By Pat Hottel, BCE Pests can run, crawl, fly and hitchhike their way into the facilities we service. Some paths are obvious like a door which is left open or poorly sealed, and some not so obvious. Here is a list of the ways pests can enter a building and the methods for preventing entry: [...]
By Steve Bopp, ACE In pest control, we are sometimes challenged with pests that are not naturally found in the areas we are treating, as can be the case with ghost ants. Ghost ants are normally found in mid and southern Florida, as well as Hawaii, but can be found anywhere in the country given [...]
By Bennett Jordan, Ph.D., B.C.E. Termites are cryptic, eusocial organisms that consume wood day and night. That limited information is enough to convey the significant challenge termites present to PMPs. While subterranean termites deservedly receive most of the attention, drywood termites can be exceedingly difficult in their own right. Drywood colonies are considerably smaller, with mature [...]
By Jeffrey White Verifiable training is a critical aspect of creating consistency within a company, as well as protecting the company, employee and customer if a lawsuit should arise in the future. A training process that can be documented at every step will reduce mistakes when services are rendered, reduce liabilities associated with poorly delivered [...]
By William Kolbe, BCE The amino acids in rodent urine and hair will fluoresce (shine) when exposed to certain wavelengths of light found in black light, commonly referred to as ultraviolet light. Black light shines a deep blue and often is used with artistic poster displays. Other substances like starch, bleached sack fibers, optical bleaches, [...]
By Mark D. Sheperdigian, BCE How often have you received an image of a blurry black dot on a bright background with a request for identification? Perhaps you have had to send an image for identification that resembled that description. There are a few principles you can use and share with others to improve the quality [...]
By Mark Vanderwerp Summertime, ah beautiful summertime, how I love thee. The time of year when we sweat through a uniform a little faster than usual! Most of us have probably never experienced a serious bout of heat-related illness while on the job, and I’m sure that we’d all like to keep it that way. [...]
COLLABORATION KEY TO EFFECTIVE IPM IN MALL STORES by James E. Sargent, Ph.D., Director of Technical Support and Regulatory Compliance Copesan - Specialists in Pest Solutions EXCERPT FROM: 2016 PRSM Best Practices, published by Professional Retail Store Maintenance Association (PRSM) CHALLENGE Pest management in a mall store – one unit of a large building or shopping mall [...]
By David Moore, BCE When dealing with many pest issues, gaining customer cooperation is crucial for resolution. Getting them to understand what role they play and getting their buy-in is vitally important to resolving many issues. However, not everyone takes the time to think about what they are telling their clients before they open their mouths [...]
By Jeff Weier One of the more common types of pheromones are sex pheromones. In 1959, the first insect sex pheromone, Bombykol, was isolated from the silkworm moth. Since then, hundreds of pheromones have been discovered for hundreds of insects. A few of these pheromones have been synthesized for commercial use to monitor for insects. [...]