Seeing The Green Light

This month in Pest Management Professional Magazine, you can find my latest contribution, entitled The Green Light. The debate between Right vs. Left, traditional pest controllers vs. environmentalists, global warming deniers vs. global warming watchdogs goes on and on. So in this article, I decided to step back for a minute and consider who are the people who can best bridge the gap of understanding, what professional group can objectively speak to both audiences. The answer: entomologists.

NPMA and NRDC – Marriage of Pest Control and Environmental Groups – Reviewed

Last year the National Pest Management Association created in industry defined green standards certification called QualityPro Green. This past spring of 2009, the NRDC (National Resource Defense Council) approached NPMA ( National Pest Management Association) with a request to conditionally join in the effort to create a better national green program. NPMA wisely found common ground with NRDC, listening and absorbing several of their concerns and designing a better green program under a newly marketed label – GreenPro. GreenPro will now have environmental advocates from outside the pest control industry sitting on its’ board of directors.

Will NRDC find that they have a true partner in NPMA? It’s an open question. Time will tell. By not requiring a front-end audit and an audit of a larger segment of multi-branch companies, they are taking a substantial risk with their own membership and with the potential for the process to be easily subverted. It will be incombant on NPMA and individual GreenPro certified companies to prove they are worthy of the trust extended by NRDC.

Please take the opportunity to review and discuss “A Suprise Marriage” published by Pest Management Professional Magazine in its’ September 2009 issue. In this article I review my own perspective and experience as an active pest control operator.

Feel free to post your replies. All comments are welcome.

Why I Hire Pest Control Technicians in the Fall

I’ve often wondered as to my sanity after hiring in the fall. No doubt, it can cost more than a timely springtime hire, but I just hate to deal with any type of chaos during the spring season, when we need to be out in full force, meeting the needs of our customers for pest control service. It’s really hard to keep track of my technicians during the spring. I like to feel I have an adequate level of trust that they will do a good job, that they understand how Hearts operates and that the new team member and the team as a whole function well together.

Please enjoy this brief article I’ve written for PMP magazine’s on-line edition, Nine Reasons I Hire In The Fall.

Do let me know what you think of the article. This blog is to generate discussion, not for accolades, so tell me what you think, not what I or anyone else wants to hear.

Thanks,

Gerry

Leave Something On The Bone – Sick Pay, Benefits, Medical Coverage in the Pest Control Industry

Please accept my invitation to read my latest article, “Are We Ready to Lead?,” in Pest Management Professional (PMP) Magazine’s on-line edition. This month, I talk about the need for leadership in the industry that can bring together workers, managers and owners in a win-win strategy, starting with proper health care for workers and examining the larger benefits of better benefit packages.