Charles Darwin once wrote to his friend: I am dying by inches, from not having anybody to talk to about insects. Over the last week, I have definitely not been lacking in conversations about insects and rodents! I recently returned from the ESA and NPMA conferences and there was so much great stuff. I wrote about some of the exciting new research from ESA last week, so here are just some of the amazing items I picked up from NPMA.
Want the ”truth” about secondary rodenticide poisoning? I have a friend who posts at least once every few weeks about owls or hawks or some predator being “killed” by rodenticides. The fact is, there isn’t much research on this. The incredible Dr. Niamh Quinn and her team are trying to change that. They are looking at what animals in the food chain have evidence of rodenticide, and what that means. Just because it is present in their system doesn’t mean it killed them or even affected them significantly. One fantastic item she shared – rodenticide in secured bait stations keeps non-targets out of the station! (That’s a good thing!)
Got gas? Bed bugs sure don’t want it! Fumigations are very effective bed bug treatments. There are a few ways to do this and sometimes tenting is the way to go, sometimes a building can use just a tape-and-seal method. It was interesting listening to the panel discuss the cost-benefit analysis of a fumigation. There was a lot of conversation about getting started in fumigations – it’s not cheap and takes a lot of training. However, it can be lucrative!
Getting warm? I’ve written a bit about climate change before and the fantastic panel of Bobby Corrigan, Brian Forschler, and Faith Oi gave their take on it. Bottom line: we are going to see many pests moving and establishing in areas they weren’t before. But some pests like bed bugs and german cockroaches likely won’t be too affected by climate change because they are indoor pests. Be prepared for additional invasive species though.
What is a “gnat”? There is no such thing as a “gnat”! There are plenty of small flies though. Dr. Jody Green has done some great work on educating folks on identifying small flies and the habitats they come from. She made this incredible ID/fact sheet that you can find here. Ultimately, small flies come from different areas and different food sources: correctly identifying them leads to faster identification of the problem and faster resolution of that problem.
Ticks suck! A little shameless self-promotion: I did a talk on ticks with the phenomenal Bill Hoffman. I covered how to do a better, more effective tick treatment which leads to less call-backs, better profits, and happier customers. Bill discussed selling points and customer communication. It’s so important to talk to folks about the value of the service and what they can expect.
There was so much more (new products, new technologies, new equipment) that I picked up at this conference but these are just some of the highlights. If you want more, we can help keep you up to date on the latest science, procedures, and products to make your service more effective and profitable; contact us!
