Pest Management Professional, February 2019

At Blue Sky Pest Control in Gilbert Ariz managers and technicians call desert subterranean termites Heterotermes aureus the pest that never sleeps How can you fight an insect with that kind of reputation Blue Sky which has served Greater Phoenix since 2003 found the answer more than 10 years ago in the Termidor line of termiticide by BASF With Termidor termiticide infestations are 100 percent under control in three months or less as termites carry the nonrepellent termiticide back to their colony Termites cause billions of dollars worth of damage in the United States every year says Curtis Whalen co owner and chief operating officer of Blue Sky So what were doing at Blue Sky saving buildings from termites is significant and we are confident in the Termidor product That confidence is important Whalen says as technicians cannot see entire colonies which are underground inside a wall or under a buildings foundation So technicians have to know how to spot the signs including the obvious wall damage but also they can see where termites are making mud tubes which are paths between the nest in the soil and the wood or exploratory tubes only in the soil Treatments are thorough and detailed If you do a job right you dont have to go back out Whalen says adding that he rarely sees termites 90 days after the initial application Whalen is especially hyped about Termidor HE termiticide and the ways the termiticide saves his crew labor time and costs Whalen says its just as effective if not more so than previous Termidor termiticide formulations hes used but requires half as much water Further Whalen appreciates how trenches dug around infested buildings can be about 50 percent shallower and 77 percent smaller and 33 percent fewer drill holes are needed when applying Termidor HE termiticide through concrete For Blue Sky that means lower labor costs when dealing with the desert subterranean termite in Arizona In fact Whalen says Blue Sky has improved its efficiency by up to 25 percent thanks to Termidor HE termiticide But Termidor HE termiticide is more than a timesaver he adds Because fewer drill holes are required wear and tear on Blue Skys equipment including hammer drills and drill bits has been reduced Also because Termidor HE termiticide requires less water Blue Sky can use smaller tanks to hold the product With smaller tanks to haul Blue Sky now drives smaller pickup trucks It now has a fleet of Ford F 150s instead of F 250s which in turn means better gas mileage But perhaps most importantly smaller tanks shallower trenches and fewer holes result in less taxing work for Blue Sky technicians especially when laboring in the 115 F heat of Arizona Termite work can be backbreaking Whalen says Drilling through cement and digging trenches is not easy Termidor HE termiticide has taken care of some of that Its easier on our technicians has improved their quality of life and reduced our turnover ADVERTORIAL More than a pest solution Termidor HE termiticide by BASF saves labor costs and increases productivity for Blue Sky Pest Control in Arizona