Which ERM System is Right for My Company?

 

Electronic rodent monitoring (ERM) plays a distinct role in each company that is utilizing it. And prior to adopting ERM, each firm and its owner or employees had to go through a course of action to determine which system would work best for them.

 

Mike Richards of Adam’s Pest Control says trial and error will lead to the right product decision. He added that each system is very different.

 

“I would say all (ERM systems) do what they say,” Richards said. “One of the biggest problems I have is when a customer cleans and hits my trap or knocks it away from the wall. One brand can tell you ‘This station has been moved.’ But if you do that, you’ll get a signal every day.” Other systems, he said, can discern between a capture, or if the trap has been moved.

 

“I tell customers (I’ve) got state-of-the-art equipment and I need you to pay attention otherwise it’ll signal me all the time and that’s not what we want. But it depends on the customer as to whether (ERM) is a good candidate or not.”

 

Having to compete against companies that are using ERM products will force those not using them to jump on board eventually, says Doug Foster, president of Burt’s Termite & Pest Control in Indiana.

 

“If you’re doing nothing, you should just pick one and get started and determine the good and bad points,” Foster said. “I think smaller companies that do a lot of residential work are probably not very interested but if you service food-handling or pharmaceutical clients you almost have to offer it now. That’s what’s going to happen people will start losing accounts and be forced to learn it to stay competitive. I know one (PMP) who lost a couple of accounts because he didn’t have that cutting-edge technology and even without rodent problems, they lost the clients.”

 

Billy Blasingame, A.C.E., president of Atlanta’s Blasingame Pest Management, says cost will dictate which ERM system professionals choose.

 

“I suspect that price will be the determining factor, I really do,” said Blasingame. “They just need to get people using them. A lot will have to do with cost and the market will only bear so much.”

 

Cost is definitely the determining aspect as to whether or not PMPs will purchase ERM products, says Annie Raish, C.W.C.P., of Apple Valley, California-based High Desert Pest Control.

 

“There’s always new stuff coming out and sometime operators are stand-offish about it because of the costs. The cost of an average station and the one that monitors, they’re more expensive. If the costs come down, they could be much more appealing to more operators.”