Topic: Ants and Label Review
Speaker: Ed VanIstendal - Ensystex
May 13, 2021 at 7 - 8:30
Credits: TBD
Cost: $15 for members; $30 for non-members
To receive continuing education credits, attendees must be present for the entirety of the call and participate in questions asked by the moderator.
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2021 Salino Scholarship Recipients |
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It is with pleasure that I announce the three recipients of the 2021 Salino Scholarship.
The Scholarship was started in 1994 in memory of Joseph Salino who was an accomplished, diverse and very beloved person. Not only was he highly involved in the Pest Control Industry, but he was an accomplished musician playing the trumpet, flugelhorn and piano. He served on many boards and councils, including as the PPMA President. Not only was he involved in spreading the importance of pest control, he was also active in his community in various aspects. He loved people as much as he loved to discuss the inner workings of termites and other wood destroying insects. His legacy lives on as he is helping young students pursue their academic careers.
The three students who exemplify diligence, accomplishment and intelligence are Anne-Marie Martin, Patrick Handley and Jessica Griffith.
Anne-Marie Martin of Willow Grove, PA was sponsored by Alpha to Omega Termite and Pest Control Company. She will be pursing a degree in East Asian Languages and Cultures and minoring in Business at Smith College.
Patrick Handley from Langhorne, PA was sponsored by Aardvark Pest Management. He will be attending St. Joseph's University for a degree in History and Secondary Education.
Our third student is Jessica Griffith from Avondale, PA. Her sponsor was S. Griffith Termite and Pest Management, Inc. She plans on attending the University of Delaware to major in Environmental Sciences.
Each student will be receiving $2,500 this year towards their schooling.
Thank you for your support in this scholarship,
Paul Kutney
Chair, Salino Scholarship Committee
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Angie's List names 2020 Super Service Award Winners |
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PMP- Several pest management companies across the nation have earned the service industry’s Angie’s List Super Service Award for 2020. The award honors service professionals who have maintained exceptional service ratings and reviews on Angie’s List in the past 12 months.
Angie’s List is a paid subscription-supported website containing crowdsourced reviews of local businesses throughout the United States.
Each year, the Indianapolis-based company announces the recipients of its “Super Service Award.” Winners have met strict eligibility requirements, which include an “A” rating in overall grade, recent grade, and review period grade. The company must be in good standing with Angie’s List, pass a background check and abide by Angie’s List operational guidelines.
“Despite the enormous challenges facing our service pros throughout 2020, our Angie’s List Super Service Award winners continued to provide exceptional customer service,” Angie’s List Founder Angie Hicks said in a news release. “These outstanding businesses have helped homeowners not only maintain their homes, but also evolve them into safe and comfortable spaces that can handle all the mess of life, work, school and entertainment under one roof. Our homeowners’ consistent positive reviews make it clear: these are the best pros in our network.”
Here are the 17 from Pennsylvania!! Way to go PA!
- Budget Pest Control Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa.
- ComfortSpec, Brodheadsville, Pa.
- Complete Pest Control Services, Pittsburgh, PA
- Environmental Services Pest Control, Lansdale, Pa.
- Go Green Lawn and Pest Control, West Chester, Pa.
- Green Man Exterminator, Tobyhanna, Pa.
- Green Pest Solutions, West Chester, Pa.,
- Mosquito Joe of Greensburg-Johnstown, Indiana, Pa.
- NEPA Pest Control, Scranton, Pa.
- Pestmaster Services
- Kingston, N.Y., Ashland, Va., & Bryn Mawr, Pa.
- Pointe Pest Control, Bridgeport, Pa.
- Sleep Tite Bed Bug Pros, Bethlehem, Pa.
- Todd’s Pest Control Service, Feasterville Trevose, Pa.
- Tomlinson Bomberger Lawn Landscape Pest Control, Lancaster, Pa.
- Township Pest Control Co, Warrington, Pa.
- Whats Bugging You Pest Services, North Wales, Pa.
- Witt Pest Management, Pittsburgh, Pa.
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EPA orders Philadelphia company to stop making inaccurate health claims about pesticide
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PHILADELPHIA (March 31, 2021) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered ViaClean Technologies, operating in Philadelphia, to stop marketing the pesticide BioProtect RTU with claims that it is effective against surfaces from public health related pathogens such as the coronavirus.
Although the product is registered to inhibit the growth of “non-public health” microorganisms, it is not registered to address “public health” pathogens. EPA is concerned that customers may have used this product as protection from a virus – such as the coronavirus -- in lieu of other EPA-approved disinfection methods.
“Improperly marketed pesticides, especially during a pandemic, may cause injury to consumers,” said Acting EPA Mid-Atlantic Region Administrator Diana Esher. “EPA remains vigilant and will continue to protect the health and safety of Americans from products that have false or misleading public health claims.”
ViaClean provided two BioProtect RTU fact sheets containing public health claims to at least one customer, including the statement that the pesticide can be used to kill “germs.”
Some online distributors, cleaning services, and end-recipients of BioProtect RTU were also making unsubstantiated claims that this product is effective against pathogens, germs, disease-causing bacteria, viruses, and/or the novel coronavirus for up to 90 days.
EPA issued a Stop Sale, Use or Removal Order to prevent BioProtectRTU from continuing to sell this product with public health claims that have not been substantiated through the pesticide registration process.
Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), products that claim to kill or repel bacteria or germs, including disinfectants, are considered pesticides and must be registered with the EPA. Public health claims can only be made regarding products that have been properly tested and are registered with the EPA.
EPA has released an expanded list of EPA-registered disinfectant products that have qualified for use against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. List-N contains over 460 additional products—including products that went through the expedited review process for emerging viral pathogens.
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New Jersey Pest Management Offers Basic Pesticide Training /Operator Training in Spanish Online Evening Classes |
Cost:
$99 - Non-NJPMA Members
$65 - NJPMA Members
The purpose of this training is to provide the candidate applicator or operator with a working knowledge, at a minimum, of the following information. The basic course for applicators and operators are the same.
The content of the basic pesticide training course is to include at a minimum:
- Proper use of application equipment;
- Hazards that may be involved in applying pesticides;
- Instructions for mixing pesticides used in particular circumstances;
- Protective clothing & safety equipment required during the handling & application of pesticides;
- General precautions to be followed in the disposal of containers, as well as the cleaning and decontamination of equipment;
- Applicable State/Federal pesticide laws & regulations;
- Understand/correctly interpret label and labeling information;
- Understand principles of Integrated Pest Management.
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NPMA Industry Safety Summit |
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May 6-7, 2021 | Virtual Event
This workshop-style meeting will bring safety experts together with companies of all sizes to talk about safety in the pest management industry. Topics covered will include safe driving, pesticide safety, and tips on implementing a safety program in your business.
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Inaugural Tick Awareness Week May 10-16th |
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The Professional Pest Management Alliance (PPMA), which serves as the public outreach arm of the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), is calling on the industry to help educate consumers about the health threats posed by ticks during its inaugural Tick Awareness Week—recognized by Chase’s Calendar of Events—May 10-16, 2021. According to research recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), human cases of Lyme disease are more common in the U.S. than previously thought at an estimated 476,000 per year—a staggering 44% increase compared to the previous annual estimate of roughly 329,000.
“With Americans eager to finally get outdoors, it’s crucial for pest control companies to encourage public vigilance against ticks,” said Cindy Mannes, executive director of PPMA. “As we head into warmer months where tick populations are particularly prevalent, we encourage all pest control companies to join the cause to help educate consumers on the dangers associated with ticks and the steps they can take to ensure their property is properly protects to help safeguard themselves and their loved ones from tick-related health threats.”
PPMA will be dedicating all @PestWorld social media channels to sharing important tick information, facts, prevention tips and information about tickborne illnesses during Tick Awareness Week. Pest control companies can help further the cause by focusing their social media content on ticks throughout the week and using the hashtag #TickAwareness in all posts.
In recognition of its inaugural Tick Awareness Week, PPMA will also be unveiling an exciting new consumer campaign: TickTalk. The campaign will kick off during Tick Awareness Week with a comprehensive digital and media relations plan as well as a new microsite complete with never-before-seen photos and videos! PPMA also created an exclusive toolkit available for Mainframe subscribers to download on PPMAMainframe.org. The toolkit includes a customizable press release, suggested social media content, “Tick Talk” logos to be used as website badges, high-resolution photography and video content, and more.
For more information about PPMA, its marketing programs or how to get involved in supporting the professional pest control industry, please visit http://www.NPMApestworld.org/PPMA.
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2021 Executive Leadership Forum
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The Executive Leadership Forum brings together the top leaders in the structural pest management industry who serve on the 2021-2022 NPMA Board of Directors, PPMA Board of Directors, QualityPro Board of Directors, Pest Management Foundation Board of Trustees, P3 Steering Committee, and the Super Committee, comprised of NPMA’s 17 committee chairs. Participants of these groups are formally invited to attend this dynamic Forum, in addition to the 10 members of NPMA’s Executive Leadership Program Class of 2020. All NPMA members who are not involved in the before-mentioned groups are also welcome to join if they wish. The registration rate is $150 per attendee.
A special thanks to our premier sponsor BASF and to all of NPMA’s Strategic Partners: BASF, Bayer, Corteva, and Syngenta, as their support enables us to engage with our association leaders in a focused environment.
The forum will take place at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Florida from June 15-17.
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PA811 Safety Day Virtual Conference 2021 |
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Pennsylvania One Call System, Inc. is taking its industry leading premier safety training event to a virtual platform for 2021. A complete program of 3 training tracks and an Exhibit room will be available for this entire event. The virtual venue allows sign on for the entire event as well as allowing targeted attendance for sessions of interest.
The training tracks will cover:
Track 1: A complete walk through of the construction process from design to complex project meeting prior to the dig date.
Track 2: Working through 811 including member services, tolerance zone training, Excavator obligation, Designer obligations, and Paradigm Pipeline Safety.
Track 3: Industry, public agencies, and compliance speakers including LTAP, PUC, working on curved roads, renting equipment and meeting 811 obligations, utilities cuts, and more.
Resource Room: Available all day. Sponsor information will run to allow you to discover contacts to help with your business needs.
An interactive learning game with prizes will close our day similar to our Live Safety Day. You won’t want to miss this! It is reinforcement for your day of safety learning. Remember there is no travel involved. We will do our best to give the look and feel of our hustle and bustle safety days in this live virtual event.
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PMP - We asked Pest Management Professional‘s columnists and editorial advisory board members to share the most challenging aspect of mosquito control, and how they overcome it. Here are some of the experts’ responses — including a few extra that didn’t make it into our April 2021 print edition.
PMP’s Editorial Advisory Board and Regular Contributors
Dennis Jenkins: “The mosquitoes that cause us the most problems are those that have adapted to live very close by. It’s always great when customers cooperate and wear clothing that covers as much skin as possible — but most just don’t. So, treating the underside of the foliage surrounding a home; taking away mosquito breeding sites in the yard; and then using the mosquitoes to translocate another control measure to any remaining breeding areas, is the three-punch approach that has worked best for us. In the end, I have always told customers that if you are breathing outside, you will attract mosquitoes. If there are 20 people outside, it will be hard to stop them from coming to the ‘Eat at Joe’s’ sign.”
Pete Schopen: “In our market, competition drives the price down. It can be difficult sometimes to stick to your guns and charge a price that is fair to both your client and your company. But by educating our clients, we’ve been able to charge a price we deem fair.”
Michael Broder: “We have to communicate with customers who have unrealistic expectations that, although their property has been treated, mosquitos can still fly onto it from surrounding areas.”
Foster Brusca: “Mosquito control usually requires customer cooperation for effective long-term control, and your efforts will be hampered greatly if there isn’t any. If customers are unwilling to clean up their property of trash, debris and other potential breeding sites, then most treatments will fail. I have been fortunate in my 28 years in the pest control industry that I have not had to deal with too many mosquito issues that have become challenging due to no customer cooperation or other factors. Mosquito control can be highly effective, if performed correctly and breeding sites removed.”
Doug Foster: “Rain and windspeed (over 10 mph) make it impossible to treat with backpack misters on some days, so planning according to weather forecasts is important. However, we all know how accurate the local weather reports can be …”
Paul Hardy: “The local weather forecast is your friend, so use an app on your phone for updates in real-time.”
Desiree Straubinger, BCE: “Many times, the population is breeding on a neighboring property where we cannot treat or correct the conducive conditions. To tackle this, we can work with that property owner to obtain the contract. If that fails, we can at least provide the knowledge of what conditions on their property could be producing mosquitoes. Education is key for many pest issues, but especially one where the conditions must be corrected to gain complete control.”
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We want to hear from you! |
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Do you have any news about your business? Anything to brag about? We would love to share stories about our members. Feel free to send those to Bridget at bcole@versantstrategies.net so we can all learn more about each other! |
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Kids grade K through 8 might want to check out Pest World for Kids! There are ebooks, crafts, games and more to educate and entice a young learner, especially the kids that love creepy crawlies! Check it out now!
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