McCloud Services hosted its 20th annual Pest Invasion Seminar June 27 in Oak Brook, Ill. The theme was “A Tactical Approach to a Winning Integrated Pest Management Program.” What follows are some overviews from each of the speakers at the day-long event:
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Peter Poteres, VP of quality assurance, Glanbia Performance Nutrition: “Program Design: What a Winning IPM Program Looks Like”
Poteres shared how his company was able to eliminate 90 percent of the water used on-site for cleaning operations through a closed cleaning system. They have designed their newly constructed docks with an internal dock to help reduce pest activity. He stressed the importance of developing relationships with neighboring properties, and the contributions that neighbors can make from pest pressures. One of the biggest connections they find to pest pressures is the location of rails.
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Dr. Bobby Corrigan, RMC Pest Management Consulting: “Pest Exclusion and Prevention”
Workmanship in pest proofing is critical, says this PMP Hall of Famer (Class of 2008). Dr. Corrigan related the example of poorly installed concrete (pebbly) and how rodent pests may breach.
Sewers are the No. 1 source of Norway rats in New York City and other urban centers. One of the main sources of rat issues in New York subway stations are the garbage rooms and lack of pest-proofing. They paid $5 million to have these rooms rodent proofed to solve the issue. MIT researcher Chris Moore performed the studies showing the importance of rodent vibrasse in burrowing response.
Dr. Corrigan outlined four pest-proofing musts:
- Don’t take shortcuts. Properly pest-proof doors and gaps with the right materials so rodents can’t chew through.
- Inspect like never before. Rodents are not using every single line. Once they establish a line, they stick to it over and over again. That is their “trail.” Inspect the incoming goods and materials, and check all parts of the facility, including wall voids, ceilings, roofs, joints, etc.
- Look up. Ceiling inspections are critical for proper pest control. Most companies forget about ceiling inspections, and that is a high-risk area for rodents.
- Be there from the start. Construction companies should get a consultation from a pest management professional prior to building, to ensure they use the proper materials to take a proactive approach to prevent risk of rodents. For example, during the building of a grocery store, it was discovered too late that the builders could have used different materials to proactively prevent rodents and pests.
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Dan Collins, BCE, McCloud Services: “Find Them if They Make it In: Pest Control Inspections”
Collins’ Top 5 challenging pests in food plant facilities include:
- Rodents (“The magic number to successfully crash a rodent population is 96 percent,” he says)
- Stored product insects
- Small flies
- Cockroaches
- Occasional Invaders
Overlooked areas, he said, include:
- Rooftops: It is important to understand how the roof is constructed.
- Utility tunnels: While they can be difficult to get to, they are critical to inspect. They can present a huge safety issue to get to because of electrical wires, etc.
- Racking systems: Use the signs as a root cause. For example, rodent sebum can be found on racking systems.
The easiest way to introduce a pest to your facility is transferring product or material from facility to facility, Collins said. In addition, a stationary compactor should never be used for food. They are only meant for corrugated material. However, some food facilities will use them incorrectly because they are cheaper.
Mark VanderWerp, BCE, Rose Pest Solutions: “Know your Enemy: The 3 Biggest Pest Threats”
- Stored product pests: Focus on tough-to-clean spots. These are hard-to-get to or around items that can’t be moved, etc. Fogging and ultra low-volume (ULV) treatments should not be your go-to solution for stored product pests. The first treatment may be very successful, but if you continue thereafter, it will ultimately provide diminishing returns.
- Flies: There are four functional groups: biting, small, filth and seasonal invading. Most have a reproductive cycle of fewer than 25 days. When going “fly hunting,” follow the water. Water collections often have bacteria and food debris, which then can spread and produce larvae.
- German cockroaches: Glue boards are indispensable as monitors.
Small tiny crack is a great harborage for German Cockroaches. These cracks can be almost hard to see with the naked eye.
Customers should consider having options of cockroach baits on their approved material list if they have one.
Use the size of a chocolate chip as a guide to bait placement sizes. Keep in the mind that the smaller the placement, the more quickly the bait will dry. About one chocolate chip is enough bait for 7 adult cockroaches. Estimate the population size and place enough bait quantities out for control.
Baiting is effective but not the ONLY option. Dusting wall voids is a great helpful way to resolve an issue.
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Pat Hottel, BCE, McCloud Services (pictured), and Scott Broaddus, Bayer Digital Pest Management: “Innovate: Introducing New Technology”
McCloud has tested or is in the process of testing six different remote monitoring systems, Hottel noted. So far, all have involved rodent monitoring, but the company will be embarking on insect remote monitoring in the near future.
“One of the greatest advantages of the systems is the potential to integrate beyond rodent captures alone,” she said. “Some of the newer systems include the ability to measure temperature, humidity and open doors, in addition to the capture of pests in our monitors. Many of these capabilities are more relevant to insect pests. These systems will greatly improve our abilities to determine root causes and solutions in the prevention and control of pests.”
See more photos from the event here: Roadtrip Roundup: McCloud Pest Invasion 2019
Contributor Patricia Hottel is technical director for McCloud Services. She can be reached at pathottel@mccloudservices.com.
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