Archive for January, 2012

Rocky Mountain College still dealing with bedbug outbreak

One company was brought in early last semester, but the bugs weren’t eradicated, so Action was contracted to begin a second round of treatments around Thanksgiving. Over the Christmas break, Nason said, Action went in and …

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Fight those itsy-bitsy indoor plant

Plants inside our homes can become infested with insects just like plants outside in our landscapes. Indoor pest problems can arise anytime, but are especially common this time of the year, when many tender tropical plants have been brought …

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State court confirms fleas are , upholds fine

Fleas are . Just ask your dog or cat. Or ask a state appeals court, which upheld a $212,500 fine against an Oakland pet food chain for selling flea-prevention products that weren’t labeled or registered as pesticides. State pesticide …

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4 restaurants fail routine inspection – KSAT San Antonio

4 restaurants fail routine inspection
KSAT San Antonio
Four area restaurant racked up several demerits and failed their recent inspection from Metro Health. Ghengis Khan on Walzem Road failed with 34 demerits. Violations included: The manager says a pest control treatment got the roaches running and all

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Bedbugs Found At Ritz-Carlton Hotel; Management Says Pests Have Been Eliminated – Huffington Post


Daily Mail

Bedbugs Found At Ritz-Carlton Hotel; Management Says Pests Have Been Eliminated
Huffington Post
Scott Geraghty, the hotel's general manager, told The Times the pests had been eliminated. "Bedbugs are inevitable," he said. "They're brought in by guests and come in on luggage or things of that matter." This isn't the first New York luxury hotel to
Bedbugs Spotted at the RitzNBC New York

all 19 news articles »

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Integrated Pest Management for Oregon’s Schools – KLCC FM Public Radio

Integrated Pest Management for Oregon's Schools
KLCC FM Public Radio
By Rachael McDonald Pests like mice and yellow-jackets can cause health problems for school children. But over use of pesticides is also a concern. A new pest management program for Oregon's schools calls for an integrated approach.

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School in eastern Ky. battling bedbugs – Bowling Green Daily News

School in eastern Ky. battling bedbugs
Bowling Green Daily News
Teachers first noticed the insects before the Christmas break at Hunter Hills Elementary. They have been found in isolated areas of the building, according to WYMT-TV in Hazard ( http://bit.ly/zNfLxF). Mark Hensley, who directs the county heath

and more »

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Maine workshop finds no ash borers in wood – NECN

Maine workshop finds no ash borers in wood
NECN
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine Forest Service insect experts say a "bark-peeling" workshop aimed at finding evidence of tree-killing bugs found no evidence of the insects. Using a method reminiscent of an old-fashioned husking bee, entomologists held two

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Skin lesions typical of Morgellons, some containing blue fibers. (PLoS One) – ABC News


TopNews New Zealand

Skin lesions typical of Morgellons, some containing blue fibers. (PLoS One)
ABC News
Rather, it's a collection of unexplained symptoms including abnormal sensations that sufferers describe as the feeling of insects crawling on the skin. Symptoms also include fatigue. And, perhaps most peculiarly, one symptom is tiny fibers found
Insect Not the Only Cause of Morgellons Disease, Says CDCTopNews New Zealand
Morgellons Disease Terrorizes Internet & Twitter For A DayWebProNews
SF Doctor Cries Foul On CDC Report Suggesting Skin Disease Is ImaginaryThe San Francisco Appeal
HULIQ –CBS News
all 329 news articles »

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Jan 27, 2012 – Record Keeping

QUESTION:

Are records required to be kept for all applications of pesticide, no matter the pest? How long must records be kept?

ANSWER:

This is one of those things where I take the easy route and suggest that you MUST talk with your local regulatory agency to be certain of the laws in your state. This requirement likely differs from state to state, so what is required here in California may be different from what you are to follow in your state. 

However, whether or not it is required I suggest that you definitely DO keep records of every drop of pesticide you apply, with basic details on the site of the application. Somewhere along the line someone is going to involve you in a legal issue where you will need to be able to bring forth that information, and if it is readily available it could save you from some serious problems. For example, 2 or 3 or 4 years from now someone could claim they have health issues due to an application you do today, and if you have no records of what was applied to that property, if you applied anything at all, then their accusation cannot be disproved. 
I remember an incident way back in the 1980’s when chlordane was about to be eliminated from our uses. A major TV “investigative” journalist did a terribly lopsided report on the horrors of chlordane in homes, leading the EPA (based on that inaccurate TV show) to ban chlordane. One of my customers said he had a homeowner call him a few days later complaining of serious illness due to the chlordane he had applied as a termiticide 2 days earlier. He told me that he was never so happy to be 4 days behind in his work as he was at that moment – he hadn’t even done the job yet, but this customer was already getting sick, apparently in anticipation of being exposed. Because he kept careful records of his use of pesticides he easily could have proven that he had not treated this property for termites yet. 
I suspect most states do require that you keep careful records of what you apply, the sites to which you applied the products, the pests you treated for, and the amounts used. In California this information is then reported monthly to each country in which a company is registered to do business. For School Pesticide Use there also are specific requirements for record keeping and these records of pesticides used on a school property must be maintained by the school. I believe the records must be kept for at least 2 years, but frankly I would keep them for far longer than that, and with electronic files it would cost nothing to maintain them form 20 years or more. Similarly any training records you have for employees should be maintained for the entire duration of their employment, and they should receive annual training as required on the various aspects of safety and proper pesticide use. 

View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.

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