Buster on those bandits and grapes

Illustration: Chris Whetzel

From year to year, as Pest Management Professional’s (PMP’s) annual State of the Industry (SOI) report chronicles the Top 5 species within each of the Top 4 revenue-producing pests, readers have come to know the Big Three “enemies”: House mice. Carpenter ants. German cockroaches.

KNOW THINE ENEMIES

But this year, some new dogs are in the fight. For example, moles have knocked off meadow mice (Microtus pennsylvanicus) as a top revenue-producing rodent, while Australian cockroaches have pushed the smoky brown species down from No. 4 to No. 5, shutting brown-banded cockroaches (Supella longipalpa) out of this year’s conversation. In the battle for top wood-destroying organisms (WDO), all the usual suspects remain from PMP’s 2022 SOI report but one: Formosan termites usurped wood-decay and Xylophagus fungus in revenue-producing popularity.

Illustration: Chris Whetzel

Lyle Townsend, president of Townsend Pest Control, Henderson, Nev., technically began in pest control in 1967, but learned from his father — a technician — a lot earlier than that. “On Saturdays as a kid I’d ride along with him,” Townsend recalls. “I asked him once why he chose this as his job. Dad said to find a job you like enough to do all day long, and then come home and still have the energy to talk about it.”

PROTECT CUSTOMERS

Townsend points out there always are going to be customers who need the service of a professional, if only for the calming effect a PMP can provide. “I was at a house [on a rodent service call]. I found the rat, but before I could get hold of it, it ran right in front of the customer,” he recalls. “She screamed and I thought she was having a heart attack. Her husband made her go sit outside, and it took a while to calm her down. But this is a very real, very important fear for some people, and we have to keep that in mind when treating at accounts. We have to show our knowledge and realistically reassure customers whenever we can.”

Illustration: Chris Whetzel

Top 5 Revenue-Generating Species

Rodents

1. House mice (Mus musculus)
2. Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus)
3. Roof rats (Rattus rattus)
4. Deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus)
5. Moles (Talpidae)

Ants

1. Carpenter (Camponotus spp.)
2. Odorous house (Tapinoma sessile)
3. Pavement (Tetramorium caespitum)
4. Fire (Solenopsis spp.)
5. Argentine (Linepithema humile)

Illustration: Chris Whetzel

Cockroaches

1. German (Blattella germanica)
2. American (Periplaneta americana)
3. Oriental (Blatta orientalis)
4. Australian (P. australasiae)
5. Smoky brown (P. fuliginosa)

Termites & Other WDI/WDO

1. Eastern subterranean termites (Reticulitermes flavipes)
2. Carpenter ants (Camponotus spp.)
3. Carpenter bees (Xylocopa spp.)
4. Drywood termites (Kalotermitidae)
5. Formosan termites (Coptotermes formosanus)