Archive for June, 2012

Univar Adds New Master Technician Online Training Course – PCT Magazine

Univar Adds New Master Technician Online Training Course
PCT Magazine
The Master Technician online training offers a tremendous convenience to the pest management industry for quality training courses. For licensed or certified …

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Pests in the NewsJune 20, 2012

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Bee deaths prompt insecticide re-evaluation – BetterFarming.com

Bee deaths prompt insecticide re-evaluation
BetterFarming.com
Pest Management Regulatory Agency launches review after 'acute poisoning' of … The federal Pest Management Regulatory Agency is re-evaluating a group of …

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Pests in the NewsJune 20, 2012

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Dubai Municipality warns on use of residential pesticides – Khaleej Times


Khaleej Times

Dubai Municipality warns on use of residential pesticides
Khaleej Times
In the context of increasing suffocation cases reported in Dubai recently, the Pest Control Section of Dubai Municipality has warned against the consequences …

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Pests in the NewsJune 20, 2012

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Mosquito Season Is Here — How Bad Will it Get? – MarketWatch (press release)

Mosquito Season Is Here — How Bad Will it Get?
MarketWatch (press release)
"Mosquito season is highly dependent on rain events, and states are monitoring rainfall and pest management companies are applying treatments accordingly," …

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Pests in the NewsJune 20, 2012

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Jun 18, 2012 – Price For Profit

QUESTION:

I have been in the industry for 5 years and about 6 months ago I started my own company in general pest. I only have about 12 clients residential and one commercial restaurant. Today I had a fire dept call and ask me to make a bid. I don’t want to come in too high or too low, so any suggestions?

ANSWER:

You really can’t have a cookie cutter approach to pricing your work, meaning there should never be one set price for flea control, roach control, ant control, etc. There are just too many variables that can affect whether or not you are able to make a profit on a particular job, and in this case I see at least 3 important  variables to consider. These would be the kind of pest problem they are having, whether this is a “one shot’ service or a potential regular account, and the fact that it is a fire station. I know that in some or most states fire stations can NOT close, and this will definitely be a factor when you select the product to use within or outside that facility. Since you should not allow people to be present while you are applying pesticides you may need to alter how you do any applications so that the people there can continue to be present and on call. 

This is an important factor that determines how much time you are going to have to spend at this account, and time is money and how you price this job depends on how much YOU have determined you need to make per hour in order to run your business and make a profit. Some kinds of accounts simply take longer to do because of the circumstances. For example, doing cockroach control in a private home is going to be a lot easier than doing it in a prison, where getting from place to place becomes time consuming and difficult, and any time you have to spend standing around means lost money on your part. So, determine from your initial interview with this customer exactly what the problem pests are and how you are going to be able to work within that structure to get the job done successfully. 
The second question is WHAT is the pest problem? You know that ant management is going to be a lot easier than bed bug eradication, or roaches versus rats. By determining what the pests are you can decide exactly how long you will need to get the problem down to the acceptable level, and this can vary wildly. Since you need to base your bid on an hourly rate knowing how many hours you expect to spend there is important. That hourly rate you charge is dependent on what you have decided you need for your business, and the word “profit” is not a dirty word. I suspect that at this time many businesses feel that around $100 per HOUR is an acceptable fee to charge. This must take into account your travel time, your equipment and other product costs, your office costs of rent, employee wages, etc., your vehicle costs, your insurance, and all the other fixed costs that you will have to pay. Add all of these up and come up with how much per hour it costs you to run your business, and then charge appropriately so you can be profitable with this account. 
If you price too high you may not get the job, and that’s okay. Because, if you price too low you either will lose money each time you go there or you will resent the price and start doing sloppy work just to get in and out quickly. While you need to be aware of what competitors are charging in your area you cannot base your bid entirely on the other guys. There will always be those low bidders who clearly are either not making money or are not doing good work, so bid based on what you need to stay in business profitably. 

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Pest QuestionsJune 20, 2012

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Jun 17, 2012 – Those Bloody Deer Flies

QUESTION:

I’ve read your past posts about deer flies and that their is little that can be done to control them. You did mention about a couple of traps that might be beneficially. What are the name of the traps & where can I find them?

ANSWER:

I personally would love to hear from anyone who has actually tried deer or horse fly traps and has a feel for how good or bad they really are. My family vacations to Wisconsin are often severely “troubled” by the relentless assault of deer flies as I walk along trails or dirt roads. Some years there may NEVER be a moment when there are none of these awful flies buzzing around my head and looking for a feeding site, which I’d rather they not find. With my small bug net I know that I often kill a thousand or more of them in a week. 

Looking around on the internet these kinds of traps seem to be primarily personal traps that are actually worn by the person who is active outdoors where the flies are present and hungry. I know from my own personal experience that deer and horse flies are not particularly respectful of standard repellents. They just zip on in, bite and feed, and pay no attention to the repellent that might keep mosquitoes away. At least one of the advertised traps is simply glue traps that you wear on the back of your hat, in the hope that the flies will at some point in their attack hit that colored patch first. Of course, the advertising really over-sells these kinds of things by essentially guaranteeing that all of the flies will go to the patch before they choose your neck or arm. 
Another kind is also a sticky trap but is essentially a large blue pot that presumably attracts the flies due to motion as the pot moves around on the back of a mower, for example, or on top of your head if you don’t mind looking geeky, and the blue color that is touted to be attractive to these flies. From the new Pest West fly traps that are blue there is some evidence that blue is the color of choice for drawing flies. 
I would simply suggest that you yourself browse around the internet using “deer fly traps” as a search word. You will be fascinated by the choices that come up. 

View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.

Pest QuestionsJune 20, 2012

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Unauthorised pesticides can cause death, Dubai residents warned – Emirates 24/7


Khaleej Times

Unauthorised pesticides can cause death, Dubai residents warned
Emirates 24/7
“Cases like these could be fatal,” said Motaher Hossain, pest management specialist … The Pest Control Section of Dubai Municipality urges residents to always …
DM warns against use of pesticidesKhaleej Times
Dubai officials warn against use of banned pesticidesThe National
Dubai Municipality warns on use of residential pesticidesWAM – Emirates News Agency
Gulf Today –gulfnews.com –7DAYS
all 15 news articles »

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Pests in the NewsJune 19, 2012

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Spider Mites, A hot-dry weather pest – Hannibal.net (blog)

Spider Mites, A hot-dry weather pest
Hannibal.net (blog)
MU Ag Specialist Blog, agriculture subjects in field crops, fertility, soil issues and plant pests especially insects.

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Pests in the NewsJune 19, 2012

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Biting nuisance – The Spokesman Review

Biting nuisance
The Spokesman Review
Spokane's current scourge, a swollen army of tiny biting insects wielding blades on their mouth parts, spares few. Not preschoolers. Not Chihuahuas. The black …

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Pests in the NewsJune 19, 2012

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David Robson: Breaking down herbicides, insecticides and fungicides – Taunton Daily Gazette

David Robson: Breaking down herbicides, insecticides and fungicides
Taunton Daily Gazette
Insects and related pests send some people into spasms. The thing is most insects eat other insects or organic matter, causing no major concern. Even the best …

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Pests in the NewsJune 19, 2012

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