Archive for March, 2012

National Pest Management Association Unveils Redesigned Consumer Website – MarketWatch (press release)

National Pest Management Association Unveils Redesigned Consumer Website
MarketWatch (press release)
FAIRFAX, Va., Mar 08, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — PestWorld.org, an educational website designed to inform homeowners about common household pests, has undergone a complete redesign, the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) announced today.

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Pests in the NewsMarch 10, 2012

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Mar 8, 2012 – Common Sense and Good Science?

QUESTION:

It is easily arguable that millions of people have died from malaria because DDT was outlawed. There is a continual and fanatical attack that will not end until no pesticides are used and our industry is ruined and pestilence and disease are out of control. Common
sense even says that if you can treat soil around a deck or patio, but not the patio itself because it might get washed off onto that area, there’s an incoherent reasoning. Don’t get me wrong. I’m extremely careful with how I treat a structure to protect where the pesticides go. But is anyone in this industry fighting back against the ridiculous attacks against pesticide use? Or have we just rolled over and accepted the bad legislation and poor science that backs the attacks?

ANSWER:

You pose some good thoughts Roy, and this is a topic that I am also passionate about, so I will have to abbreviate some of my thoughts in this answer to keep it manageable. You also touch on several separate issues, so let’s address them one at a time. First, I agree with you that there are large numbers of people in our society, many of them members of highly organized and well-financed groups, who would love to see all of our chemical tools eliminated immediately. Their desire for this may be well intended but it is also hypocritical and short sighted. Many of them advocate the use of “natural” pesticides to replace “synthetic” pesticides in the belief that there is something magical about natural substances that makes them safe for use. The fact is that toxic is toxic, and our bodies cannot tell the difference between natural and synthetic molecules. I personally believe that many of these people also place humans well below other living creatures on the Earth, and our health and welfare are secondary to environmental purity. This belief is unlikely to change, so we just have to accept it and fight their efforts to create unreasonable legislation. 

With a little luck there still are enough legislators to stop short of allowing humans to die unnecessarily, although it often does not seem that way. DDT unarguably saved hundreds of millions of human lives by killing the mosquitoes that spread malaria and killing other blood sucking insects that spread so many other diseases. In 1972 the head of the EPA personally signed the paperwork to ban DDT, even though his own Congressional Hearings concluded that it should not happen. However, William Ruckelshaus’s statement when he banned DDT was that he was doing it “for political reasons”, and this is not going to change. Many politicians are far too susceptible to what environmental activist groups want, and believe that pushing their causes may be politically correct. This is why we need our strong industry associations, and here is how we can effectively fight back and ensure that horrible decisions are avoided. 
I don’t think anyone in our industry really loves the idea of spraying toxic substances into the environment or into homes, hospitals, and restaurants. It would be negligence on our part to pretend that these are not toxic. But, it also would be negligent to ignore the pest problems and the health risks those pests pose and just hope the pests go away on their own. I think we all would love to see efficient, effective, economically reasonable pest management done without the need to spray toxins. In the same thinking I suspect most doctors would love to see the day when all diseases are cured without the need to prescribe toxic medications, but until that day comes when we have the technology to cure the problems without the toxins we do what has to be done with the best tools possible. It is called Risk versus Benefit. 
One big concern that I have is that too many licensed, certified pest control professionals still believe that their job is “to spray”, and that they are not going to get paid unless they spray something. This is incorrect, and our industry leaders have been educating for decades that much of the pest management process should rely on non-chemical techniques and tools, and this is the basis of IPM. We cannot continue to look at pesticides as the magic wand that takes care of everything. Instead, they are the stop-gap tool to quickly bring down the pest population while we then work to repair the contributing conditions. 
Along these same lines I hope that no one in pest management wants to see pesticide residues flowing into creeks and lakes and the ocean. First of all, they don’t do anything to control the white grubs or ants on a property if they have flowed off that property, and this is the thinking behind these new pyrethroid restrictions. It is an effort to ensure that as little of the active ingredient as possible leaves the site where you want it to be. I suspect this new label wording comes into being because of continued sloppy applications, and of course much of this well could be from unlicensed and unregulated people using these materials – homeowners for example. The new wording on labels prohibiting the use of pyrethroids on “impervious” surfaces such as patios could, perhaps, be modified to address the patio that is surrounded by soil, but now we are leaving the interpretation up to too many people, and a simple, blanket statement probably was easier. 
I am confident that most people in our industry share your and my environmental stewardship feelings, but you and I have also seen the misuse – people spraying over fences into neighbors’ yards, technicians literally washing off the sidewalk with the spray, over-applications that leave puddles of pesticide on the ground, treatments to surfaces or plants where no pests are present just because they want the customer to think something is being done. These are the things we need to correct within our own industry, and by doing so we demonstrate to those who would take away our chemicals that we can use them properly and for a good reason, and that we provide benefit to people from this use. 
I have seen some strong industry associations, the NPMA perhaps the top model, have tremendous impact on the regulations that are placed upon our industry. Belonging to your regional association as well as the NPMA makes them stronger, and with more members they have the financial ability to be effective lobbyists when it comes to fighting bad laws. The anti-pesticide groups are heavily financed by very wealthy people, but  our industry seems to have to do with relatively little funding for the political effort. So, my answer to you is that YES, our industry fights back constantly to make certain that our point of view is heard and believed by those who make the laws. In California, where you are, the PCOC is a very well organized and streamlined and effective organization. Over the past 30 years I have seen a great many issues modified because of PCOC’s involvement with the state’s politicians, and proposed laws that would have been devastating to us were toned down to reasonable and livable regulations. 
We cannot stop what other people think, but we CAN change their minds with education. The general public sees far more anti-pesticide rhetoric than they do pro-pesticide, and for a couple of reasons. First, bad news is really cool, and people just love to read bad things and believe them, and the news media make a lot of money headlining negative issues. Second, people with an ax to grind are more likely to spend time publicizing their anger, and the internet now gives them that unlimited (and uncontrolled) forum. So, you help to counter this with positive information you can provide with press releases locally, with company newsletters, with a presence at local home shows, etc. People generally want the truth, but just have a hard time getting our side of the story. 

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Pest QuestionsMarch 10, 2012

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Invasive cause problems in HR

Officials from across the state met Thursday to discuss how to rid the region of a giant, non-native rodent. They are worried a growing invasion of nutria will have a negative effect on the region as a whole. “Nutria are a nuisance species, which means …

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Pests in the NewsMarch 09, 2012

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USDA Announces Final Rule Allowing Importation of Chinese Wooden Handicrafts – PoliticalNews.me (press release)

USDA Announces Final Rule Allowing Importation of Chinese Wooden Handicrafts
PoliticalNews.me (press release)
This action allows trade in Chinese wooden handicrafts to resume and continues to protect America's agriculture and natural resources from the introduction of harmful foreign pests. The final rule requires that all wooden handicrafts from China be …

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Pests in the NewsMarch 09, 2012

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State to take over monitoring for deadly citrus pest – Porterville Recorder

State to take over monitoring for deadly citrus pest
Porterville Recorder
Florida's citrus industry has lost $3.6 billion in revenues and 6600 jobs over the last few years because of the disease, said Nick Hill, chairman of the California Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Committee. Worldwide, there are 100 million infected …

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Pests in the NewsMarch 09, 2012

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National Pest Management Association Unveils Redesigned Consumer Website – SunHerald.com

National Pest Management Association Unveils Redesigned Consumer Website
SunHerald.com
PestWorld.org, an educational website designed to inform homeowners about common household pests, has undergone a complete redesign, the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) announced today. The consumer website is designed to give visitors a …

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Pests in the NewsMarch 09, 2012

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Mar 9, 2012 – Pyrethroids And Interpretations

QUESTION:

I wonder if you can shed a little more light on the Pyrethroid issue. I am still somewhat confused when it says we can treat a foundation up to 3 feet. That means to me that we can go around the outside of a structure from the soil upwards to 3 feet – correct? And, we can spot treat around windows and doors correct? The EPA offers the interpretations that we are permitted to spray a 1-inch band around doors and windows, but our standard spray tips will go well over that 1 inch band. How does the EPA expect us to adhere to only 1 inch? Also, is there a database of some kind that lists non-pyrethroid products for us to use? I really don’t know how somebody can work this trade in California with all the restrictions they have!


ANSWER:

You pose some good thoughts here Steve, and I suspect a lot of people will need some time to become comfortable with these new statements on the labels of all pyrethroid products. One thing we need to accept is that these restrictions on pyrethroids are now in place (as your new material purchased is labeled in this manner) and they are not going away. If anything, this success in getting EPA to restrict pyrethroid uses will probably encourage the anti-pesticide groups to now work on other kinds of pesticides as well. 

The EPA sent manufacturers and formulators a canned set of statements that needed to be added to the labels or all pyrethroid products, so no matter what the trade name of the product these new statements should be consistent. For outdoor liquid applications to surfaces of a structure you now must apply only spot or crack and crevice treatments, EXCEPT FOR applications to the building foundation up to a maximum height of 3 feet above the soil.  If you are using a product where this application already is not permitted then it still is not permitted, but if you previously could wash down the entire exterior wall you no longer can. You now must keep the application at or below 3 feet above the soil, and make this application continuous around the structure. 
I also strongly encourage everyone to discuss these new label statements with your own local regulatory inspectors. Since some of this obviously is open to interpretation it is they who would interpret it in the manner that they expect you to adhere to. It’s really important to have this line of communication with the local regulatory agencies, and in California the County Agricultural Commissioners field inspectors are well known for working positively with our industry. 
With respect to that 1-inch band around windows, keep in mind that a “spot” application is defined very briefly by EPA as an application that covers “no more than 2 square feet” of that surface. Two square feet is 288 square inches, so my belief is that the EPA does not state what the dimensions of that spot must be – perhaps it is 1 foot by 2 feet, or perhaps it is 4 inches wide by 6 feet (72 inches) long. EPA also does not state how far apart “spots” must be placed, so these are questions to ask your local regulator, because they well may have their own interpretations on how large the spot can be or how far apart you must place them. Some product Labels DO state what these are, so please carefully read every label before using the products. 
I think that the concession on allowing that 1 inch band probably has more to do with the “crack and crevice” statement than the spot treatment. A true C&C application means the liquid goes INTO a crevice and none of it appears on the exposed surface. Treating around exterior doorways and windows is likely to produce some level of runoff on the surface, so this allows this slight runoff to occur if you used a crack and crevice straw to inject the material into the framing. 
All of the Univar sales representatives have received a listing of ALL insecticides, categorized by their chemical families, so please contact your local Univar office and sales reps to get this information. There are a great many excellent NON-pyrethroid insecticides available now, and in fact most of the new products that have come to our industry in the past 10 years or so are not pyrethroids. I will say that my own review of the labels of these products does not show many perfect alternatives if you are looking for a residual material that allows the same overall surface treatment that some pyrethroid labels allowed in the past. 

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Pest QuestionsMarch 09, 2012

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Will there be a bumper crop of biting this year?

Whether we have extreme winter weather or mild, it won’t make much difference come summertime to the bugs that sting, bite and harass us year after year. “There are some exceptions, but for the most part, the we find in Illinois are …

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Pests in the NewsMarch 08, 2012

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NPMA Celebrates 25 Years of Legislative Day – PCT Magazine


PCT Magazine

NPMA Celebrates 25 Years of Legislative Day
PCT Magazine
The National Pest Management Association celebrated 25 years of Legislative Day last week, and while the issues have changed throughout years, the need to raise Capitol Hill awareness of issues impacting the pest control industry is as strong as ever.

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Pests in the NewsMarch 08, 2012

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Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite – National Geographic


Patriot-News

Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite
National Geographic
We share this planet with billions of insects, which serve as critical food sources for other species and perform countless ecosystem services, from breaking down dead matter to aerating the soil. A number of insects feed on on other living animals, …
School officials address bed bug caseabc27

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Pests in the NewsMarch 08, 2012

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