Winning Markets From The DIY Customer

Too many PCOs are prone to blame problems on the pest control competitor around the block who charges low ball prices, or the big boys from out of town who pull the rug out from under them with high budget TV and billboard ads. But, they’re off the mark. Far and away, their biggest competitor is, and always has been, the do-it-yourselfer (DIY) - the amateur who typically buys pesticides at hardware stores, food markets, garden supply houses and a dozen other places.

The non-professional applicator has certain advantages. He doesn’t have a payroll, he doesn’t require insurance, legislation is not his worry and he’s not particularly concerned about pesticide misapplication. It’s primarily a question of paying relatively little for an aerosol, a bottle or a can of a non-restricted pesticide, reading the label and applying the product. For the do-it-yourself customer, pest control is that simple!

In comparison, the professional applicator must function in a world of strict regulatory oversight and public fear of pesticides, while maintaining stringent safety and health standards designed to protect both his employees and customers. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that there are some very significant differences between the professional and DIY markets, differences that must be thoroughly analyzed and understood if the pest control industry hopes to make inroads into this highly lucrative field.

MARKET KNOWLEDGE IS LIMITED. There are only a few resources that gives information comparing DIY pest control and professional pest control. Whitmire Research Laboratories conducted a study in 1986 that offers some help. Whitmire commissioned Marketeam Associates to explore consumer attitudes towards the structural pest control industry and trends in pest control service. Survey objectives included the determination of anticipated usage of pest control services and trends in the use of professional pest control companies. Telephone interviews were conducted with 600 consumers throughout the United States, with 100 interviews completed on six territories: West, North Central, South Central, Northeast, Southeast and Florida. Several major metropolitan areas were included within each region and respondents were chosen randomly from telephone directories in each city. Respondents were screened to ensure that they were the persons in the home most involved in arranging for pest control operations.

The Whitmire survey found that while the majority (77 percent) of households in "high potential areas" are involved in controlling pests in and around the home, the pest control efforts were highest in Florida (9 percent) and lowest in the West (64 percent). More to the point, it was learned that most common means of pest control is to use products made for in-home use and take care of the problem without professional assistance. Around 40 percent of the households surveyed were classified as "do-it-yourselfers," with 49 percent of those surveyed in Florida described as DIYers.

The telephone interviewers went on to ask the reasons why the respondents were not likely to use PCOs. It was found that 42 percent felt they could take care of pest problems themselves, 32 percent declared that they had no need for service, 11 percent cited a bad previous experience with professionals and 21 percent listed other reasons for not calling of PCOs. The same survey revealed that DIYers tended to be older persons.

A hundred interviews in a resident U.S. population of 250 million admittedly does not lend itself to definitive conclusions. However, such a survey can be interpreted as indicative of trends. For an industry that represents itself as professional, meeting EPA certification standards and utilizing well trained technicians, it is humbling that 42 percent in a survey felt they could handle their own pest control problems and that as many as 11 percent said they turned to DIY pest control because they had a "previous bad experience with professionals."

In another survey aimed at determining public perceptions of the pest control industry, DowElanco, in 1986, had the Center for Communication Dynamics perform a cross-section check of attitudes toward PCOs. Some 1,008 respondents were surveyed. Citing approximate figures, it was found that among persons who never used professional services, 15 percent had a very favorable attitude toward PCOs, 50 percent had a somewhat favorable attitude, 10 percent had a somewhat unfavorable attitude and 3 percent had a very unfavorable attitude. The remaining 22 percent had no opinion.

Researchers questioned respondents about their attitudes concerning safety when it comes to using do-it-yourself products versus the professional application of PCO products. 42 percent of persons surveyed who never had experience with PCOs felt they could use products safely as opposed to approximately 37 percent who felt that professionals would do a safer job. When the same questions were asked of persons who had used professionals a least twice, about 20 percent felt they could make safer applications than the pros, and surprisingly, flying in the face of logic, among the respondents using PCOs more than twice, the number who felt safer doing it themselves jumped to 30 percent!

COMMNICATION IS KEY. Given the current public fear of chemical pesticides it would seem that the pest control industry has a lot to gain by either doing a better job of convincing the pubic that their current application involve materials that are safe as applied by the professional, or pesticide manufacturers and pest control practitioners should put greater emphasis on developing and applying non-chemical compounds.

NPCA Executive Vice President Harvey Gold feels the solution to converting the DIY population lies in better education and communication. His thinking is that the modern-day PCO is in the best position for handling difficult pest control jobs. "Not only is pesticide placement involved, there is the matter of finding the source and (proper pest) identification, which is beyond the knowledge of the amateur," he said. Gold further indicates that the DIY amateur may end up with leftover materials and have to store substances which could be dangerous.

Alan Caruba, public relations counselor with experience in the industry, agrees with Gold in proclaiming the proficiency of the modern pest controller. "The PCO today is trained and educated in knowing where to put the materials," he asserts. Not surprisingly, the New Jersey-based Caruba recommends that pest control associations and companies should consider steped-up public relations campaigns to talk about why DIY service does not have a high success rate, and why pest control pros are a good investment in protecting health and property.

It is worth noting that the human pesticide poisonings cited by Rachel Carson in Silent Spring, that first in a long line of publications castigating pesticides, were at the hands of amateur do-it-yourselfers. The victims who overdosed and neglected to use protective devices in applications, suffered the consequences. Certainly it is the safety factor that should play into the hands of today’s certified PCO in converting the layman into using professional services. This is the safety mandated by state certification, the EPA and strict insurance requirements.

It is most unfortunate that while human pesticide poisonings are recorded by several agencies, there is no documentation that we are aware of that qualifies data as to actual sources. For example, the National Poison Control Centers reported 60,045 poisonings in 1989 and attributed 3.8 percent to pesticides - period. It would seem that it would be of immense value to our industry if we had access to figures that compared pesticide poisonings attributed to professional pest control operations and the DIY amateur.

The closest we could come to a meaningful statistic was offered by Dr. Howard Trammel, the director of operations at the National Animal Control Center at Urbana, Ill. In 1988, of 26,000 calls to the Center, 2,502 poisonings, or suspected animal poisonings from pesticides were reported. One percent - by far the lowest percentage among all sources - was attributed to professional pest control operations.

Norman Cooper, president of Exterminating Services Co. in New York City, says hiring a professional pest controller is inherently safer than going the DIY route. "Doing the job our way is safer, neater and more effective. Professional pest control chemicals are not more toxic, as many uninformed people think, and users of over-the-counter products have a much greater chance of harming themselves," Cooper points out.

KNOWLDEGE IS KING. As much as anything else, users of pest control services are purchasing "know-how." Accompany us on a shopping trip to a modern, well-appointed hardware store in suburban Chicago as we role play an ordinary homeowner with a carpenter ant problem. Down the neat, fully-stocked aisles that contain 10,000 items ranging from the tiniest screws to massive tractor mowers we come to the garden supply section. Confronting us is an array of bottles, cans, bags, aerosol containers and tubes of insecticides. Of course, there is no one anywhere near to consult, and as we feel our way about, we subconsciously find ourselves drawn to the merchandise that is either in the flashiest container or is easiest for us to reach. As we read the tiny print on the label, we spot the word "ants" along with the assurance that the product, like snake oil, will kill of a dozen other pests. But, just to be sure we’ve made the right choice, we check with the young woman who takes our money at the cash register. We might as well ask the lamp post. The best she can offer is a half-hearted suggestion that, "It it’s on the label it must be good."

Contrast this episode with consulting and using the services of a professional PCO. In the first place, chances are 99 out of 100 that the amateur application will fail. On the other hand, the pro will have the knowledge to seek out the nests of this hard-to-control species, will know the best chemicals to apply, and will, in almost every case, give a guarantee. This knowledge that comes with years of training and experience should convert legions of do-it-yourselfers. If only PCOs could do better job of blowing their own horns.

AN INCESTUOUS RELTIONSHIP? Any discussion of DIY pest control comes around to the question of pest control service companies playing both sides of he street by selling both DIY products and professional services. Is this incestuous? Alan Caruba takes the position that product sales is a subtle way of bringing in more service business. He suggests that retailers know from experience that people who by products will fail and eventually come back for help.

Wayne McDaniel, vice president of International exterminators n Elgin, Ill, is a good example of a PCO who offers both pest control services and retail products. He says that his product sales are almost exclusively to the blue collar segment who are economizing, as well as to the compulsively dedicated home handymen and women who want to do everything for themselves. Advises McDaniel: "We have a lot of other people in our area who work hard and they want to spend their free time playing golf instead of doing their own pest control.""

George Manning, who owns American Pesticide Services Co. in Chicago, takes a more philosophic view regarding DIYers versus professional pest control operators. Acknowledging that the do-it-yourself market will always remain dominant Manning proposes that PCOs should consider offering a combined package that would sell products along with diagnosing, prescribing and directing treatment for a fee.

A CASE STUDY. A Midwestern career woman/housewife we’ll call Joan Woolsey told us recently that she’s been fighting a losing battle against saw-toothed grain beetles for almost two years. Her principal weapon has been "bug bombs" of which she has purchased almost a dozen. Knowing that this busy woman could easily afford professional service, we asked her why she didn’t call upon the services of any one of a number of high quality pest control companies in the area. Her explanation was an eye-opener. She and her husband are so busy with their week-long, early-morning-to-late-evening careers, they could never find a time when it would be convenient to utilize a service. She chose the expensive, futile and potentially dangerous road of inexpertly aerosolizing her pantry instead. The question is: How many do-it-yourselfers would be converted to users of service if the industry would accommodate them with week-end and off hour work? The probability is that in this day of two career families there is a whole lot of business to be had in this situation.

It is unlikely, as some have dreamed, that the sale and application of pesticides will ever become the sole province of the pest control operator. There will always be amateur "competition" with materials available to buy and apply however carelessly and dangerously. Like a zealous proselytizer, the professional and forward-looking PCO has a mission to convince the public that his service excels through safety, proper application, effectiveness, accommodation and sincere concern for the customer.

 

Bob Bern is staff correspondent for PCT magazine.