BASF Pest Talk

TESTIMONIAL: Unparalleled Control With Alpine® WSG Insecticide at Yiasou Greek Festival

Steve Retka — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 19:47:34 +0000

For residents in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Yiasou Greek Festival is a highly anticipated event that has taken place each year since 1978. From spanakopita and gyros to baklava and roast lamb, the festival gives attendees a taste of true Greek cuisine and culture. But nothing ruins an outdoor festival faster than an infestation of flies and ants.

Carroll Cox, owner and president of Action Pest Exterminating, and his team provided pest control services for the Yiasou Greek Festival in 2013. The festival’s main goal was ridding the grounds of all ants and flies to provide a bug-free environment for attendees.

“The festival was looking for a way to effectively eradicate the grounds of these unwanted pests. In years prior, the treatment hadn’t done the job, and they were looking for a new alternative,” Cox said.

SOLUTION

After a thorough inspection of the grounds, Cox and his team determined Alpine WSG Water Soluble Granule Insecticide was the best approach to control fly and ant infestations for the 2013 event.

“We were excited to use Alpine WSG, which had just received registration at that time,” Cox said. “We knew it would control the problematic pests that impact the festival each year and would be easy to use. Not to mention, it’s odorless and the flexible label allowed us to apply liberally around the festival grounds.”

Alpine WSG Insecticide is an easy-to-use product that works great on common pests, including ants, flies, bed bugs, fleas and German cockroaches. Its flexible label allows surface applications and broadcast treatments and provides the same great efficacy as other Alpine® products.

Prior to the set up of food or food equipment, Cox and his team applied Alpine WSG Insecticide to ground areas where booths were to be arranged, around the church buildings and entry areas to the event. They also focused on where trash receptacles and portable restaurants would be set up.

“The flexible label allowed us to apply to the areas of the most commonly associated with ants and flies,” Cox said. “The mix left absolutely no film or odor.”

SUCCESS

The Yiasou Greek Festival planning board was thrilled with the success of the Alpine WSG Insecticide treatment by Action Pests Exterminating.

“We’ve received multiple calls from members of the festival planning committee. They were incredibly pleased with the control the product provided and the lack of pest issues they had during the event,” Cox said. “We had such incredible success with Alpine WSG Insecticide. Moving forward, it’s now our lead recommendation for all exterior treatments.”

Always read and follow label directions. Alpine is a registered trademark of BASF.
© 2015 BASF Corporation. All rights reserved.

TESTIMONIAL: Termidor® H-E High-Efficiency Termiticide Means Efficient Business

Steve Retka — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 20:58:21 +0000

Bush Termite & Pest Control, Inc., is a fourth-generation company specializing in both termite and general pest control. Prior to using Termidor H-E High-Efficiency Termiticide for termite control, president/owner Darrell Bush and his team were using a competitor’s product that required time-consuming re-treatment after the initial application. However, after hearing such great reviews about Termidor H-E, they decided to put it to the test. Now, since beginning Termidor H-E use two years ago, they have not had a single job that called for a re-treatment.

Customers want to protect their investments, and Termidor H-E allows technicians to guarantee they can by getting the job done right the first time.

Darrell Bush says, “Termidor H-E is a great product in regards to preventing re-treatments, plus the time it takes to complete termite jobs has now been cut in half. I can send a technician out and they can now do two jobs in one day and still be back before 5:00 p.m. This makes the product an easier sell to our homeowner clients.”

Bush continued, “When BASF introduced Termidor H-E, they introduced a great product. Once you try it, you won’t go back to using another liquid termite treatment — there’s no doubt about that.”

Testimonial: Alpine WSG Water Soluble Granule Insecticide Provides Relief From Crazy Ants

Steve Retka — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 20:13:10 +0000

Since 2000, Florida has seen an increase in the amount of infestations by tawny crazy ants, an invasive species that originated in South America. The crazy ant, also referred to as the Caribbean, hairy and Rasberry, gets its name from its quick and erratic movements. These pests can form supercolonies containing millions of ants that create unsightly foraging trails along sidewalks, around buildings, and on trees and shrubs.

When Nozzle Nolen, a family-owned and operated business located in West Palm Beach, received a call from a local college campus where many buildings were infested with tawny crazy ants, they needed a solution that worked.

Steve De Mello, Nozzle Nolen’s company technical trainer, would typically approach an ant infestation like this with a wall-to-wall spray application. The cost to complete such a treatment for an entire campus coupled with constant student activity made this an impractical option. That’s when De Mello found a new solution.

SOLUTION

A member of De Mello’s team presented a sample of BASF’s Alpine Water Soluble Granule Insecticide. After being told about the situation on the campus, Nozzle Nolen’s BASF representative, Herman Giraldo, believed his client would be pleasantly surprised by Alpine WSG’s results.

Alpine WSG Water Soluble Granule Insecticide is proven to control some of the most common insect pests, including ants, bed bugs, fleas, houseflies and German cockroaches. Its flexible label allows surface applications and broadcast treatments— both indoors and outdoors. Additionally, the easy-to-use product mixes clear and doesn’t settle out or clog equipment.

Knowing that tawny crazy ants typically travel vast distances and leave pheromone trails, De Mello and his team of two technicians applied the solution on active ant trails, as well as the perimeter, using a B&G and two backpack sprayers. The flexible label allowed Alpine WSG to be applied off-structure, which aids in hitting the target pest.

SUCCESS

At the two-week inspection, De Mello and his team saw a 75 percent visible decrease in ant population. After a month, the populations had continued to decrease with the final inspection showing small numbers only in discrete locations.

In addition to the ant control, De Mello also commented that typical ant treatments— where the ants are killed on contact—will often leave unattractive piles of of dead ants around the perimeter of a building. Due to the genuine Transfer Effect™ technology used in Alpine Water Soluble Granule Insecticide, however, the ants had taken the solution back to the nest, killing even more of the population and eliminating this unsightly problem.

Benchmarking Your Business

Steve Retka — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 16:52:12 +0000

As a pest control business owner, how do you define success? Maybe it’s in the total number of satisfied customers you’ve provided services to over the past 12 months. Or maybe it’s in achieving your list of corporate goals and objectives for the last year. It could even be simply a matter of assessing your bottom-line performance when reviewing your company’s year-end financials.

Chances are, though, success is defined by a combination of all these different aspects. And in order to get a truly accurate sense of how your company performed this past year, it’s important to know how you stacked up against your industry peers. That’s the theory — and enormous value — behind the process of benchmarking your business, an exercise that allows you to compare your company’s performance against others in the industry, helping you identify areas where you can make improvements in the coming year. That continuous improvement and drive to keep being a better company is what long-term business success is all about.

Last year, BASF Professional & Specialty Solutions partnered with the National Pest Management Association and PCT Magazine to be the corporate sponsor for a comprehensive Operating Cost Ratio Survey designed to assist pest control companies in benchmarking their businesses. Given our longtime commitment to supporting the advancement of the professional pest management industry, not only from a product perspective but also from a business perspective, we welcomed the opportunity.

The results of that survey appear in an exclusive executive summary in the January issue of PCT Magazine. We would like to thank all those randomly selected pest management professionals who took the time to participate in the survey. We’re confident you’ll find the results beneficial in benchmarking your business and laying the groundwork for a successful future!

Sincerely,

Jonathan K. Sweat

Director, BASF Professional & Specialty Solutions

Battling the Roach with a Zoned Approach

Steve Retka — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 23:28:20 +0000

German cockroaches thrive in commercial kitchens and other similar areas. Whether large or small, these dynamic environments can pose any number of sanitation issues, an abundance of roach harborages, as well as food and water sources for these pests to exploit.

When trying to service facilities like these in a single visit, technicians often focus solely on accessible areas and surfaces, leaving secret roach hiding places uninspected and untreated.

The best way to resolve this problem is to employ a focus-zone approach during each technician visit, which we have laid out in three easy parts for your convenience. You can see more about the focus-zone approach with this video.

Divide the account into focus zones. A zone should be limited in size, making it conducive to thorough and intensive inspection and treatment in a single visit.
Focus service efforts on micro-habitats.These are environments within each zone that are most suitable for a roach to live and breed within — voids, cracks, crevices and other small gaps where cockroaches may harbor.
Rotate the focus zones each service.Rotating zones from service to service allows all possible harborages within the facility to be systematically addressed and thoroughly serviced on an ongoing basis.

The BASF Smart Solutions for German Cockroaches combine these strategic application methods with carefully chosen products to help combat common control issues. Alpine® Cockroach Gel Bait Rotation 1 and 2 Reservoir, Avert® DF Dry Flowable Cockroach Bait and Phantom® termiticide-insecticide are each specifically formulated to address the variety of cracks, crevices and voids within the food environment that you are expertly trained to protect.

For more information on our wide range of BASF Pest Control Solutions, visit www.pestcontrol.basf.us.

Alpine Cockroach Gel Bait Rotation 1 and 2 Reservoir products have an expected availability date of March 2015.

Always read and follow label directions.

Alpine, Avert and Phantom are registered trademarks of BASF.

PCT Technician of the Year Awards: A Letter from Jonathan Sweat

Steve Retka — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 18:05:59 +0000

BASF is proud to sponsor the 2014 Technician of the Year Award from Pest Control Technology. The following is a letter from BASF Professional & Specialty Solutions Director Jonathan Sweat, discussing the importance of the award and why we at BASF value pest management professionals.

Imagine you’re a homeowner, and you’ve just discovered termites. Even worse, you’ve just discovered devastating damage. For homeowners and business owners alike, this is a worst-nightmare scenario. That’s why the job pest technicians do is so important.

BASF Pest Control Solutions proudly recognizes the best in the profession with the 2014 Technician of the Year Awards. This award honors the achievements of the industry’s finest service professionals in three categories: residential, commercial or termite. Each year, an experienced panel of pest management professionals nominates top professionals using these criteria for evaluation:

5+ years of industry experience
Active participation in industry education
Demonstrate excellence in safety, customer relationship and leadership
Active in community service

Pest technicians have tough, physically demanding jobs – it comes with the territory. We at BASF make it our job to improve everyday working conditions. And one way we’re succeeding is by bringing the industry innovative products and methods of application.

Termidor® H•E is a great example. Advancements in molecular technology enable the active ingredient in Termidor H•E to disperse more effectively underground. This means less water, smaller trenches, and fewer drill holes as a result of wider drill hole spacing, thus saving a whole lot of time and labor.

Another example is how we’re reinventing the way our products are applied. Backbreaking work is replaced by the Termidor® HP high precision injection system. The mixing is automated, and the machine does the work of injecting the Termidor dilution into the ground, quickly and precisely. There’s no trenching or rodding, so there’s minimal impact to landscaping.

The pest control industry is critical to managing the quality of life for people everywhere. The talented and committed professionals who won this year’s Technician of the Year Award stand for everything BASF strives to be. This is pest control at its best. With your commitment and our dedication, together we create great chemistry.

Sincerely,

Jonathan K. Sweat Director, Professional & Specialty Solutions

Termidor HE Mini Series: Keith Chandler, Target Pest Control

Steve Retka — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 17:53:01 +0000

Keith Chandler of Target Pest Control, based in Cullman, Alabama, talks to us about what Termidor® H•E High-Efficiency Termiticide with Termidor® H•E Technology means for his business and customers.

Target Pest Control has been strictly a Termidor® termiticide/insecticide user for more than three years. Prior to that, we were using competitor products, and damage claims were through the roof. Since we switched to strictly using Termidor termiticide/insecticide not only have we been able to protect the homes of our customers, but our damage claims have been cut over 70 percent, so as a business owner, that means we can use money elsewhere.

Because of this success, when Termidor H•E [High-Efficiency Termiticide with Termidor® H•E Technology] came out, we were one of the first in line to start using it. One of the immediate benefits we noticed with Termidor H•E is how it has revolutionized the way our company schedules and the way our technicians can do termite work. Not only can they continue to do quality work, but they can also do more work. We have a lot of confidence using Termidor H•E and other Termidor® products.

This increase in the number of jobs is one of the main benefits I have seen with Termidor H•E. My technicians are able to schedule their whole day with multiple jobs. Since our technicians work on commission, this results in more money coming their way.

I have also seen that my customers are really satisfied with the control that Termidor H•E provides in their homes. Many customers have already heard about Termidor products before we get there. Living in one of the top five states for termite pressure, homeowners want great results and that’s what this product provides. They want to know their home – their biggest investment – is protected, and Termidor H•E helps us do that.

In this day, where everybody is trying to do more with less help, it just makes more sense to use a product that can save time and energy and help produce more quality work. When BASF introduced Termidor H•E they introduced a product that’s great. In my opinion, I don’t see why everybody isn’t using it!

Our company’s motto is, “We Aim to Please.” If we didn’t kill termites and protect our customers’ homes, we wouldn’t be living up to that motto. The bottom line is that, when using Termidor H•E, you’re going to protect your homes and protect your investment for your future and your company’s future.

Written by Keith Chandler, Owner, Target Pest Control

Always read and follow label directions. Termidor is a registered trademark of BASF.

NPMA PestWorld 2014 Recap

Steve Retka — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 18:35:31 +0000

By Eileen Sarro

Phew… What a busy week!

My fellow BASF coworkers and I just got back to HQ from our trip to NPMA PestWorld 2014. Over a span of four days, we met thousands of pest management professionals just like you from all around the world. We were lucky to have such an incredible turn out. I’d like to thank each and every one of you who made the trek to Orlando and stopped by the BASF booth to learn more about some of our incredible innovations, network with our knowledgeable staff, and share some of your personal success stories with us. We always love to hear that BASF products like Termidor^® and Alpine^® help to make your day easier!

Welcome to BASF at PestWorld 2014!

We talked with countless attendees throughout the week and one thing seemed clear; pest management professionals love the Termidor^® H·P High Precision Injection System. It is clear that this new innovation can truly revolutionize the way we think about termite treatments. Our learning theater was continually full… even on closing day! People just couldn’t get enough of the Termidor H·P High Precision Injection System. One PMP went as far as saying that this new tool actually gave him goosebumps!

Pest management professionals learn the ins and outs of the Termidor H·P High Precision Injection System.

As we look back to reflect on such an exciting and informative week, I just wanted to thank you all once more for your continued support of NPMA PestWorld and your patronage to the BASF booth. Stay tuned to our blog at pesttalk.basf.us for even more current information about our newest innovations and product testimonials. Also, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/BASFTermidorPestControl and watch us on YouTube at youtube.com/PestTalk.

For the more information about Termidor H·P High Precision Injection System, check out our website at http://www.pestcontrol.basf.us/hp/.

Look forward to seeing you all next year in Nashville!

Always read and follow label directions. Termidor and Alpine are a registered trademarks of BASF.

Testimonial – Dan Capron, Dodson Pest Control

bviskoe — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 21:42:43 +0000

Dan Capron, District Manager of Dodson Pest Control in Charlotte, North Carolina, and long-time BASF customer and advocate, came across an opportunity where BASF could assist in a cause near and dear to his heart.

Camp Barnhardt, a Boy Scout camp run by the Central North Carolina Council of the Boy Scouts of America, began building a new bathhouse. With two sons in the Boy Scouts, and an Eagle Scout himself, Capron was eager to assist when the camp needed help.

“And it just kind of sparked a question in my mind, is there something that Dodson Pest Control can do?”

Capron was thrilled that Dodson Pest Control, BASF and Termidor 80 WG termiticide/insecticide could team up to make a difference for the Scouts.

Read the full story here.

To learn more about Termidor 80 WG termiticide/insecticide, visit pestcontrol.basf.us

Written by Kimberly Gilbert, Communications Specialist, BASF Pest Control Solutions

Testimonial – Steve De Mello, Nozzle Nolen, Inc.

bviskoe — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 20:01:26 +0000

When Nozzle Nolen, Inc., a family-owned and -operated business located in West Palm Beach, Florida, received a call from a local college campus infested with tawny crazy ants, they needed a solution that would work for the large affected area.

“The grounds infestation was vast and many buildings were being invaded,” Steve De Mello, company technical trainer, noted.

Since a wall-to-wall spray application for an entire campus would be impractical due to high cost and the amount of student activity, De Mello needed a new solution.

As De Mello quickly learned, Alpine® WSG Water Soluble Granule Insecticide proved to be the best and most logical solution to the campus’s problem.