This has been an unusual and uncertain year so far for every industry including pest management. However, despite shutdowns and business limitations, customers have still counted on pest management professionals (PMPs) to keep their homes and properties free from pests like cockroaches that pose a public health risk.

Statistics show cockroaches are still top of mind for customers. More than 75% of PMPs surveyed for this report said that their customers consider cockroaches a public health pest. These insights are what help us stay ahead of challenging cockroach populations and adapt to unforeseen situations. Syngenta is proud to sponsor this year’s State of the Cockroach Market report with PCT magazine, which we hope you will find useful in helping your business adapt and grow.

Taking an integrated pest management (IPM) approach is recommended to provide thorough, long-lasting control; however, the trial and error often associated with cockroach control can be difficult and expensive for PMPs. That’s why Syngenta introduced the SecureChoice^SM Cockroach Assurance Program, which is the result of an abundance of field-tested research Syngenta has done using IPM protocols so you don’t have to. By following the proven SecureChoice Cockroach IPM Guide, PMPs will see at least a 90% reduction in cockroach populations during the first four visits to a customer over a 60-day period.

This is achieved through a three-step IPM approach that guides you through the phases of treatment: initial visit, follow-up visit, and maintenance and prevention. Additionally, it features a proven combination of complementary products on a 90-day rotation to ensure control, including:

• Advion® WDG insecticide and Optigard® Cockroach Gel Bait
• Optigard Flex liquid insecticide and Advion Evolution Cockroach Gel Bait

Take the guesswork out of cockroach control to confidently provide effective services for your clients without wasting time on trial and error. With these proven resources, we’re sure you will see success against cockroaches.

Nicky Gallagher

Technical Services Manager

Syngenta Professional Pest Management

©2020 Syngenta. Important: Always read and follow label instructions. Some products may not be registered for sale or use in all states or counties and/or may have state-specific use requirements. Please check with your local extension service to ensure registration and proper use. Advion®, For Life Uninterrupted™, Optigard®, SecureChoiceSM and the Syngenta logo are trademarks or service marks of a Syngenta Group Company.

Syngenta Customer Center: 1-866-SYNGENT(A) (796-4368).

1. What exactly is Nisus DSV?

• Octyl Decyl Dimethyl Ammonium Chloride 1.65%
• Didecyl Dimethyl Ammonium Chloride 0.825%
• Dioctyl Dimethyl Ammonium Chloride 0.825%
• Alkyl Dimethyl Benzyl Ammonium Chloride 2.200%

2. Does Nisus DSV leave residual protection and when may it be reapplied?

Once the product dries, no residual should be expected. This is true of any “quat” product on hard, non-porous surfaces. There are no restrictions as to time interval to reapply. Quaternary ammonias do not act like traditional insecticides, which can exhibit several months of residual effectiveness.

3. Can I fog the interior of a customer’s building with Nisus DSV?

The label permits fogging in certain situations, but the product will be more effective if liquid is applied directly to surfaces. The potential disadvantage of “fogging” is that the droplets will settle on horizontal surfaces by gravity and not reach under surfaces such as beneath handrails. Remember that disinfection requires that a surface remains wet for 10 minutes. More time and energy might be used when fogging.

4. Is a special state license required for using Nisus DSV by professionals?

Nisus DSV does list flies as a target pest on the label so for those applications, the general pest control certification will be adequate for that purpose. For sanitizing and disinfection, most states permit use under the general pest control category. Some states have a special category, usually in the same category as mold control. Always check state requirements for company certification. Certification usually does not apply for use by those who are not commercial applicators.

5. Can I use a rag and wipe surfaces with DSV?

Yes, you can. This is the best procedure for electronic equipment. Surfaces still need to be wet for 10 minutes to disinfect. A lesser amount of time will sanitize. Dispose of remaining material after a day’s work and make a fresh batch for the next day.

1. What do you think is the most underutilized method for controlling cockroaches?

There really is no replacement for physical removal of cockroaches infesting a structure. A vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter can remove hundreds if not thousands of insects in a matter of minutes. Once these cockroaches are removed from the environment, there is no need to manage them anymore...they are gone. I’ve yet to encounter a cockroach that was resistant to being removed via vacuuming. The PMP and the tools he chooses to use subsequent to vacuuming have a better opportunity to succeed if fewer cockroaches need to be managed overall.

2. What product(s) do you think are the most underutilized for controlling cockroaches?

Insect growth regulators (IGRs) are an often-overlooked solution to nagging cockroach problems. The addition of these tools to the accounts with constant cockroach problems can be the difference between “OK” control and elimination of a population. IGRs such as Tekko Pro affect the next generation of insects and stop adults from reproducing. If you can stop these things you can stop an infestation in its tracks.

3. What is Doxem® Precise featuring the Precision Delivery System (PDS) and why should PMPs consider it for cockroach control?

Doxem^® Precise is a brand new dry flowable bait formulation, specifically designed to be attractive to all species of cockroaches. The Precision Delivery System is an application device that helps PMPs deliver precise doses of bait deep into cockroach harborage. The precise applications of Doxem® Precise allow the PMP to utilize the product efficiently and waste less bait. Targeted applications of bait help PMPs to place product directly where cockroaches are living and breeding. The combination of these two revolutionary products means PMPs can have a more professional appearance and provide improved control of cockroaches.

4. What does Doxem® Precise provide a pest management professional that other products do not?

Doxem^® Precise, once applied into cockroach harborage, can provide cockroach control for up to 2 years. No other product can provide control this long! If there is bait present, the application is still working and managing cockroach populations for a full 24 months.

5. Can Doxem® Precise be used to manage pests other than cockroaches?

Yes! The Doxem^® Precise label specifically lists pests other than cockroaches. Many indoor and outdoor pests such as silverfish, ants (excluding fire, Pharaoh, harvester, and carpenter ants), crickets, pillbugs, stored product pests and earwigs are listed pests and may be controlled using Doxem^® Precise. Please see the product label for more information and directions for use.

You can try stomping them, sucking them up with a vacuum, or even depriving them of food and water, but cockroaches won’t go down without a fight. This is why Spencer Kimball and his co-founders Peter Mattis and Ben Darnell chose to name their multimillion-dollar software company, Cockroach Labs.

“They’ll colonize the available resources and are nearly impossible to kill,” Kimball, CEO, wrote in a community forum in 2016.

Kimball wrote in the forum that he came up with the idea for Cockroach Labs after experiencing continual frustration with other databases. The company provides a cloud-based, scalable, transactional database that allows for data, which is stored in multiple locations, to be accessed and managed anywhere.

According to Forbes, where the company was listed as one of 2020’s Next Billion Dollar Startups, “its databases are super resilient — like notoriously tough-to-kill cockroaches — and shield its nearly 100 clients, including Bose, Comcast and Netflix, from outages or system failures.”

Maria Taft, director of demand generation at Cockroach Labs, told PCT, “We, Roachers…definitely love and embrace our Cockroach logo and name. Just like the cockroach, you can’t kill our database, CockroachDB.”

So, even though cockroaches are a tough pest to manage, their unyielding reputation inspired a resilient product that provides its users with comfort and dependency; much like the comfort PMPs provide clients when ridding their structures of the pesky roach.

The author is an editorial intern with PCT magazine and can be reached at eross@gie.net.

Wikimedia

Something Wonderful

Aptive Environmental, Provo, Utah, ranked #7 on this year’s PCT Top 100 list, with annual revenues approaching $200 million.

In June, the Aptive team posted a congratulatory video via Cameo from Canadian businessman and television personality Kevin O’Leary (aka, “Mr. Wonderful”), best known as the acerbic Shark on ABC’s “Shark Tank.”

© Facebook

In commenting on Aptive’s Top 100 ranking, O’Leary said, “Look, that’s entrepreneurship. That’s success. That’s longevity. That’s service. That’s customer service. It has to be all those things if you have gotten that big.”

O’Leary added that he was really impressed by Aptive’s commitment to growing the business. “So keep up the amazing work. And literally, I guess I should say, spray them dead in 2020.”

Fun (or Wonderful) fact. Although his on-screen persona is that of the abrasive Shark who is blunt with financial advice, Mr. Wonderful has a sensitive side that can best be seen in his photography. According to a 2013 Maclean’s article, O’Leary was a member of his high school’s photography club and his early career aspiration was to become a photographer. While O’Leary eventually chose business as his career path, he continues his interest in photography as a collector. According to the Maclean’s article, O’Leary’s portfolio is “heavily skewed toward Canadian photographers,” including works by Edward Burtynsky, Barbara Cole, Joshua Jensen- Nagle and Astrid Kirchherr. — Brad Harbison