Do people really want ‘green pest control?’

In today’s climate this seems like an absolutely absurd question. It’s plastered all over the place that ‘green is the way to go.’ Hardly anyone you ask would be hard pressed for an answer, the quid pro quo, stock reply is “sure I do.”. And yes I am aware of the definition and use this term because todays advertising is getting exactly what what it has paid for. Derived from the Latin it means ’something for something.’ Groups interested in a clean environment and reduction in pesticides have successfully lobbied public opinion to accept this as the normal expectation and in return the public has said yes, or at least one would think.

Pest control companies have been a target for many years because of their use and God forbid profits from using pesticides. Simply type ‘pesticides are bad’ in any search engine and you will find over 2 million results. Just like the few plane crashes that make the news and headlines it seems that nobody reports on the other 156,000 flights per day that make it safely.

The pest control industry has been evolving and getting better and smarter over the many years of it’s existence even without the strong push from outside groups. Billions of dollars have gone into research to make safer more effective products that use only a fraction of what used to be called for. They were doing this long before it was chic. When I began my career I remember getting a rash of complaint calls when we began using odorless liquids. People would say “I can’t smell it so it must be watered down chemicals he’s using.” Now days they think if it smells I’m giving them cancer. Many clients balked and threatened cancellation when techs came in with just a bait gun rather than a sprayer. IPM stands for Integrated Pest Management and we had so many meetings on this concept in the 80’s I never wanted to hear it again. Still, most of of my clients wanted just one thing, dead bugs.

Now in 2009 I ask you, Do you really want green pest control? Isn’t it a fore gone conclusion that this service industry already performs this for you and at a high level? I believe that most people would say they trusted their service tech who treats their home and does not believe he is contaminating the personal space they live in. Take into account that what used to be gallons then was reduced to ounces and now may be down to milliliters of active ingredients that are placed in any home. That the average company spends countless mandated and voluntary hours of training to ensure proper service with the highest safety standards. Does this sound like an irresponsible sector of the business community? Surely the greedy CEO’s at the chemical plants would rather you buy a drum barrel full of pesticides for a weeks work rather than a syringe that can do the same.

It is my opinion that ‘green’ is yet an undefined word that means different things to different people. What you think is green may not be to your neighbor and who’s to say what is right. Even the different special interest groups can’t come to a solid consensus. Customers for the most part don’t believe that if they get a little extra shot of a good old stand by pesticide they are breaking any international code of ethics. Much like they want more hybrid cars on the road but just not for them, they’re not safe enough in a crash. If it happens to be green pest control and the cost is right that’s great but they simply want their bugs dead green or not.