Doc’s Dialogue
by Austin M. Frishman, Ph.D.
It is my hope that this venue will allow me to share my thoughts on technical issues as well as trends in the urban pest management industry. My goal is to make it informative, interesting and thought-provoking.
Here are three recent newsworthy items worth sharing with you.
Bed Bugs
Bed bugs and school book bags, what a nightmare. The University of Florida, IFAS Extension in conjunction with the Jacksonville, Florida Bed Bug Task Force and some astute Pest Management Professionals (PMPs), have produced an educational program geared for grades 3-5. “Bed Bugs and Book Bags” is available free of charge by downloading it off the web. Before an educator is eligible to download the curriculum, they must go through a 30 minutes training session and correctly answer questions at the end of the program. The children’s curriculum is interactive and keeps their interest while learning what to do and what to communicate to their parents about bed bugs. There are ten activities on the program with colorful graphics. For more information, contact FPMA at (800) 426-4829 or http://duval.ifas.ufl.edu/Bed-bugs.shtml.
Rodent Proofing
Rodent proofing is a great step forward. We generally think about rodent proofing as plugging a small hole the size of a mouse or rat, or sealing entrance ways when exit doors are closed. Now think bigger, much bigger. New York City has embarked upon a program to rodent proof the very ground where rats harbor, in city parks. Global Material Technologies, Inc., the manufacturers of XCLUDER™ for small rodent jobs, now has large sheets of metal mesh that can cover acres called XCLUDER GEO. The mesh comes in 100 foot rolls that are six feet wide. The grass is rolled back and the material installed and covered with decorative chips or stones for a natural look.
Need more incentives to find out more? A local PMP in New York City is using it to rodent proof the base of trees in front of buildings or trees planted in the strip between a structure and the street. He is getting about $1,000 per tree. N.Y.C. Health Department is issuing $300 fines for active rodent burrows in these areas. It is cheaper to pay once and get rid of the problem than keep paying a fine.
For more information, contact your local distributor or GMT at (888)468-9665, Ext. 202 or visit www.getxcluder.com.
Regulations
The New York City Health Department has issued a new mandate which was supposed to go in effect during the spring of 2012. Food establishments which have any monitoring devices, including sticky traps and glue boards, must be dated as to when they are installed. Monitoring Devices must be removed after a maximum of 30 days. This new mandate also requires the food facility to inspect the premises and incoming food and supplies daily for possible pests.
©2012 Syngenta. XCLUDER™ is a trademark of Global Material Technologies, Inc.
Frishman earned his undergraduate degree in entomology and his master’s degree from Cornell University and later received his doctorate degree from Purdue University. He has been making significant contributions to the pest management industry for more than 40 years. To honor his career, Frishman received Pest Control Technology’s Professional of the Year Award in 1993 and in 2002 he was inducted into the Pest Control Magazine Hall of Fame. Today, Frishman still travels to speak and consult about pest management issues.
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