Atlanta, GA. – Why would a semi-retired consultant with more than 40 years of industry experience agree to participate in a grueling 15-city tour designed to educate PMPs about cockroach control? The answer is simple. There’s a whole new generation of service technicians, schooled primarily in cockroach baiting techniques, who don’t understand the importance of integrated pest management (IPM). “I’ve dedicated my life to beating this creature and they’re starting to come back,” observed Dr. Austin Frishman, president of AMF Pest Management Services, Boca Raton, Fla. “That’s why I’m doing this.”
It’s a market need Bayer Environmental Science also recognized, prompting the company to approach Frishman about headlining a series of seminars designed to enhance the pest control knowledge of the industry’s front-line service personnel. “It’s been a good opportunity for the industry to go back to school and brush up on some fundamental roach skills,” according to Joe Barile, field development and technical services specialist, Bayer ES. “In addition, there’s a whole generation of technicians who have not had the opportunity to see ‘Doc’ Frishman on stage, so the timing couldn’t have been better for an educational road show.”
The three-hour seminar, which stopped earlier this week in metropolitan Atlanta, focused on “IPM Solutions and the Future of Pest Management.” For a $20 registration fee attendees received dinner, three hours of training, CEU credits and a number of free gifts from Bayer ES, along with a Certificate of Completion for the training program. “These seminars are an example of what it means to be Backed by Bayer,” said Gordon Morrison, Maxforce business manager. “We are committed to helping PMPs grow their businesses by offering a modern training program that highlights the latest technologies for cockroach, ant and general pest management utilizing baits and various other techniques.”
A BELOVED FIGURE. Following several educational DVDs focusing on perimeter pest control and pesticide formulations during dinner, industry icon Dr. Austin Frishman reviewed the modern-day technology that is helping PCOs control structural pests. They include cutting-edge inspection tools such as infrared cameras, moisture meters and audio devices; various types of monitoring devices like sticky traps, pheromone traps and light traps; and valuable communications equipment such as cell phones and digital cameras. “Technology is changing rapidly,” he said, so it’s essential PCOs stay on top of new product developments. Otherwise, they’ll be left behind as the industry continues to evolve.
The second part of Frishman’s presentation focused on “Understanding & Controlling Cockroaches.” During this portion of his speech the veteran entomologist touched on a wide range of subjects including the biology and behavior of cockroaches, allergen abatement, and practical measures for controlling cockroaches. In commenting on the biology and behavior of roaches, Frishman asked, “How fast does a roach go? If they’re found in an airplane over 600 miles an hour,” drawing laughter from the crowd of 175 pest management professionals. His point? “They’re very mobile.”
He also urged technicians to seek out “fecal focal points,” a term Frishman coined many years ago to describe those undisturbed locations where cockroaches congregate in structures. Like virtually all animals, cockroaches feel most comfortable in familiar surroundings, so target those locations where they spend their time, harborage sites filled with fecal matter. In addition, Frishman said, “Animals are creatures of habit. If you’re doing roach control and you’re not getting control, don’t do the same thing (over and over again). If it didn’t work once, it isn’t going to work twice,” he warned.
The industry consultant, president of AMF Pest Management Services, recommended that technicians use a wide range of control measures when managing cockroach populations including baits, caulks, dusts, liquid insecticides and hand-held vacuum cleaners. The moral of the story? “There is no one silver bullet that does it all,” he said. “It’s very important to understand that.”
Frishman concluded his 90-minute presentation with a review of the “100 Best Tips for Controlling Cockroaches” and a discussion of “The Future of the Pest Control Industry.” Some of his practical tips for controlling cockroaches include:
• Think like a cockroach
• Learn to read a sticky trap
• Two-way communication with the customer is critical
• Obtain keys to all locked areas
• If theft of bait stations is a problem, consider coating the top surface with Vaseline®
• Before you leave a room, take one last look around to see what you may have missed
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A PCO AT HEART. Following Frishman on the program was Board Certified Entomologist Joe Barile, a former PCO and extension entomologist with a “passion” for pest control. His hour-long presentation focused on the “Latest Techniques for Ant and Cockroach Management with Baits.”
Barile said the industry has been riding a “technology wave” in the past decade that has made technicians, in some cases, “too comfortable” in treating for pests. While baits are highly effective in controlling ants and cockroaches, they’re most useful in an integrated pest management (IPM) program. And the key to success in controlling any target pest isn’t in the technology, but in understanding the enemy. “You have to pay attention to the nuts and bolts of the biology of your target pests,” Barile said. “If you don’t embrace the biology and behavior of your targets you’re really shooting in the dark in terms of your control techniques.”
Remember, he said, “What you’re being paid for is what’s between your ears, not what’s at the tip of your finger.”
The key to controlling ants, Barile said, is to eliminate the queen. “You can slay all the workers you want, but because of the reproductive potential of the colony, the queen and the brood are your target.” That’s why it’s so important to understand the biology and behavior of your target pest, particularly individual ant species. “You want to deliver the insecticide to the queen and the brood,” he said. “If you do that you’ll be successful.”
The key to controlling cockroaches, according to Barile, is to use what worked in the past, while enhancing your control efforts with modern-day products and technology. Specifically, he suggests:
• Remember and practice old methods
• Monitor and report sanitation issues
• Advise clients regarding harborage reduction
• Maintain aggressive monitoring program
• Reduce populations by vacuuming
“We’ve forgotten how to be aggressive in our pesticide applications,” he added. “We have to get back to the basics.” In closing his presentation, Barile suggested a “combined arms” cockroach management program including the use of dusts and sprays, as well as baits, harborage reduction, cultural controls and customer cooperation.
To learn more about Bayer’s comprehensive line of ant and cockroach control products, as well as its other product offerings, visit www.bayerprocentral.com. The 15-city tour ends next week with stops in Santa Clara and Irving, Calif., Aug. 9 and 10, respectively. To request a registration form and find out how many CEUs will be awarded at each location, call 800/577-5163, ext. 3317, or contact your local authorized Bayer distributor or local Bayer representative.