I’ve been doing a lot of training recently. It tends to happen this time of year because it’s a bit slower in the field and people are ramping up for the new year. Since I have another one this afternoon that I am (of course) still working on, I thought we’d look through some highlights.
Rodents – I’ve probably done more rodent trainings this season than any other topic. That means a couple things to me. Rodents are still a very big issue and it looks like their numbers won’t be dropping this year. Professionals want to manage in the best way possible for their customers. So far, people have told me they are most surprised by the breeding potential of rodents. Left unchecked, their populations can reach 1.7 MILLION individuals in a year.
Of particular interest is whether the EPA and states will restrict rodenticides and what to do about it if they are. Unfortunately, our activist groups are running a successful campaign of making them the root of all things evil in this world. It’s working. More and more states are trying to bad all rodenticides and/or make them much harder to use. That’s going to mean more rodents, or much more effort to control them which costs more money.
(Fun fact – CA banned most uses of rodenticide and they are seeing an increase in populations. The plague is in the prairie dogs right next door and it won’t take long for cases to increase.)
Cockroaches – German cockroaches in particular. I’ve gotten some backlash over my recommending cockroach baits. I’ve heard more people saying they aren’t using baits because they haven’t worked. The most surprising thing they’ve told me they learned: they probably aren’t using nearly enough bait. It can take an entire tube of cockroach bait to knock populations down.
Third on my most requested list – mosquitoes. This one doesn’t surprise me because mosquitoes are always a problem. Also unsurprising is that first mosquito treatment is happening earlier in the year. Climate change is letting mosquitoes emerge earlier, further north, and have more generations per year. Dengue was the unofficial “mosquito disease of the year” last year, I’m wondering what it will be this year.
(Fun fact – we are now seeing endemic cases of malaria in the US again. That means they are picked up here, not travel related)
What I haven’t had too many requestion for yet this year: bed bugs. Bed bugs haven’t gone away and the last “state of the market” on bed bugs showed companies are expecting the same or more bed bug business this year.
One last thing about training and then I really have to finish my presentation for this afternoon. Someone asked for a training and was surprised when I told them my costs for it. “Why do you charge for training? We can get it for free from X company.” Totally fair questions because yes, you can. My job, my company's purpose is to help smaller companies improve their service for fewer callbacks, more good reviews, and better employee retention. If you want a free training from a manufacturer or distributor or your buddy down the street, go for it. You won’t hurt my feelings. If you want something catered to you, with quality science behind it, focusing on what is important to you (I don’t need to tell you what a German cockroach looks like or how many eggs it has), I’m here when you are ready.
As we know in this industry, there’s always someone who will do it cheaper.
Okay, I REALLY have to go now. Otherwise that high quality training I just told you about was totally worth it will suffer. There’s always new research and information on pests. Contact us if you want to chat about it, we can help!
Lagniappe – still one of my all time favorites.
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