CHOICE OF ADVERTISER IS UNSETTLING
I am writing to you to express my displeasure and disappointment regarding an advertisement that ran in the April issue of PCT. The SpectracidePRO advertisement ran on page 83, and this is the ad that Residex Corporation and many other supplier colleagues find unsettling for a trade journal that supports the professional pest control industry to print.
Your magazine has gone to great lengths to support the Industry Awareness Council (IAC) that this industry launched last month and we appreciate and applaud your support. But I must ask you to consider this: Isn’t your support of the IAC contradictory to running ads for a supplier who is encouraging PCOs to buy their supplies from the same place that the general public buys their supplies, and furthermore one who is not in support of the IAC or promoting professionalism within the industry? Isn’t one of the primary objectives of IAC to get the public to stop using do-it-yourself products and use a professional PCO?
As you are aware, the professional pest control supply distributor is serving a very crucial role in the administration process of IAC, and as far as I am aware, Home Depot doesn’t even know what the IAC stands for, nor do they care. Home Depot and Spectracide most likely will not help the efforts of the IAC, if anything they will help defeat the effort by encouraging PCOs to buy from a non-IAC distributor, and in so doing the PCOs will bypass the effort to collect funds. The traditional supplier line on the pest control industry has provided high quality training and support to the PCO community for many years, and they make it possible through their advertisements to help your magazine exist.
At this point, I would like to know what your position is on this advertisement, and if your magazine will continue to print ads that are not supportive of the professional pest control industry. Hopefully this was an over-sight by your sales department, and not the direction of your magazine.
Christopher Donaghy PCT’s response to Mr. Donaghy’s comments appeared in last month’s issue, but we were unable to publish the complete text of the letter due to space limitations. It appears here. Ed.
NOT ALL SPARROWS ARE THE SAME I’m glad to see the emphasis on bird control in the March issue of PCT. However, a few minor points are of concern. There are sparrows, and then there are sparrows. The cover illustration is of a true sparrow. (I can’t tell if it’s a song sparrow with a bit of yellow wash or a savannah sparrow that’s supposed to have yellow on the head but lost most of it.)
Either way, such sparrows are federally protected, and lethal controls are not permissible without a permit. But I’ve not seen the situations where such sparrows are pest problems. The house (or English) sparrow technically is a weaver finch. It’s the bird that is an extensive urban nuisance. It’s the one that needs management. Fortunately, it’s not federally protected and may be killed (unless prohibited by law).
Finally, the bird at the end of the “Baffling Bird Control” story appears to be a rather poor rendition of a white-throated sparrow (another true sparrow) that is protected but is usually not a problem.
William B. Jackson Thank you for the insights. The cover photo was purchased from a photo supply house and it was simply identified as a “sparrow.” Ed.
RANTING DOESN’T BENEFIT ANYONE I continue to be amazed and dismayed by the contrasts of expression in PCT magazine. Harry Katz continues to rail at Myth Conceptions of his own and fails to understand that there is a time to let go of antiquated thinking and of products no longer suitable for the pest control industry. It is the job of the EPA to represent the best interests of our citizens, protecting both our indoor and outdoor environments. Oh, Harry, if only you could give it up! Read Silent Spring, enjoy and grow as we know you can.
On the other side of the spectrum is a column by Dr. Richard Kramer (Technically Speaking, March) on the effectiveness of cockroach baits. The article is well written and very clear. Looking at the pest problem and the control materials discussed in Kramer’s column raises the question, “How can this service be provided in the most effective and sustainable way?” Thirty minutes of treatment may be quite expensive if thousands of units in an apartment complex must be treated. A homeowner, on the other hand, might be eager to pay that amount and have zero infestation, but $30 or more per unit may be a huge cost in a public housing situation. It comes back to IPM — real life IPM — not merely dropping slogans without substance behind them. Think about how to deliver the service, solve the problem and keep it solved on an ongoing basis. That’s where the thinking is needed, not in the worn out laments about EPA and the “zero pesticide” option. It would be a good option if it were possible. And since it’s not, then let’s use as little pesticide as possible in the most effective way.
I found the Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program and the strategy used by American Pest Management mentioned in Dr. Kramer’s column very interesting (www.pesp.org). Now this is the kind of sound thinking and useful reflection that benefits the industry — creative approaches to changing times and selling real value to clients by offering various options in relation to specific cost/benefit/risk realities. This is more valuable than all the ranting and rav-ing about “environmentalists.”
Sam Bryks
Residex Corporation
Clark, N.J
Department of Biological Sciences
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, Ohio
Manager, Pest Control Programs
Metropolitan Toronto Housing Authority
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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