Do you know how to do a glue board analysis?
To help PCOs and PMPs, PestWest has launched the complimentary service of analyzing fly light trap glue boards. What follows describes one of the glue boards we recently received (see the image below). An analysis of fly activity within an office. Read More
UVA lamps facts you should know
Don’t Let Winter Keep You In The Cold And Dark! Don't leave your customers in the dark! Here's a few UVA lamp facts, you can use to ensure a bright future with your customers. Read on to learn UVA lamp characteristics that will brighten your customer relationships! Fluorescent lamps have operating characteristics based upon rated life, burning cycle, frequency, lumen maintenance, humidity, and especially temperature. Read More
Don’t be left out in the cold!
With the onset of winter’s cold temperatures, don’t be left out in the cold because UVA lamps won’t start! Read More
Tired of Cluster flies being lured into your customers’ homes?
Solutions suggested from Dr.Stuart Mitchell at PestWest. Read More
Bugged by Asian Lady beetles? We’ve got a wonderful solution!
Pest: Asian Lady beetle or Multicolored Asian Lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis (meaning: absurd circle in harmony) Read More
Neither you nor fluorescent lamps should be left out in the cold!
With the recent onset of record frigid temperatures over much of the US, don’t be left out in the cold with UVA lamps that will not light-up. Read on to learn UVA lamp characteristics that will warm your customer relationships! Florescent lamps have operating characteristics based upon rated life, burning cycle, frequency, lumen maintenance, humidity, and especially temperature. Read More
Making Sense of Senses
Making sense of a rodent infestation requires a sense of a rodent species’ senses. A sense of a rodent species’ senses requires making sense of the stimuli rodents can sense. Read More
Biters & Bites
With so many types of biters, and so many types of bites, keeping up with the subtle differences can be a real pain. Is the biter a bed bug? Is it a bed bug bite? Read More
Most Wanted By PMP’s – Yellow fever mosquito
Yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti AKA: “daytime biter” Read More
PestWest EDGEucational Brief – 06.2016
Glue Board Math: “These Per That,” never throw away an insect light trap (ILT) glue board as it is a goldmine of information and will tell you a pestiferous story. Read More
Quantum for Quality Assurance
Quantum for Quality Assurance With insect light traps and electric fly killer systems, protecting sensitive spaces from flying insects and their contamination is a function of persistent and correct UVA frequency light emission as well as line of sight to the system(s). PestWest’s exclusive Quantum lamps provide quality assurance for both of these critical functions. Read More
Most Wanted By PMP’s – Indian Meal Moth
Indian Meal Moth, Plodia interpunctella AKA: Pantry moth, Weevil moth, Flour moth, or Grain moth Criminally cryptic, these insidious instigators of food feeder felonies continuously corrupt consumables. Read More
PestWest Offers New Opportunities For You In Recurring Revenue!
For 2016, PestWest offers you new opportunities in recurring revenue. Additionally, opportunities for both resource cleaning and flying insect management services. Read More
PestWest EDGEucational Brief – 01.2016
Passing a “cold one” while watching your favorite football team may be a bright part of a fun day, but passing a cold fluorescent lamp for installation into a UVA system will be a dim experience in your customers’ day. Read More
PestWest EDGEucational Brief – 08.2015
Successfully used for many years in a wide range of industrial and consumer applications are specialty-cleaning products comprised of microorganisms. Via respective enzymes and metabolic pathways, microorganisms break down, degrade, and consume organic loads. Read More
PestWest EDGEucational Brief – 05.2015
Inspection is the act of looking at something closely in order to learn more about it. The integrated pest management cycle begins with the inspection step. The inspection is essential to obtain information; upon which every successive IPM step is dependent. No inspection, no IPM! Read More
Most Wanted By PMP’s – Phorid Fly
Phorid Fly, Megaselia scalaris Aliases: “Coffin fly”, “Humpbacked fly”, and “Scuttle fly” Feloniously flying from fermenting filth, flushes of Phorids frequently foul food, inflict infections, and interfere with fundamental freedoms. Read More
Spider Specifics
Do you surmise about spider specifics or can you specifically spell-out spider specifics? N ow and then, studying spider specifics will allow you to answer studiously, specific questions about specified spider species. Read More
PestWest EDGEucational Brief – 03.2015
Insect light trap (ILT) long-term deployment preservation and optimum performance are a function of quality maintenance service. Your service is your signature of quality! Read More
Rodents: Insensitive Pests Use Incredible Senses
Even with ongoing, cutting edge biological research, technological development, and integrated pest management practices, commensal rodents have survived within pestiferous proximity. As insensitive pests, rodents use incredible senses enabling astonishing environmental adaptation and survival through exploitation of human endeavors. Read More
Marvelous Micros (MBG)!
Prior to selling the F&Bs of MBG, first effectively understand the product, and secondly, determine target prospects. Superior understanding leads to superior sales. Read More
Dust in the… where?
Over approximately the last 2 years we have observed that while in the pursuit of structural pests such as bed bugs, fleas, and other influential insects, inappropriate or counter-labeler use of dust formulations has resulted in a significant increase of both claims and lawsuits. Read More
PestWest EDGEucational Brief – 10.2014
All those architectural micro-spaces that are rarely seen, are they really clean? How do you know? Micros can make it so! Read More
Don’t Be Behind the 8
Eight legged spider aggressors can put PMPs behind the 8-ball with customers ! With integrated pest management skills , PMPs call the shots and win the game against these pestiferous players. Read More
Between a Rat and a Rodent Place!
Yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti AKA: “daytime biter” Read More
Dos & Don’ts: Fruit Flying Infection Fundamentals
Flying insect control is not just dealing with an “annoyance.” Public health can be threatened, and business interruption possible, via the presence of Fruit flying infections.” Real control is a function of knowing the Fruit flying infection fundamentals. Read More
Hide & Seek!
Bed bugs hide and seek their blood meal victims with ease. For the pest management professional, bed bugs hide and are hard to seek!. Read More
PestWest EDGEucational Brief – 09.2014
Costing more than $50 million annually within the US, cat and dog bites make up 1% of emergency room visits. Nearly 4.5 million Americans are bitten annually. Most bite victims are children and most bites result from dogs. One in five dog bites results in injuries serious enough to require medical attention. Whether from a companion animal, a neighborhood stray, or a feral animal, they are biting like cats and dogs. Read More
PestWest EDGEucational Brief – 08.2014
A viral disease that is transmitted to people by mosquitoes, Chikungunya (chik-en-gun-ye) is occurring in Southern Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia, and islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. This Alphavirus was located in the Americas on islands in the Caribbean in late 2013. The mosquitoes that transmit Dengue virus also transmit Chikungunya virus. Aedes species bite mostly during the daytime. Read More
PestWest EDGEucational Brief – 07.2014
The House fly, Musca domestica, is a “flying infection” capable of mechanically transferring huge pathogenic loads from filth to food. Within urban environments, House flies challenge many food establishments as their presence results in loss of reputation, loss of revenue, and possibly public health regulatory violations. A major challenge for pest management professionals, expertise pursuant to House fly population reduction in and around agricultural operations is on the rise. Read More
Dipterology
Defined as a public health nuisance, bed bug, Cimex lectularius, behavior favors agoraphobia and nocturnal activity. Host intimate and feeding upon blood, bed bug infestations are morally repugnant. When present, here, there, and everywhere, bed bugs pose a significant threat to occupant health and wellbeing. Read More
Here, There, Everywhere!
Defined as a public health nuisance, bed bug, Cimex lectularius, behavior favors agoraphobia and nocturnal activity. Host intimate and feeding upon blood, bed bug infestations are morally repugnant. When present, here, there, and everywhere, bed bugs pose a significant threat to occupant health and wellbeing. Read More
Don’t Think That Ants Can’t!
Living is social colonies that are generally established in decaying wood or soil, ants are one of the most pestiferous challenges for pest management professionals. Since generally thought of as a nuisance pest, don’t think that ants can’t be a significant threat to food safety and health! Read More
PestWest EDGEucational Brief – 06.2014
Converting “pestaurants” to restaurants is a huge opportunity for pest management professionals given the favorable economic outlook for eating out (see figures 1 and 2). In 2011 the average unit sales at a full-service restaurant were $874,000 and at a quick-service restaurant $777,000. Read More
PestWest EDGEucational Brief – 05.2014
The sales process is to establish your purpose, determine the decisionmaker’s need, you provide a superior, value-added solution, you overcome the decision-maker’s objections (how many ‘nos’ before a ‘yes’), and you obtain the decision-maker’s commitment. Read More
PestWest EDGEucational Brief – 04.2014
Of the broad electromagnetic spectrum, wavelengths visible to the human eye occupy a narrow band (approximately 700 nanometers or billionths of a meter for red light, down to about 400 nm for violet light). See Image A on next page. More specifically, the human eye is sensitive to around 540 nanometers or yellow-green light. The adjacent spectral regions to the visible band are also referred to as light (infrared at one end, and ultraviolet at the other). Through the use of electroretinogram (ERG) technology, researchers have demonstrated that a House fly’s compound eyes are quite sensitive to 365 nanometers of ultraviolet (UVA) light. Read More
PestWest EDGEucational Brief – 03.2014
“Mad About Recycling!” Mercury (Hg) is an essential component of fluorescent lighting (including “green-tip” and compact fluorescent lamps or CFLs). In addition, not only is Mercury contained within insect light trap lamps, but all overhead lighting as well. Lamps must be managed correctly when removed from service. The Mercury content in one, 4’ fluorescent lamp can potentially contaminate enough water to fill a 20-acre lake. Over 500,000,000 spent lamps are illegally thrown into dumpsters every year! Read More
PestWest EDGEucational Brief – 02.2014
“Serve Your Service Hot: Avoid Lamp Cold Starts!” Read More
Fluorescent Lamp Fyi: Cold Starts
The starting and light output of fluorescent T12 lamps is very sensitive to ambient temperature. The colder the ambient temperature, the lower the light output (at 20°F the lamp will be at approximately 60% light/UV output). Read More
Legal Watch: Technicians May Service The PCO Into A Lawsuit!
Technicians are generally compensated on their production. This model, by its very nature, encourages the technician to render pest control services as quickly as possible. In one sense, the PCO wants to provide the best service to its customer and encourage proficiency and efficiency of their technicians. However, the business model may often times conflict with their technician providing quality service versus earning a living. This places the issue of quality control in play. Read More
Off Season Sales
What does a salesperson sell during the slow time of the season? The answer can be either complex or simple depending upon how approached. After the long “sales season” it is very easy to let your guard down or just relax a little. This is especially true when the slow or down season is right after the busy holiday season and New Year. A few simple steps can produce BACK-TO-BACK successful seasons as opposed to just ONE. Read More
Who Knows The Most About Your Customer’s Wants/Needs?
Whenever we approach a prospect, whether a potential customer or an existing client, we want to find out how our company’s services may be of benefit. We want to know what kind of pest related problems exist in their accounts, but more importantly, how those problems cost the customer money, cause difficulties, present risks, or drive their customers away. Read More
The ABC’s Of UV
Sunlight takes 8 minutes and 17 seconds to reach the Earth. Sunlight consists of 30% visible light, 56% infrared light, 5% ultraviolet light, and other wavelengths. Of the ultraviolet light (UV), 98% is longer wave UV-A. Ultraviolet (“beyond violet”) rays are electromagnetic radiation in wavelengths of 0.39 to 0.032 micrometers (10−6 meters) or 400 nm to 10 nm (10−9 meters). Read More
For your information…
A recent ongoing study regarding lamps used within UVA systems (ILTs & EFKs) suggests, “13-month-old bulbs caught about 80 to 90 percent as many flies as the new bulbs caught.” Read More
Legal Watch: “HAB”
As practicing pest management professionals (PMPs), there are more and more acronyms used with industry “jargon.” There are a few significant acronyms of which to be aware. One obvious acronym is “IPM,” and another is “HAB.” Read More
PestWest EDGEucational Brief – 01.2014
“Fly-Bio” As significant public health pests, House flies, Musca domestica (meaning “household fly”), Order Diptera, Family Muscidae, are urbanized, synanthropic (together with humans), and multivoltine (many generations or turns in a year). Read More
PestWest EDGEucational Brief – 12.2013
Scope of The Food Safety & Modernization Act (FSMA) Applicable to domestic and foreign food companies, The Food Safety & Modernization Act (FSMA) e!ects operations that manufacture, process, pack, or hold human food fated for the U.S. Within scope (unless exempt) are facilities required to register under FDA’s current food facility registration regulation. Read More
PestWest EDGEucational Brief – 11.2013
Glue Board Math: “These Per That” Do you want to throw money away? Then never throw away an insect light trap (ILT) glue board! It is a goldmine of information and will tell you a pestiferous story. To read the story, you need to understand the glue board math. Read More
