Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Bed bug science, "experiments," etc.
UKY/Pest Management Professional survey of PMPs
(18 posts)-
In Pest Management Professional magazine, written by Michael Potter.
509 PMPs responded to an online survey from July to September 2007.
95% claim to inspect and 91% "routinely recommend" inspecting adjacent units
25% use steamers
21% had bedbug jobs, albeit minimally, more than 10 years ago
59% recommend discarding infested mattresses and box springs
65% use insect growth regulators
47% said control takes two treatments in an "uncluttered environment"The issue of scheduled follow-up visits, the concern of customers, the concern of technicians with regard to hitchhikers, walking away from jobs due to lack of cooperation or expense, satisfaction with currently available pesticides... and a whole lot more.
Fascinating and depressing, and required reading.
-
PS- Maybe someone will be kind enough to write an explanation of the PMP vs PCO thing. My best understanding is that PCO replaced "exterminator" in the 30s. And PMP (pest management professional) came at the end of the 60s, with IPM.
-
MixedFeelings
member
Joined: Jan '08
Posts: 181
Posted 2 years ago
Thu Feb 21 2008 8:42:06
#
Login to Send PM
Excellent article!! Thank you for sharing.
MF
-
senior member
Joined: Dec '07
Posts: 544
Posted 2 years ago
Thu Feb 21 2008 9:22:01
#
Login to Send PM
Thanks NOMO,
Sobering idea that they are spreading so rapidly even with best efforts,huh?I think a lot of the problem is the disadvantaged,not just financially but mentally seems to be the biggest challenge.Unfortunalely here as well we have seen what 1 person who won't acknowledge the problem can do to many others.Until goverment steps in (like in Cincinnati) I think it will continue to get worse everywhere.But that still leaves out the mentally challenged,how to keep track of infestations with them? Obviously,they can't be legally penalized the way a normal person could,social services for this type of situation is already overburdoned and under funded.What must be done to protect them? These are all questions that need answers from ? politians,public,health depts? I don't know... -
Actually my own very biased take is this: I find this survey depressing. PCOs need to go back to school, to Bed Bug School. And I don't buy the inspection thing. I think that is either response bias or a very loose definition of inspection. And the idea this suggests of how commonly IGRs are used (do they believe they work?), and how they blame lack of cooperation for lack of success, not something to make me happy and hopeful on this sunny morning.
So I wouldn't say this survey is evidence of best efforts. I think some PCOs don't know what they're doing (but don't want to be told), the available strategies don't work all that well even for the best PCOs, and we're in trouble. 51% said that it takes 4 or more treatments to achieve control in complex, cluttered environments. But the definition of a complex, cluttered environment is apparently an apartment or single-family home.
And yes, bb, I think we need help. Bedbugs may not be a pest "of medical importance" but they should be called a pest of economic importance. Or, wishful thinking, a pest of political importance...
"Perhaps the most universal comment was that bed bugs are getting worse, causing expressions of unease about the industry's ability to eliminate them."
-
MixedFeelings
member
Joined: Jan '08
Posts: 181
Posted 2 years ago
Thu Feb 21 2008 9:56:28
#
Login to Send PM
Agreed. Most of the PCOs in my area that I interviewed were in total denial about the BB situation. Most told me 1-2 treatments would fix it. Most said BBs are *not* resistant to pyrethrin. Most said the client didn't need to do any preparations or post-treatment protocols. What?? These PCOs need to get informed, and stay current.
Although sometimes I wonder... surely some uninformed people with BBs (working with equally uniformed PCOs) do manage to get rid of their issue. How is that possible?
As an interesting side note, my current PCO said most of her clients are cured after 1 treatment, and that many of them don't even vacuum their living spaces. How is that possible??
MF
-
Hi,
Interesting report and post.
Yes I would agree that most PCO's need retraining for bed bug issues but this is part in due to the fact that they are a lot more complex than other pests that they are asked to deal with.
When took my exams the section on bed bugs was about 2 sides of A4 and it was not thought of as a common pest problem. As it happens one of the UK technical specialists was lecturing on the course and we had plenty of time to chat and swap notes. One of the big take home messages for me was that I was seeing more cases in an average week than he dealt with in 2 or 3 months.
I have been looking at the issue of training the last few weeks and what it would take for me to be able to educate and send some back to work with more information and skills in their arsenal. The simple fact is that to be comfortable I would need to mix classroom work with field based work and to be honest it is unlikely to be a course that takes anything less than 4 or 5 days to complete.
I have trained a few technicians now, 2 with non PCO backgrounds and 1 with 15 years field experience. Interestingly enough the 2 non PCO's are still with me while I parted company with the other recently.
Yes this is an area where training and education is greatly needed but as there is no magic bullet solution to the problem training is a lot more complex than you would think. I actually start of by selecting my people based on eye sight and attitude preferring to teach them slowly and methodically rather than a standard operating procedure approach.
With regards pre treatment instructions I have now switched to leave everything as it is and don't disturb anything. Its a lot more logical than people not getting the instructions 100% correct and spreading the problem through the rest of the property.
Regards,
David
-
pleasehelp
member
Joined: Oct '07
Posts: 301
Posted 2 years ago
Thu Feb 21 2008 11:35:35
#
Login to Send PM
Thanks Nomo! I was particularly surprised by the stats on where the infestations were found, with single-family homes being #1:
single-family homes (80 percent)
apartments/condominiums (72 percent)
hotels/motels (58 percent)
And this backs up what David Cain recently wrote in another thread... -
MixedFeelings
member
Joined: Jan '08
Posts: 181
Posted 2 years ago
Thu Feb 21 2008 11:37:42
#
Login to Send PM
David,
Interesting! Re: no pre-treatment protocol. So you have clients leave all clothes in drawers, clothes in closets, no vacuuming, etc? So then what happens? You come for an inspection only and then have them prepare and come back later?
I don't mean to steal trade secrets. I am just super hungry for info from someone who seems to know what they are doing. Your past posts have all been excellent. I wish you were available in my area!
And if I may be so bold... what is your post-treatment protocol?
Disclaimer: I know anything you share may *not* work for others, I am not asking so that I can do it myself. I am truly just curious.
MF
-
Bugologist
member
Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 174
Posted 2 years ago
Thu Feb 21 2008 11:44:25
#
Login to Send PM
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the PCO, PMP, exterminator, bug killers, etc... business, there is a wide variety of people who own/carry out services. All you need to say you're a pest control business is a lisence and an add in the paper, phonebook, etc... To be honest, that's all a lot of them have. There is no requirement that you understand your target or stay up-to-date on the current trends in the industry.
So I would say a good majority of pest control companies out there read a book on pest control and carry out what they read without understanding their pests.
Now there are some companies out there who have trained professionals at the top (entomologists). Of course, your large companies have them (Terminix, Orkin, etc...) and some of the smaller ones but here's where the next saying comes into play "pest control is only as good as your technician is". With these companies when someone shows up at your door it's not the entomologist, it's a technician that was trained by a manager who was trained by the entomologist. I don't want to bash these technicians because there are some good ones out there but one of the biggest obstacles companies have is getting their technicians to carry out protocol as they are trained.
Anybody who's in management and trains people (in any industry) knows that there are a lot of employees out there where you tell to take a left at the next turn and 5 seconds later they take a right. Training is tough and these bed bug protocols with all these steps and techiques aren't easy to train on (I'm sure David Cain can appreciate that). It's like taking someone with no background or skill in art and trying to get them to paint an oil-based picture. It takes time and it doesn't always come out the way you envision it.
To be honest, this survey actually made me feel good about the direction companies are going. I know where things were 2 years ago and this is a drastic improvement but there is still a long way to go.
-
Hi MF,
We prefer to look at the situation and advise from there. Yes it does mean we get to see the natural state of peoples lives complete with piles of used clothes, books, paperwork, layers of dust but its worts and all stuff. I cant post the most amusing things we have found because the board is not R18 rated but as men of the world I can assure you its nothing we have not seen before.
If its a mild case and infected items can be dealt with post treatment we carry on making specific recommendations as to what MUST occur and when it MUST be completed by but treat that day. Other times the scene of the crime is just too bad to work on immediately and the occupant is simply told what they MUST do before we are willing to work on the problem for them. If its not detailed to the level we request then the next visit may be the last we are prepared to make. Call it tough love but it works.
Post treatment depends upon what we find in the case we are dealing with, although there is a guide it is customised and a program is created unique to the property and the circumstances we find. I would love to be able to share it but the fact is that it is by no means the complete picture and most of what we do that makes us so effective is done behind a closed door without the occupant being present, this is the aspect that takes so long to train into my staff.
We may be available in your area at some stage, I am always being approached by people looking at learning from us and exporting the principles to other countries but it is a slow process and we are not prepared to put our name to anything unless we know it will be done to the best of their abilities.
Bugologist, cant agree more with the training aspect. I train all my team personally from basic principles forward so that they know what techniques to apply to any given setting to get the most efficient results. Control is a lot more complex than most people will understand only having had exposure to 1,2 or 3 infested locations.
Regards,
David
-
MixedFeelings
member
Joined: Jan '08
Posts: 181
Posted 2 years ago
Thu Feb 21 2008 12:59:42
#
Login to Send PM
Thank you for sharing, I appreciate that.
MF
-
doormat4
newbite
Joined: Oct '07
Posts: 18
Posted 2 years ago
Sat Feb 23 2008 2:37:40
#
Login to Send PM
This is so great to see professionals posting/sharing here on this forum. You are a great asset to everyone who visits here.
Thanks bed-bugscouk,bugologist, & hopelessnomo for your investment of time here.The PMP survey is very interesting & good to see.
I'm assuming that this survey only applies to USA?Bugologist, do you feel that there should be better requirements for PMP's,PCO's ,as concerned with BB training &/or certifications. In my 30 years of work in the service industry, I have seen too many times where a trainee has been turned loose in the field,
only to learn from their mistakes, at the customers $$$ expence. I would think that the better PMP's would welcome certifiable training programs for the technicians. Just from what I've read on this site over the past several months, there are too many people, suffering financially, due to the lack of experience & proper training. I'm sure at some stage it would require gov involvement.I would suggest to anyone that they research the FAQs here, before choosing a PMP/PCO to
combat possible BB's infestation. That way they can make the best of a bad situation.doormat4
-
fightorflight
senior member
Joined: Jan '08
Posts: 694
Posted 2 years ago
Sat Feb 23 2008 4:10:11
#
Login to Send PM
Some thoughts:
I agree with hopelessnomo: I find this survey depressing, but then I am pessimistic by nature.
I do not agree that bedbugs are not a “pest of medical importance,” though unfortunately, this may be the public health opinion on which much policy is based. Given the mental and often physical anguish and destruction they cause, I believe they are a pest of great medical importance.
This belief is supported by the following paragraph from the survey findings:
“Because bed bugs are so reviled, customers appear willing to do whatever is needed to exterminate them. More than half of respondents believed that their customers were "not very" (29 percent) or "not at all" (30 percent) concerned about PMPs applying insecticides to control their bed bug problems — a telling statistic considering that more than three-fourths (77 percent) of householders said they were concerned about using pesticides to control traditional general household pests in a survey we conducted more than a decade ago.”I contrast this with a paragraph in Fair Ground, the blog for the Pesticide Education Project in Raleigh, NC (Aug 2007):
“While bedbugs are an extremely irritating pest - and a new one just emerging for most Americans - they do not spread disease, and should not be viewed as an emergency. In fact, while bedbugs are annoying, they pose less of a risk to your family than spraying pesticides inside your house. However, getting on top of the problem right away can spare you from some of the massive frustration that many people are reporting after experiencing an infestation.”To me, this sounds typical of reporting done by those who have never experienced an actual infestation. My conclusion lies in a very sad news report (sorry if this has already been posted in bedbugger) that shows to what lengths people around the world are willing to go to gain peace of mind again:
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=99724&d=13&m=8&y=2007&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom -
Hi doormat4,
I am not a pro. Like you, I appreciate their participation.
Yes, the survey is a United States survey. Previously, there was another pest management survey by other institutions completed in 2005.
-
Bugologist
member
Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 174
Posted 2 years ago
Sat Feb 23 2008 21:45:00
#
Login to Send PM
Obviously, I would love to see some sort of certification process for bed bug management/control but that would never happen. First there are entirely too many pest control companies/lisences out there and it would be a monumental undertaking that would be impossible.
One area this could start is in state exams. In order to be an applicator, at least here in NJ, you have to pass category exams that usually include basic questions on pests and how to control them. They could possibly make some of these questions tougher and add in bed bugs to at least test basics. Maybe they need to add a bed bug category and you have to pass the test to legally and knowingly treat for bed bugs. Again though, these are state exams and each state would be different.
It's really a topic about business ethics (after saying business ethics I feel there should be a segway to the movie Billy Madison). Personally, I could never open up a business and know I was fleecing someone or have no idea what I was doing while taking peoples money, but that's me.
-
senior member
Joined: Dec '07
Posts: 544
Posted 2 years ago
Sat Feb 23 2008 23:00:32
#
Login to Send PM
Bugologist,
It's too bad that would not happen,it sounds like just what's needed.Information is a weapon unto itself.As to the ethics,alas,I think people like you are in the minority in this country.Too bad for everyone. -
Hi,
Dedicated training and specialising will happen if people ask for it, it is however not likely to occur overnight. I think most people have to appreciate that it may cost a little extra to get dedicated people though.
I am regularly approached by other companies and local authorities requesting specific training. I am happy to offer it but they are invariably not keen on paying for the training despite the fact that they realise it will take at a minimum 3 - 5 days of my time.
It's a catch 22 situation, until people realise that efficient removal invariably requires specialist skills and that many PCO are not experienced enough then people will not know to ask for dedicated specialists.
David
Reply
You must log in to post.
