Austin Frishman

Dr. Austin Frishman, owner and president of AMF Pest Management Consulting, is a legendary figure in the pest management industry. With a career spanning more than five decades, Frishman earned his undergraduate degree in entomology and his master’s degree from Cornell University, eventually earning a doctorate from Purdue University, where he was a frequent speaker at the university’s annual conference. In recognition of his career, Frishman received Pest Control Technology’s Professional of the Year Award in 1993; was named to the Crown Leadership Awards Class of 1998; and in 2002 he was inducted into Pest Control Magazine’s Hall of Fame. Today, Frishman continues to devote his time and energy to industry education and training.

Norman Goldenberg

In 2014, veteran PMP Norman Goldenberg was named the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award winner. Goldenberg graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in entomology. He worked for Orkin and held various management roles in the pest control industry before purchasing his own company in the late 1980s, Alert Lear Pest Control. Goldenberg joined Terminix in 1990, representing the industry’s interests at the local, state and national levels as vice president of government affairs. He is a past president of the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), Florida Pest Management Association (FPMA), Project EverGreen and the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET).

Tom Fortson

A graduate of the University of South Carolina, Tom Fortson is a longtime leader and beloved presence in the professional pest management industry. Chairman emeritus of the Professional Pest Management Alliance, Fortson has spent more than 50 years in the industry, currently serving as vice chairman of Terminix Service, Columbia, S.C. During his distinguished career, Fortson has served on the South Carolina Pesticide Advisory Committee, the South Carolina Regulatory Review Committee, and the Clemson University Advisory Board. He also has served as past president of the South Carolina Pest Control Association and the North Carolina Pest Management Association, as well as on the NPMA board of directors. Additionally, Fortson is a nationally ranked master’s swimmer and is a veteran of the United States Navy.

Norm Cooper

A past president of the National Pest Management Association, Norm Cooper was one of the industry’s most passionate advocates. A native New Yorker, Cooper launched Abby Exterminating Services in 1954, a company he owned until January 1971 when he sold it to ESCO (Exterminating Services Co.). He stayed on board at ESCO, eventually becoming president of the exterminating services division. He retired from ESCO in 1996 and launched a successful consulting business, Norman Cooper & Associates. Cooper served as NPMA president in 1991-1992 and during his tenure created the association’s highly praised “Guardians of the Environment” branding, an initiative many credit with improving the industry’s image nationally and throughout the world. He passed away in 2016.

Bob Dold

A graduate of Denison University, Bob Dold is CEO of Rose Pest Solutions, Chicago, Ill. A tireless supporter of the professional pest management industry, Dold has served as president of the Illinois Pest Control Association and Indiana Pest Management Association, as well as on the Purdue Conference Planning Committee. In 1984, he was elected NPMA president, spending more than 180 days on the road in support of the association during a critical time in its history. A devoted family man, Dold and his wife Judy raised four children and spend a significant amount of time with their grandchildren, while simultaneously running a successful family-owned pest control business. Bob and Judy Dold received the prestigious National Pest Management Association Pinnacle Award in 2017.

Select the image below to read the report.

Select the image below to read the report.

1. There is a lot of talk about resistance in the pest control community. What is the most important thing pest techs need to know about resistance?

There are three things I like to stress concerning resistance:

1. Resistance to current pesticides is developing rapidly in several groups of species that are under constant pressure from frequent pesticide applications. Resistance management is not a problem for the future, it is becoming a major issue now that we must cope with and work towards change.
2. There is more than one mechanism of resistance. Multiple mechanisms can be at play at the same time in the same population.
3. There is a difference between bait aversion and insecticide resistance.

2. What are the different types of resistance?

1. There are four main types:
• Metabolic Resistance – The pest has the ability to get rid of (or metabolize), or destroy, the insecticide.
• Target-Site Resistance – The pest is genetically modified to keep the insecticide from having any effect or producing a reduced effect.
• Penetration Resistance – The pest creates barriers against toxins in their cuticle.
• Behavioral Resistance – Behavioral changes that result in increased survival by avoiding or overcoming management strategies. For example, the pest becomes more sensitive to a toxin or other formulation ingredient and is thus able to avoid the sprayed area or stop feeding when that particular toxin or ingredient is detected.

3. What is the difference between bait aversion and insecticide resistance?

1. Bait aversion deals more with specific ingredients in the formulation, not the insecticide. If a cockroach population has become bait adverse, you can remove the active ingredient and they still won’t eat it. But if you take out the food ingredient they have an aversion to, they may eat it. Cockroaches have become averse to specific sugars and components of liquid insecticides, for instance.
2. Resistance is a heritable change in a population that results from behavioral or physiological adaptations that lead to repeated failure of a product. Bait aversion has been assessed as a mechanism of behavioral resistance.
3. Resistance can be extremely difficult to detect in the field because many other factors can be at play such as cockroaches not feeding due to contaminated bait, poor application, using too little or too much bait, food competition, or other conducive conditions.
4. Both bait aversion and toxicological resistance mechanisms could be present in the same population. The end result of each scenario is the same, cockroaches are present after multiple attempts to control the population.

4. What is the message to the PMPs who are dealing with situations that are at high risk for resistance?

Rotate insecticide classes, not just products. Active ingredients from different insecticide classes will have entirely different modes of action and be more effective in controlling physiological resistance. Here are some examples of products you do not want to rotate that are in the same class:

For more info on insecticide modes of action go to www.IRAC-Online.org.

To combat bait aversion carry a variety of baits from different manufacturers that will contain different base ingredients. Before applying the bait to the entire structure, offer a few smaller bait placement to cockroaches to see if there is apparent behavioral avoidance.

5. Any final thoughts on preventing resistance?

1. IPM is a primary key to resistance management, and implementing non-chemical methods is imperative. Non-chemical methods include products like desiccants, vacuums and glue boards — these are physical or mechanical killers that do not promote resistance.
2. To help reduce the selective pressures of resistance, add products into your rotation program with actives that have no known resistance such as borates. Implement the use of non-gel baits such as Niban Granular Insecticide bait containing boric acid, and promote the use of insecticide dust such as Nibor-D Insecticide with DOT or liquid spot treatments alongside baiting programs to reduce selective pressures. Remember to rotate dust and liquid products as well.
3. Adjust your protocol or change baits if you see that there are plenty of live cockroaches, but they do not consume all of the bait, or if you return to find the bait has been eaten, but you expected a higher death toll, or if the population did not consume any bait.
4. Do not stop until the job is complete. For resistance to persist, pests must survive your control efforts and reproduce. Your job is to make sure that does not happen.