Pestco provides a variety of services to both residential and commercial clients. We are fully licensed in the State of Michigan as a Commercial Pest Management Company, with one of the highest level of certification credentials of any commercial firm--large or small.

Our approach is not simply as one of pesticide applicator. Professional Pest Management is based on many factors beyond simply what we spray. In every type of residence or building, no matter how large or small, will encounter some type of pest activity at some time. The goal of any pest management program is to identify the most likely pest that may occur, and reduce the potential for incidence as much as possible. The pest control industry has been based on a management philosophy which depends on pesticides for the prevention and control of insects and rodents. This trend is changing, relying more on integrated approaches (integrated pest management) and organic solutions.

In today's litigious cultural environment, and with increasing consumer expectations in product safety, the old "spray and pray" approach to pest and sanitation management no longer suffices. We must emphasis good education, a structured approach, clear goals and measured results.

The foundation of any good service is to find an individual that is well educated and experienced. We place a high level of priority on education of our employees. Our many of years of experience and education allow us to educate you--our client. We build long term relationships with our clients buy providing good information and establishing a trust and respect in these relationships.

The key to effective pest management in any home or facility is inspection and monitoring. These are the foundation to any quality managed system...including pest management. The goal is not to simply kill an invading pest, but to identify the cause and origin of the activity.

"A pest should not be viewed as a problem, but as a symptom of a problem."

Remember, the level of pest activity in a home or facility is based on other factors. In a food processing plant we use pest activity as a benchmark of other food/product safety support systems. Standard sanitation operational procedures (SSOP's) preventative maintenance (PM), and operational practices (OP) all directly impact the level and frequency of occurrence of pest activity within a building. Without clearly defined operational practices for each of these support systems, you may never properly manage pest activity within your facility.

Once pest activity has been identified within a facility, action should be taken to prevent additional activity, or damage from the intruder. This is referred to as a containment action, containing the level of the pest and containing the damage from the pest. Pesticide application is but one form of containment action. Any physical trap, cleaning (such as vacuuming) and the use of extreme heat or cold can all be considered containment actions.

Based on monitoring data, management strategies can be improved to prevent future activity. When pest activity is identified, specific corrective actions need to be explored. These actions include various corrections (such as physical repairs or cleaning) or a changes to the overall operational practices.

In the old view of pest management, pesticide application was viewed as the preventive and corrective action. As pesticides do not solve problems, only suppress them, pesticide applications cannot be viewed as a true corrective action--only a containment of the outbreak. The use of these materials may be warranted in some situations where an immediate knock-down of a target pest is required, but with the risks and negative perception of this type of management strategy, companies must have formal plans in place to circumvent both pest and pesticide use.

Pestco has developed several detailed formal plans since 1986. Our Pest Management Protocols (PMP) series presents strategies for several commercial segments which include:

Pest Management Protocols; For Schools and Healthcare Facilities

Pest Management Protocols; For Food Processing and Handling Establishments

Pest Management Protocols; For Organic Handling Establishments

PMP is a proprietary system that details the key management elements that must be in place, as a minimum to properly manage pest activity within a facility. Each program requires a site plan and pest activity trends report (click for samples) and inspection report.

The goal of any program is to reduce the occurrence, and potential for occurrence to the lowest level practical. Ongoing activity within a facility should not and cannot be tolerated, and each and every  occurrence must have been clearly identified in a timely manner and documented. Support documentation must also demonstrate competent corrective actions.

A well run program will have relatively few pest incidences in the course of a year. And a good program will not be properly documented timed pesticide applications, but a well documented trend of zero pest infestation.

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  Last updated on 3-17-01

Copyright 2001, L. Ernest Otter, III
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