Pest Management Professional, May 2018

Tesh uses the drone for inspections to search for entry points for bats and squirrels We can take pictures and look at them on an iPad to get a closer view of things he says If Im looking at a commercial building that is 1700 ft around it would take a long time to get ladders up and do an inspection on that building The drone helps us narrow the points we might want to look at more closely and then we get the ladder or the lift Were reducing the risk of falling and it really narrows the scope of our inspections Drones also can deliver pesticides in some applications In Japan researchers at Saga University developed the agri drone which can spray pesticides on crops with a high level of precision Farmers in Taiwan and China also are using drones to apply pesticides and earlier this year Canadian company Roga Drone received that countrys first permit for the operation of a drone for aerial chemical applications In China the heat seeking drones being used to spray pesticides on orchards provide 15 times the efficiency of manual labor a huge benefit in a country that despite its large population has experienced a shortage of farm labor in recent decades Even retail giant Walmart is getting into the drone business applying for six patents related to using drones for preventing crop damage controlling agricultural pests and cross pollinating plants in an effort to improve its own fresh produce supply chain Using drones to apply pesticides and fertilizers isnt a huge leap in agriculture Farmers already rely on Global Positioning System GPS and other technologies to automatically guide large farm vehicles during planting and harvesting The drones used in these applications are larger and more expensive than the type typically used in pest management The Skyhawk RC X4 10 agricultural drone for example costs 5699 In Louisiana and California state officials and private pest management companies have deployed drones to help control mosquito populations spraying chemicals into standing water The drones reportedly can cover more ground in less time which reduces costs and risk and delivers the pesticide in a more targeted fashion with less environmental impact Any time you Drones often can photograph hot spots more safely than a tech on a ladder can are pulling out a ladder you are increasing risk Black points out If you could treat a flat roof for mosquitoes for example and do that without a ladder that sounds like a great technology to me While most typically think of only the aerial variety when people talk about drones a number of pest management and inspection companies also are using terrestrial drones for inspecting crawlspaces and other hard to reach areas Like their aerial counterparts these surface vehicles can be used to inspect crawlspaces more quickly and easily and also can improve safety robots are less perturbed by unexpected encounters with angry raccoons skunks or wasps A license to fly For PMPs considering purchasing a drone there are some regulatory hurdles The Federal Aviation Administration FAA regulates drones for commercial and recreational purposes and individual states often have their own regulations JuDy Black Every drone has to be licensed through the FAA and if you are using it for a commercial application there is a test similar to what youd take for a private pilots license Tesh says There are airspace considerations too if you are near an airport you cant put the drone up in the air For typical home inspection applications operators would need a remote pilot certificate from the cover story Continued on Page 34 32 May 2018 Pest Management Professional mypmp net Photo Andrew hicks Pest MAnAgeMent systeMs inc