WHAT HAS PCOC DONE FOR ME LATELY?

How is PCOC making your life better? Here are a dozen ways.

• Join PCOC, and you're automatically a member of the National Pest Management Association, with all the benefits and resources of a nationwide trade group.
• PCOC worked hard with the EPA to make sure the Stipulated Injunction of May 2010, which affected eight Bay Area counties, made good sense for consumers and for pest management professionals.
• PCOC went to bat to make sure that new respirator regulations didn't require expensive equipment that put smaller operators at a disadvantage.
• PCOC helped develop the California Aeration Plan (CAP), a superior method of clearing fumigated structures, which superseded the Tarpaulin Removal Plan of 1990 – also developed with PCOC's help.
• PCOC is actively participating in California DPR's re-evaluation of pyrethroids, and how these materials impact water quality.
• PCOC developed a comprehensive Best Management Practices policy for PMPs to help protect the quality of California's waterways.
• PCOC teamed with the NPMA to produce bed bug conferences around the state – the latest example of its mission to provide research and information on the latest pest threats.
• PCOC provides a "Find & Hire a Pest Control Company" service for the public at its website, pcoc.org, an excellent way to direct customers to your business – if you're a PCOC member.
• PCOC offers certification for Green Pro, the gold standard for Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs.
• PCOC membership offers many benefit options – insurance, discount on pharmacy, dental and eye care, and much more.
• PCOC defended the Healthy Schools Act of 2000 from restrictive new modifications proposed by anti-pest control activists.
• PCOC now has 12 hours of free continuing education classes on its website for all members and their employees.

It's your PCOC. Join or renew today!

DO NOT GIVE PESTICIDES TO CUSTOMERS!

"Just a little extra for emergencies, come on," says your residential customer. "Leave me one of those tubes of ant bait, just in case." Or the apartment property's manager insists that you leave rodent bait with her maintenance staff. A word to the wise: DON'T DO IT!!!

Maybe you think that ant baits or rodenticide place packs are pretty safe. But when you give pesticides to a customer or a friend, you give up control over what happens to it next.

TROUBLE DOWN THE ROAD.............. Say you gave your customer some of your pesticide for them to use when you're not there. What could happen? After all, the products you use are pretty safe, right?

• Will the apartment staff simply hand over the rodent to the tenant? What if she leaves the packs on her kitchen table and her two-year old gets them? Who will the state regulators and courts blame? Not the apartment staff. YOU!!
• What if you've got a little spray mix left over at the end of the day and your last residential customer asks if you can pour it into his sprayer? What if he sprays the residual you are using to control ants on his tomatoes and someone becomes ill?

It's illegal to give away (or sell) any pesticide without a dealer's license. Besides the safety factor, there's the professional factor. Do you think the apartment's maintenance staff knows the best places to apply rodent bait? If their baiting doesn't work, you can bet you'll be called to fix the problem. Your reputation and your company's reputation suffer.

When your customer asks you for pesticides, keep control. Just say "NO!"