pest · professional pest control – more than a man&avan new reference resources take the...

Let your voice beheard in 2014 survey

9

The full monty to getfull control

14 18

Baiting blitz for theIsles of Scilly

The good, bad & uglyin bed bug control

Issue 31January & February 2014

pestThe independent UK pest management magazine

22

Issue 31January & February 2014

Rodentdebategoes on

Industry news

Wildlife news

Work goes on to protect rodenticides

Be heard in the 2014 Pest Management Survey

Time to re-think first-generation rodenticides?

Integrate to eradicate

Bigger maybe, but better? Cockroaches in the USA

Competition – count the cockroaches to win

Rats ahoy! Rodent control on the Isles of Scilly

Rats are here to stay, says academic

Readers evaluate novel rodent control idea

Bed bugs go global!

Professional pest control – more than a man & a van

New reference resources

Take the Pest Test

Pests don’t have to be scary!

Nominate now for product ‘Oscars’

Products – what’s new?

Two upcoming events in Krakow, Poland

Diary dates including new PPC Live & ICUP in Zurich

CONTENTSIssue 31 2014

January & February 2014 www.pestmagazine.co.uk pest 3

The future of rodent control is taxing better brains than ours at present. Plans for the StewardshipRegime are at a crucial stage with proposals due with the HSE any day. If these are acceptable toall involved, implementation will begin immediately. Make no mistake this path will not be an easyone to navigate. There are plenty of organisations seeking to rack-up the political pressure on HSE.

As went to press we were alerted to a petition on the subject of rodenticides, launched by theBarn Owl Trust. Using the power of the Internet and some pretty emotional language, the onlinepetition had received almost 76,000 signatures in its first 14 days as the public rushed to sign-up'to stop the poisoning of Britain's barn owls' – well you'd sign to support that, wouldn't you!

If you take the trouble to read the Trust's actual demands you'll find that they are not a million milesaway from the industry's position – best practice and some old fashioned commonsense. Butcampaigns like this don't help. Over the longer term, the public remember words like ‘poison’ andthat generates an up-swell of opinion against rodenticides. In the short term industry leaders havebeen diverted from the critical task of finalising the draft stewardshipproposals. Time that would have been better spent sorting out how theindustry can work in closer harmony with the environment.

Pest

Contents

Use pesticides & biocides safely.Always read the label and productinformation before use

pestPest is published six times a year

The legal stuffWhilst is produced with great care, thepublishers cannot accept any liability forinaccuracies or errors herein. Nor canaccept any responsibility for claims made inadvertisements nor for any results ormisadventures experienced from using theproducts advertised.

© magazine 2014. All published materialremains the copyright of the publisher. No partof this magazine may be reproduced, stored in aretrieval system, or transmitted, in any formwithout prior permission of the copyright holder.

is published by Foxhill Publishing LimitedRegistered in England No: 6737319

Printed by www.pps-print.com

Pest

Pest

Pest

Pest

PPS Print,

Technical advisory board

Dr Moray Anderson Clive BoaseDr Alan Buckle Paul ButtProf Chris Feare Rob FryattAdrian Meyer Prof Gai MurphyDr John Simmons Richard StrandGrahame Turner

Editor & publisher:Associate editor & publisher:

Frances McKimHelen Riby

Editorial contacts:

Aims

As the industry’s only independentmagazine,

We

Pest aims to deliver a mix ofunbiased news, impartial advice andtopical technical features. arecommitted to being as inclusive aspossible covering every sector of thepest management industry.

Please contact the editor as above orvisit our website atwww.pestmagazine.co.uk

Advertisers

Send us your news

Send your news or views to:Email: [email protected]: 01509 233219Or write to us at:

,Pest Foxhill, Stanford on Soar,Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5PZWe’d love to hear from you.

Future for rodenticides still in the balance

Frances McKimHelen Riby

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GARsSave

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protecting the use of second-generation anticoaglantsSGARsouravepest

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NEWSMaking headlines

www.pestmagazine.co.uk January & February 20144 pest

Get more news atwww.pestmagazine.co.uk

where you seethis symbol

wwwread more

on the web

Pest controller stars

Pest technician, Andy Taylor, who works inthe pest control section of Bolton Council,was named amongst the council's top staffat a ceremony in mid-December. Andy, 37,from Sharples, Bolton was praised for hisactions when he helped a four year-old boyabandoned in the street. The boy had beenlocked-out of his home by his mother whileshe went shopping.

Andy said: “The little boy was distraughtand he was really screaming. He managedto explain to me what had happened soI called the police and waited with him untilthey came. It was very upsetting. “I'm a bitembarrassed to say this, but I always try anddo the small things that can mean a lot toother people. It sounds a bit cheesy butthat's how I try to be at work.”

The ceremony was led by Bolton Council'schief executive Sean Harriss, who said: “It ismore important than ever to recognise thededication of staff working on the front lineduring these ‘challenging times'.“

Andy Taylor receives his award fromLaura Thompson, Bolton of Whites Hotel

New appointment at WoodstreamAt the end of January Dawn Heptinstall-Bolton joined WoodstreamEurope as account development manager for the pest division.

Dawn's role will involve the development of Woodstream's brandsthroughout the UK and Europe for both professional and retailproducts. For the last seven years, Dawn worked in both theprofessional and retail pest control markets for South Wales-based Suterra.

Rentokil buys Green ComplianceIt was announced on 20 December 2013 that Rentokil Initialhad agreed to acquire the pest control division of GreenCompliance. The deal is for a total consideration of £4.0m incash: Green Compliance had audited revenues of £5.0m forthe year ended 31 March 2013.

Those of us with good memories will recall Green Compliance began trading in December2009 with several ex-Connaught staff (who had Santia and Igrox heritage) at the helm. In2010 Green Compliance acquired Enviro-care, PestFree and Enviroguard. Will wehave any regional pest control firms left?

Another supplier of professional

productsAs previously reported PestFix based in West Sussex has already

started to sell a range of products aimed at the professional

market. More feathers are likely to be ruffled in the trade, as

Farnham-based VectorShop ( ) joins the fray.

This South Korean company is perhaps better known for its range

of hot and cold fogging machines, sold under the VectorFog

brand. The VectorShop idea came about as a result of fogging

machine clients asking for the products to go with them.

Just like the other established distributors, VectorShop is offering

next day delivery, along with some apparently pretty keen prices

on the albeit limited selection of products they are supplying.

www.vectorshop.co.uk

Popping the question in the Big AppleThe winner of the 2013 annual

Brandenburg fly killer sales

incentive, organised for Mitie staff,

was Shane Lamb. For his prize he

opted for a four night trip to New

York which just before Christmas he

took with his girlfriend, Adele.

Shane being a bit of a romantic,

popped the 'big question' on a trip

to Liberty Island. Adele accepted

and they plan to marry in Gretna

Green. Rich Coates, managing

director, Brandenburg UK,

commented: “We're absolutely

delighted for both Shane and Adel

and I'd like to wish them all the very

best for the future and hope they have many years of happiness together. I can honestly say

this is the first time our fly traps have been involved in a marriage proposal. None of our

efficacy testing ever predicted this, so I'll be speaking to our research guys to find out why!"

wwwread more

on the web

FSA left chairless

It was reported inthat the Food Standards Agency

(FSA) will have to continue for almost a yearwithout a permanent chair after Departmentof Health officials admitted they had failedto identify a suitable candidate despitelaunching their search in April 2013.

Environmental Health

News

wwwread more

on the web

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January & February 2014 www.pestmagazine.co.uk 5pest

Excel proves itself safe

Excel Environmental Services, based in Paisley, Scotland, has beenawarded accreditation from Safecontractor for its commitment toachieving excellence in health and safety. John Kinge, technical

director of Safecontractor said:“Major organisations simply cannotafford to run the risk of employingcontractors who arenot able to prove that theyhave sound health and safetypolicies in place.”

Graham Jukes

awarded OBEGraham Jukes, chief executive of theChartered Institute of EnvironmentalHealth (CIEH) since 2000, wasawarded an OBE in the 2014 NewYear's Honours list for services toenvironmental health in the UK andoverseas. The award was made inrecognition of his outstanding serviceto the public through the environmental health profession and therole he has played in improving environmental health conditions,both nationally and internationally, over a career spanning43 years. At the end of January 2014 the book, organised byGraham, entitled waspublished – see page 29.

Putting Wrong Things Right

wwwread more

on the web

Molecatchers give a wishRepresentatives from the Guild of British Molecatchers havepresented a cheque for over £10,000 to the Make-A-WishFoundation.

Natalie Hill, volunteer and fundraising manager for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, said: "We have been bowled-over by the supportfrom the members of the Guild of British Molecatchers since theystarted supporting us four years ago.”

Martin Noble, a molecatcher based in Surrey and also arepresentative for Guild members across UK, added: "Thepresentation was a great opportunity for us to see how the fundsraised by our membership donations help to give amazingopportunities to children with life threatening conditions. We are alllooking forward to continuing to support this amazing andworthwhile cause.”

The Guild of British Molecatchers is a not-for-profit organisation thatis run to promote good mole control through its Code of Practiceand mole catching accreditation scheme.

Left to right: Martin Noble, membership secretary, Bob Land,guild member, Mark Clark & Chris South, guild area reps,Martyn Dolbear, guild rep for press & publicity, Paul Schultz,national rep co-ordinator and guild area rep and NatalieHill, fundraising manager, Make A Wish Foundation

Surprise, surpriseTechnicians at South Croydon-based Cleankill EnvironmentalServices got more than a bit of a shock when treating for mice inthe loft space of a domestic property in Godstone, Surrey. Theyfound one of their carefully placed mouse boxes in this condition –see picture below.

They then set a trap in the loft and two days later caught a largerat! An amazed Paul Bates, Cleankill's managing director, said:“We have seen this kind of damage before done by squirrels butnot very often by rats!!”

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Owners of ferrets in the south are increasing security on their ferrethutches and keeping them firmly under lock and key. A significantnumber of ferrets have been rustled, with James Bradley ofLandmark Rabbit Management, based in Wiltshire having had 27stolen from his home. The organised thefts began about two yearsago and appear to be spreading across the country. Quite why theyare being stolen remains something of a mystery.

Fox travels 195 miles!To their amazement,

fitted with a GPS tracker,the BBC programme has

discovered that a fox, christened Fleet andtrekked 195 miles (the equivalent of London to Manchester) over 21days in search of a new territory.

It is believed he was forced out of his own territory when hedeveloped lungworm. He then wandered through Sussex and Kent,ending up in Rye, 55 miles. Surely a very stressful journey for such aterritorial animal.

Winterwatch

Badger setts double in 25 yearsIn a study published in Nature’s , workbetween November 2011 and March 2013 recorded that thenumber of badger setts in England has more than doubled in thelast 25 years. Researchers believe the number of badger groups hasrisen by about 2.6% each year.

There are now an estimated 71,600 badger groups in England andWales. The team, led by Jo Judge from the National WildlifeManagement Centre (part of Defra) made it clear the sett figures donot necessarily point to the same increase in the individual badgerpopulation. Their findings were, unsurprisingly, seized upon byadvocates of the badger cull.

Scientific Reports journal

Squirrel wrecks magistrate’s home

Margaret Bousfield, a magistratefrom Hartlepool, was left with a billfor £7,000 after a squirrelransacked her living-room.Overnight the squirrel fell down herchimney and, in its desperateattempt to escape, clawed, bit andgenerally trashed her sitting-room.It was making so much noise sheinitially thought it was a burglar!

Ferret rustling hits Britain

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If you’ve kept up with the politics of second-generation anticoagulant use you will knowthat the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) hasmade it plain that a stewardship campaignto ensure safe use must be implemented toallow these essential products to remain onthe market.

Just to avoid any confusion, the products weare talking about are those which containdifenacoum, bromadialone, brodifacoum,difethialone or flocoumafen.

But, the HSE is not trying to make your lives,as pest professionals, difficult. The request toproduce a comprehensive stewardshipprogramme is to implement policy comingfrom the European Commission, theEuropean Parliament and the UKGovernment.

Back in July 2013, HSE asked CRRU toco-ordinate the UK SGAR StewardshipRegime across all user groups.

Since then the industry has been hard atwork. A structure for the regime has beenproposed, agreed with HSE and four SectorGroups have been established. These are:

Professional pest control, including localauthorities;

The agricultural industries;

Gamekeeping;

Suppliers, including the amateur sector.

This means that a very wide range ofstakeholders is now engaged in thedevelopment of the Stewardship Regime.

Each Sector Group has now met twice andeach has developed detailed stewardshipproposals for its sector. These includemechanisms for monitoring various aspectsof implementation.

Recently, a UKStewardship RegimeSteering Groupcomprising the SectorGroup chairs and selectedGroup representatives metto consolidate and alignthese documents.

The finalised documentswere scheduled to be sentto HSE in mid-February,whereupon HSE willcirculate the proposals toall stakeholders whoregistered an interest inthis matter by participating

in the formal consultation process. Theproposals will also be made widelyavailable via the HSE website. Keep an eyeon the website as we will alert you assoon as we hear these are published.

The UK Steering Group will then present theproposals and receive comment from anOversight Group (comprising HSE, Defraand Department of Health) in a meeting tobe held in York in March. If endorsed by theOversight Group the stewardship regime willbegin immediate implementation.

Pest

�

�

�

�

Work goeson to protectrodenticides

There is a huge amount of work going on ‘behind the scenes’ to try to ensure a futurefor the second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides. spoke to Dr Alan Bucklewho, as chair of CRRU (the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use), is in the thick of

Pest

GARsSave

our

protecting the use of second-generation anticoaglantsSGARsouravepest

Steering Group:Chair (CRRU)

Chairs of Sector Groups& other representatives

Oversight Group:HSE, Dept ofHealth, Defra

GamekeepingSector Group:Chair (NGO) &

stakeholderrepresentatives

Professional PestControl & LocalAuthority Sector

Group:Chair (CIEH) &

stakeholderrepresentatives

AgriculturalIndustries

Sector Group:Chair (NFU) &stakeholder

representatives

Supplier (&Amateur) Sector

Group:Chair (CRRU)& stakeholderrepresentatives

Proposed structure ofUK SGAR stewardship regime

NEWSSaving the SGARs


BASFPest Control Solutions

www.pestcontrol.basf.co.uk

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E li h G li th d t i dd 1 13/4/11 14 39 01

How much of your time is spent treating rats, mice, wasps,bedbugs? Where do you do your pest control? Which pests do youthink are on the up and, conversely, which are on the slide?

These are the sorts of simple questions we ask in the National UKPest Management Survey run annually by BASF Pest ControlSolutions and magazine.

It is definitely not a difficult job to take part and, we’re not trying tocatch you out. We just want to record how important each of thedifferent types of pests are in your workload, what the split isbetween your commercial and domestic work and which pests aregoing to be important in the future. We also ask about the barriersto pest control and how important they are to you.

But, don’t worry, if there are questions you can’t or don’t want toanswer you can just skip ahead to the next one.

By taking part you will help create a national picture of the ups anddowns of the UK pest management sector.

All the information you provide will be treated as confidential andno comments will be attributed to individuals.

Links to the questionnaire will be sent out by email weekcommencing Monday 24 February. So, if you’re at the sharp-end ofUK pest control please keep an eye on your in-box and make themost of your chance to be heard.

The email invitation to participate in the 2014 survey will go to all

readers who have supplied an email address and areregistered as owners, managers, technicians, or field biologistsworking in a local authority, private company or as self-employedpest controllers.

But don’t worry if you don’t receive the email, you can still take partvia our website. The link to the questionnaire will be included in thenews story about the launch of the 2014 survey on our website.

The results will be useful to everyone in the UK pest managementsector. They allow individuals to benchmark their activities andopinions and to gain a better understanding of the industry as awhole. They also help those who lobby on behalf of the pestmanagement sector.

We hope to be able to present the findings during PPC Live in Maybut, even if that proves impossible, we will print a full review in theMay & June issue of magazine.

Pest

Pest

Pest

National ‘state of the nation’ picture

Not on our email list? You can still take part

Special report in our May-June issue

SURVEYTell us what you do


Beheard!

BASF Pest Control Solutions has again teamed up with to conduct a‘state of the nation’ survey, mapping the mood of the UK pest managementindustry at the beginning of 2014.

Pest

Please take part in the

National UK Pest Management Survey 2014

Don’t miss the chance to letyour views be known.

The more people whoparticipate, the more reliablethe findings.

Please take part this year.

Beheard!

“First-generation rodenticides are verymisunderstood,” states Bayer's Alan Morris,head of sales for professional products.“Over the years they have all been tarredwith the same brush as warfarin. In otherwords as old, ineffective and suffering fromwidespread resistance.

“While this may be the case with warfarin,many people overlook the fact that not all

first-generations are the same. Formulationscontaining the likes of coumatetralyl havefewer resistant strains and are, therefore, alegitimate consideration.”

Pest control consultant, Adrian Meyer ofAcheta adds: “It's easy to say that theserodenticides are less potent, but it'simportant to look at them individually andidentify their differences.

“Pest controllers ought to ask themselveswhat they are trying to achieve. I think it'ssafe to say that the answer would be controlof the rodent population with minimal harmto any non-target species that may also bepresent.”

Alan Morris admits that in the pest controlindustry, no silver bullet for this exists, but heshares Adrian's belief that in order forcontrol to be achieved, a broad perspectiveneeds to be taken. Initially, pest controllersshould consider what measures can beundertaken to limit rodent activity withoutlaying any bait at all.

“Standards of hygiene need to be lookedat,” says Alan. “If there are many food andwater sources available, every attempt toremove those should be made, as not onlywill they play a large role in attracting therodents, they will also impede the uptake ofany bait that is laid.”

Similarly, Adrian notes that any potentialsites of harbourage that can be removed,should be.

“Significant control can be maintained byremoving debris that could offer the rodentsshelter and harbourage.”

If it is decided that control can only beachieved with the use of bait, the

No silver bullet

Bayer’s Colin Mumford

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TECHNICALRodenticide rethink


With pressure to improve best practice and consider alternatives to the potentsecond-generation rodenticides, now may well be the time for the industry to callupon the first-generation arsenal once again and challenge the .status quo

It's perhaps not surprising that the use of first-generation rodenticides hasplummeted. More potent second-generation products lead the market bya significant factor. Championed for their ruthless population control, theyseemingly deliver all the requirements of today's pest controller.

However, in spite of this, some experts believe first-generation solutionshave an increasingly valuable role in a modern integrated pestmanagement (IPM) approach, as Colin Mumford, technical manager forBayer CropScience reports.

The current mind-set of'use a potent poison toguarantee a fast kill'needs to change. Thestewardship's aims are tobetter inform end-usersand, on the one hand,make them aware of allof the control options attheir disposal, while onthe other, help themunderstand the potentialhazards to wildlife.

Bayer’s Alan Morris

‘

’

First-generation rodenticides

rethink?Time for a

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Just three of the species at risk ofsecondary poisoning by the use ofsecond-generation anticoagulantrodenticides. Could those risks bereduced by employing first-generationproducts, where circumstances allow?

geographical location of the infestation willdictate the options available.

“It's a known fact that there is widespreadresistance to warfarin, other first-generationand some second-generation activeingredients in much of central southernEngland,” says Adrian. “That resistance willrule out the use of products containing theseactives in those areas, as not only are theylikely to be ineffective, but the use of themwill act to compound the resistance issue.”

However, Alan reverts to his previous pointthat not all first-generations are the same aswarfarin and some will probably still beeffective. He points out that: “We've knowncases in these highly resistant regions whereproducts containing coumatetralyl havemanaged to control infestations withoutany trouble.”

Paul Butt, senior specialist in wildlifemanagement for Natural England explainsthat the presence of resistance is acomplicating factor when considering andseeking to reduce the risks of secondarypoisoning to non-target species.

He explains: “For example, where ratpopulations are susceptible to first-generation compounds then use of theseproducts may have environmental benefits.However, it can be difficult to establish thestatus of rats in practical situations and theadvice is to consult the website of theRodenticide Resistance Action Group(RRAG) for information.”

This consideration relating to secondarypoisoning has been pushed to the forefrontover the past eight months as the Health &Safety Executive (HSE), the UK's competentauthority for biocides, has requested thedevelopment of a stewardship regime forsecond-generation anticoagulantrodenticides (SGARs).

The stewardship will have implications for allmain rodenticide user groups, including pestcontrol professionals, local authorities, farmand land managers, gamekeepers andamateurs.

The implementation of the stewardshipinitiative is being spearheaded by CRRUand Alan believes that its introduction willmake 2014 a landmark year for theindustry. He says: “HSE has made it veryclear, that the inclination of some, toimmediately resort to a highly potentsecond-generation rodenticide andthen routinely apply it without

Resistance issues

Stewardship on the way

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consideration for wildlife, needs to stop.

“If, as an industry, we do nothing, HSE hasthe ability to pull all registrations and we'lllose a lot of valuable products.”

Alan acknowledges that although HSE hasthe ability to do this, they understand thatthere is a requirement to control rodentsand bait is required to do this, which is whythe industry was invited to develop astewardship initiative.

“The current mind-set of 'use a potent poisonto guarantee a fast kill' needs to change,”says Alan. “The stewardship's aims are tobetter inform end-users and, on the onehand, make them aware of all of the controloptions at their disposal, while on the other,help them understand the potential hazardsto wildlife.”

He believes that sometimes, people mayallow themselves to be too led by thecustomer and that pest controllers need toremember that they are the professionalswith the expert knowledge and that using apotent bait in order to gain rapid control atthe expense of non-target species (includingcats and dogs) isn't worth the risk.

“Rodenticide residues can be detected inboth domestic animals and wildlife andwhere incidents are investigated, theperpetrators can face prosecution or otherenforcement action.”

Adrian Meyer notes that pest controllers willbe very familiar with their COSHHassessments, which require a full justificationfor the need to use rodenticides. “If othercontrol measures don't work, pest controllershave a legal requirement to use the least

potent bait to do the job. If it's appropriateto employ a first-generation product, thenclearly, this would provide a good legaldefence for a PCO should a non-targetspecies subsequently fall victim to secondarypoisoning from a second-generation active.

“Also, environmental risk assessments are anincreasingly important part of an initial sitesurvey, particularly where rodenticides are tobe used in outdoor locations.”

When asked what the stewardship initiativecan offer the industry, Alan, Adrian andPaul all agree that increased awareness anda deeper level of consideration shouldbecome common practice when treatingrodent infestations and choosing controlmethods.

Adrian hopes that people will become moreeducated about the use of second-generation rodenticides and the associatedhealth risks.

“There is a lot of talk about LD ratings,”

says Adrian. “This is simply a measure of

the active substance's acute toxicity. Oftenthis is very confusing, and can be subject tomisinterpretation. I'd like to see the role ofthe stewardship extend to revealing a morestraightforward means of communicatingthis important information.”

Alan Morris hopes the outcomes of thestewardship initiative will help people lookat rodenticide use in a more consideredmanner. For example, consideration of thepalatability of the baits they're using.

“There have been cases in the past where ahighly potent bait has failed to work. Thepest controller has assumed this is due toresistance, but poor monitoring has meantthat the fact that the bait was not consumeddue to its low palatability, was overlooked.In this case he then found success with a lesspotent, first-generation bait that has muchbetter palatability.

“There will always be cases when a second-generation rodenticide is the best course ofaction, and providing the pest controller hasreached that conclusion by justifiably rulingout other methods, including the use of lesspotent baits, then that's fine,” says Alan.

Paul Butt concludes by saying that there arean increasing number of lobbyistscampaigning against the use of rodenticidesin general, and all users will therefore needto become more accountable.

“In order to safeguard the future use ofcurrently available products, everyone needsto buy into the CRRU's philosophy of a moreresponsible approach. We all need to be alot more aware of all available options andbe prepared to be flexible in their use.Justifying our actions will becomeincreasingly important.”

50

New mind-set needed

Take control

Actions must be justified

More thought

More accountability

The presence of resistanceis a complicating factorwhen considering andseeking to reduce the risksof secondary poisoning.For example, where ratpopulations are susceptibleto first-generationcompounds then use ofthese products may haveenvironmental benefits.However, it can be difficultto establish the status ofrats in practical situations.

Natural England’s Paul Butt

‘

’

It's a fact that there iswidespread resistance tofirst- and some second-generation activeingredients in much ofcentral southern England.That resistance will ruleout the use of productscontaining these actives inthose areas, as not onlyare they likely to beineffective, but the use ofthem will act to compoundthe resistance issue.

Adrian Meyer of Acheta

’

‘

TECHNICALCockroach control


Integrate to

cockroach control solutions

eradicate

These are among the interesting findings ofthe specific cockroach control practicesection of the National UK Pest ManagementSurvey undertaken in the past year withalmost 300 pest control professionals acrossthe UK by magazine and BASF PestControl Solutions.

Quality bait application is rated the secondmost important cockroach control practice,with thorough inspection in first place.Unsurprisingly, 99% of pest controllersinvolved in controlling this pest, considerbait application important – 90% rating itvery important – with almost completeunanimity of opinion between localauthority, company and self-employed pestcontrollers.

At the same time, residual insecticideapplication is considered important by 92%of pest controllers and very important byover half – again with little, if any,differences between the main pest controlsectors (Figure 1).

“Over 70% of PCOs combine a crack andcrevice insecticide with baiting for the mosteffective treatment in the least possible time,”notes James Whittaker of BASF Pest ControlSolutions. “This is almost the sameproportion that make a point of using baitswith sufficient 'cascade effect' killing power

Pest

The cornerstone of modern cockroach control it may be, but gel baitingalone does not appear to be the preferred solution for the majority of UKpest controllers. Indeed, the overwhelming majority of pest professionalscontinue to consider residual insecticide application important in theircockroach work. And almost three-quarters combine crack and crevicetreatment with baiting for the most effective and timely control, asJames Whittaker of BASF Pest Control Solutions, with the practical help ofMark Sheldon of Integrated Pest Solutions, explains.

Mark Sheldon of Integrated Pest Solutions agrees that careful inspection is essential

“However, less than 40% of those using such baits employ crackand crevice treatment alongside them, underlining the value ofquality baiting. This is reinforced by the fact that more than half ofpest controllers concentrate their baiting on key locations ratherthan spreading them more widely throughout infested areas.”

Borne firmly from experience too, one suspects, the vast majority ofpest controllers take particular care to make their clients aware ofbait locations and the need to avoid compromising them. After all,there are few things more frustrating on a call-back than findingmany of your carefully placed bait points have been neatly removedin over-zealous kitchen or restaurant cleaning!

As well as providing support for less-than-ideal baiting situations,the extent to which insecticide spraying continues to play animportant part in modern cockroach control almost certainly relatesto both the range of environments involved and the need todemonstrate immediate results,” believes James Whittaker.

“Gel baiting is clearly the key prescription for most domesticcockroach jobs as well as infestations in commercial kitchens andrestaurants,” he stresses. “But where the areas involved are largewith extensive voids – in some food processing sites and manyfactories or warehouses, for instance – crack and crevice sprayingwith a well-formulated residual insecticide can be the best solution,used alongside targeted baiting. The same approach is also helpfulin dusty or dirty locations like the communal areas of apartments orpublic buildings, cellars or waste disposal areas.

“To gain complete control you are likely to rely on a bait but it tendsto take a little time – mainly because only foraging adults andnymphs consume the bait. So, full control can only be achievedeither once all eggs have hatched and nymphs have matured to theforaging stage, or have been in contact with sufficient insecticidefrom eating poisoned individuals, or their faeces, within theirharbourages.

The speed of this 'cascade effect' fundamentallydepends on the potency of the insecticide. Evenwith the most potent active, fipronil, manyinfestations are unlikely to be completelyeliminated in less than a week; especially wherethey involve Oriental rather than Germancockroaches, are relatively large or have accessto plentiful alternative food sources.”

Therefore, where the pressure is on for the mostrapid, total control – as it can so often be inrestaurants and other food outlets – JamesWhittaker sees a strong case for well-targetedcrack and crevice treatment alongside baiting.He considers it particularly valuable with baitsbased on less potent actives, but insists it must be undertaken withcare to avoid contaminating nearby bait points.

While quality baiting is at the core of almost all his cockroach jobs,Manchester-based pest controller, Mark Sheldon of Integrated PestSolutions (IPS) finds crack and crevice spraying a very usefulcomplement in many situations.

“Rather than just putting down bait points all over the place, it'simportant we use all the tools in our armoury if we want the mostimmediate and sustained control,” he insists. “We also need to doso with a full understanding of exactly where the cockroaches areand how they behave.

“A strategic approach is vital in my experience. In 25 years workingwith Rentokil and Pestproof before establishing IPS, I've come toappreciate that good cockroach control is seldom a one hit wonder.It's easy to get a good early result even with a bad Germancockroach infestation. But the last few individuals take time and careto deal with. And leaving these is the recipe for a rapid explosion inproblems, leading to costly call-backs.”

Support role for crack & crevice sprays

Speedy impact



James Whittaker of BASF Pest Control Solutions

Thorough inspection

Quality bait application

Sanitation improvement advice

Residual insecticide application

Exclusion measures advice

95 5

90 9 1

90 18 3

56 36 8

40 48 17

Proportion of pest controllers (%)

Fairly important Not importantVery important

Fig 1: How important do you consider the following practices in your cockroach work?

Fig 2: What approaches do you employ for the most effectivecockroach treatment at the least cost in time?

Proportion of pest controllers (%)

81

77

73

52

Make clients aware of bait locations &the need to avoid compromising these

Use baits with sufficient‘cascade effect’ killing power

Combine crack & crevice insecticidetreatment with baiting

Concentrate baiting on keylocations within infested areas

Thorough initial inspection, supported by the continual use ofmonitor traps, is Mark Sheldon's first cockroach control essential.As well as using traps as a good indication of the scale andconcentration of infestations, he finds the direction of cockroachtravel on them invaluable in pinpointing harbourages. He thenemploys a flushing agent to confirm their precise location.

Stressing that gel baits differ widely in their speed and overallefficacy, he only uses baits he knows he can rely on. Fipronil is hispreferred active for its greater potency, giving noticeably more rapidcontrol and more effective cascade killing.

“Cockroaches almost always have access to a number of foodsources,” he points out. “The fact that many of these are close to –or even within their harbourages – makes the most potent insecticidecrucial. That way non-foraging nymphs and egg-laying females onlyhave to consume the smallest amount of a poisoned individual or itsfaeces to acquire a lethal dose. And, in turn, pass this on to others.

“I've always found Goliath Gel works the best. It may cost more pertube but smaller bait points than less potent products means eachtube goes so much further. So it gives me better value as well as thegreatest reliability.”

Mark Sheldon is adamant, though, that even the best bait is only asgood as where you put it. All too often, in his technical supportexperience, he has found controllers baiting widely but failing toactually get to the problem.

“Getting close to where cockroaches are is the key,” he explains. “Inmost cases, you need to bait within the warm, damp and dark

areas like ventilation ducts, fridge and washer motor housings andconcealed heating pipe or duct runs that cockroaches love. Whichmeans removing access panels rather than just baiting on thesurfaces around them.

“It may take more time initially and mean out-of-hours working. But,believe me, the extra effort will pay dividends overall.”

Alongside quality baiting, Mark makes use of a pyrethroid spray inareas where control is important, but bait application is likely to beless effective. These include dirty and damp basements and cellars,dusty wall and ceiling voids in public buildings and apartmentblocks and also boiler rooms.

“I tend to rely more on crack and crevice spraying with Fendona, orthe like, with jobs in large warehouses and storage areas,” he adds.“Waste disposal areas in apartments, retail complexes or foodoutlets can also be havens for cockroaches, but are generally fartoo dirty for effective baiting.

“Gel baits have undoubtedly revolutionised cockroach control,making it far less disruptive to carry out and more acceptable toclients than the spraying that was previously our only option,”concludes Mark Sheldon.

“However, we must appreciate that baiting alone doesn't necessarilyprovide a quick, easy or complete answer to every cockroachproblem. The baiting has to be of sufficient quality. In many cases itneeds to be complemented by targeted crack and crevice spraying.And in some circumstances, crack and crevice treatment may evenbe the best basis for treatment.”

Use traps to pinpoint habourages

Extra effort pays dividend



Traps provide a good indication of the scale and concentrationof infestations and also help pinpoint harbourages

Produced by:PLASTDIVERSITY- Comércio de Artigos de Plástico, LdaRua dos Alentojeiros, nº 136 - Apartado 4 | 3091-902 Marinha das Ondas - PortugalTel. 00351 233 959 490 | Fax. 00351 233 959 476 | Mobile 00351 961 701 585e-mail: [email protected] | [email protected] | skype: plastdiversity

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All entries must be in by14 March 2014. The winners willbe announced in issue 32which will be published inApril 2014.

Pest

Pest

Pest

'cockroachcompetition'

Can you guess how many cockroaches – adultsand imatures – there are in this single trap?Suterra is offering a prize worth £100 to the readerwho’s guess is closest to the correct total – and yes,Prof Miller did count them all.

Going back 30 years, cockroaches were considered the numberone insect pest. Magazines were full of articles and numerouspapers were always presented at technical conferences – just as bedbugs are the 'in' pest topic today. However, the introduction ofeffective sprays and target-specific gel baits has seen a rapiddecline of this pest.

In the National UK Pest Management Survey undertaken byand BASF Pest Control Solutions in 2011 and 2012, cockroachesaccounted for a mere 5% of both private pest controllers’ and localauthority pest control units’ activities. For the self-employed pestcontroller it was only 2%. Between the years 2011 and 2012 thenumber of cockroach jobs overall fell by 14%.

Compare this with the USA. According to a survey in August 2013by Readex Research on behalf of the leading US pest magazine –

– nearly half of all pest controllersresponding said cockroach control made up 16-30% of their overallservice revenue, with nearly 40% of these expecting it to increase.

Asked what their preferred methods of treatments were, Americanpest controllers were very similar to the UK. The use of baits wasidentified by 96% of respondents, with 83% using insect growthregulators, general use insecticides was 82%, outdoor perimetertreatments 58%, vacuuming 46%, structural modification 35%,trapping 34%, fumigation 8% and the use of heat by only 3%.

In conversation with insect expert Clive Boase, of the PestManagement Consultancy, he explained that really heavy

infestations of German cockroaches (the most frequent species foundin the UK) were now virtually a thing of the past. Most infestationsare relatively light and control effectively achieved.

This is not the case throughout the USA – maybe it is the warmerclimate – but at PestWorld 2013 Prof Dini Miller from Virginia Techpresented her results of trials on cockroaches in low income housingin Richmond, Virginia. To establish a level of infestation pre-treatment she was forced to use the larger cockroach monitoringtraps manufactured by Suterra – traps any smaller would simplyhave been overwhelmed.

The photo in our competition below records the number ofcockroaches trapped by one of three traps, in one night alone! It isinteresting to note that the adult roaches congregate in the centre.”

Pest

Pest Control Technology

COMPETITIONCounting cockroaches


Bigger maybe, butbetter?

Guess how many

The old adage is that Americans regard everything in the USA as 'bigger andbetter'. But in the case of cockroach infestations this is definitely not the case.

5%19%

12%

15%

12%

19%

18%

Proportion of revenue derived fromcockroach services in the USAWhat percentage of your overallservice revenue is generated bycockroach control services?

Source: Readex Research, August 2013

more than 30%

21%-30%

16%-20%

11%-15%

6%-10%

1%-5%

don’t know

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FEATUREScilly rats


Rodent control on the Isles of Scilly

Rats ahoy!There shouldn’t be rats on the Isles of Scilly, so how did they get there?And, given that they are, what can be done to protect important seabirdcolonies and other native wildlife? PelGar’s Nic Blaszkowicz investigates.

Situated 28 miles off the south-western tip ofthe Cornish coast, the Isles of Scilly aredesignated an Area of Outstanding NaturalBeauty and are highly protected for their

breeding seabirds, forming part of the'Natura 2000' network of globallyimportant conservation sites. The Islescomprise an archipelago of five inhabitedislands and many small rocky islets.St Agnes, and neighbouring Gugh, (whichare linked by a sandbar) make up thefourth smallest island with a populationof 82 residents.

Recent concerns from RSPB, NaturalEngland, Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust andother local conservation groups about thedeclining seabird numbers on St Agnesproved to be well founded, following a fullbreeding survey.

This revealed that 20,000 breeding birds of14 species had declined by a quarterbetween 1983 and 2006. The Isles of Scillyare unique in having England's only knowncolony of storm petrels (1,398 pairs) as wellas 171 pairs of Manx shearwater.

What was the cause of this decline? A studyundertaken on Lundy Island, showed that

non-native brown rats are the greatest threatto these two special birds, as they predateon the eggs, chicks and adults.

With a known population of brown rats onSt Agnes and Gugh it was clear that ratswere having an impact, and were a keyfactor in declining seabird numbers.

By removing the rats, seabird numbersshould recover, and the policycould also benefit the declining populationof lesser white-toothed ('Scilly') shrew; foundnowhere else in Britain.

“Theproject we want to undertake on St Agnesand Gugh mirrors what took place on Lundyin 2004. This has resulted in a strongrecovery of the seabird breeding populationthere. If we are successful, this will be thelargest inhabited island in the world that hasbeen cleared of rats.”

“The aim of the project is to protect andenhance the islands' seabirds and protectthem from re-invasion of rats,” she adds.

“A feasibility study and winter trappingsurvey of St Agnes and Gugh revealed apopulation of some 3,300 brown rats. Ourstudy concluded that rats could beeradicated on St Agnes and Gugh becausethey were far enough from other islands toprevent rats swimming across and re-invading. It was also considered a priorityprogramme because of the proximity to theuninhabited island of Annet which has veryimportant colonies of seabirds which couldbe devastated if rats reached there.”

“A grant, funded by LIFE, the EU's financialinstrument for the environment, and theHeritage Lottery Fund, has meant that we

eventually

Jaclyn Pearson, Isles of Scilly SeabirdRecovery project manager explains:

Rat eradication programme

The Isles of Scilly Seabird Recovery Project team ready with their Roban bait

The Isles of Scilly boast England's onlyknown colony of storm petrels

©Jo

ePender

The Manx shearwater is one of the birdsthreatened by rats on the Isles of Scilly

©Jo

ePender

In the summer of 1707, during the war of the Spanish Succession, a fleet of 21 ships leftGibraltar heading for England. Due to bad weather and a navigational error the fleet wentoff-course, struck rocks near the Isles of Scilly and four ships were lost, along with the lives ofsome 1,400 to 2,000 seamen. It was one of the greatest maritime disasters in British history.For days afterwards bodies and wreckage were washed on to the isles and many sailors wereburied on the island of St Agnes.

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FEATUREScilly rats


can embark on this 25-year project and set-up the rat eradication programme.”

Wildlife Management International (WMIL),based in New Zealand, has been appointedto undertake the rat removal work. Theorganisation has an amazing track recordof invasive species eradication.

“We have set up a ground basedoperation which began on 8 November2013 and is scheduled to run untilMarch 2014.

“The operation involves placement of baitinside bait stations across the islands. Westarted with a bromadiolone bait suppliedby Bell Laboratories, however we wereconscious that we also needed to targetproblem rats. PelGar International provideda lot of support to get through the wholederogation process and obtain permissionsto use a wider range of products. Theyprovided two lots of alternative baits – theirdifenacoum-based, Roban, and thebrodifacoum-based, Vertox Excel, baitswhich were targeted at the phases wherethere might be resistance issues.”

The team on the ground, comprises fourWMIL personnel and six to eight volunteerswho have all been trained in safe baitplacement and handling techniques. Thebait was placed in 1,036 baiting pointsacross the island.

In most cases bait was placed in standarddrainage pipes however, where baiting tookplace in houses and gardens securely lockedbait stations were used. At the start of theproject the team visited each of the baitpoints and 2,102 monitoring points daily forthe first couple of weeks but now that theproject is well underway they are beingvisited every five to six days. When the ratshave taken the bait they tend to gounderground in their burrows to die. Thosefound dead on the surface are immediatelycollected – to avoid secondary poisoning –autopsies are carried out and then thebodies are incinerated.

“At this stage in the project we are prettysure that we have already got rid of therats,” explained Biz. “However we do needto continue to monitor in case any isolatedrats emerge. In terms of the restorationprogramme there needs to be evidence thatthe area has been rat free for two yearsbefore we can claim that the islands havebeen cleared of rats. Eradication is acompletely different mindset to control as weare aiming to remove every individual. We

hope however that the chicks born this yearwill survive and that the seabird populationwill recover quickly,” adds Biz.

“Weare delighted that WMIL opted to use ourbait in this unique rat eradication operation.As one of the founding members of theCampaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use(CRRU), PelGar invests heavily in educating,farmers and pest controllers about thebiology and behaviour of rodents and bestpractice to ensure non-target species are notaffected by rodent control campaigns.”

“This project is notjust about rodent control and recovery of our

seabirds. It is about people coming togetherto improve the environment and conservewildlife. This is reckoned to be the largestcommunity-supported island restorationproject in the world. All the residents on theisland have been supportive of the project –and this is crucial for its success.

“Getting the residents to understand theimportance of biosecurity on the island androdent control is vital. It was also importantto educate the school children about theproject and stress the importance of notbringing rats and mice onto the island.Ridding the island of rats will not onlyensure the islands' future as an uniquehabitat for breeding populations of seabirds,but will help bring back a balance andharmony to its natural flora and fauna.”

Elizabeth (Biz) Bell, senior ecologist forWMIL explains how this project is beingtackled:

Dr Gareth Capel-Williams, managingdirector of PelGar International says:

Dr Rob Lambert Vice president of the Isles ofScilly Wildlife Trust adds:

Alternative baits

Delighted to be involved

Biz Bell, senior ecologist from Wildlife Management International, placing bait in one ofthe 1,036 bait stations in use on the island of St Angus and Gugh

The Isles of Scilly Seabird Recovery Project is a partnershipbetween RSPB, the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, the Isles of ScillyAONB Partnership, Duchy of Cornwall and Natural England,with an island community representative.

Who’s in the Isles of Scilly Seabird Recovery Project?

Rob Lambert, vice president of the Islesof Scilly Wildlife Trust

Jaclyn Pearson, Isles of Scilly SeabirdRecovery project manager

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RESEARCHUniversity findings


Whilst the Isles of Scilly are battling to rid themselves of their non-nativebrown rats (see pages 18 & 19), Dr Jan Zalasiewicz, senior lecturer inpalaeobiology from the department of geology at the University ofLeicester, suggests that we had better get used to having rats around.

Dr Zalasiewicz predicts that the global influence of rats is likely to grow in future as largermammals continue to become extinct: “Rats are one of the best examples of a species that wehave helped spread around the world, and they have successfully adapted to many of the newenvironments that they found themselves in.

Rats are here to stay

“They are now on many, if not most, islandsand once there, have proved extraordinarilyhard to eradicate. They have out-competedmany native species and, at times, havedriven them to extinction. As a result,ecospace is being emptied and rats are in agood position to re-fill a significant chunk ofit, in the mid to far geological future.”

As rats fill the gap, like many animalspecies, they will experience evolutionaryadaptation. Gigantism can occur andDr Zalasiewicz believes that rats will proveto be no exception to this rule.

“Animals evolve into whatever designs willenable them to survive and to produce

offspring. In the cretaceous period, when thedinosaurs lived, there were mammals – butthese were very small because dinosaursoccupied the larger ecological niches.

“Once the dinosaurs were out of the waythese tiny mammals evolved into manydifferent forms, including some very largeand impressive ones. Given enough time,rats could probably grow to be at least aslarge as the capybara, at 80kgs that’s theworld's largest rodent, that lives today.”

“Each island that rats are now present on isin effect a laboratory of future evolution –and each will produce different results. Sothere will be future thin rats, fat rats, slow

and heavy rats, fast and ferocious rats...

While Dr Zalasiewicz acknowledges that it isdifficult to predict exactly what may happen,he suspects that rats will be major players inthe geological future of planet earth, andthat, over time, they will produce someremarkable descendants.

So the next time there's a rat in the kitchen,we had better get used to it – because therats are here to stay.

Dr Jan Zalasiewicz

For trade pricing and orders please call: 01903 538 [email protected] www.pestfix.co.uk

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Emails have flooded-in commenting on thenew rodent device being developed byscientists at Aston University, in conjunctionwith the Pied Piper consortium and fundedby the European Union.

To recap, rodents pass through a tunneldevice, where they break a laser beam. Acomputer then works-out the correct dose ofpoison for the rodent's bodyweight and thensprays it with the poison. The rat then carrieson as usual until the poison takes effect andit dies. As the poison is cholecalciferol, thiscould take several days.

In the press release from the Pied Piperconsortium it says: “The consortium hasdeveloped a novel rodenticide formulationand device, which allows the delivery of thepoison through a rat's skin. The formulationuses cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3), which isnaturally synthesised in the skin of manymammalian species, negating the problemsassociated with anticoagulant poisonresistance.”

Work on this new device was featured in aBBC News report which is certainly worth awatch. It can be accessed via the news storyon the website.

There were some encouraging comments asthis was 'something different' and didn'tinvolve rodent baits that could be spilled.However, practical issues were soon spotted.These can be summarised as:

Cost and degree of sophistication of thesystem (computers, laser beams, numberof boxes required);

Toxicology issues (dose applied,problems of sprayed rats running aroundcontaminating operators and the generalenvironment);

Secondary poisoning (non-target speciesusing the boxes or by contacting therats);

Regulatory (cholecalciferol is currentlynot approved as an active in the EU).

Again, for those with long memories,the concept of this latest machine isnot a million miles away from the nowdiscontinued Check-a-Tube.

Below, in our readers' own words aresome of your edited comments.

“I found the idea very interesting andit is a very good idea, I have siteswhere it is very difficult to control therats because of the abundance ofeasily available foodstuffs and we nolonger have the use of contact dust,but I think it will be expensive andthere could be a problem withreliability due to the use of electronicsin often damp conditions.”

“This new product would be the bestsolution with no chance of spillages.”

“Lasers and computers and some formof pump, all very expensive just toachieve what we now do with a boxand bait for a couple of quid. Seemsa bit of a techy sledge-hammer tocrack a nut.”

“An ordinary metal bait station isexpensive enough. Whatever next?”

“Maybe yet another good ideano-one can afford and there is a longqueue of good ideas in pest control.”

“Anyway the cost of each baitcontainer being computerised and theproblems with non-targets goingthrough and the issues with foodchain contamination and humannessand...”

“One major concern is with dermalexposure of operators. Theformulation will be highly toxic bydermal absorption and the contaminatedrats will be smearing it everywhere beforethey drop.”

“My main concerns are the amount ofcholecalciferol that would be required to killsizable rodents, and the four to seven daysfor death to occur would leave the animalopen to predators and the possible risk ofsecondary poisoning.”

And one comment from a reader in New

Zealand: “Cholecalciferol (vitamin D) has

long been used for rodent control, and is

used for control of possums in New

Zealand, but it suffers from not having an

antidote in the way that anticoagulants have

with vitamin K. So it poses a greater risk to

non-target animals through accidental

poisoning.”

Pest

So what do our

readers think?

�

�

�

�

RESEARCHUniversity prototype


Readers evaluate novel rodentcontrol ideaPractical pest controllers just love new ideas, and there are alwaysplenty of innovative products coming onto the pest control market– with varying levels of success. featured such a new deviceon the website on 27 January and asked for readers' opinions.

Pest

The Pied Piper box is currently on trial at theUniversity of Aston

A new prototype system has also been developed.This time in white

EVENTBed bug summit


First to hit you when you arrived was the cold. The weather was verymuch against the event. An unseasonal cold snap produced recordfreezing temperatures in the region of minus 22°C – not exactly thewarmest of welcomes. A lot of delegates expressed a desire to movefuture meetings to warmer climes. Unfortunately, this is not going tobe the case, as the next summit, to be held in January 2015, is

in Denver!

Delegates were welcomed by Phil Cooper of Bedbug Central with avery enthusiastic speech considering it was eight o'clock in themorning. Our host promised that the agenda would include some ofthe top academic research from around the globe, as well astechnical and commercial presentations from practitioners in thefield. In particular, a level of openness and transparency waspromised when compared to some of their other events, which hedescribed as being all about the 'Cooper Kool-Aid'. But, was itachieved?

The opening session was presented by Dr Michael Potter from theUniversity of Kentucky who covered information on the resurgenceof bed bugs, the current state of the market in the US, the expansionof the problem beyond traditional sleeping environments and the

fact that the largest reservoir of bed bugs appears to be in situationswhere the occupants can least afford treatment. He forecast thatproactive and preventative steps may soon need to be standardpractice and that the pest control industry alone may no longer beable to fix this problem.

The next presentation was by Prof Michael Siva-Jothy of SheffieldUniversity. He certainly presented the UK as one of the leadingcentres for the understanding of bed bug biology and dispersalbehaviour, based on both laboratory and field research

,once again,

programmes. Further analysis of Dr Richard Naylor's refugiamodelling (see issue 30 – November & December 2013) waspresented, reinforcing the understanding of how bed bugs initially

Pest

Top global research promised

UK well represented

5 December 2013 saw the start of the two-day Global Bedbug Summit in Denver, Colorado,USA. The summit was a collaboration between the USA’s National Pest ManagementAssociation (NPMA) and BedBug Central. Both organisations have previously held separatemeetings. The combined event promised to be bigger and better so David Cain from BedBugsLtd in London went along to check it out. This is his personal report, with pictures fromStephen Doggett of Westmead Hospital, New South Wales, Australia.

Bed bugs go globalThe good, the bad and the ugly in bed bug research!

Editor's note:

For those who are unfamiliar with the 'Kool-Aid' reference,Kool-Aid is a very popular brand of powdered flavoured softdrink mix. 'Drinking the Kool-Aid' however is a metaphorcommonly used in the United States. It refers to a person orgroup holding an unquestioned belief, argument, or philosophywithout critical examination.

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EVENTBed bug summit


occupy space close to a source of food anddisperse only if induced to do so, or whennumbers get too great. Variations in thereproductive behaviour of bed bugs fromdifferent strains illustrated that the source ofbed bugs may have implications for howproblems are resolved. It's a shame we don'tsee Prof Siva-Jothy present more to the UKindustry, as personally I feel he has a lot toteach others.

The next session I attended was entitled 'Bedbugs in Asia and the Middle East'. It waspresented by Dr Frank Meek from Orkin,USA and Prof Chow-Yang Lee from theUniversiti Sains Malaysia, Penang,Malaysia. Although I'd never heard Prof Leepresent before, his reputation preceded him.Prof Lee has been mapping and monitoringthe resurgence of bed bugs in South EastAsia. He provided some great insights intowhat has been going-on in that region.Dr Meek chose to focus his presentation onsome of the sociological issues faced whendealing with an increasing bed bug problemin a part of the world where thecentralisation and provision of pest controlservices means it is more often than notadministrated on a countrywide basis with asingle service provider. Much of the problemseems to be blamed on the migrant workerclasses and not necessarily on the fact thatthey are forced to live in high density livingconditions.

Larry Pinto of Pinto & Associates, who isoften used as a technical expert in theincreasing number of legal cases in the USmarket, addressed the vexed topic oflitigation. The key take-home message wasthat those engaged in bed bug work,particularly with commercialaccounts, should prepare anddocument their services inreadiness for legal action.Failure to do so can result inaction being taken againstthe service provider.Thankfully, we do not see asmuch litigation in the UK.However with mediaheadlines pronouncing claimsin the regions of hundreds ofthousands of dollars, I thinkwe can expect more peopleto try to make claims throughthe UK court system, eventhough they are less likely toachieve such astronomiccompensation levels.

The day was rounded-off witha beer tasting session in the

expo hall and a 'Meet the experts' sessionlater in the bar. At times the debates in thebar and expo hall got a little heated but,that's often the way when large groups ofpeople, who are passionate about what theydo, get together.

The next morning saw an early start withpresentations on ‘overcoming the challengesfaced in the field’ and ‘the next-generationof research with bio-pesticides’.

Whilst both were good sessions, more detailon the solutions presented in the case studieswould have enhanced the field session. Thebio-pesticides session focused on thepotential of pathogenic fungi for the controlof bed bugs. Although regulatory issues inEurope mean that this is many years away,the US market is likely to be attempting thisform of control in as little as two years time.

Whilst I am very much in favour of non-chemical solutions, I cannot bring myself tosupport the concept of people's homesbeing power washed with fungal spores,particularly after the media attention on thisunproven idea has already led to examplesof members of the public attempting thisthemselves, resulting in reports of adversehealth effects.

Prof Dini Miller from Virginia Tech coveredthe evaluation of some of the bed bugdetection devices and an investigation ofinsecticide vapour effects. Although thepresentation focused on a selection of

some of the products, rather than the fullrange, there were some key messages. Theseincluded that glue-based devices wereproving to be less than effective in the field,that the Verifi system (not yet made it to theUK) requires as many as four units per roomto be effective and still has some designdurability issues which, in such a costlyproduct, you would have expected to havebeen resolved already.

Be prepared for litigation

A sensible non-chemcial solution?

Wrapped up warm against the freezingtemperatures is Australian bed bugexpert, Stephen Doggett

Dr Frank Meek from Orkin, USA, left, with our ‘roving reporter’ David Cain of BedBugs Ltd, London

TECHNICALBed bug research


The use of interception devices, both on bed legs and randomlyplaced around the room, was discussed, although for these, theassumptions on the dispersal patterns of bed bugs is very much atodds with both what we see in the field and what was presented bysome of the academics. The later part of the presentation focused ontests of vapour-based insecticides for the decontamination of bagand sealed area infestations.

Whilst previous presenters had indicated that DDVP pest strips(Note: not permitted in Europe) can be used to decontaminate itemsin bags and sealed areas, Prof Miller's latest research indicates thatit is far from the hundred percent effective solution it has beenreported as.

The final presentation attended was by Dr Phil Koehler of theUniversity of Florida on bed bug monitoring traps and the use ofcarbon dioxide. Unfortunately, this presentation turned out to be afew nuggets of good information stitched together in a very dodgypatchwork of information that, I fear, is far from accurate.

Dr Koehler had very favourable things to say about technologiesthat anyone who has used them in the field will know do notdeserve such praise – notably DNA testing and the use of specialist

torch glasses. He also claimed, incontradiction to the

article inJanuary 2013, that you can

confirm bed bugs based on the physical appearance of skinresponses.

One of the positive things from his presentation, however, was avideo showing bed bugs testing the ground before walking on itand thus both avoiding and removing themselves from glue traps.

In conclusion, although some elements made it a worthwhile trip,some of the clear bias towards the organiser’s brand of 'Kool-Aid'made it far from the unbiased meeting that we were initiallypromised.

Certainly, the underlying comments from some individuals who Ispoke to was that ongoing profiteering was clearly adding to thecontinued growth and spread of bed bugs, rather than workingtowards long-term solutions. Not that I am an anti capitalist, butwhen it comes to the bed bug problem, one species of bloodsucking parasite is enough to deal with, without compounding theissue. A prime example of this profiteering was that whilst inprevious years six to eight interception devices were recommendedper room, just 12 months later that figure has skyrocketed to 30.

I hope that as the issue continues to become more significant acrossEurope, it won't be too long before we see a pan European meetingwhere EU rules on disclosure of conflict of interest (COI), foracademics will prevent some of this 'naughty' behaviour beingrepeated closer to home.

Amusingly, as I left Denver for business meetings elsewhere, myhotel room showed signs of bed bug activity, but so did the next tworooms. I checked. As it was over minus 20°C outside I had nochoice but to install the monitor in the room with the least activityand to trust in my inspection skills. Thankfully I woke-up bite free,but sadly the hotel management did not follow-up on my request fora conversation in the morning. But without any bites I can hardlyfollow the trend of suing them for a gazillion dollars!

Maybe Stephen Doggett, who we have to thank for thephotographs, would have had a more serious hotel claim.

The sprinkler system two floors upfrom him sprung a leak and hiswhole room flooded. Fortunately,he was in residence at the timeand managed to make a veryrapid exit.

British

Medical Journal

Far from accurate

Profiteering problem

Prof Michael Siva-Jothy of Sheffield University, left, withProf Chow-Yang Lee from the Universiti Sains Malaysia

A new take on the‘onesie’? B

charge around $40for a suit withgloves. And

ed bugpyjamas, or in USenglish, pajamas)The manufacturersrecommend thesedisposable,polyethelene suitsfor leisure andbusiness travel and

veryfetching they looktoo!

USE BIOCIDES SAFELY. ALWAYS READ THE LABEL AND PRODUCT INFORMATION BEFORE USE. Demand® contains lambda-cyhalothrin. Demand,® iCAP technology,™ For Life Uninterrupted,™ the Alliance frame, the Purpose icon and the Syngenta logo are trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company. © 2013 Syngenta. Syngenta Crop Protection AG, Basel, Switzerland. Email: [email protected]. Web: www.syngentapmp.com

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EVENTSMitie seminar


Facilities managers gathered in London in January and soon discovered, ifthey didn’t realise before, that professional pest management is rathermore than a man (or woman) with a van!

Well over 40 facility managers responsible for their organisation's pest control activitiesgathered at the London Zoo on 29 January 2014 to hear how the risks pests pose to theiroperations can be best managed.

Hosted by the pest control business of facility management company, Mitie, the presentationscertainly made the audience realise that pest control involved considerably more than simplyhiring 'a man with a van'!

If you had to identify one take-home message from the day it was that successful pest controlis all about partnership – partnership between the client and the contractor.

As Peter Trotman, managing director of Mitie's pest control business explained: “It is vital weengage with our clients. We both need to understand our respective roles. At the end of theday, if pest control fails, it is our client whose name will hit the media headlines and it is their

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reputation that suffers. Not ours. We aim tomake sure that by establishing a workingpartnership, this sort of disaster neveroccurs.”

Peter began his presentation explaining allabout the EU Biocides Regulation whichcame into force on 1 September 2013 andthe changes it will bring about.

At this point you could feel the audiencestart to glaze over. The thought of a visit toTiger Territory, just over the way, wasgaining in appeal. But to his credit, Peterturned this potentially dry topic with all thevarious restrictions alluded to, into a positivemessage as to how Mitie was approachingthem on customers’ behalf. The emphasiswas very much on what can now be done,rather than what can't.

Considering the various techniquesavailable, Peter thought that the use ofrodent tracking dust should rise inimportance. On the other hand he definitelydoes not like non-toxic monitors because allyou were doing is feeding the pest!

Live traps also got the thumbs down: “Weare here to kill, not to catch,” he explained.

It would have been music to the ears of themanufacturers of lethal traps, as Peter felttheir use could only expand; maybe even tothe level of overtaking the use ofrodenticides.

Proofing for pests was also significant, aswas site hygiene and environmentalmanagement. Managed alongside Mitie'slandscaping business, all exterior areasshould be neat and tidy – shrubs should beremoved or cut so as not to provide idealharbourages for rodents.

All these techniques went to form the systemof joined-up thinking known as IntegratedPest Management (IPM).

In the past, the use of rodenticides mighthave accounted for half of all pest activities,with trapping making-up a mere ten percent. In the future, as shown in the chartabove left, he felt rodenticides and trappingwould rank of equal standing – meaning thereliance on rodenticides would reduce bymore than half. At the present time, he felt

Mitie was somewhere between the twoscenarios.

Monitoring of activities and the recordingof data would be required to achieve thisdesired level of IPM – the management ofworkflow, effective reporting, identificationof trends, establishment of benchmarks toname but a few.

At this point the penny dropped for those inthe audience – to achieve this was going torequire their input. There would have to bean engagement of all parties.

In subsequent presentations the risks posedby emerging and new pests were covered byMitie's technical manage, Grahame Turner,who also detailed the difficultiesencountered when trying to protect yourfacilities from birds.

Danny Ashton of Mitie picked-up on theemerging insect threat with a presentationon bed bugs, whilst Paul Butt of NaturalEngland once again emphasised thebalance between contractor and client.

A dry topic made appealing

Enhanced role for tracking dusts

A reduced role for rodenticides

Penny dropped

EVENTSMitie seminar


Speakers for the Mitie seminar at London Zoo in January. Left to right: Peter Trotman,Danny Ashton, Grahame Turner (all from Mitie) and Paul Butt (Natural England)

Spotted for the first time at the event was the new Mitielogo now being rolled-out across the organisation. AsNic Hatton, strategic marketing manager for Mitiespecialist services explained: “After 27 years ofcontinued growth, the company has experienced a hugeamount of change and wished to reposition itself as amodern, young and vibrant organisation. The image isdesigned to reflect our core behaviour: Excel ineverything we do; Challenge the and Inspireour own staff and everyone we work with.”

For more background watch the short Mitie videoexplaining the change at

status quo

http://bit.ly/1eiRxBd

Debut for new logo

IPM – moreimportantthan ever

15% 25%

50%

10%

Previous

30%30%

20% 20%

Future

Hygiene & housekeeping

Rodenticide

Trapping

Proofing

Key

It’s new catalogue time!At this time of year the main pest control distributors print anddespatch their annual product catalogues. Yes – they contain detailsabout all the products they sell, but they are also a valuable sourceof additional information – such as pest identification guides,environmental guidance for rodenticides, disposal and wasteissues, legislation overviews, sources of further information etc.

Go online to the relevant distributor’s website to order your copyor the web-based versions.to access

REFERENCENew resources


New Killgerm training manualRunning to nearly 270 pages in full-colour, contained within a ringbinder, the new and fully updated is anitem all pest controllers should have on their shelves.

It falls into two main sections and, as to be expected, one sectioncovers the biology of virtually every flying, crawling or walking pestyou are likely to encounter in the UK.

The other section is much more unique. Called 'Principles', it coversin a very practical, yet thorough manner, the various techniques andpractices a practical pest controller should be aware of.

This includes Integrated Pest Management, risk assessments, safety,personal protective clothing, details of all the various legal Acts,plus control methods for arthropods and vertebrates. One sectioneven covers setting up in pest control.

Priced at £99.99. Copies are available from Killgerm.

Killgerm Training Manual

EU rodenticide best practiceThis very useful 24-page review of rodenticides in the EuropeanUnion is published by the EuropeanBiocidal Products Forum (EBPF),part of the European ChemicalIndustry Council (CEFIC).

Its main purpose is to provide bestpractice guidance to those usingrodenticides in the EU asprofessional pest controltechnicians.

The document describes what to dobefore, during and after rodenticideapplications, it gives practicalguidance that should be followed inthe many varied situations ofrodenticide use, describes how to monitor for the presence of rodentinfestations without the permanent application of rodenticide baitsand discusses alternatives to rodenticides. In addition it providesadvice on where to obtain information about anticoagulantresistance and the best way to manage it.

It can be downloaded from the documents section of the CEFICwebsite at – go to the base of the EBPF page.www.cefic.org

2014 UK Pesticide Guide

The new is nowavailable. Whilst at first sight this guidemight seem to be more suited to farmersand their advisers, it does have a use forpest professionals, especially if youhappen to count farmers amongst yourcustomers.

Approved active substances arelisted by type such as rodenticides,

grain store insecticides and fumigants likealuminum phosphide.

UK Pesticide Guide

0800 313 [email protected]

www.rentokilproducts.com/professional

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©O

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Diamond Jubilee special publicationTo mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, Chartered Institute ofEnvironmental Health (CIEH) chief executive, Graham Jukes,asked current and retired members to send in professionalrecollections and photographs from the previous 60 years. Theyresponded in large numbers and in June 2012 a specialsouvenir issue of EHN was published to mark the Jubilee year.

The material has now been expanded into a full-colour,167-page, illustrated book. showshow air quality was improved, the slums were cleared and foodwas made safer by the countless interventions of theenvironmental health profession in the first 60 years of theQueen's reign. The book ( isavailable for

Putting Wrong Things Right

ISBN 978 1 906989 67 5)£19.99 (Amazon). With a special CIEH members

price of £14.99 from William Hatchett.

New code for users of metallic phosphidesRAMPS UK has produced a new code of good practice for

sets out clear and concise guidelines for stockists, usersand trainers. The code of practice lists bullet points onwhat you should always do when using metallic phosphides and alsowhat you should never do, helping operators to follow good practice.

Appendix 1 gives a detailed explanation of how to store aluminiumphosphide and appendix 2 describes how to dispose of the productcorrectly and safely. There is also a suggested application letter forthe purchase of aluminium phosphide at the back of the booklet.

Hard copies from RAMPS UK/BASIS, Rentokil & Killgerm or download at .

metallicphosphides. It

easy to follow

www.ramps-uk.org

Advice from HSE on

working from heightPest controllers are frequently required towork at height. A new brochure from theHealth & Safety Executive (HSE) shows thesensible precautions which should be takento keep people safe when using ladders andstepladders in the workplace.

Following this guidance is normally enoughto comply with the Work at HeightRegulations 2005 (WAHR). HSE is at painsto point out that ladders and stepladders arenot banned under health and safety law. Infact they say they can be a sensible andpractical option for low-risk, short-durationtasks.However, it isimportant touse the righttype of ladderand to use itsafely.

Free todownload atwww.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg455.pdf

3 ACTIVES, 7 FORMULATIONS, YOUR CHOICE.PelGar International is trusted across the world as the number one choice for rodenticides. Our customers benefit from advanced research and development, excellence in manufacturing and full regulatory support.

Find out more at www.pelgar.co.uk

Use rodenticides safely. Always read the label and product information before use. Roban contains 0.005%w/w difenacoum. Rodex contains 0.005%w/w bromadiolone. Vertox contains 0.005%w/w brodifacoum.

Leading the way in Global pest control

PelGar International Ltd. Unit 11-13 Newman Lane Alton Hampshire GU34 2QR United Kingdom

Tel +44(0)1420 80744 Email [email protected]

www.pelgar.co.uk

Apps are becoming an everyday part of our lives, so it was only amatter of time before one was introduced for pest control. Alwayswell respected for their printed technical material, it was no surprisewhen news of such a development arrived from Bayer.

The app is basically constructed in two halves. The first is a pestclassification guide, and features pest images on over 25 differentspecies of pest insects and rodents found in the UK. Informationrelating to behaviour and biology, along with the most appropriateproduct solution is included for each pest.

In the case where the insect pest cannot be easily identified, Bayerhas cleverly built in the ability to use the device's camera tophotograph a situation and send the image directly to thecompany’s technical support manager for identification within twoworking days.

The second half is a Bayer product guide, which details the keyfeatures and the use areas for each product, as well as which pestscan be treated by that particular product.

Other features include links to topical news items and productvideos and to each product's safety data sheet. But overall one ofthe key benefits is it offers immediate information, which can easilybe updated, at the tap of a screen.

asked one of our regular tech-savy readers to road test it.Their verdict was that the overall structure is great, as are the pestphotographs. One oversight is that problems created by particularpests were excluded. These would prove useful when talking tocustomers – such as no wasps' nests shown in the wasps section.

The Bayer PestXpert App is free from the Apple App Store at:

It is also available to download on Google Play for Android users:

Pest

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bayer-pestxpert/id793722488?mt=8

https://play.google.com/store/search?q=bayer%20pestxpert&c=apps



Bayer pestapp first inthe market

The mating disruption system with

12 years practical experience.

w w w . c o n f u s e d m o t h . c o mUse biocides safely. Always read the label and product information before use. HSE Registration number 9346

January & February 2014 www.pestmagazine.co.uk pest 31

pesttest?

Can you pass the

Take the Pest Test

SEND COMPLETED QUESTIONS

BASIS has made two PROMPT CPD points available if you can demonstratethat you have improved your knowledge, understanding and technical know-how by passing the and answering all our questions correctly. Soread our articles on saving SGARs (page 7) rodent control on the Isles ofScilly (pages 18-19) and the Mitie seminar (pages 26-27) in this issue of

and answer the questions below. Try to answer them all in one sittingand without referring back to the article.

to: Magazine, Foxhill, Stanfordon Soar, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5PZ.

After your completed arrives we will mark the questions and, if allanswers are correct, we will enter the results directly onto your own PROMPTrecords held by BASIS.

Pest Test

Pest

Pest

Pest Test

Name:

Organisation:

Tel:

Email:

PROMPT account number: 200_____________________

1 What does CRRU stand for?

a) Campaign for RetrainingRodenticide Users

c) Cataloguing ResponsibleRodenticide Use

b) Control of RecentRodenticide Use

d) Campaign for ResponsibleRodenticide Use

2 Which one of these rodenticides is NOT a second-generationanticoagulant?

a) flocoumafen c) bromadialone

b) coumatetralyl d) difenacoum

3 Which one of the following is NOT a Sector Group within theSGAR Stewardship Regime?

a) Gamekeepers c) Retail consortium

b) Agricultural industries d) Professional pest control &local authorities

4 When in 2014 is it planned the Oversight Group will meet toreceive the Steering Group proposals?

a) February c) April

b) March d) May

5 The Isles of Scilly are unique in having England's only storm petrelcolonies. How many pairs are there?

a) 398 c) 2,398

b) 1,398 d) 3,398

6 What % of use does Peter Trotman estimate rodenticides willaccount for in future Integrated Pest Management programmes?

a) 10% c) 30%

b) 20% d) 40%

Back in 2012/2013David Cain ofBedBugs Ltd gotinvolved in diagnosinga pest problem forsomeone who wasextremely frightenedof insects.

“This got me thinking,”explained David.“And, with a greaterunderstanding thatpeople can bestressed and anxiousenough about bedbugs, it led to acomplete re-design ofour company website.People don’t need tobe frightenedsenseless by thewebsites of thecompanies they needhelp from.”

A collaboration withBed Bugs Ltd’s residentartist at Scribble & Cosaw the production ofa full set of pestspecies in cartoonformat to allowsensible educationwithout scare tactics.It was from this that

wasborn. The projectallows free accessto the images forpublic educationprogrammes and alow cost license to pestcontrol companies.

www.PestsDontHaveToBeScary.com

Pests don’t haveto be scary!

Need to

claim CPD?Two

If you still need to claim for 2013 use

PROMPT Continuing Professional Development (CPD) pointsare awarded to readers of magazine. The number you will

need to claim your points for 2014 is:

Pest

PC/34310/14/g

PC/28584/13/g

Readers can use the form printed below tonominate any product that they feel hasmade an improvement to their lives and/orworking practices.

associate editor, Helen Riby, explains:“Now in its fifth year, we have already hadsome fantastic winners. All productsintroduced commercially during the 20month qualifying period, that’s between1 January 2013 and 31 August this year,can be put forward, with one exception.Products which have already achieved afirst, second or third place cannot benominated.

“So for 2014 that means you cannotnominate the 2013 winners, which were:the XL8 telescopic lance from Lance Lab,Formidor ant bait from BASF Pest Control

Solutions and Detex non-tox soft bait fromBell Laboratories. These apart you can putforward as many products as you wouldlike. And, don’t worry if you’re unsure aboutwhen your favourites were introduced. We’lldouble check that for you to make sure theyare eligible,” she adds.

readers are in the driving seat.You nominate the products; photocopy theform or go online if you don’t want todeface your copy of the magazine. We willthen produce a shortlist and invite you tovote for the product you feel has been themost innovative – the product which hasmade the greatest improvement to your lifeand/or your working practices.

The winners will be announced at PestTechin November.

Pest

Pest

Rules of engagement

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Only commercial pest control products can be nominated. Services,promotional schemes, special offers and the like are excluded;

Products nominated must have been launched after 1 January2013 and before midnight on 31 August 2014;

Products must have been fully commercially available at some stageduring the time period shown in 2 above. Products supplied free fortrials purposes cannot be entered;

Only products sold in the UK are eligible;

Entries must be made via the official nomination form or by emailfollowing the format specified on the website;

Readers can submit up to five products per nomination form but canonly nominate the same product once. You can send in anunlimited number of nomination forms;

Readers may vote for their top two products, but may only submitone voting form. Second choices will be taken into account in theevent of a tie;

Votes submitted after midnight on 30 October 2014 will not becounted.

Pest

Nominatenow forproduct'Oscars'

Products launched between 1 January 2013 and 31 August 2014 areeligible for the Best Product Award 2014 – what some have dubbedthe UK pest management industry's product ‘Oscars’!

Pest

NEWSBest new product


Timetable

�

�

�

�

�

�

27 January 2014

27 January to 31 August 2014

1 September 2014

1 September to 30 October

2014

31 October 2014

5 November 2014

– Best New

Product Award

announced;–

readers can nominate

products;

– product

shortlist drawn-up from

nominations;

– readers vote to find the

winner;

– all votes

counted;

– winners

announced at PestTech.

Pest

Pest

pest2014

productaward

best

Nomination form

I would like to nominate this/these products(s):

1

2

3

4

5

Name:

Organisation:

Tel:

Email:

SEND YOUR COMPLETED FORM to Pest Magazine, Foxhill,Stanford on Soar, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5PZFor all the legal stuff visit www.pestmagazine.co.uk/content/newsitem.aspx?id=1090

pest2014

productaward

best

ULV Aerosol Generator U 5 M – The new generation of ULV smart fogging. Technology meets combination.

IGEBA Geraetebau GmbH87480 Weitnau | Germany

[email protected]

Thermal Fog GeneratorsULV Aerosol Generators

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Thermal Fog Generator TF 34 – The standard for indoor application. Now available for waterbased solutions, too.

PRODUCTSWhat’s new?

PX-Lepto disease

organism protection

–

This disinfectant product is designed to beused to control the disease organismsassociated with rodent pests.

It has been formulated to help combat thepotentially fatal hantavirus, claims Killgerm.

It is intended for use by pest controloperators, or other competent users, whomight come into contact with rodentdroppings, urine, nesting materials,carcasses, orthose whomight work inareas whererodents havebeen active.

It containschlorhexidine –also found inwounddressings andmouth washes –plus quaternaryammoniumcations (QAC).

www.killgerm.com

Solved – an easy entry to clean environmentsDesigned to fit conveniently and quickly over outdoor or safetyfootwear, the Yuleys slip on/slip off footwear protector means pestcontrollers can quickly and easily go into people's clean homes oroffices, without the need to remove their outdoor footwear.

Described as an environmentally friendly and cost consciousalternative to traditional disposable shoe covers, Yuleyscan easily be cleaned with warm water for years of use.The footwear is a seamless one piece shoe cover made offlexible industrial grade SEBS rubber and comes in avariety of sizes to fit the majority of work shoes and boots.

www.fortressdistribution.co.uk

Film your pest enemyThis motion sensor camera enables the user torecord in real-time videos of pest activity. Itallows the operator to confirm the presence ofpests and identify the source of an infestation.Particularly useful when trying to track-downrodent activity in an infested area

The kit consists of a 5MP camera and comeswith adjustable sensitivity to shoot photos andvideos in colour, or night mode recording inblack and white. With mini USB-output andSD card slot (32GB max) it does requires fourAA batteries for power.

www.killgerm.com

EVENTSHeading for Poland


If you’ve never been to Poland than now’syour chance to combine a few dayssightseeing in a fascinating city with somepest-related activities to prevent you fromgetting any withdrawal symptoms. This yearthere are two events of interest to pestprofessionals in the city.

First up is ConExPest on 8 & 9 May. Heldevery three years this trade exhibition andassociated conference, which, in particular,attracts visitors from

It is organised by the Polish pest controlassociation with support from the Czech,Slovakian and Hungarian associations.

The second event is less than a month later.From 2 to 4 June

take centre stage when the11th Fumigants & Pheromones Conferencecomes to town.

Presenters include regional and internationalspeakers who have spent their lifetimeresearching ways to better protect food,grain, people and the environment. Keynotespeaker is New York rodent expert,Dr Bobby Corrigan.

David Mueller, conference organiser fromInsects Limited, Indianapolis says: “The

audience attending this biennial gathering istruly international. The three previousconferences combined attracted over 800pest managers from 60 different countriesfrom six continents.

“They came to meet others in our field, learnfrom experienced speakers, and share theirideas.”

If you have an interest in stored productinsects, pheromones, fumigation or work inthe food industry then this is the event foryou. Book before 15 March and you qualifyfor a Euro 100 early bird discount.

Poland, the CzechRepublic, Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania,Latvia, Ukraine and Belarus.

stored product pestmanagement will

Two events in Krakow, Poland

11TH INTERNATIONAL

Fumigants & Pheromones Conference

FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO

www.insectslimited.comORGANIZED BY

JUNE 2 – 4, 2014 KRAKOW, POLAND

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REFERENCEDiary dates


Diary dates 2014

6 March

Rodents and Rodent Control:Getting the Risks in ProportionBest Western Yew Lodge, Kegworthwww.sofht.co.uk

11-12 March

8th National Italian Disinfestando ConferenceThe Hotel Garden, Siena, Italywww.disinfestazione.org

11-13 March

Facilities Management 2014NEC, Birminghamwww.easyFairs.com/facilitiesmanagement

8-9 May

ConExPest 2014International Trade Fair & Conference Centre,Krakow, Polandwww.conexpest.pl

21 May

PPC Live 2014Salford City Stadium, Manchesterwww.ppclive.org

2-4 June

11th Fumigation & Pheromones ConferenceKrakow, Polandwww.insectslimited.com

20-23 July

8th International Conference on Urban PestsZurich, Switzerlandwww.icup2014.ch

7-8 October

CIEH Conference 2014East Midlands Conference Centre, NottinghamEmail: [email protected]

21-24 October

PestWorld 2014Orlando, Florida, USAwww.npmapestworld.org

The British Pest Control Association (BPCA) is to stage a one-daytrade exhibition and conference on Wednesday 21 May 2014at Salford City Stadium in Manchester.

The event has been christened PPC Live and it is anticipated thatit will be held every two years, alternating with PestEx. PPC Liveis designed for technicians, surveyors and company owners tohelp improve their technical knowledge, earn CPD points, andkeep up-to-date with the latest industry changes and products.

BPCA chief executive, Simon Forrester claims that: "PPC Live willbe our sector's best one-day even, and will include a seminarand practical programme that will be unrivalled by any otherevent in the UK, bringing the whole sector under one roof toshare and learn from each other to make a stronger, safer pestcontrol industry."

Seminar topics will include the latest on SGAR stewardship,pesticide waste handling and a panel discussion on what clientswant from their pest controllers.

Time will tell how it fares in comparison to PestTech; the verywell established annual, one-day event organised for the last21 years by the National Pest Technicians Association (NPTA).

Further information about the PPC Live seminar and practicaldemonstration programme will be released in due course.

If you fancy somewhere a bit more scenic than Salford, then howdoes Zurich in July sound? The city is hosting the 8th InternationalConference on Urban Pests from 20 to 23 July.

The extensive technical programme includes papers from leadingacademics from around the world. Insect pests to be covered includebed bugs, mosquitoes, flies, ants, termites and cockroaches alongwith vertebrate pests, including rodents. There are also sessionscovering specific treatment techniques, heat treatments being one.

The first paper at the event is very topical given the volume of rainwe have had this winter – it’s on ‘Flood water mosquitoes and theircontrol in wetlands’!

The delegate registration fee of Swiss Francs 660 (c £434) includesadmission to all the scientific sessions, a set of conferenceproceedings, welcome reception, coffee breaks and three lunches.Further details including the full conference programme fromwww.icup2014.ch/

Discussing urban pests in Zurich

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