www.wisconsinpest.com • 2015 Summer Newsletter THE PEST DISPATCH www.WisconsinPest.com President’s Message How to Find Bed Bugs in Apartments Pages 1-2 Page 14 The Latest On Pesticides And Bee Declines WPCA Scholarship Deadline extended to July 31 Pesticides: There’s A Reason For Registration 8 11 2 page page page During March and April’s board meetings the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection updated us on a number of mat- ters that I want to present to you. This summer there will be a series of meet- ings held to establish a state pollinator plan. As an opportunity occurs for us to attend any of these meetings, your association will represent our interest. Secondly members of the management team within the Bureau of Agrichemical Management have been meeting with a variety of groups and associations that fall within the regulatory framework that the Bureau of Agrichemical Management oversees. These meetings are used in an effort to assist the Bureau with its strategic focus over the next several years. (Continued on page 2) President’s Message Mike Werner, Pest Management Solutions [email protected]
Transcript
www.wisconsinpest.com • 2015 Summer Newsletter
THE PEST
DISPATCHwww.WisconsinPest.com
President’s Message
How to Find Bed Bugs in Apartments
Pages 1-2
Page 14
The Latest On Pesticides And Bee Declines
WPCA Scholarship Deadline extended to July 31
Pesticides: There’s A Reason For Registration
811
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During March and April’s board meetings the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection updated us on a number of mat-ters that I want to present to you. This summer there will be a series of meet-ings held to establish a state pollinator plan. As an opportunity occurs for us to attend any of these meetings, your association will represent our interest.
Secondly members of the management team within the Bureau of Agrichemical Management have been meeting with a variety of groups and associations that fall within the regulatory framework that the Bureau of Agrichemical Management oversees. These meetings are used in an effort to assist the Bureau with its strategic focus over the next several years.
Some of the ideas we discussed were: • What are future business trends?• What specific issues and challenges are you are
facing as an industry that we should know about in order to be a better partner?
• How would you like us to keep you informed about our regulations and programs?
It needs to be said that our WPCA members and the WDATCP have had a very good relationship over the years. Lastly, The Bureau of Agrichemical Management is trying something new by periodically providing the WPCA results of cases they have closed within the state. In turn we will be including these in our newsletter. Names of these companies will be
(Continued from page 1)omitted. This is intended to be an educational tool for our member companies to more fully understand the role of the WDATCP and some common errors com-panies make. We will also be including reports from 4.0 landscape due to the increasing number of com-panies crossing over in both industries. Please see the sidebar article, “WDATCP Compliance Action Sum-maries” for details.
When I asked that we have these reports every quar-ter for our newsletter the answer I received was “I don’t think we will have enough cases to do that?” That’s one of the best things I ever heard about our industry. With that I want to wish everyone a happy, safe and successful summer season.
WPCA Scholarship Deadline Extended to July 31The WPCA Board of Directors has announced that the deadline for nominations for its two annual scholarships has been extended to July 31, 2015.
One scholarship, The Phil Pellitteri Scholarship, is named in honor of Phil Pellitteri who retired in early 2014 from the Insect Diagnostic Lab at UW-Madison. Phil ran the lab better than 30 years and has often served as a valued resource and speaker at WPCA educational seminars. The second award, named The WPCA Leadership Scholarship, is so named because today’s students will be tomorrow’s leaders — those who will make their communities and the world better places in which to live, work, and play.
Both scholarships are for children and spouses of
WPCA members, and are open to qualified nominees with a minimum 2.5 GPA. Nominations, applications, and a 500-word essay from applicants must be submitted by July 31, 2015.
The scholarships will be presented annually in the fall to two students who will be attending an accredited college, university, trade school, or institute of higher learning. You can download the scholarship application at www.wisconsinpest.com, click on “Scholarship”.
Landscape1. As the result of a complaint, DATCP completed
an investigation and determined that a Waukesha County landscape firm that commercially applies pesticides had not obtained a pesticide business location license, was employing unlicensed individ-ual pesticide applicators, did not maintain complete commercial pesticide application records, failed to provide compliant pre-application information and post-application information to customers and used a pesticide at a rate exceeding the maximum label use rate. The Defendant met with DATCP to discuss the substantiated violations and agreed to a stipulated settlement that required the Defendant pay the Waukesha County Clerk of Courts a forfeiture totaling $2,123.50.
2. As the result of a complaint, DATCP completed an investigation and determined that a Dane County landscape firm that commercially applies pesticides was illegally disposing of pesticides by releasing unwanted pesticide spray solutions to the company’s property. The DATCP investigation doc-umented the occurrence of such events. The Defen-dant met with DATCP to discuss the substantiated violations and agreed to a stipulated settlement that required the Defendant pay the Dane County Clerk of Courts a forfeiture totaling $2,075.50.
3. As the result of a complaint, DATCP completed an investigation and determined that a Wood County landscape firm that commercially applies pesticides had employed an individual to act as a commer-cial pesticide applicator who was not individually licensed or certified, failed to maintain complete commercial pesticide application records, failed to
provide complete post – application information to the customer, failed to provide post-application information to the customer immediately upon completing applications and failed to present a written offer to provide pre-application information to customers. The Defendant met with DATCP to discuss the substantiated violations and agreed to a stipulated settlement that required the Defendant pay the Wood County Clerk of Courts a forfeiture totaling $3,431.50.
Structural / Residential 1. As the result of a call from the Better Business
Bureau, DATCP completed an investigation and determined a Winnebago County structural pesticide application company was operating as a commercial pesticide application business without having obtained a pesticide business location license for multiple years. DATCP also found the company had recordkeeping violations and failed to provide customers with complete pre & post-application information. The Defendant met with DATCP to discuss the substantiated violations
and agreed to a stipulated settlement that required the Defendant pay the Winnebago County Clerk of Courts a forfeiture totaling $1,000.00.
2. As the result of a routine inspection, DATCP determined a Racine County structuralpesticide applicator was acting as a commercial pesticide applicator without having first obtained an individual commercial pesticide applicator license. DATCP records showed that the individual had previously held an individual commercial applicator license. The Defendant met with DATCP to discuss the substantiated violations and agreed to a stipulated settlement that required the Defendant pay the Racine County Clerk of Courts a forfeiture totaling $500.00.
3. DATCP recently investigated a complaint regarding a structural commercial pesticide application related to the use of the pesticide product Nuvan Prostrips + (plus) for the treatment of bed bugs. Upon re-viewing the pesticide product label, DATCP deter-mined that certain “use” requirements found on the pesticide label, such as ventilation, were performed by the customer after the applicator left instructions with the customer. DATCP reminded the commer-cial applicator that all use directions required by a product label are the responsibility of the commercial applicator.
Researchers in France believe they have developed a tool that will aid research on bed bugs, reports the Entomological Society of America. The device is described in an article called “A High-Performance Vacuum Cleaner for Bed Bug Sampling: A Useful Tool for Medical Entomology” that was published in the Journal of Medical Entomology.
Researchers Develop New Bed Bug Collecting Device
With the goal of collecting bed bugs to be used in laboratory research, they modified a Dyson hand vacuum (model DC34) with a sampling vial and a nozzle and created a device that proved to be effective at collecting bed bugs. In a bed bug-infested apartment where the device was tested, it collected more than 700 bed bugs in under 15 minutes, including adults, larvae, and eggs. The article noted that to increase monitoring and control levels, laboratory research on this pest is required for the development of innovative strategies and tools to eliminate bed bug infestations.
The Latest On Pesticides And Bee DeclinesP.J Liesch, UW-Madison Insect Diagnostic Lab
If you’ve heard anything about bees in the news lately, there’s a decent chance it hasn’t been particularly good news as bees have been declining for some time. Among the news stories, there are some reports that single out a particular set of insecticides (the neonicotinoids) for their potential role in bee declines.
So what exactly are neonicotinoids? Neonicotinoids (or simply “neonics”) are synthetic insecticides that resemble the structure of nicotine at the molecular level and disrupt nerve function in a similar manner. Being insecticides, the neonicoti-noids are obviously designed to kill insects. How-ever, unlike some of the older products that were highly toxic to both insects and humans and were applied in high doses (e.g., some of the organo-phosphates), neonicotinoids are generally known for their low mammalian toxicity and low application rates. Over the last two decades, the use of neonicotinoids has increased while other products have disappeared from the market.
The biggest question about neonicotinoids regards their effects on bees in real-world exposure situations. It’s known that neonicotinoids (like imidacloprid) are highly toxic to bees if direct exposure occurs (e.g., drift, overspray, or misappli-cations). As a result, the EPA has started requiring a bee notification box on neonicotinoid labels to draw extra attention to their hazards.
Within the last two months, recent papers have shed some light on the realistic exposure situation. A paper by Gaven Dively and colleagues found that honey bee colonies fed pollen spiked with realistic doses of imidacloprid were not significantly affect-ed. The researchers noted that as a whole, honey-bee colonies are fairly robust and have the ability
to detoxify the insecticide. A different paper by Maj Rundlöf and colleagues, also found minimal impacts of a neonicotinoid (clothianidin) to honey bees in a field-realistic situation in Sweden. However, those same researchers did find some impacts on native, solitary bees. Thus, native bees, with their small colony sizes may be affected more readily by the neonicotinoids
While important and timely for the discussion, these papers are merely the tip of the iceberg on the topic. When it comes to research on bee declines, there are new research findings being released regularly and we’re learning more about the situation all the time. Other studies on this topic have found some sub-lethal effects of neonicotinoids on bees, so we’re far from completely understanding the situation.
At the moment, the general scientific consensus is that bee declines for honey bees, bumble bees and native solitary bees are a combination of many interacting factors: habitat loss, diseases, parasites, agricultural practices, pesticides, and other factors. Implications for Our Industry: Overall, the risks to bees by structural pest control applications are generally low. Simply put, we don’t use many neonicotinoids in our industry. In addition, risks to bees are reduced by the fact that only some of our applications (e.g., perimeter applications) are made outside of structures. When it comes to making our applications, one of the best things we can do is to make sure to pay attention to the pesticide label and follow all directions. If you’re using a neonicotinoid insecticide or find the EPA bee box on your label, make sure to take all the necessary precautions to ensure that we’re doing our part to minimize risks to bees and other pollinators.
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A recent news story about a Virgin Islands vaca-tion gone wrong probably made you sit up and take notice. At least it should have, because it involved a structural pesticide application that’s certain to lead to a multimillion-dollar lawsuit.
In March, a couple and their two teen-age sons were vacationing in the U.S. Virgin Islands – not some poverty-riddled place where the tropical paradise ends at the resort property lines. They be-came very ill, and the two boys suffered seizures. All had to be flown home, and at this writing six weeks later, were still recovering. They may have lifelong health problems, including lung injury and neurological impairment.
What happened? Someone applied the fumigant methyl bromide in the apartment below them – not even in the apartment they rented. Methyl bromide is prohibited for indoor use. You can see why.
And you can see why both the federal and state governments require pesticides to be registered, with thorough labeling. You can see why following the label is not just a good idea – it’s the law.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency registers products based on science and research. Registra-tion requires labeling that tells the user how much pesticide may be applied and where, under what conditions, to control what pest, and any other re-strictions on its use. Some products that carry mini-mum risk may be “25(b) exempt”, meaning they are exempt from registration under that clause in FIFRA, the federal pesticide law. An example is Deer Stopper, a product with the active ingredients putrescent whole egg solids, rosemary oil and mint oil.The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection also requires that pesti-cides be registered with the state for distribution and use in Wisconsin – even if they are 25(b)
exempt. You can find a list of all products registered for use in Wisconsin, along with their labels, at kellysolutions.com/wi/pesticideindex.asp.
Wisconsin statutes define a pesticide as “…any substance or mixture of substances labeled or de-signed or intended for use in preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest…” It’s not what the substance is; it’s how it’s intended to be used that makes it a pesticide. So even “natural” or “green” products meant to be used as pesticides must be registered or have a 25(b) exemption.
As a pesticide applicator, you always need to look for that EPA registration number or a 25(b) exempt statement on the product label. If you don’t find one or the other, do not use the product. Assum-ing one or the other is there, you are responsible for reading the entire label (including any supplemental or online materials) and following all instructions on it. If you don’t, you are liable for any human or animal injury or property damage. Even in the absence of any injury or damage, you are still subject to administrative action by DATCP or legal charges in the courts.
This means:• No home remedies – either your own concoctions
or your customers’• No increasing the application rate to try for greater
effectiveness• No reasoning that a product effective enough to
kill mice should work on bed bugs, too • And no using products in a location not allowed
by the label
In short, if there is no registration number or 25(b) exemption, or if the way you intend to use the prod-uct is not listed on the label, don’t use the product. If you do, you are taking a legal risk. But more important, you may be risking someone’s life.
Pesticides: There’s A Reason For RegistrationMike Murray, DATCP Pesticide Program Manager
Pest Control Technology (PCT) has launched its annual Technician of the Year awards program.
The awards, sponsored by BASF Pest Control Solutions, recognize a trio of standout service professionals in the residential, commercial and termite categories. Be sure to nominate your company’s standout service professionals. The nomination form is printed on pages 81-82 in the April issue of the magazine. Entry deadline is July 18.
You can fill out an online application here: http://www.pctonline.com/techyear15online.aspx
Experts say snow acted as a “blanket” for ticks, helping insulate and protect them from the cold. “Typically ticks — the nymphs — start coming out in early May,” says Richard Horowitz, M.D., a tick-borne disease specialist and author of Why Can’t I Get Better? Solving the Mystery of Lyme & Chronic Disease, tells Yahoo Health. “But patients are already coming in this year with tick bites, several weeks early.” The reason: The packs of snow acted as a “blanket” for the blood-sucking insects, insulating and protecting them from the cold. Beneath the snow, ticks aren’t exposed to wind and other adverse weather conditions, and the temperature is much more stable throughout the day and night than at the surface, according to Bennett Jordan, Ph.D., entomologist and staff scientist for the National Pest Management Asso-ciation. Read more at: www.yahoo.com/health/ticks-are-early-abundant-and-urban-this-year-117256478987.html.
2015 Technician Of The Year Program Underway Nominations Being Accepted
Ticks Show up Early, Abundant and in Urban Areas this Year
Anyone inexperienced with bed bugs will have little idea of just how intense an inspection it takes to find all the pockets of a bed bug infestation. Your initial inspection must be thorough, and you will need to return again after treatment and re-inspect just as thoroughly.
Always check these potential hotspots:
Check the bedAre you squeamish? Better wear gloves. Strip back the covers and look for blood spots on the sheets. Stand up the mattress. Remove the box spring and flip it over. There is no way to find bed bugs in a bed unless you do. Inspect both carefully. Check every seam.
A prime location for a bed bug is resting upside down on the underside of the box spring where the box rests on the bed frame. Look inside the box spring, too. Shine a flashlight through the gauze fabric on the bottom of the box spring. You may even have to remove the stapled fabric to inspect inside.
Also check the headboard, if there is one, and look inside anything and everything that is stored under the bed. Bed bugs can hide inside shoe boxes, for example.
Check the rest of the bedroomBed bugs aren’t limited to beds, and your inspec-tion shouldn’t stop there. Concentrate on furnish-ings close to the bed. Pull out dresser drawers and check inside the drawers and in crevices. Like cockroaches, bed bugs like to squeeze into narrow spaces. Look under televisions, stereos, and other equipment, behind pictures, in the crevice behind the baseboard, and even in stacks of clothing.
Bed bugs are often found hiding in tack strips
How to Find Bed Bugs in Apartments
Strip back the covers and look for blood stains and bed bugs in seams
Stand up the box spring and shine a flashlight through the gauze fabric to find bugs inside
under wall-to-wall carpeting and behind base-boards. Be aware that bed bugs tend to crawl up-wards. Also check drapes, wall decorations, and cracks in the ceiling-wall junction.
Check the furniture in all roomsBed bugs hitchhike on clothing, purses, and the like from the bedroom into other rooms. Many people spend as much time on the couch or in an easy chair as they do in bed, so always check for a sec-ondary bed bug infestation in living room and family room furniture. Remove the cushions. Check seams and crevices. Tip back the couch and chair and look underneath, particularly behind skirts and at the seams.
Take your time!A thorough bed bug inspection in an apartment unit takes one to two hours. But it’s the only way to be successful.
4 Lakes Pest Control‘AAA’ Pest Management, LLCABC Exterminating, Inc.ABC Pest Control – Ritzer Pest ControlAdvanced Wildlife ControlAG Pest SolutionsAllergy AttackersAlternative Pest Solutions, LLCAmerican Pest SolutionsAnderson Pest SolutionsANTS Complete Pest ControlArrow Pest ControlBadger Pest ControlBadgerland Pest ControlBarrier 1 Pest ControlBatzner Pest Management, Inc.Bee Guy, LLCBlue Pest Control and Home ServicesBourn Pest SolutionsBug Blaster, Inc.Bug BomberBugman and Queenbee, Inc.Bugs Away, LLCCentral Wisconsin Pest ControlClean Kill Pest ControlCopesan ServicesCritter Catchers Pest ManagementCritter GittersD.B. Bug BlastersDeBoer Pest Control, LLCDiamondback Pest ManagementEhlers Pest ManagementErspamer Pest Management, LLCFarm Fly ServicesFisher Pest Control, Inc.
The Pest Dispatch is published by the Wisconsin Pest Control Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the interest of the pest management industry in Wisconsin. | www.wisconsinpest.org
Production: The Wingra Group, LTD., Madison, WIEditor: Mark L. Hendrickson, [email protected]: Danielle Hendrickson, [email protected] Copyright 2015, WPCA. All rights reserved.
WPCA Board of Directors:Keith Baricovich, Past President, Up North ServicesSheri Cunningham, UnivarChris Emery, Anderson Pest SolutionsJoe Herlehy, Orkin Pest ControlDan Keohane, Alternative Pest SolutionsPJ Liesch, UW Madison Insect Diagnostic LabMike Murray, WDATCPCharlie Roy, Pest Control Solutions NowMatthew Snorek, Guaranteed Gone Pest EliminationJared Woerth, Wil-Kil Pest Control
WPCA Recognizes these Member Businesses for their Dedication to the Profession
* If we somehow omitted your company’s name, please let us know so we may correct the error.
Go Pest TechGuaranteed Gone Pest EliminationGuardian Pest Control, Inc.Hanson Pest ManagementK&C Pest ControlKing Pest SolutionsMasterGuard Pest ControlMasters Pest Control/Bug Masters Pest ControlMautz Pest SolutionsMichalak Pest ControlMidwest Pest SolutionsMinocqua Pest ControlNexus Pest SolutionsNorth Shore Pest ControlOrkin Pest ControlPest Control Services, Inc.PestControlSolutionsNOW.comPest Management Solutions, LLCPest Tech, LLCPlunkett Pest ControlPort Supply and Property ManagementPremier Pest EliminationPro-Tec Services, Inc.Pro-X SystemsProfessional Pest Control, Inc.Prolitec, Inc.Prompt Action Pest ControlSafeway Pest ManagementSchopen Pest SolutionsSleep Tight RemediationSmithereen CompanyTerminator Pest ControlTerminixUniversity of Wisconsin-MadisonUp North Services, Inc.
Urban Pest SolutionsValley Pest ControlWendell’s Pest ControlWerner Pest and Odor ControlWil-Kil Pest ControlWild Things Animal Damage Control
Vendor MembersAllergy Technologies Anstar ProductsAP&G Company, Inc. - CatchmasterBASFBayer Environmental ScienceBell Laboratories, Inc.BWO Insurance GroupCentral Life SciencesContree Sprayer & EquipmentDenman May & Associates InsuranceEnsystexFleetMaticsGardner ManufacturingGloves by WebJohn Deere LandscapeJT EatonLiphatechNSI/West Bend MutualPest Control SuppliesPest Management SupplyRhodes Chemical CompanyRockwell LabsTrece, Inc.Tomahawk Live TrapTransworld SystemsTricor InsuranceUnivar
