Does pest-management knowledge come with responsibility?

Answering the question: Should you inform the misinformed?

Where does your responsibility as a pest management professional (PMP) begin and end?

This question occurred to me while scanning online news for Pest Management Professional’s (PMP’s) Facebook wall. When I find news stories on a site with a comment section below it, I can’t resist reading the commentary, questions and every layman’s two-bit answers. Thank goodness for the PMPs willing to set the record straight with good advice when needed.

Comments sections are filthy with Internet know-it-alls, ready to share bogus expertise, ineffective do-it-yourself remedies and sometimes downright dangerous advice. Bad bed bug advice is especially concerning; nearly every online bed bug article has someone practically screaming for help in the comments. These pleas are often met with unchecked hearsay and do-it-yourself tips.

Do PMPs who stumble upon bad advice online have a responsibility to set the record straight? Sometimes comment sections descend into shouting matches where good advice gets buried by bad. On the other hand, what if a few short sentences from you prevents an old lady in Poughkeepsie from burning down her home with a DIY heat treatment?

As a professional, is it always your responsibility to call attention to bad advice when you see it? What do you do?

You can reach Nepper at wnepper@northcoastmedia.net or 216-706-3775.