ProBest Pest Management Archives - Page 22 of 61 - Arizona Pest Control - Pest Management Services

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Promoting the proper use and handling of pesticides

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I ran across some great information (BASF ran a home seal) and wanted to pass it along as it pertains to all you Do IT Yourselfers (DIY) pest control folks. The pest control industry is regulated and yes, I know there are some out there that just can’t seem to be honest and ethical about it. The use of pesticides – read the Label and understand before you use it, the Safety Data Sheets (SDS) or (MSDS) and all use directions.

So here is the homeowner site from “Pesticide Environmental Stewardship” site. You know my stance on the use of pesticides, they are essential to our lives. There are some that would argue and honestly I’m sorry that they just don’t understand the big picture. Without pesticides death would constantly be knocking at our doors. I’m not kidding we often hear of Hanta Virus and Bubonic Plague here in Arizona. Even West Nile Virus (WNV) rears its ugly head occasionally and in others states Lyme Disease. There are some that advocate oils and organics (if you want to argue – put your money where your mouth is and send me some to test – has to be labelled for scorpions) but they in general just don’t hold up long enough. If my tests are proved wrong I’ll tell you about it. We have scorpions in Arizona and in a perfect world we could exclude homes and do other things to keep them out and by the way we do that with home-seals. But not everyone has that kind of money, wish they did. I advocate Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and prefer to do our work from outside (trying to limit the amount of pesticides within homes and if possible outside as well).

Don’t get me wrong here; I don’t advocate power spraying unless there is a need. We do it every once in a while on ticks but if possible we recommend that the pets to get properly treated and try to solve the issues to the benefit of our customers. That is the reason why we are members of PESP and QualityPro, to protect and serve our customers from the bugs that might be harmful and nasty.

ProBest Pest Management delivers on new service – document disposal

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Did you Know…

The average American uses seven trees a year in paper, wood, and other products made from trees. This amounts to about 2,000,000,000 trees per year!
Approximately 1 billion trees worth of paper are thrown away each year in the U.S.
Recycling creates 1.1 million U.S. jobs, $236 billion in gross annual sales and $37 billion in annual payrolls.
Thousands of U.S. companies have saved millions of dollars through their voluntary recycling programs. They wouldn’t recycle if it didn’t make economic sense.
Recycling creates four jobs for every one job created in the waste management and disposal industries.

ProBest Pest Management and our U.S. Contract Postal Unit will now have on hand – secure drop off bins for easy destruction of personal papers and documents. We have teamed up with TNT Shredding – you drop off your papers and documents to a secure bin and they pick up and shred.

Citations:

NAID

is the international trade association for companies providing information destruction services. The NAID Certification Program establishes standards for safety, security, and privacy needed to be maintained by certified companies.

BBB (Better Business Bureau)

A BBB Accredited Business since 12/15/2009. BBB has determined that TNT Shredding, LLC meets BBB accreditation standards, which include a commitment to make a good faith effort to resolve any consumer complaints.

CrimShield

NAID is the international trade association for companies providing information destruction services. The NAID Certification Program establishes standards for safety, security, and privacy needed to be maintained by certified companies.

InfoSafe

InfoSafe is the industry leading information security and privacy compliance certification program. InfoSafe forces companies to have the necessary administrative, physical, and technical required by all major federal, state and industry regulations.

NPMA’s strategic plan – education, protection, and growth

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August 21, 2013 (Fairfax, Va.) – The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) is pleased to announce the launch of a new logo and tagline as part of the association’s ongoing evolution of its brand, which began in 2012 with the creation of the association’s strategic plan.

During its July meeting, the Board of Directors approved a new logo and tagline that represents the goals identified in NPMA’s strategic plan – education, protection, and growth.

“It was the perfect time to evaluate our company’s brand and logo to ensure it was in sync with who we are and where we are going,” stated NPMA Executive Vice President Bob Rosenberg. “For 80 years, NPMA’s members have helped to build a trusted brand in the pest management industry. It is with them in mind that we are excited to unveil our new, fresh visual identity to further strengthen our position as an industry leader and carry us into the future.”

The new logo showcases a shield around a person and a structure, graphically depicting the industry’s protection of person and property. The new tagline, “Our Mission is Your Protection” provides a dual purpose. While NPMA’s mission is to provide protection to its members through advocacy, education, and business opportunities, the logo and tagline was also designed with association members in mind, as it is their mission to protect their customers.

Over the next few weeks, NPMA will be updating its collateral, stationery, and Web site with the new logo. A formal launch is planned for PestWorld 2013, to be held in Phoenix, Arizona on October 22-25. For more information, visit www.npmapestworld.org/pestworld2013.

Spider skeleton & other facts

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skeleton

The skeleton of a spider is located on the outside of the body.

The sense of smell of an ant is just about as good as a dog’s is.

It would take about 1,200,000 mosquitoes to fully drain the average human body of blood. Not something I would like to test, just saying.

One single bite by a Bullet ant (4+) is so painful that is compared to bullet; hence its name is bullet ant. It can make your time very bad, causing trembling, burning, perspiration, throbbing and sometimes paralysis that last about 24 hours. It lives in rain-forests from Nicaragua to Amazon basin. There is a guy who lets insects bite or sting for a pain index – Justin O. Schmidt 0-4 with 4 being you might want to be dead.

A baby cockroach can run side by side with its parents.

Insect bodies have three parts, the thorax, abdomen and head.

Beetles are the most bio-diverse group of creatures known, with more than 380,000 species described to date, making up 40 percent of all insect species on the books. That’s a lot of beetles to catalog.

Only male crickets chirp.

Most insects hatch from eggs. (Don’t collect praying Mantis egg cases in winter and store them in your bedroom over the winter) they will hatch.

It’s not always about the Scorpions, how about visiting Arizona? Mount Lemmon, Tucson

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Mount Lemmon, Tucson

Mount Lemmon is the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains, located in the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, Arizona, United States. Peak elevation is 9157 ft. It receives about 57 inches of snow annually. 250-million-year-old rock 9157-foot Hohokam sites from 1200 years ago and plenty of snow during the winter to ski. Mount Lemmon received its English name in honor of botanist Sarah Plummer Lemmon, who trekked to the top of the mountain with Native American guides by mule and foot in 1881.

A wide range of birds can be seen as you travel up this route through varied habitats. At higher elevations, look for greater pewee, yellow-eyed junco, Arizona woodpecker, Steller’s jay, plumbeous and Hutton’s vireos, hepatic and western tanagers, red-faced warbler, painted redstart, black-headed grosbeak, mountain chickadee, violet-green swallow, pygmy nuthatch, and broad-tailed and magnificent hummingbirds. Mammals include white-tailed deer, black bear, mountain lion, bobcat, ringtail, gray fox, Abert’s and red squirrels. Reptiles and amphibians include Sonoran mountain kingsnake, Arizona black rattlesnake, tiger rattlesnake, Sonoran whipsnake and canyon treefrog. More info can be found here.

Bugs fear him and homeowner’s (OK maybe like him)

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I saw these huge fly swatters the other day at a store and couldn’t help buying one, if your problem requires the use of something this BIG then you need to amke one call. That call would be to ProBest Pest Management 602-249-7378 or 623-414-0176.

There are some things you can do on your own, but take caution on termites, bed bugs and Africanized Honeybees.

Now that we talked about sanitation, what is the next step?

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On August 25th we did a home seal on Sanitation. We briefly talked about sanitation, but what factors play into cleanliness? How about the age of the building, how about shift work and who is responsible for over all cleaning? The entire staff must understand and management must concur with protocols.

So what if the building was 20 years old, will it differ from something newer? Maybe?
What type of floor does it have, tile, concrete and what about mats?
What about equipment, are there numerous cracks and nooks within?
Is there water present, how about fans and what range of temperatures?

Is this establishment a restaurant? Are there specials conditions?

Is there a bar, how about a buffet?
What kind of seats are available?
What are the operating hours, when must the work be done?

So what if this is your home? Why does sanitation play a role?

If you’ve seen Hoarders you know why? I have seen peanut jelly sandwiches between mattress and box springs, really!
Carpet or tile?
Laundry and who is responsible, depending on ages of children (or that guy that never cleans)?

So that next step might be to go back to the beginning and then make sure everyone knows their job and duties. The job is never-ending. But in the long haul if everyone understands their responsibilities it will be easier to figure out where the pests are coming from and handle the situation before it becomes impossible.

So do you have any other comments or ideas that may help?

New pesticide label to strengthen pollinators.

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Many types of plants, including fruit and vegetable crops, depend on animals for pollination. Although honey bees are often first thought of as pollinators, many other types of animals pollinate crops and wildflowers, including wild bees, ants, beetles, wasps, lizards, birds, and bats. The EPA is concerned about declines in pollinator health, and is working to protect bees and other pollinators from pesticide risks through regulatory actions, voluntary changes to pesticide use by registrants and research programs aimed at increasing the understanding of factors associated with declining pollinator health.

ProBest Pest Management and the National Pest Management Association are continuing to watch as this story developes.

My Top 3 reasons why you need pest control, or do you?

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Pest control isn’t always needed at your home, but if you have issues you can either take care of it yourself or hire a Professional. I have written numerous home seals that categorically point out the advantages of hiring a pro for that job. There are those that believe that no matter the circumstance, it isn’t necessary to hire a professional. Here are the facts as I see them:

You may need experience and expertise.
Remember Bubonic Plague, Hanta Virus and other diseases are still present in the U.S. – “Rabbit test positive for Tularemia in Pueblo West, CO.”
Not every job can be accomplished by stepping on the bug.

How tight should your home be sealed?

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More and more people and designers of homes are asking this question. The house must be able to breath and allow the flow of some air to go both ways. I work with a company right here in town that deals with Environmental issues daily http://www.csceng.com/ Phone: (480)460-8334

Clark Seif Clark Inc. (CSC), and they have been helping clients deal with complex environmental issues for over 16 years. It is not an easy job. Part of their responsibility is to help protect the health and safety of building occupants.

GREENPRO a part of QualityPro, encourages those firms that seek to demonstrate their commitment to the environment may earn this enhanced certification by meeting additional standards related to risk reduction in pest management. As a pest management provider, GreenPro gives you the opportunity to prove your credentials to customers that are looking for a truly integrated pest management approach to reduce and eliminate their problem.

As a member of GREENPRO we also participate with EPA Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP), “Healthy Housing“,
Green Restaurant Association and USGBC LEED Building Certification.

Home- sealing if done correctly can keep those little bugs and critters out of your home. Even restaurants can be sealed to prevent infestations from becoming an all out issue. Businesses can also receive a better review for using GREEN products and services.

Stay tuned for an article next week from Clark Seif Clark on issues relating to how tight should a home be sealed and other great information. * On a side note he mentioned storing products in a garage and when a a/c units come in, does it suck the fumes into the house through door seals etc.