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Pesticide and safety

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Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program – Gold Member of the EPA

ProBest Pest Management is a Gold member since 2010. A pesticide can be and should be considered dangerous and should be handled accordingly, they can also be useful.

  • Performance.
  • Participation.
  • Responsibility.
  • Education.

pesticide

Established in 1994, the Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP) is an EPA partnership program. It works with the nation’s pesticide-user community to promote Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices. PESP is guided by the principle that partnership programs complement the standards and decisions established by regulatory and registration actions. The informed actions of chemical users can further reduce the risks from pests and pesticides. By playing a major role in ensuring human health and environmental safety.

PESP members are also encouraged to get involved in PESP goals, which currently include:

  • IPM in Schools Program – aims to reduce the risk that chemical exposure poses to children and school employees by promoting sensible applications of pesticides around schools.
  • Landscaping Initiative – seeks to enhance the environmental, human health, and economic benefits associated with landscapes while reducing the need for pesticides, fertilizers, irrigation, and energy inputs by working in concert with nature.
  • Tick IPM – seek to identify the most cost effective approaches to reduce tick encounters and incidence of tick borne diseases by collaborating with partners (federal, state, local government, NGOs, growers) that actively share experiences on pest prevention strategies.
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-KMRyaSEbw[/embedyt]

Does your pest company still power spray or spray inside monthly?

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There are several things happening around the U.S. which may impact pest control in your specific area.

  • The EPA has been trying to reduce the use of rodentcides, mainly due to secondary poisonings. My hope is that people use common sence in placement of poisons, don’t randomly throw packets throughout attics or crawlspaces. ProBest has not used any of those packets since 2005 and we have swtiched to Terad3 in rodent stations.
  • The restrictions of pesticides continue, power spraying of Permethrin type chemicals are just one of the ways the EPA is limiting chemical usage.

The use of IPM or Integrated Pest Management continues to be the choice of real prevention of pests. So here are a few tips to reduce the use of pesticides and allow them to continue to be used in the future.

  1. Be aware of placement especially of rodentcides. I’m a big fan of not using any rodenticide within a structure, use of snap traps can be just as effective.
  2. Use pestcides that can be hidden and placed where insects will find them, crack and crevices, block voids and wall voids.
  3. Don’t spray any flowering plant.
  4. Follow IPM standards.
  5. Always read and follow label and use directions.

Draft of Federal Bed Bug Strategy

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“The management of bed bugs continues to pose a major challenge to state and local governments, private industry and the American public. EPA is inviting comment on the draft Federal Strategy on Bed Bugs which provides guidance for how the various levels of government can contribute to minimizing the negative effects of bed bug infestations on human health and the economy.”

 

http://www.epa.gov/oppfead1/cb/csb_page/updates/2013/fedstrat-bedbugs.html

 

Comments open until 9/18/2013 – Bed Bugs are not going away anytime soon. Take a stab (couldn’t help myself) and see if you have any comments.

Bed

Photo provided by National Pest Management Association

New pesticide label to strengthen pollinators.

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bee

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.

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.

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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.

ProBest Pest Management has GREEN options available.

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GreenPeople.org is the world’s largest online directory of green, eco-friendly, and holistic goods and services, non-profit organizations and eco-events, serving consumers since 1998.

greenpeople_seal_of_approval

 

GreenPeople Directory businesses are reviewed against stringent stringent eco-criteria, examining ingredients, supply sources, organic or other certifications, and the effect the product or service has on the environment. We weed out toxic, or ‘greenwashed’ products or services, resulting in a trusted directory of 20,000 members and growing.

 

QualityProGreenLogo

Protect Your Family.
Preserve the Planet.
Eco-Effective Pest Control.

As individuals across the world make great strides to preserve our planet and increase consumer awareness for environmentally responsible initiatives, the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) is excited to offer the world’s largest and most credible green certification program for pest management professionals – GreenPro.

The GreenPro certification means that your pest management provider must comply with a multitude of qualifications to ensure that you receive a safe and effective service each time they arrive at your door.

 

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Established in 1994, the Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP) is an EPA partnership program that works with the nation’s pesticide-user community to promote Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices.

ProBest Pest Management gold ribbon   Gold membership is reserved for PESP’s outstanding environmental stewards. These members’ demonstrated commitment to pesticide risk reduction makes them models for other PESP members. Gold members may develop an IPM strategy, demonstrate significant and sustained progress in reducing pesticide risks, and independently measure the progress of their IPM implementation.

Debunking myths especially of the INTERNET…

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Debunking myths especially of the INTERNET…

 

Most of us have seen the commercial on TV that indicates that everything you read on the Internet is absolutely, unequivocally without a doubt TRUE and CORRECT!!!! Well I hope most of us realize it is just plain and simply not true. ProBest Pest Management is a Gold Member of the EPA’s Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program or PESP.  We receive a newsletter quarterly and this newsletter this quarter is about a few of those items – puts to rest the myth about rodents and the New York subway system – too bad it doesn’t talk about that huge alligator that lives there.

It provides some great information on “Ten Steps to Pest-Proofing”

http://www.epa.gov/pesp/news/pesp/pespwire-2012-11.pdf

The Battle Wages ON against Bed Bugs…

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The Battle Wages ON against Bed Bugs…

 

The EPA, CDC,  USDA and ProBest Pest Management all agree that bed bugs are a public health pest.  Many have experienced the lawsuits, legislation, and desperation that these insects can cause.

Know your enemy.  Several years into their resurgence and bed bugs are showing no signs of retreat.  There is no magic bullet, no quick fix.  But there are effective weapons and IPM strategies that can defeat this pest. Clutter gives these critters the hiding places they need to survive and sanitation is the key to a successful treatment protocol.

This. Means. War.

 

There are many options available these days to the Pest Management Professional, (such as the Verifi monitoring and detection device) so please don’t panic and consider your options when choosing a professional to handle your Bed Bug issues.

Illegal pesticides sold in NY

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Illegal pesticides sold in NY.

There are some laws that make sense and should be enforced to the highest degree. This one caught my attention because of this sentence –

The authorities determined that the liquid contained nearly 61 times the amount of brodifacoum, a powerful rodent killer, permitted by the E.P.A. The substance is an anticoagulant, causing internal bleeding in rodents. The chemical is so dangerous, officials said, that its use is illegal in urban areas unless licensed professionals wearing protective gear apply it.

in the article by Colin Moynihan of the http://www.nytimes.com

“Man Admits Selling Illegal and Dangerous Pesticides“

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