Pest Control, Okolona Pest Control and PESCO Pest Control Services, Inc., raised $5,100 in support of the Buettner Research Fund. The Buettner Research Foundation receives and administers funds for scientific, literary and educational activities that encourage and foster pest control research. The foundation, which also provides scholarships in the field of pest control research and allied pursuits, is currently funding the National Pest Control Association’s Subterranean Termite Research Report. 
Explore the March 1998 IssueCheck out more from this issue and find your next story to read. Latest from Pest Control Technology
More from Pest Control Technology |
