Dec 30, 2011 – Color Me Green For Good
QUESTION:
Do you know if there is an established or emerging color coding standard in the pest control industry that communicates to the applicator what type of chemical is in the tank? I once worked for a large pest control company in California and about 10 years ago they started slowly changing all their Insecticide/Termiticide rigs over to having a blue hose. I purchased a "Non-repellent" 1 gallon hand pump sprayer by B&G Equipment company which was colored with blue. And there are other examples I have seen relating to non-selective herbicides, pre-emergent herbicides & repellent insecticides. Thanks for all you do Mr. Pest Control. I LOVE UNIVAR!
ANSWER:
Well Jacob, it's likely to look like we've planted some fans out there, but thank you very much for the compliment. I have to say that I "love" Univar as well, and that is why I have been with this same company for 35 years. I appreciate the ethics and organization of my employer and the various people I have worked for.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
Do you know if there is an established or emerging color coding standard in the pest control industry that communicates to the applicator what type of chemical is in the tank? I once worked for a large pest control company in California and about 10 years ago they started slowly changing all their Insecticide/Termiticide rigs over to having a blue hose. I purchased a "Non-repellent" 1 gallon hand pump sprayer by B&G Equipment company which was colored with blue. And there are other examples I have seen relating to non-selective herbicides, pre-emergent herbicides & repellent insecticides. Thanks for all you do Mr. Pest Control. I LOVE UNIVAR!
ANSWER:
Well Jacob, it's likely to look like we've planted some fans out there, but thank you very much for the compliment. I have to say that I "love" Univar as well, and that is why I have been with this same company for 35 years. I appreciate the ethics and organization of my employer and the various people I have worked for.
I am confident that there currently is no industry-wide standard for colors that represent anything with respect to the pesticides. Some manufacturers are getting on the "green" bandwagon by producing equipment or labeling that is predominantly green in color, to emphasize that their product fits well in a green pest management program. This may very well catch on, but at this time is appears to be only a limited and private effort in marketing. The use of certain colors of hoses or tanks or other application equipment also seems to be only a personal choice by any company. Some manufacturers are offering these varieties of colors - black, white, brown, green rodent stations for example, or various colors of Actisol injectors. B&G offers several colors of hoses to distinguish their "acid" sprayer from their standard sprayer from their "non-repellent" sprayer, and the buyer can use them for these various purposes if he pleases.
So, at this time it appears to be no more than some individual efforts by certain manufacturers or private companies to designate the uses of their equipment when keeping things separated is necessary. The only color-coding I know of that standardizes chemical properties is with respect to codes on placards required on storage facilities where chemicals are kept. Fire departments rely on these colors and letter codes to determine immediately, upon arrival at a facility that may be on fire or have some other emergency, that chemicals are there and that certain safety equipment is needed prior to entry. These codes indicate things such as respiratory hazard, explosion hazard, fire hazard, etc.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
