This week, a delegation of members from the Pennsylvania Pest Management attended NPMA Legislative Day. When not advocating for the industry with key decision makers from the commonwealth, they listened to key political leaders speak on a variety of topics. This event is essential to ensuring that the industry's voice is heard in Washington, D.C.
Our very own Dr. MeeCee Baker was asked to speak on a panel (top right photo) on state legislative efforts and strategy. Our thanks to NPMA for asking Pennsylvania to participate. Our successes in state-wide advocacy would not be possible without the membership of the PPMA!
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Pesticide Application Recordkeeping.
It's required, and a very important part of your job!
Written by Techletter. Reprinted with permission. www.techletter.com.
Whether or not to keep a record when you treat a property with pesticides is not your decision. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires that certified applicators applying restricted-use pesticides for hire keep records of that application. The individual state regulators administer theis EPA rule, and often add record-keeping requirement of their own that cover all pesticide applications.
Isn't recordkeeping just busywork?
Accurate, complete records are your protection from any challenge to your professionalism. Should you ever need to recall that particular treatment, even years later, for a regulator or in a legal case, your throrough records will refresh your memory, may be used in evidence, and may save the day! No records or sloppy, partial records can mean trouble down the road.
Good records make you a better technician. Look at earlier records with a critical eye and evaluate the effectiveness of procedures used, effectiveness of pesticides at rates applied, and look for signs of pest resistance to the product. Records of pesticide application amounts can help your company keep track of product inventory.
Look at it this way. Keeping accurate and detailed records of your work protects you and your company and makes you both look more competent and professional.
What do you have to report?
EPA requires that you report certain details when you apply a pesticide, especially a restricted-use pesticide. Your state may have more or different requirements so be sure you are in compliance. Generally, you will need to record the applicator's name, customer's name and address, date and time of treatment, the actual area treated, the pest treated, the pesticide products used with their EPA Reg. No., the percentage of active ingredient applied, total amount of pesticide used, application equipment used, weather conditions for outdoor treatments, and perhaps pesticide disposal information.
A thorough applicator will record even more information than is required. On an unusual job or one that could have repercussions, record circumstances beyond the basics. Report sanitation levels, or if you have to reschedule or cancel an application, and why. And don't be shy about reporting any precautions and safety measures taken on the job - these could prove important later.
Your records need to be good enough to dispute a claim that a property was inadequately treated or inspected or that your service was improper or dangerous. Your company probably has a standard form that you fill out at the job site. Unfortunately, here is where the system often breaks down. Technicians get lazy or take short cuts in filling out their application records. Are you guilty of any of these common paperwork shortcomings?
- Unreadable handwriting
- leaving blank spaces on a reprinted form, or just using ditto (") marks rather than making individual entries (difficult to defend in court and often an issue with regulators)
- Wrong dates, and missing addresses (no apartment number)
- Not including the things that your state's regulations require such as product names, concentrations, amount used, EPA Reg. N., etc.
Who gets to see your application records?
First off, you must supply your customer with a record of each pesticide application. You may also be asked to provide access to your application records in any of the following circumstances: (1) routine or random inspections by state regulators, or EPA, or USDA inspectors, (2) in situations involving suspected pesticide poising or related medical emergency, and (3) to determine compliance when an alleged pesticide incident becomes a regulatory or legal case.
EPA requires access to application records for inspection and copying by and EPA representative (including inspectors and state regulators) for at least two years form the date of application. States may require more; it's wise to keep records for even longer. Whenever a pesticide application is investigated, application records and any other data are sued by regulators to reconstruct the application and reach a decision as to whether proper procedures were followed. A detailed paper trail, or "electronic" record trail is your best defense.
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Laser Printers vs. Inkjet Printers: A Guide for Small Business
Originally published on www.businessnewsdaily.com.
I
f you're in the market for a new printer, one of the biggest decisions you'll have to make is whether you should choose an inkjet or a laser printer. Inkjet printers, like the name implies, spray wet ink directly onto your paper. Laser printers use a combination of toner (powder) and heat to print onto paper.
Price and ongoing costs
Business owners can find printers in each category that fit within a wide range of budgets. You may find inkjets for less than $100 – and, especially for remote workers – that may be all you need.
If price isn't the main factor, then what is? Well, both of these types of printers will require ongoing supplies (known as consumables) and occasional maintenance. These costs are unavoidable.
When purchasing ink or toner, manufacturers will generally specify the number of pages that each ink or toner is capable of printing. A simple way of evaluating the costs and value for ink or tone is to determine the cost of ink per page. Divide the number of pages you'll get from an ink or toner cartridge by the price of the cartridge.
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Join us at our upcoming 2019 events!
Eastern Region Spring Seminar
- Thursday, March 14 (Wyndham, Trevose, PA)
Central Region Fall Seminar
– Tuesday, August 20 (Park Inn, Mechanicsburg, PA)
Western Region Fall Seminar
- Thursday, August 29 (Doubletree, Cranberry Twp., PA)
Eastern Region Fall Seminar
– Thursday, September 12 (Wyndham, Trevose, PA)
Northeast Region Fall Seminar
– Thursday, September 26 (Radisson Hotel, Scranton, PA)
Annual State Conference
– Monday and Tuesday, November 11-12 (Eden Resort, Lancaster, PA)
The Eastern Division continues to hold its monthly meetings with varying topics of discussion on the second Thursday of every month at the Crowne Plaze in Trevose. For more information on monthly topics and speakers, contact Sue at (215) 331-1121.
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Professional Pest Managers School
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The Professional Pest Managers School (hosted by PSU Extension) is a one-day pesticide update session that provides research-based information for applicators and offers a wide variety of trainings for licensed pesticide applicators.
We hope you can join us!
When
Mon., Mar. 11, 2019
(8:00 AM - 3:30 PM)
Where
Eden Resort
222 Eden Rd., Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17601
Learn More
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Bed bug task force aims to secure bed bug ordinance for City of Philadelphia
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For immediate release.
February 19, 2019
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. --Philadelphians Against Bed Bugs (PhABB) –a partnership among Penn State Integrated Pest Management Program, local agencies, non-profits, health care professionals, senior and low-income housing advocates, lawyers, and everyday citizens--is one step closer to securing a bed bug ordinance for the city of Philadelphia and awaits the vote of the City Council.
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have stated that bed bugs are a pest of significant public health importance,” said George Gould, senior attorney with Community Legal Services, Inc. “Philadelphia has no city department dealing with the problem of bed bugs, while other major cities such as New York, Chicago, San Francisco,and Boston have comprehensive ordinances dealing with this serious health problem.”
In October2018, representatives of PhABB with help from Gould, sent a request to Philadelphia’s 1stDistrict Councilmember, Mark Squilla,urging him to move forward witha bed bug ordinance, according to Michelle Niedermeier, program coordinator for community integrated pest management at the Pennsylvania Integrated Pest Management (PA IPM)Programat Penn State.“The City’s law office respondedwith a revised ordinance, and together we worked with Councilmember Squilla to fine tune it,” said Niedermeier.
The goal of PhABB, she added,is to help the City of Philadelphia with abed bug ordinance that is based on current best management practices and protocols;that would require property owners to keep their properties free of bed bugs; implement a code enforcement policy that takes infestations seriously; educate the residents and city employees about best practices for remediation; and implement and enforce policies to keep homes, schools, and workplaces free from infestations.
“The PAIPM Program is the educational arm of PhABB, helping citizens of Pennsylvania to understand the importance of properly managing bed bugs,”said Niedermeier.PA IPM offers a free “Bed Bug Basics” workshop monthly to help educate about the do’s and don’ts of bed bug remediation.
On February 14, 2019 the bed bug bill was introduced into City Council by Councilmember Squilla and 8 additional co-sponsors: Councilmember Parker, Councilmember Bass, Councilmember Jones, Councilmember Henon, Councilmember Johnson, Councilmember Gym, Councilmember Blackwell, Councilmember Greenlee. The next steps in this process are for a hearing to be set, and then a vote.
PhABB is optimistic that Philadelphia will have a much-needed bed bug ordinance soon.
To learn more about Philadelphians Against Bed Bugs(PhABB), go to: http://www.philadelphiansagainstbedbugs.o
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The information below represents legislative activity (including bill introductions) that has occurred since the last newsletter. For a full listing of legislation that Versant is tracking for PPMA, please contact us at (717) 635-2320 or [email protected]. Activity marked HCO or SCO indicates a co-sponsorship memo which precedes the actual introduction of legislation and is designed to secure the support of other legislators prior to introduction as a bill.
The State and Federal Legislature have returned in 2019 to start a new Legislative Session. At the state level, Representative Sue Helm plans to reintroduce language that she advocated for that would license Home Inspectors and would create an industry-based Commission that would create guidelines. PPMA is supportive of this legislation.
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To update your company's service area, please follow the steps below:
- Log on to the Manage My Group area of the NPMA website. Please note: in order to access the "Manage My Group" area of the NPMA website, you must be a company administrator.
- Click on "Company Information" from the drop down menu.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the Service Area section.
- Download the excel template found on this page.
- Update this template to include all of the zip codes that you service.
- Save the file on your computer.
- In the Service Area section click Choose File. Locate the excel template file that you just saved. Click open.
- Click Upload file.
Once you've completed these steps your service on Find-a-Pro is instantly updated to include these new zip codes.
If you are having problems accessing please contact NPMA at (703) 352-6762 or
[email protected]
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Have you noticed a lack of stink bugs? According to researchers, that’s because January’s polar vortex may have killed off 95 percent of the stink bug population. A Virginia Tech experiment estimated that the subzero temperatures were fatal to most of the stink bugs that had not found shelter to stay warm for... -
Penn Live, Patriot-News
City landlords who go soft on bedbugs could face stiff penalties under a new bill proposed by City Councilman Mark Squilla. Philadelphia is currently the only big city that does not employ laws outlining responsibilities for bedbug outbreaks or provide a legal... -
Philadelphia Tribune
Sarah Emlen Mathias, a 56-year-old Lower Alsace Township nurse, has read the venerable newspaper comic strip "Mark Trail" since she was a child, following the rugged outdoorsman's adventures against poachers, polluters and other ecological hoodlums. Last month, she was surprised to find she... -
Reading Eagle
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