Pest Management Professional, September 2015

Pest trends O ne statement regularly heard from dusting experts and regulatory officials in dust application lawsuit claims is If the consumer can see the dust you used too much Some disagree but when you have a number of credible experts testifying this is true it complicates your defense Case in point After a condo was treated for fleas a state inspector was called in because the resident decided too much dust was used The state inspector reported this as factual and the resident moved out of the condo for six months The unit had to be cleaned three times but we werent informed until the third treatment Needless to say the resident was very particular about residue of any kind The bottom line is this claimant said the dust caused property damage and bodily injury But heres the kicker There were two other condos both of which were treated with dust resulting in the same complaints This time we were able to get in front of the situation before it spun out of control Even though dust was visible in isolated areas swab and air samples came back with normal results Therefore there was no ground for a legitimate claim The condo that had to be treated three times per the residents demands was in the same shape However because we werent involved in the situation until later in the process the tenants claim exceeded 100000 while the other two units stand at 0 On the claims side its easy If you know or retain an insurance or litigation professional who is familiar with these types of exposures give him or her a call It could make a significant difference in the outcome Customer not always right Dust formulations when applied per label directions are effective in the reduction and elimination of pest pressures However nowhere on a dust insecticide label will you ever find apply per residents demands or treat if you feel like it While following the directives of the product label you must be aware of the hidden structural components that may carry a dust formulation from region A to region B If you apply the product here where will it go A dust formulation particle can be as tiny as 04 μm a micrometer or micron is one millionth of a meter If one throws a little Brownian motion or physics into the mix dusts can be either very effective tools or very expensive claims Brownian motion or pedesis Greek meaning leaping is the random motion of particles suspended in a liquid or gas resulting from collisions with the quick atoms or molecules in the liquid or gas see Fig 1 If particles subject to Brownian motion are present in a given medium and there is no preferred direction for random oscillations then over a period of time the particles will tend to be spread evenly throughout the medium In simpler terms if A and B are two adjacent regions and at the Fig 1 time of treatment A contains twice as many particles as B then at that instant the probability of a particle leaving A to enter B is twice as great as the probability that a particle will leave B to enter A The physical process in which a substance tends to spread steadily from regions of high concentration to regions of lower concentration is known as diffusion Verifiable training Now that you are thoroughly enlightened or confused on dust particle movement realize that the bottom line in avoiding claims is to read understand and follow the label Within their directions product labels incorporate and balance all dust formulation characteristics Whether in the office or in the field facilitated training of applicators by licensees or vendors through instructional hands on dust applications must be completed and constantly updated Most importantly attendees must sign the training sheet for verification No documentation and its like it never happened Plaintiffs attorneys are subpoenaing training records and questioning if attendees are not documented or signed in for verification We can still defend if its not verified but it does not often sit as well with a jury Remember an ounce of prevention means you can stay out of the courtroom and continue on with your successful ethical business pmp MItCHeLL is technical editor of PMP magazine MCGIntY is LIPCA Insurance EVP COO For more on the duos dusting equipment basics please visit PMPs new blog at PestTalk net illustration Dr stuart Mitchell Dust in the where In recent years improper use of dust formulations has resulted in a significant increase in litigation Are your techs properly trained in this technique By anDy mCginty Contributor Dr stuart mitChell bCe Technical Editor mypmp net pest management professional September 2015 19