PestWorld Magazine - July/August

FOR MEMBERS ONLY OF THE NATIONAL PEST MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION WWW.NPMAPESTWORLD.ORG

JULY AUGUST 2011

ALSO INSIDE: » Leveraging Technology to Grow Your Business » Managing Your Office and Using Technology to

Create a Successful Pest Management Company

The Technology Issue

I N S E R T

FOR MEMBERS ONLY OF THE NATIONAL PEST MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION

WWW.NPMAPESTWORLD.ORG

JULY AUGUST 2011

contents

D E PA R T M E N T S «2 Executive Vice President’s Message

14 Pest Focus

18 Marketing Corner

22 Operations Management

24 Calendar of Events

F E AT U R E S «

8 MANAGING YOUR OFFICE AND USING TECHNOLOGY TO CREATE A SUCCESSFUL PEST MANAGEMENT COMPANY By Daniel S. Gordon, CPA As the information age matures, information moves more quickly, the quantity has increased and it needs to be dealt with in a much more efficient manner. Setting up an office in a correct and efficient way is paramount to succeeding in the Pest Control business. So, where do you start?

I N S E R T

Canine Scent Detection Certification Testing

Because of the labor intensive nature of visual bed bug inspections, canine bed bug scent detection teams have gained popularity to indentify infestations and verify that treatment measures have been successful. Performance testing of canine scent detection teams confirms the team’s competence by an independent third party evaluator by demonstrating the canine team’s ability to perform an accurate search for live bed bugs and viable eggs.

4 LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS Tips and tricks for PMPs on the cutting edge By Paula L. Yoho Forward-looking PMPs are capitalizing on existing and emerging technologies to increase their efficiency and effectiveness, and even to help grow their business. This month, we look at just a few ways you can do precisely that for your own pest management company.

2 PESTWORLD JULY/AUGUST 2011 www.npmapestworld.org

» E X E C U T I V E V I C E P R E S I D E N T ' S M E S S A G E

You hear it every year: Come to PestWorld! See the newest and best the

industry has to offer. Learn about the latest research and technologies.

Come for the networking and the motivation.

Well, there’s a reason you hear this every year: It’s all true. From the packed

exhibit hall to the popular educational sessions to the camaraderie at the

receptions, parties, and golf courses, PestWorld is the best opportunity you’ll have

all year to plug into what’s happening in the pest management industry.

The reasons to attend PestWorld, to be held this year in New Orleans,

October 19–22, are tangible and intangible. What’s tangible is the knowledge

you’ll gain not only by attending any of the educational sessions, but by the

business opportunities you’ll discover as you wend your way through aisles of

exhibitors and talk to over 3,000 pest management professionals.

The Exhibit Hall: If you’ve been to PestWorld in recent years, you know the

excitement you feel when you set foot into the exhibit hall for the first time.

There are aisle after aisle of manufacturers and distributors vying for your

attention, eager to show you the newest and the best products and technology.

If you’re looking for something specific, you’ll find it, along with several

variations and choices. And you’ll find friendly, knowledgeable company reps

who can answer any questions you have.

Education: In addition to learning what’s new in the exhibit hall, you’ll have

the opportunity to learn from the industry and academic experts about both new

and tried-and-true practices in many areas of the industry by attending any of the

educational sessions. There are many opportunities for you to enhance your skills

and learn something new.

Networking: Sure, you go to PestWorld to see the people you know, many of

whom you haven’t seen since last year’s event. But there are so many opportunities

to meet people you don’t know and expand your business contacts. Every year,

PestWorld has first-time exhibitors, first-time attendees, people you haven’t met yet.

You don’t know yet all the people whose association might prove valuable to your

business. PestWorld gives you many chances to meet these people—on the show

floor, at receptions, on the golf course.

Motivation: Attending PestWorld is a great way to recharge your professional

batteries and get motivated about your business. Nowhere else do you meet such a

large number of people all interested and excited about developments in the pest

management industry. It’s easy to get locked into a routine as you practice business

as usual for most of the year. But at PestWorld, you’ll find yourself charged up and

passionate about the industry as you share your views and opinions with people

just like yourself.

As for the intangible benefits, well, it’s a sort of feeling you get as you mingle

and network with your fellow pest management professionals--whether you’re

reconnecting with old friends, or making new contacts.

Every year, PestWorld brings together all the players in the pest management

industry—PMPs, manufacturers, vendors, distributors—everyone who calls

this business their business. One thing’s for certain—everyone leaves PestWorld

with something that they didn’t arrive with. You don’t want to miss it.

Visit www.npmapestworld.org/pestworld2011/index.cfm to register. «

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

Rob Lederer

EDITOR

Janay Rickwalder

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Blue House

© 2011 National Pest

Management Association

PestWorld is the bi-monthly publication

of the National Pest Management

Association (NPMA).

Editorial Offices:

10460 North Street, Fairfax, VA 22030

Phone: (703) 352-6762

or (800) 678-6722

Fax: (703) 352-3031

Professional and Member Web site:

www.npmapestworld.org

Consumer Web site:

www.pestworld.org

For advertising information,

call Janay Rickwalder at (571) 224-0384

or e-mail [email protected].

DuPont Professional Products

For fi re ant colonies, it’s a perfect storm.

Total fi re ant control within 72 hours

Fast. Furious.Year-round fi re ant protection

Only one solution has the benefi ts of both baits and contact insecticides. DuPont™ Advion® fi re ant bait

is one of the fastest, most effective products available today—eliminating the entire colony in just 24

to 72 hours. Advion® provides outstanding year-round protection in just one or two applications. And

it does it all with an excellent environmental and toxicological profi le, and a reduced-risk classifi cation

for fi re ant control from the U.S. EPA. Experience all-in-one fi re ant control today. Please visit us at

proproducts.dupont.com/fi reantbait. Advion.® Unbeatable results.

Always read and follow all label directions and precautions for use. The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont,™ The miracles of science™ and Advion® are trademarks or registered trademarks of DuPont or its affi liates. Copyright © 2011 E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. All rights reserved.

The term “high tech” is not one commonly associated with the pest management industry, and for many small structural pest management companies, the latest and greatest computer gadgets are pretty low on the priority list.


Forward-looking PMPs, however, are capitalizing on exist-

ing and emerging technologies to increase their efficiency

and effectiveness, and even to help grow their business. This month,

we look at just a few ways you can do precisely that for your own

pest management company.

Navigating toward success

Since becoming widely available for corporate use, many PMPs have

embraced GPS (global positioning system) technology to better man-

age their vehicle fleets. Relatively inexpensive and easily-implement-

ed, a GPS system is scalable to meet the needs of any company size.

An early adopter of the GPS boom was Michael Rottler, presi-

dent of Rottler Pest and Lawn Solutions in St. Louis.

“We’ve got a fleet of 90 trucks, and we’ve put GPS in everything,”

said Rottler, a past NPMA president. “When I first got into it in

2002, I only did new hires and anybody who’d gotten in an accident

in the last twelve months.”

Then, about three years ago, Rottler was approached by a vendor

offering a special incentive program in which the initial investment

was subsidized in exchange for a long-term contract. He decided to

outfit every company vehicle with the service and, in the years since,

has become a champion of the technology and frequent presenter

on the topic at seminars and webinars.

TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS: BY PAULA L. YOHO

Tips and tricks for PMPs on the cutting edge

LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY

5www.npmapestworld.org JULY/AUGUST 2011 PESTWORLD


“A lot of companies look at GPS and think, ‘I’m go-

ing to get increased productivity and a bunch of new

sales just because I put GPS in a technician’s vehicle,’”

Rottler said. “To some degree, I think those things can

be accomplished, but I try to warn them not to fall

blindly in love with technology.”

Though the typical GPS sales pitch is likely to

promise ‘your money back in six months,’ Rottler cau-

tions PMPs not to believe everything they hear.

“We thought that we’d be able to respond quicker

when customers called because we’d be able to figure

out who’s closest to the customer,” he said. “In some

cases, they’re closer, but they don’t have the time

to pick it up or they don’t have the right tools or

chemicals to respond in an emergency. It wasn’t a

flawless solution.”

When his company first installed GPS in its trucks,

he was met with resistance from employees who felt

they were being ‘tracked’ by the company. To mitigate

the discontent, he looked for ways to help the team see

the new technology as an advantage.

“We started allowing a lot of our employees to take

their vehicle home at night, because we felt more com-

fortable that they were going to be parked—and if they

weren’t, we could check it,” Rottler said. “So GPS was

all of a sudden a benefit, because they could use their

vehicle to get to and from work, which is a savings.”

He has also been able to keep a better cap on fuel

costs, a side benefit that proves more valuable every

month as prices at the pump continue to soar.

“Marrying GPS to fuel bills allowed us to track

where it was being wasted and when our drivers were

idling and burning gas without ever moving the

vehicle,” he said. “Now, we get an alert if a vehicle idles

for more than 5 minutes. We also can identify speed-

ers, so that’s kind of a nice feature, in that you can have

a discussion with somebody who’s driving 87 mph on

a highway through the middle of town.”

Tapping into the ‘tablet’

Many PMPs are testing out laptop and hand-held

technologies to manage and promote their businesses.

NPMA President Ray Johnson, president of Sevierville,

Tennessee-based Johnson Pest Control, for example,

is an outspoken proponent of the iPad, and says the

device has helped his company streamline its market-

ing message.

“The iPad has been a great piece of technology,”

said Johnson. “If I were to go into my sales team right

now and say, ‘Okay guys, this iPad thing is not working

out and I’m taking them all up,’ I’d have a fight on my

hands because it’s making their jobs easier.”

Before the iPad was even available on the market,

Johnson was brainstorming ideas for incorporating the

device into his firm’s marketing plan. One of his first

moves, once he got his hands on the new gadget, was

to digitize the 15-slide paper flipchart presentation his

sales team was using.

“We built several different presentations into

iPhoto, so my guys can now go out in the field

and, if they’re talking about fleas, or roaches, or

termites, or occasional pests, they can just bring up

what we’ve created right there on the iPad,” he said.

“It’s not like they have to have a whole bunch of

outdated printed brochures, and, with digital media,

we can also go back in and make changes quickly

and efficiently.”

Johnson has had success using the iPad to help his

customers better understand the termite elimination

products his company uses. Before the iPad, Johnson

said, it was almost impossible to convince clients to

watch an informational video on the product. Now, it

is uploaded to the iPad for instant viewing.

“Sometimes while you’re doing an inspection on

a house, the customer will follow you around,” he

said. “This way, they can be watching the video while

they’re in their garage or basement, or even walking

around the back of the home following the inspector.”

He also uses the iPad to show customers, up-close,

the kind of pest infestation they are up against.

“Since the homeowner can’t always go up into

an attic or crawl down into a crawlspace, we’ve

always just taken pictures of termite damage with a

Blackberry or digital camera and tried to show it to

them on the little one-inch by one-inch square screen

which is kind of hard to see,” he said. “So I thought,

‘Hmm, how can I get that picture for the customer to

see on the iPad?’”

MARRYING GPS TO FUEL BILLS allowed us to track where [fuel] was being wasted and when our drivers were idling and burning gas without ever moving the vehicle. Now, we get an alert if a vehicle idles for more than 5 minutes.


The solution? Sales inspectors take photos using

their Smartphones, then e-mail them immediately to

themselves on the iPad.

“They can open up that e-mail on their iPad and

the homeowner can instantly see what was underneath

their home that they couldn’t get underneath to see,”

explained Johnson.

The real secret to being successful with the iPad,

Johnson said, is making sure the message you are put-

ting into it is clear and concise.

“I tell people the very first thing you need to do,

if you don’t have a flipchart, is to sit down and do a

storyboard,” he said. “Draw out slide number one and

slide number two and so forth, and decide what your

message needs to be.”

Once the message is created, keeping it consistent

and current across the entire sales team—and their

iPads—is critical.

“I think we have seven or eight iPads right now and

all of those iPads are synced on my Mac computer per-

sonally,” he said. “I do it myself, they don’t sync them on

their own computer, therefore I have control over the

message and they can’t go in and change the message. It

maintains consistency within our organization.” «

BEFORE THE iPAD, it was almost impossible to convince clients to watch an informational video on the product. Now, it can be uploaded to the iPad for instant viewing, to help customers better understand the products used by a company.

THERMALFROM TEMP-AIR

®

Heat Treatment The Most Complete Equipment Packages

Bring Heat Move Air Monitor


The way you go about setting up your office is vital to enabling your organization.

Everything from filing systems to intercom configurations can make your company’s

workforce efficient and productive. Think through every minute detail, from the flow of

traffic through the office to the positioning of phone and data jacks.

When you’re a small company, what you do is pest control. Maybe you’re a one-man

show, so you organize yourself and your truck and your route and the world is pretty

simple from the office prospective.

BY DANIEL S. GORDON, CPA

and Using Technology to Create a Successful Pest Management Company


As you get bigger, you need to think about how

you organize your office. Think about the workflow

of your business and how that impacts your office.

Remember, there are two areas of consideration in

office set up:

1. It’s the physical setup, meaning office space, desks,

chairs, water coolers, phones, faxes, computers, etc.

2. The other aspect of office set up is the dynamic

flow of information. This means incoming calls,

voicemails, emails, instant messaging, intercoms,

escalating and filing paperwork, and other such

activity driven facets of the office.

As the information age matures, what we’ve noticed

is that information moves quickly, the quantity has

increased and it needs to be dealt with in a much more

efficient manner.

Setting up an office in a correct and efficient way is

paramount to succeeding in the pest control business.

So, where do you start? Ask yourself some questions

about how your business operates:

■ When the phone calls come in, whom do they go to

and how are they answered?

■ How is the technician or salesperson that goes out

to the customer informed?

■ How is work posted?

■ What paperwork (or paperless information) comes

back to the office after the service is performed?

■ How do you file that paperwork (or paperless

information)?

■ How do you bill the customer?

■ How do you process payments?

This is merely a small sampling of the activities that

needs to be considered. Think through your company’s

specific workflow and plan your office accordingly.

What’s all this about the Cloud?

Everybody is talking about the cloud. What does it

mean and what can it do for you? In the simplest of

terms the cloud refers to computer programs that are

available on the Internet. It allows small companies

to utilize programs that were once available to only

larger companies who could afford the purchase of the

software and an IT professional to deploy the software

on local computers. Usually these software programs

are used to manage workflow, perform accounting and

mange your customers as well as other aspects of your

business. They are usually purchased on a subscrip-

tion basis paid monthly. Price is usually based on the

complexity of the program and the number of users.

What about backups, security and maintenance? If

purchased from a reputable software as a service (Saas)

provider, your data is safer than if you kept it in your

office as it is usually hosted in a professionally man-

aged server farm using data encryption. Remember

though, as with any computer program, the weakest

link in terms of security is sharing passwords.

Cloud computing is the next chapter in the infor-

mation age. Just look at some of the most popular

software. Microsoft offers their office products online

using the remote hosting model and bills usage

monthly. The most popular accounting software for

small businesses, Quickbooks has developed a browser

based program call Quickbooks Online. At first it

only appealed to techies. Now many small businesses

subscribe and in a few short years more that half of my

accounting clients use this platform. If you are still us-

ing local versions of Quickbooks watch out. My guess

is that within five or so years, the online version will be

the Intuit’s primary accounting package.

Technology can be Your BEST Friend or Your

WORST Enemy!

Cell phones, PDAs, GPS devices, laptops… you name

it. There are all sorts of technology tools available that

can increase productivity and enable your business.

On the other hand, poor planning, lack of knowledge,

or improper application of technology can sink your

business. The key is finding the right places to imple-

ment technology solutions and determine the best way

to implement it.

If you can increase productivity with technology,

then it is worth it. There are many great nice-to-have

If you can increase productivity with technology, then it is worth it. There are many great nice-to-have technologies out there. The key is to make sure costs are under control and you don’t spend a ton of time getting the technology to work. Don’t be fooled because the price is right.


technologies out there. The key is to make sure costs

are under control and you don’t spend a ton of time

getting the technology to work. This is an important

point. Don’t be fooled because the price is right for the

software or hardware. Keep in mind that there may be

hidden costs coming down the road when you have to

hire a tech guru to install the system and maintain it.

You can’t have technology run your business. If you

don’t have will power and discipline, then you may

just find yourself implementing technology for the

sake of implementing technology. This is not what you

want to do.

Technological solutions must be deployed to serve

a business need. The ONLY reason to use technology

should be to help improve upon your business. If the

technology doesn’t move you closer to your business

goal, then perhaps you should hold off on the initiative.

Develop Checklists to Cover All Your Bases

Checklists are a business’ best friend! This is how you

ensure that oversights and errors are eliminated. All

systems need the proper controls in place in order to

make them airtight and dependable.

It’s not enough to just cross your tasks off a list. You

have to have a spot where someone initials it so you

know who did it. You need to record the date when the

task was completed. And then make note of any follow

up that’s necessary.

Here’s an example of the items listed on a checklist

used to do a closeout at the end of each month:

1. Run a sales report that shows revenue by service.

2. Print out a payment report with all the deposits

made.

3. Print a sales tax report to show which jurisdictions

you have collected sales tax in and who you have

to remit to.

4. Take all that information and journalize it into

your general ledger system.

5. Look through each account step by step to make

sure everything was coded correctly.

6. Once you know that all the work has been posted,

create customer statements and send them out.

7. Make sure the renewals for the upcoming months

get sent out.

8. After the close is done, produce all the reports that

tell you exactly what you’ve produced, how much

money you have, who owes you money and who

you owe money to.

Checklists can be used for many of your processes.

For instance, a valuable checklist in the pest control

business is an end-of-day checklist for technicians to

submit when they come in at night. This will deter-

mine if everything that was supposed to be covered

WAS actually covered. This will also point out any

follow-ups that are necessary on the part of the techni-

cian, a manager, or anyone else.

Checklists are a great way to take a lot of the stress

out of the day. Any structure you can provide is help-

ful to both the individual and the organization. You

want to make the day boring. Today has to be just like

yesterday and the day before so that you don’t have to

reinvent your business everyday. Boring is good when

it comes to processing repetitive tasks.

The information age is well under way, it’s those

companies that embrace it and figure out how to use

it efficiently to make more money that will prosper in

the years to come. «

Daniel S. Gordon is a CPA in New Jersey and owns

an accounting firm that caters to PCOs throughout

the United States. Visit www.pcobookkeepers.com for

information about his firm, PCO Bookkeepers. He can

be reached at [email protected]

The ONLY reason to use technology should be to help improve upon your business. If the technology doesn’t move you closer to your business goal, then perhaps you should hold off on the initiative.

I

CANINE SCENT DETECTION CERTIFICATION TESTING

JULY/AUGUST

2011

N P M A L IBRARY UPDATE

T he ability of canines to detect, discriminate and track odors is

remarkable. Canines have the ability to detect odorant con-

centration levels at 1–2 parts per trillion (Walker et al. 2006),

significantly better than their human handlers. Many law enforcement,

military and government agencies utilize scent detection canines to

identify and locate people, explosives, fire accelerants, narcotics, contra-

band items and many other odors. In the pest management industry,

canine teams have been employed for years to identify termites and

more recently, bed bug infestations in structures.

In the last decade, bed bug infestations have increased dramatically.

In a recent National Pest Management Association (NPMA) survey,

pest management professionals who reported annually receiving 1–2

bed bug calls a decade ago are now reporting 1–2 calls (or more) each

week (Potter et al. 2010). In the same survey, 76% of profession-

als consider bed bugs the most difficult pest to control. One of the

complicating factors in bed bug control is the cryptic nature of both

nymphs and adults, which spend the majority of their time hiding in

cracks and crevices near their feeding sites. In addition, bed bug

eggs and nymphs are often difficult to detect due to their small

size. Both cryptic behavior and small size make visual inspec-

tion efforts by pest management professionals difficult, time

consuming and inexact.

Because of the labor intensive nature of visual bed

bug inspections, canine bed bug scent detection

teams have gained popularity to indentify

infestations and verify that treatment

measures have been successful. Ca-

nines use their keen sense of smell, to

help handlers target inspections, eliminat-

ing the slow process of visually inspecting

(and often disassembling) furniture, beds

and other features in the room. Canines are an

extremely useful tool for bed bug detection due

to their ability to detect extremely low-level infestations, their rela-

tive speed compared to human inspectors, their ability to perform

searches in non-traditional locations and their proven accuracy. In


II

a controlled experiment in a hotel room, Pfiester et al. (2008) documented that trained canine teams were

98% accurate in finding bed bugs in hotel rooms.

Canine Scent Detection Certification

The National Pest Management Association Bed Bug Best Management Practices (BMPs) provides guidance

for pest management professionals and consumers regarding bed bugs, and specifically addresses the practice

of canine scent detection. Most importantly, the document stresses the need for canine team performance

testing and certification. Performance testing of canine scent detection teams confirms the team’s competence

by an independent third party evaluator by demonstrating the canine team’s ability to perform an accurate

search for live bed bugs and viable eggs. In addition, certification testing demonstrates the handler’s ability

to accurately interpret the canine’s changes in behavior and final response associated with bed bug odor and

confirms the canine’s ability to differentiate the target odor from other odors present in the search area.

The BMPs state that all canine scent detection teams performing bed bug inspections should be certified by

an independent third party evaluator according to the Minimum Guidelines for Canine Scent Detection Test-

ing outlined in Appendix A of the BMPs. At a minimum, canine teams must be able to detect live bed bugs

and viable eggs. The test should include distractors, or non-target odor sources in the search area that test the

ability of the canine to differentiate the odor of bed bugs from other odors that they may encounter. Distrac-

tors may include (but are not limited to) food, toys, other insects, dead bugs or other commonly encountered

things that the team may encounter in the search area. During the test, canine teams are tasked with identify-

ing the location of hidden bed bugs or eggs. The use of bed bug odor extracts or chemicals that mimic the

odor of bed bugs (pseudoscents) are prohibited from being used during the testing process.

The location where the test is performed should mimic real-life scenarios, using actual locations where bed

bugs could be encountered. Naturally, all testing areas should be inspected to make sure that they are free of

“wild” bed bugs before the test starts. In addition, the potential for airflow between testing rooms must be

taken into consideration and controlled for by the evaluator to limit the likelihood of cross contamination of

odors from one room to the next.

The BMPs also provide guidance defining the credentials of the evaluators who perform the test.

Bed bug scent detection certification tests should include two evaluators. The evaluators

should not be the person who performed the initial training of the canine or someone

who is affiliated with the pest management firm of the team being tested. At least one

of the evaluators should have at least five years of experience in scent detection

canine handling and or evaluation in law enforcement, government agency,

military or other comparable experience.

Canine Teams

The concept of teamwork is manifested in the close working relation-

ship between handler and canine. Without human handlers interpret-

ing the behavioral changes in their canine counterparts, canines have

little value as bed bug detectors. In fact the concept of the canine team

is so important that the BMPs require that canine/handler teams be

certified together. If multiple handlers are assigned to perform inspec-

tion with a single canine, each combination of canine and handler must

be tested individually. If a single handler works with multiple canines,

the same rule applies. The reason for this requirement is that each

canine has unique, often subtle, behavioral cues that indicate that it

has detected a target odor, so handlers need to be trained and tested for


III

work with each canine. In the same way that the BMPs do not provide for certification of individual handlers

or canines, individual companies are not able to be certified either.

Choosing an Evaluator

Scent detection canine certification testing can be provided by an organized body or individual evaluators.

When choosing who will perform the certification testing and provide the credential for your canine team,

there are many factors to consider, not the least of which are the qualifications of the evaluators and the test-

ing protocols and procedures employed.

Interview the evaluators or organization representatives to determine if their testing protocols are in line

with the Minimum Standards for Certification Testing (BMP Appendix A). Request a copy of testing materi-

als in writing before the test date so that your team can be prepared and you can compare them to the BMPs.

Keep in mind that many organizations may have testing standards that are more stringent than the BMPs.

The BMPs are meant to provide a minimum guideline, so stricter standards are perfectly acceptable. It’s also a

good practice to ask about the credentials and experience of the individuals that will be performing the testing

to make sure that qualify.

Some additional questions to ask the evaluator might include:

■ What kind of written proof or credentials will be provided to the team upon successful completion of the

test? Will the credential indicate that the test was performed in accordance with the BMPs?

■ What are the fees associated with testing? What are the fees for re-certification?

■ Are there additional resources or services available from the evaluator such as training advice, networking,

or support?

■ Will evaluators come to your location to perform the testing, or will the canine team need to travel to the

test site?

■ If there is a disagreement with regard to the results of the test or the evaluator’s assessment, what is the

process for dispute resolution?

■ What if a team fails? Can they test again immediately, or is there a waiting period required to allow for re-

training before re-testing?

When choosing who will perform the certification testing and provide the credential for your canine team, there are many factors to consider, not the least of which are the qualifications of the evaluators and the testing protocols and procedures employed.


IV

Reach out to other members of National Pest Management Association or state associations to get refer-

ences for potential evaluators. Ask them about the testing procedure: Was the testing procedure easy to under-

stand? Was the test what they expected relative to what was described by the evaluator?

It is also important to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest when choosing an evaluator. Evaluators

should be independent, third party, neutral observers with nothing to gain or lose if a team passes (or fails)

the certification test. Evaluators who have an stake in your business, such as business partners, current train-

ers or others who have an interest in the canine, handler or business should be avoided.

What About Other Scents?

Certification testing is available for other pest management scent detection disciplines including termite,

carpenter ants, and rodents. There are currently no BMPs or minimum testing guidelines for these disciplines,

however the same considerations for choosing an evaluator should apply.

For more information about the NPMA Best Management Practices for Bed Bugs and the Minimum Stan-

dards for Canine Scent Detection Team Certification, or to view the most recent version of the BMPs, visit:

http://www.npmapestworld.org/publicpolicy/BedBugs.cfm «

References

Pfiester, M., P.G. Koehler and R.M. Pereira. 2008. Ability of Bed Bug-Detecting Canines to Locate Live Bed Bugs and Viable Bed Bug Eggs. Journal of Economic Entomology 101: 1389–1396.

Potter, M.F., B. Rosenberg and M. Henriksen. 2010. Bugs without borders: defining the global bed bug resurgence. National Pest Management Association, Fairfax, VA

Walker D. B., J.C. Walker, P.J. Cavnar, J.L. Taylor, D.H. Pickel, S.B. Hall and J.C. Suarez. 2006. Naturalistic quantification of canine olfactory sensitivity. Applied Animal Behavioral Science 97: 241–254.


P E S T F O C U S»

Outside of the pest control industry, “blood

feeder” evokes visions of mystical, ageless

creatures who walk in the dark of night and

survive by feasting solely on the blood of mammals.

Realistically, how far does this depiction stray from

the actual definition of a blood feeder; within the pest

control industry or otherwise?

When pest management professionals speak of

blood feeders, they may be referring to one of three

insects: fleas, mosquitoes and bed bugs. Ticks are also

a usual suspect but are not insects; rather they are

members of the arachnids in super family Ixodoidea.

You may ask, why all of the hype or fuss concerning

these tiny bugs? The simple answer is human health.

These arthropods have been deemed as unwanted pests

that invade our homes, feed on our blood and, in many

cases, threaten human health.

As PMPs, we have to understand the historical signifi-

cance of these aforementioned arthropods. This article

will focus on the flea and the mosquito. Each has had

a profound affect on the quality of life for many of our

ancestors as well they each have contributed to numerous

deaths throughout history. Therefore a continued study

through progressive research is required to understand

life cycle evolutions, points of entry and to identify al-

BY DAMISI BAILEY

BLOOD FEEDERS ternate viable hosts in hopes of preserving human health

through control and or eradication when necessary.

The Flea

When many historians speak of Europe’s Black Plague

during its various peaks, images of towns overrun with

rodents seems to flood the imagination. First mentioned

images of rats concerning the Black Plague are somewhat

fair assessments. It is the rodent’s body that initially har-

nesses the disease. But the true culprit and distributor of

this horrible disease was the flea. The flea takes a blood

meal from the rodent which allows the disease to transfer

from the rodent into the flea. As the rodent travels near

humans, the fleas then gains access to an alternate host

and food source—human blood. As the flea injects its

proboscis into the human, it must regurgitate a small

portion of the infected blood from the rodent. This is

how the disease is introduced into the human system.

World Health Organization statistics accredit better

living conditions, targeted antibiotics, and improved

sanitation practices for the mortality decline over the

last century. While there are still hundreds of bubonic

cases reported annually around the world, the pest

control industry in conjunction with entomological

research stands in the gap to maintain control and act

as prohibitors of pandemic outbreak.

Mosquitoes

Another blood feeder with a timeless history of human

health degradation is the Mosquito. Ancient writ-

Image courtesy of Neal R Chamberlain © 2003


ings document Malaria symptoms and

deaths as early as 2700 B.C. and a con-

tinued presence even into the twenty-

first century. World Health Organiza-

tion records show 1,500 American

cases reported in 2009. This number is

remedial in comparison to 247 million

cases reported from Africa during the

same time period. And, of those cases

in Africa, one million reported deaths.

While these numbers seem drastic

and discouraging, the war has been

waged and these astronomic figures are

actually a representation of decreased

mortality.

It wasn’t until the latter part of the

nineteenth century that French sur-

geon Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran

discovered parasites in the blood of a

malaria patient. Soon after, Camillo

Golgi, an Italian neurophysiologist,

was able to identify at least two forms

of the disease: tertian periodicity (fever

every other day) and quartan periodic-

ity (fever every third day). Both men

would eventually receive the Nobel

Peace Prize for their discoveries. To

date, countless hours have been in-

vested by many talented and dedicated

scientists, in hopes of eventually elimi-

nating the threat of Malaria.

While much of the public focus is di-

rected towards reacting to the threat of

diseases distributed by this tiny insect; it

would do you well to initiate aware-

ness and be a proactive professional by

understanding the biological life cycles,

mating habits and alternate breed-

ing sites. This information is regularly

released to equip you with the necessary

knowledge to create effective mosquito

programs.

A thorough assessment of the prop-

erty will determine if your inspection

will be confined only to the property in

question. The median distance a mos-

quito is able to fly is charted somewhere

around 0.789 miles. Therefore, adjoin-

ing properties should be inspected and

only a limited warranty can be offered;

even with a neighborhood or com-

munity treatment. A careful inspec-

tion should expose multiple breeding

sites. Most literature points out that we

inspect the obvious sites: tires, buckets,

plastic kiddie pools and tree bowls; but

you have to keep in mind the actual size

of this insect. Conducting an inspection

with an open mind allows you to visual-

ize shaded, leaf littered gutters, bottle

caps and various debris (plastic bags in

particular) as potential breeding sites.

These known and alternate breeding

sites require only that you dispose of

the debris. Mosquito inspections and

treatments require time, attention to

detail and ensuring you have set realistic

goals of success for your customer. «

You may ask, why all of the hype or fuss concerning these tiny bugs? The simple answer is human health. These arthropods have been deemed as unwanted pests that invade our homes, feed on our blood and, in many cases, threaten human health.


M A R K E T I N G C O R N E R»

I magine what it would be like to be able to reach

thousands of potential customers directly via

email and offer them your services at a discount?

Enter social coupon websites, like Groupon, which

have positioned themselves as the alternative to tradi-

tional advertising with promises of reaching a coveted

demographic who has voluntarily signed up to receive

discounted offers for a variety of life’s necessities.

Seeing this as too good of a deal to pass up, small busi-

nesses of all types have signed up.

And why not? Unlike traditional advertising or

direct mail, the users are not only expecting the daily

email, but will inevitably spend a few seconds looking

at a deal even if it’s not something they would typi-

cally purchase. These websites have tapped into key

characteristics of the consumer psyche—the love of a

discount or a good bargain.

While many companies have offered seasonal or

first-time buyer discounts to customers online through

their own websites, Facebook fan pages or Twitter

accounts, it is important that businesses take a closer

look at these booming social coupon websites as well.

As one NPMA member who recently advertised an of-

fer through Groupon said, “You can’t lose by doing it!”

Coupon Websites and Their Users

Groupon, undoubtedly, the most successful social

coupon website to date, boasts more than 37 million

subscribers in 160 plus cities across North America.

The subscribers are mostly college educated men and

women between the ages of 30 to 50 with a house-

hold income above $50,000. Groupon’s closest rival,

LivingSocial has amassed nearly 26 million subscribers

in more than 250 markets worldwide. LivingSocial

subscribers skew female (60 percent), are college edu-

cated, between the ages of 35 and 49 with an income

of $60,000 and above.

On April 25, 2011, Facebook announced that it is

introducing Deals, a direct rival to Groupon and Living-

Social. Facebook’s entry into the online discount game

will begin with “pilot” programs in five cities: Atlanta,

Austin, Dallas, San Diego and San Francisco. According

to The New York Times, “the company, which has more

than 600 million members, said it hoped that its ability

to tap directly into the communications and activities of

networks of friends will help it offer a more compelling

service than rivals. It will be easy to share deals with

friends, see when a friend buys something and find of-

fers that your friends are interested in. Facebook will fo-

cus on offers for things that are best done with friends,

like concerts or events.” Although users will be able to

receive Deals via email, they will likely also see the offers

in their Facebook news feed during the day.

It remains to be seen how Facebook’s Deals will

change the online coupon landscape, but it is probably

safe to say that if successful, Deals will have a signifi-

cant impact.

No matter which of these sites survive to rule the

online coupon world, one thing is for sure—they offer

businesses demographic jackpots and a captive audi-

ence, surpassing traditional advertising’s capabilities.

How Do Social Coupon Websites Work?

Consumers typically sign up for daily email notices,

receive invites to purchase a discounted deal at a business

and then buy the deal. Typically the businesses are cus-

tomized to the buyers’ city based on the choice made by

the subscriber when they signed up for the daily emails.

In order to participate, businesses must be willing to

discount their services by as much as 40 to 50 percent

off as well as give a portion of the revenue generated

to the social coupon site as commission. The percent-

age of discounts and commission can vary by site. The

sites also do not charge an up-front cost to run a deal.

However, it is important to note that businesses are not

allowed to run concurrent deals with competitors.

Although, participation rules are usually the same

for all social coupon sites, businesses need to be sure

MISSY HENRIKSEN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PPMA

ARE SOCIAL COUPON WEBSITES RIGHT FOR YOUR BUSINESS?HOW THE RIGHT APPROACH CAN FIT IN WITH YOUR OVERALL MARKETING STRATEGY


they get all their questions answered and that they

fully understand the terms and conditions of partici-

pation through these websites.

While some sites are more popular than others, the

premise is the same. Businesses need to be willing to

deeply discount their services and pay a commission

to the coupon website in exchange for exposure in

front of numerous potential customers.

How to Make Social Coupon Websites Work

for Your Business?

Some in the pest management industry have been

quick to see the value in social coupons, leading the

charge with this new marketing vehicle. In fact, a quick

Google search using the keywords “pest control com-

panies + Groupon,” yielded several pages of results.

But how successful were those promotions or other

online coupon promotions in general?

According to a 2010 research report from the Jones

Graduate School of Business at Rice University, “How

Effective Are Groupon Promotions for Businesses,”

Groupon promotions were profitable for 66 percent

of the businesses surveyed and unprofitable for 32

percent. The report also found that 42 percent of the

businesses would not run another Groupon promo-

tion. That finding differs from Groupon’s data which

states that 95 percent of businesses would choose to

run a promotion again.


Despite the differing claims, businesses ultimately

need to decide the success of a promotion and willing-

ness to run successive ones based on their own experi-

ences and what constitutes success for them.

Take the case of an NPMA member in Arizona who

is currently reaping the rewards of a recent Groupon

promotion. The company offered a deal for an indoor

and outdoor pest control treatment for $69, originally

valued at $120. The offer was limited to new clients only

and is good until October 21, 2011. As a result, 57 peo-

ple bought the promotion. Not only did the company’s

offer entice those 57 consumers to purchase the offer, it

was seen by nearly 200,000 Groupon subscribers in the

member’s metro area. Additionally, as some consumers

have called to redeem the offer, the member was able to

sell several termite services on top of the Groupon offer.

After all, up-selling and turning one-time customers

into loyal clients are the ultimate goals of businesses

that participate in online coupon programs.

How to Integrate Social Coupon Websites

Into Your Marketing Strategy?

As the Arizona member noted, “Social media, such as

social online coupons, must be part of anyone’s general

marketing strategy.” As consumers flock to various

websites to shop, make travel arrangements, make din-

ner reservations, decide which business to hire for home

repairs and essentially find anything and everything

they need to live, businesses have to stay ahead of the

curve in order to connect with those consumers.

Whether your business has embraced social media

or is still on the sidelines, social coupon websites are

an easy and relatively inexpensive way to put your

name in front of thousands of new customers without

a long-term commitment. While you may have an

email database of your current and past customers,

these websites have access to thousands of consumer

emails that you don’t. Think of promotions via

Groupon or LivingSocial or Facebook’s Deals as just

another version of the neighborhood door hanger

advertising your services and discounts.

Don’t Be Left Behind

Marketing is a crucial part of building a successful busi-

ness and companies should be willing to try new and

different tactics as part of their overall marketing ef-

forts. Some tactics become outdated and stale and when

the customers move on, your business must too. «

» M A R K E T I N G C O R N E R

As consumers flock to various websites to shop, make travel arrangements, make dinner reservations, decide which business to hire for home repairs and essentially find anything and everything they need to live, businesses have to stay ahead of the curve in order to connect with those consumers.

DuPont™ Advion®: Preferred by more professionals. Loved by most cockroaches.

Perhaps Advion® is becoming the preferred gel bait of choice by pest management

professionals because it provides complete control against the toughest

prevailing species of cockroaches, even gel-bait-averse ones. Perhaps it’s because it

requires fewer applications than other cockroach control products. Whatever the

reason, we thank you for choosing Advion® as your preferred cockroach bait. In return

we will continue to earn your trust by consistently producing a cockroach control

product that has a favorable environmental profi le—while delivering the performance

your customers expect. DuPont™ Advion.® Unbeatable results.

DuPont Professional Products

Give cockroaches the preferential treatment they deserve.

Always read and follow all label directions and precautions for use. The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont,™ The miracles of science™ and Advion® are trademarks or registered trademarks of DuPont or its affi liates. Copyright © 2010 E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. All rights reserved.


O P E R AT I O N S M A N A G E M E N T»

W hat is the real “f” word? It’s failure. We all

want things to go perfectly—or what we

perceive as perfectly. But the truth is, they

don’t, always. Trying new things creates the possibility

of failure. In a business landscape where the message

is predominantly that “Failure is Bad,” it’s no wonder

that failure is perceived as a dirty word.

Now seriously, every manager, business owner,

executive and employee has made mistakes and expe-

rienced what they consider failures. As human beings,

it’s almost second nature to us to follow the path of

lease resistance by beating ourselves up over every per-

ceived failure and then to continually remind ourselves

how often, and how badly, we’ve screwed up.

There is another way. What would it look like if rather

than seeing any task or action that didn’t turn out as

originally planned as a “failure”, we saw each of them as

learning opportunities...? What might we create? What

opportunities might arise for us? What would change if

we were able to step away from self-blame and emotional

flagellation and move forward into celebration?

Years ago, when Bill McGowan was still alive and

running MCI, there was a sign in the lobby that said,

“Make Some Damn Mistakes.” The philosophy under-

neath that sign was that if you didn’t make mistakes you

were not taking risks. Bill truly believed that risk-taking

was the greatest opportunity for learning, and that

nothing new, creative, innovative or exciting happened

without taking risks. It’s simply too bad that the culture

has changed since MCI was sold to WorldCom.

Part of the problem with the entire concept of

failure is that it allows leaders of companies to actually

see things as successes or failures, instead of as learning

experiences. Every single move a company makes, or

action that it takes, is an opportunity for learning—

whether it works or not. Even things that work out

perfectly the first time may not work the next time.

Without understanding what made the action or move

work, what conditions or environment or alignment

CELEBRATING FAILURES BY LINDA FINKLE INCEDO GROUP

The NEW Enterprise Edition of PestPac Online - more features, new price.

* Increase revenue, productivity and profi tability through PestPac’s advanced reporting features. View your technician productivity, revenue, marketing performance, and salesteam statistics for any date range.

* Improve cash fl ow by using the Advanced Collections module features to organize your collections procedures to more effi ciently and more eff ectively collect outstanding balances.

* Generate more revenue from existing customers and cut customer communication costs by using the Customer Account access module. Now your customers can access key account and service history, request a service, and pay bills. You can even market new services to each customer with PestPac’s new cross-sell tool.

* Integrate with QuickBooks or any other general ledger accounting software using the General Ledger Link. Seamlessly sync accounts receivable data to ensure that you have an accurate, up-to-date fi nancial picture for your company.

* Optimize your routes using the Visual Route Manager by simply highlighting appointments on a map and assigning them to a particular day or technician.

* Close more sales and better understand the ROI of your marketing eff orts using PestPac’s Lead Import tool. Link your web site lead submission pages or other online lead sources directly to your PestPac Software. You can even upload sales leads from Sales Genie or other list providers to track performance on all your programs.

* Save the hassle and cost of having hardware in your offi ce. Use one centralized database for all of your branch offi ces and ensure that your data is safe through the backups and redundancy of Marathon’s online hosting environment. Each branch needs only a high-speed Internet connection and a PC.

Successful companies invest in proven technology that can make their businesses stronger.

Call 800-762-0301 today to fi nd out more about the Enterprise Edition of PestPac Online Software.

www.pestpac.com

Now the best software in the industry just got better.


“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Thomas Alva Edison

» O P E R AT I O N S M A N A G E M E N T

of the stars made it come together, there is no true

success. After all, you won’t be able to duplicate the

perfect action if you don’t understand what condi-

tions allowed it to work out perfectly in the first place.

And will those conditions be the same the next time?

If something didn’t work, was it a failure? Of course

not. If an action didn’t work, it simply means that

something interfered with that action working as well

as planned. Any number of things—from timing,

to economy, to client needs, to the vehicle used for

distribution—any number of random factors may

have interfered with the action working as planned.

But if you automatically consider that action a failure,

you lose the important opportunity of learning how to

make it work better the next time.

When something you’ve planned for your company

doesn’t work as well as expected, it’s not necessarily

comfortable, but it’s usually illuminating. When you

look at everything from the perspective of “what can

we learn from this?”, then you put yourself in a place

where you can make better decisions about the future

and you also encourage your people to work from a

position of innovative re-thinking. They will be em-

powered to constantly improve actions and strategies.

How can you lose with that?

What if we celebrated failure instead of hiding our

“mistakes” in some allegorical closet?

History has shown over and over that not daring

to fail, or conversely refusing to admit failure and the

lessons intrinsic to it, has often created devastating

consequences of grand proportions. It’s no small matter

how we look at the idea of failure and our response to it.

Let us not forget that our greatest successes, in

business, science, literature and indeed, life, have

started from failure. That’s how we learn. Success

isn’t nearly so powerful. «

Linda Finkle, CEO of Incedo Group, works closely with

leaders, entrepreneurs and partnerships to create sustain-

able productivity, organizational strength and most impor-

tantly for these companies and leaders to have more fun.

She holds a Master Certified Coach designation through

the International Coaching Federation. Visit the website at

www.incedogroup.com for more information.

GET RESULTS.

GE

T IN

SP

IRE

D.

GE

T C

ON

NE

CT

ED

. ACADEMY 2011

JU

LY 2

1–2

3

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!WESTIN KIERLAND RESORT & SPA

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA

Sponsored by Presented byFor more information, visit www.npmapestworld.org.


OCTOBER 19–22

PESTWORLD 2011Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Hilton New Orleans Riverside

New Orleans, LA

For reservations call

504-561-0500, code NPM

C A L E N D A R O F E V E N T S»

JULY 21–23

ACADEMY 2011Westin Kierland Resort and Spa

Scottsdale, AZ

For reservations call

800-354-5892

JULY 28–30

CAROLINAS/ MID-ATLANTIC SUMMER CONFERENCEHoliday Inn Resort

Wrightsville Beach

Wrightsville Beach, NC

For reservations call 877-330-5050

FOR DETAILED INFORMATION ON THESE EVENTS, VISIT npmapestworld.org.

PestWorld Magazine - July/August

Documents

Transcript of PestWorld Magazine - July/August