The company donated a comprehensive suite of pest control equipment that gives PMPs the chance to operate pest control equipment and the solid training foundation needed to safely and proficiently control pests.

As homes have become the center of daily living – rats and mice are invading residences at an increased rate, Terminix reported.

As homes have become the center of daily living – rats and mice are invading homes at an increased rate. In fact, Terminix has seen a 13% increase in rodent-related requests* over last year, likely due to the effects of the pandemic. 

As pest management professionals know, effective and lasting rodent control requires an integrated approach, including preventive measures to keep rodents from getting into homes, reducing places they can live, trapping and monitoring, and increased sanitation measures to protect homes and families. 

Terminix offers the Terminix Promise to help customers protect their homes for the holidays and beyond by identifying entry points and conditions that allow rodents to thrive.

“Most homeowners are familiar with the common signs of rats and mice, including finding droppings, damaged boxes and papers, noises from within walls or in attics, and even chewed wiring,” said Dan Baldwin, director of technical services for Terminix. “Often, these are just a glimpse of more serious, costly, and potentially dangerous problems for your home.  Rats and mice can carry and spread pathogens – bacteria, viruses, and other organisms that can cause disease – into and throughout a house, contaminating food, kitchen countertops, and any other area they contact. Chewed electrical wiring can lead to fires, and damaged data cables can be a major disruption to homeowners. For those reasons, homeowners have always trusted our trained and professional teammates for the proper and thorough removal of these rodents.”

Finau commenced the partnership at this weekend's The Players Championship, where he used a new golf bag featuring the Aptive logo.

Mike Robinson, owner of Waverly Pest Control, Wappingers Falls, N.Y., recently treated a property with seven infested structures, some that dated back 150 years and had ceilings as high as 60 feet tall.

WAPPINGERS FALLS, N.Y. —  Treating homes for termites and other wood-destroying pests is not unusual for Mike Robinson, owner of Waverly Pest Control, Wappingers Falls, N.Y., but a 2020 job put all of his skills to the test. 

In July 2020, Robinson was called to the country estate of a high-end client, whose property includes 22 structures (everything from an old firehouse, to storage barns and barns for special events). Seven of the 22 structures were under siege from powderpost beetles. 

Robinson said he recognized it was a powderpost beetle infestation because of the presence of powdery dust piles, numerous pin holes made by the beetles, as well as witnessing insects emerge from structural beams. Other than the powderpost beetle damage, the 150-year-old structures were in good shape and looked magnificent on the property. 

The owner wanted to preserve all of the structures, and both Robinson and the owner did not want to discolor any of them. Robinson turned to Rick Allen of Target Specialty Products, who in turn connected him with Dr. Reid Ipser, director of technical services, Nisus Corporation. Ipser recommended treating the structures with Bora-Care.

The other challenge facing Robinson was figuring a way to disperse product to high-up areas, some as high as 60 feet. 

“I wound up reconfiguring my power spray rig, which I use for termite jobs. I was able to premix all of the product, get it into the 50-gallon tank. And then we just adapted some of the nozzle tips on our JD9 nine spray guns to be able to handle the spray of that thickness,” said Robinson, who added that he was able to “tinker around” and find “a good, wide, consistent fan spray to be able to shoot with the pressure behind it to reach these areas.”

Robinson said he did a tremendous amount of prep work and the job required a lot of attention to detail. “They had hanging globes, smoke detectors and a lot of other things to cover with barriers.”

Working with one other employee per day, from start to finish job took a total of seven weeks (it was completed in October) and Robinson has since been making follow-up visits. Both he and the client have been happy with the results, which included no discoloration and no subsequent powderpost beetle infestations.

“One of the structures is used for really large events like weddings, so it is really a big deal in his line of work to have this done properly and to make sure it was done so that nobody knew it was done,” said Robinson, who added that another one of the structures houses one of the largest collections of vinyl records in the world (and includes donations from Keith Richards).

Successfully completing this project gave Robinson a great sense of pride. “Being that we're a small to mid-sized company, it was quite a challenge that was presented before me. It was really a monumental task to be able to reach those areas and get the product applied correctly and efficiently, but we did it.”

Robinson, who owns a 1949 Chevrolet truck and has an appreciation for classic structures, said he was honored to play a role in preserving structures that he hopes will be around for future generations.

This is Gaither’s second tenure with Truly Nolen, as she recently returned to the company following several months as a consulting director with Tomlinson Financial Group in Tucson.

“I am excited about the opportunity in my new role to focus on specific projects including development of processes, project management, training, analysis, and research,” said Gaither. “My favorite thing about Truly Nolen is that my co-workers are all smart, collaborative and take so much pride and ownership in what they do.”

Truly Nolen Controller Sean Dreis added, “In addition to her terrific work throughout her time at Truly Nolen and at other places in Tucson, Shelby is heavily engaged with her local community and works with several non-profit organizations in her free time. I am excited she has rejoined our accounting team and I look forward to seeing her continued success in the future.”