Pest Management Professional, November 2015

2016 STATE OF THE INDUSTRY 2 Top T p 5 AnTs nT To tweens this might refer to a beloved boy band before one members departure this summer anyway But PMPs know the only quintet truly worth making a fuss about is comprised of ants bed bugs cockroaches rodents and termites By HEATHEr GoocH Editor BED BUGs 66 of respondents offer bed bug management 8 said its generating most of their 2015 revenue 15 said its their most profitable segment in 2015 11 predict it will generate most of their 2016 revenue S6 November 2015 Pest Management Professional mypmp net artwork istock com Q uick Grab one of your technicians schedules for the week Does the roster include an ant visit a rodent visit and a bed bug visit Maybe a cockroach cleanout or a termite inspection All of the above Its no secret that these five pests take up a good chunk of pest management professionals PMPs time and effort on a daily basis There will always be exceptions of course some companies steer clear of termites and other wood destroying insects and organisms WDI WDOs while others specialize in them for example But from the annoyance customers feel when they spot ants in their homes to the panic they endure when they realize bed bugs have taken up residence and every emotion in between these Top 5 have been mainstays in the industry AnTs As we made abundantly clear in our cover story last month Ants Public Enemy 1 most customers loathe ants They might still be freaked out about bed bugs or lament the cost of termite damage but a trail of ants on their kitchen counter can make their blood pressure skyrocket Thats where PMPs come in They assess the situation and devise the optimal control strategy However thats often easier said than done Is it an odorous house ant situation which happens to be the species ranked No 1 in distribution this year Or is it a carpenter ant infestation which ranks No 2 Fire ants particularly the red and the black imported species are considered more of a regional issue Yet they rank No 4 in our survey for prevalence as milder temperatures push them everfarther north in the United States pavement ants rank No 3 According to eXtension org as of May 2015 Solenopsis invicta and Solenopsis richteri currently inhabit all or parts of Alabama Arkansas California Florida Georgia Louisiana Mississippi New Mexico North Carolina Oklahoma Puerto Rico South Carolina Tennessee Texas and Virginia They are also discovered sporadically in Kentucky Missouri and Maryland Will a Pest Management Professional PMP State of the Industry report in the not so distant future feature fire ants in Maine Stranger things have occurred BED BUGs PMPs 2015 Bed Bug Management Survey took center stage in our July issue and the pests naturally were a recurring theme in the answers from our survey respondents Ten The Fab 1 Odorous house ants Tapinoma sessile 2 Carpenter ants Camponotus spp 3 Pavement ants Tetramorium caespitum 4 Fire ants Solenopsis spp 5 Bigheaded ants Pheidole spp