Flying insect survey: Don’t wing fly service

By

November 27, 2017

Inspect, identify and get customer cooperation for success.

When pest management professionals (PMPs) think of revenue-generating services, the Top 5 come to mind: ants, bed bugs, cockroaches, rodents and termites. But flying insect service can be a moneymaker, too, thanks to recurring preventive maintenance opportunities and their pesky nature that leads customers to want them gone, now, at all costs. Add in the public health protection aspect of flying insect control, and it’s easy to see how this service offering can zoom to MVP status at your company.

Our exclusive survey asked PMPs about how they position flying insect management service in their market (we define flying insect species in depth on the key on p. FI8). Sixty-eight percent of respondents confirmed they point to the health risks of flying insect-related contamination of foods and beverages in their promotional and advertising materials.

Having claims backed up by research and media reports helps, as well. Eighty percent of respondents say recent reports of microbial pathogen contamination via fly contact with food and beverages helped boost the number of flying insect calls they received in 2016.

Keep it clean

If there’s a drawback to flying insect management service, it’s the need to get the customer’s cooperation on eliminating harborage and breeding areas.

“First, you must identify active breeding and attractant sites, then educate the customer on the importance of removing breeding sites and how to prevent them in future,” says Jill Shwiner, director of business development and quality assurance for AVP Termite & Pest Control, Staten Island, N.Y.

While 84 percent of PMP survey respondents require customers to eliminate pest-conducive conditions from the premises as a condition for their flying insect management program, others see it as an opportunity for sanitation as an add-on service. Either way, says Joe Summers, owner of Coastal Pest Management, Cypress, Texas, “Don’t trust the customer to do the things needed to be done. You’ve got to follow up; never assume.”

Dr. Gerry Wegner, BCE-Emeritus, an entomology consultant in Vero Beach, Fla., says doing your technical homework, tailoring the solution to the account, and involving the customer every step of the way will help you achieve three things:

  1. Create grateful, faithful clients by solving flying insect infestation problems.
  2. Increase revenue as a result of including fly management protocols in a general pest service agreement.
  3. Add clients by word-of-mouth referrals of satisfied customers.

You can reach Editor Heather Gooch at hgooch@northcoastmedia.net or 330-321-9754.

Category:

About the Author

Heather Gooch

Heather Gooch is the editor-in-chief for PMP magazine. She can be reached at hgooch@northcoastmedia.net or 330-321-9754.

Leave A Comment

Comments are closed.