Robert's Rants
Robert's Rants
A personal blog on the Canadian pesticide industry and other pet peeves and interests

Have you ever noticed….who’s behind the “tree” in “tree hugger”

I’m must be an “anti-environmentalist”.   I run around saying poison the planet…the environment is too good….

There are people who would have you believe…if you are in the Professional Pest “Management” Industry…that you are purposely destroying the World.  That is your purpose in life.

But did you ever notice that the people that spout off the most…celebrities, leading scientists, “experts”, anchormen (I can’t say anchorperson…), politicians….

(ad nauseam…)

All have one thing in common??????

Money

And more money….

The “Haves” in the world.

They can afford the “organic” salad while sipping martini’s at their pool.  And their maids keep the house free of spider webs, and their gardeners keep ants out of the house…

I would be curious to see what the average income and socio-economic status is for the Sierra Club, PETA or a few other green organization.

Easy to be totally “green” if you control all the “green”

Just an observation.

Indoor Residential Uses: We lost another Product!

Well your good friends at PMRA have just published another Decision.  Again restricting product uses…

So we have lost use of propoxur for indoor residential treatments.  The  reasoning?  Never really explained that I can see, even trying to read in between the lines, the fine print, the “sub-paragraph II.a.a.b, clause 2.7”….

So folks out there in Professional Products…what’s that leave us?

Pyrethroids!

And what’s under re-evaluation?

Pyrethroids!

And what uses of this chemistry will they ban?

Indoor residential!

Problems I see in the PMRA’s blind sided and short sided strategy?

a.         Resistance.  By elimination of various classes of chemistry, allowing for rotation, it will reduce the time it takes for a species to develop resistance.

b.         Importation of non-regulated goods illegally by the end-user (home owner)

c.         Increase use of Domestic labeled products indoors by untrained users (home owners) – I can think of a couple of mass marketers that will enjoy that.

We have it in the rodenticide market now.  Bromadiolone only outdoors.  But what about the great baits we have?  Wait…I missed something…the one we now have for roaches…

(ONE)

Doesn’t work anymore.

And targeted baits work on the target….so we need a bed bug bait, roach bait, silver fish bait, earwig bait…..

And somehow the PMRA thinks they are protecting the consumer.

You know that commercial asking for your dollars and hunger relief where the little kid is trying to eat some gruel covered in flies?  Imagine a kid in downtown Vancouver with cockroaches running over their microwaved pizza!

Trouble is that happens…it’s a reality.

But instead of slowly killing our Industry, just ban all indoor pesticides and get it over with for Pete’s sake.

Then everyone can share in the harboring of roaches, bed bugs, and stored product pests equally.  Rich and poor alike can live in substandard squalor infested with your local insect…

Or better yet, before the PMRA hires anyone they should have a compulsory tour of  Toronto City Housing and a few of the beautiful condos and high rise suites that are knee deep in bed bugs.

Would they then indiscriminately ban everything???

Or maybe look at some Balance….

If you’re billing at last year’s price…..you’re gonna go broke

As the jobs really start rolling in, I hope you did a serious breakdown of your costs, and are charging your customers appropriately.

You’re 2 biggest line item expenses have all gone up…

Labor…vehicles/fuel…

Did anyone cut their technicians wages?   Nah

Drive less or buy gas cheaper?  Nah

I bet your insurance is way down?????   You bet

And the weak loonie isn’t helping.  We’ve faced a minimum of a 10% increase just from the exchange rate, not to mention an additional 5% from the suppliers covering costs.  This effects your business just a bit, maybe 1% increase in product/equipment supplies…but it’s still 1%.

There’s only one way to stay in the game…you have to take the amount you charge your customers up…simple.

Your service fees should go up 5% every year, without even thinking.  Better if you can get 10%.

Plus everyone can work just a little smarter…not harder…but smarter.  Maybe an add-on service?  There’s a bunch out there.  $25.00 to clean the drains?  10 minutes?  $3.00 worth of product?  Mold inspection?  Not eradication…just an inspection…

This isn’t community service, and you’re a trained, licensed, and insured professional.  Make certain you’re paid for it!