Pest Management Professional, November 2015

s p o n s o r e d b y ROdEnT REvEnuE CHAngE 2014 2015 to 2015 to 2016 Up more than 25 7 9 Up 10 to 25 27 21 Up less than 10 42 475 Flat 195 16 Down less than 10 1 3 Down 10 to 25 1 1 Down more than 25 25 25 know about them Look no further than a study published in the Aug 31 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences It found that termite mounds have ventilation systems that rival state of the art architecture The structures act similarly to a lung inhaling and exhaling once a day as they are heated and cooled marvels a press release on News Harvard edu The study involved an unnamed termite species in India but the implications are immense Could the next office your company moves into take advantage of heating and cooling systems that termites already have mastered pmp TOp 5 COCKROACHES 1 German cockroaches Blatella germanica 2 American cockroaches Periplaneta americana 3 Oriental cockroaches B orientalis 4 Smoky brown cockroaches P fuliginosa 5 Brown banded cockroaches Supella longipalpa percent of them even cited bed bugs as the top opportunity for their companies in 2016 while 21 percent named Cimex lectularius as the pest most likely to make the biggest resurgence next year Resurgence Havent bed bugs been front and center in the media and the topic of desperate pleas from customers for more than a decade It doesnt matter After a generation of being barely encountered they are now popping up in public libraries hotels buses and homes with more regularity cementing their status as a mainstay pest COCKROACHES PMPs always make the best restaurant companions theyre deft at taking their guests to a place where the roaches are kept to a minimum Several good products are on the market to take care of this pest the trouble over gaining control is often failing to manage customers and their sanitation habits Still they can be a profitable pest segment 10 percent of respondents report cockroaches as their No 1 profit center in 2015 and 9 percent predict theyll be No 1 in 2016 TERmiTES And OTHER WdiS WdOS 69 of respondents offer termite WDI WDO management 22 said its generating most of their 2015 revenue 26 said its their most profitable segment in 2015 21 predict it will generate most of their 2016 revenue ROdEnTS When you think rodent job chances are you immediately picture a house mouse Norway rat or roof rat Youd be right on the money with the Top 3 prevalent rodent species according to this years survey But it may be time to expand your mental photo album to include deer mice meadow mice voles and more In July the U S Environmental Agency EPA expanded rodenticide label language to include noncommensal rodents including the aforementioned species as well as others as target pests This paves the way for PMPs to market their rodent control strategies to a new audience of barn owners landowners etc And dont forget moles Consumers faced with a glut of old wives tales and gimmicky do it yourself products often end up turning to a professional to get the problem under control once and for all While just 7 percent of respondents name rodents as their top earning pest segment in 2015 a similar figure forecasted for 2016 the right target marketing campaign could make that number scamper up the charts in the year ahead TERmiTES OTHER WdiS WdOS Wood destroying pests are truly a breed apart in the professional pest management industry Some PMPs thrive on termite work whereas others walk quickly away from it Location both in pest population density and local regulation density plays a large role Yet it seems the more we learn about termites the less we really mypmp net pest management professional november 2015 S7