PPMA OFFICERS
Marty Overlilne
President
Aardvark Pest Management
Phildelphia, PA
Adam Witt
President Elect
Witt Pest Management
Pittsburgh, PA
Keith Hamilton
Chairman of the Board
J.C. Ehrlich
State College, PA
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Central Division
Gary Lesher
Governor
Perry Pest Control
Landisburg, PA
Greg Ten Hoeve
Terminix
Mechanicsburg, PA
Keith Jones
Archer Pest Control
Camp Hill, PA
Eastern Division
Bryan Levengood
Governor
Thur-O Pest Mngmt
Elverson, PA
Mike Snyder
Township Pest Control
Warrington
, PA
Rob Byer
Terminix
Mountain Laurel
, NJ
Northeast Division
Jeff King
Governor
The Pest Rangers
Hanover Twp., PA
Paul Kutney
Diane Lown
Ajax Environmental Solutions
Dalton, PA
Western Division
Adam Witt
Governor
Witt Pest Management
Pittsburgh, PA
Scott Grill
Bill Grill Exterminating
Verona, PA
John Besic
Besic Pest Control
Transfer, PA
Technical Advisor
Chad Gore
Rentokil North America
Carnegie, PA
Industry Liaison
Brian Smith
Univar
Sharon Hill, PA
Executive Director
Versant Strategies
Harrisburg, PA
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| Featured Article |
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Dear Friends:
August means the end of summer and back to school for students across the Commonwealth. Don't forget to take yourself back to the classroom for your own continuing education credits. Be sure to check out the upcoming events listed below and register you and/or your employees to stay current on the latest in the pest management industry.
Registration is now open for the upcoming Annual Meeting to be held November 12-14
at the Eden Resort in Lancaster, PA. An agenda and online registration information is available online at http://www.papest.org/education-and-training/ppma-annual-conference/. Vendor registration information is also available at that link. Be sure to mention you are with the Pennsylvania Pest Management Association when making your hotel reservations!
If we at the Association's office can ever be of assistance, please feel free to contact us at (800) 842-9090 or [email protected].
Team Versant
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I wanted to take a few moments and thank PPMA for allowing me to serve the Association over the last 2 years as President. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to work with members of our board in carrying out the Mission of the Association and representing PA. For me, personally, this is indeed a highlight of my 29 years in the Industry. I traveled a lot of miles, from Seattle to Washington DC and met so many wonderful people in our industry and developed friends for a lifetime. I believe we have a bright future, but it will take everyone's commitment to build on our foundation that has been developed over the years. We need to continue bringing in NEW members and get them exited about what this industry has to offer and the many benefits from our National and State Organizations.
Your association is only as efficient and successful as the membership's involvement, so I strongly urge everyone to get involved in your Division sectors and offer your help and continued support. I am looking forward to continuing my role as Chairman of the Board and will always offer my assistance to the new Leadership Team. I have all the confidence in our new President, Marty Overline, and our President-Elect Adam Witt. We are very fortunate to have their expertise and passion leading the way. I would like to thank both of them for their help to me over the last 2 years, as well as John Besic, and several of our recent Past Presidents: Bob Jones, Ed Van Istendal, and Dave Hyres. These industry leaders have certainly helped pave the way for our Association had have given us a sound foundation. And finally a BIG thank you to our Executive Director Team, Versant Strategies, Dr. MeeCee Baker and Caleb Wright. Many thanks for your unwavering support and dedication to me personally and to our Association.
Let's Guarantee our Future by asking someone NEW to join us, TODAY!
Keith Hamilton
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NPMA Executive Leadership Class Offers Member Benefits Survey
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The Executive Leadership Class at NPMA has designed a survey to collect data from NPMA members regarding member benefits offered. The information gathered will be used in a project the class is completing which will have a direct positive result for the association. You can view the 6 question survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3P8ZBNQ.
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According to the bylaws approved by the membership present at the 2015 Annual Meeting, board terms approaching maturity are to be advertised in the August edition of
the Inspector. Any active member may submit nominees for the position of officers on the State Board of Directors by close of business on August 31. Nominees for a position as an officer of the State Association must currently serve on the State Board of Directors. A list of current board members can be found
here.
The
Vice President
position is up for election this year.
The State Board of Directors will elect its officers. Candidates will be announced in the September Newsletter. Board members will vote from the candidates announced in the published list on ballots prepared by the PPMA Office. Results will be announced at the annual fall meeting and in the December
Inspector. Copies of the bylaws are available for members upon reques
t.
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Market Hardware, a new Allied Member of the Pennsylvania Pest Management Association is offering a free webinar to Pennsylvania Pest Management Association Members. Registration is free.
One Silver Bullet, Two Shocking Surprises and One Big, Fat LIE about Google
WHEN: October 11th, 12 PM
Register here.
Learn more about Market Hardware by visiting their website (www.markethardware.com).
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Do you recognize Poison Ivy?
You don't have to be doing lawn pest control to come face-to-face with poison ivy. Anytime you are working outside, even just treating around foundations, you should keep an eye out for poison ivy. If you are working in an overgrown site that could have poison ivy, wear long pants, long sleeves, and gloves. Poison ivy is a plant mimic and can be a small plant with just a few leaves growing in among the groundcover, or a busy shrub, or in the eastern U.S., it can be a mature ropy vine growing up a tree.
The key to its identification is that each true leaf is actually made up of 3 leaflets. Remember the saying, "
Leaves of three, let it be!" Usually the leaf edges are irregularly notched or slightly lobed, but sometimes not. Mature plants may have small flowers or whitish berries. Leaves turn red-orange in the fall. Poison ivy occurs across the U.S. and into Canada, except for California, Alaska, and Hawaii.
Two other plants that can cause similar skin irritation are poison oak and poison sumac. Poison Oak also has 3 leaflets that are oak-leaf shaped and occurs mainly in the Southeast and on the West Coast of the U.S. and Canada. Poison sumac is a shrub that has a compound leaf with 7-13 paired leaflets. It's a problem mainly along the Mississippi River and in boggy areas of the Southeast.
When poison ivy leaves or other plant parts are touched, bruised, or even burned, they release an irritating (but unseen) oil that causes an itchy, red rash, often with red bumps, blisters, or swelling. The rash may take a few days to appear and can last 1-3 weeks. You can get a re
action to poison ivy even if you never touched the plant by touching tools, shoes, pant legs, gloves, or even a pet that had contact with the plant.
What if I touch poison ivy?
1. Immediately wash the affected area with soap and warm water, rinsing frequently. Until you can wash, avoid touching your face or any parts of your body or clothing. 2. If contact was on shoes, clothing, or gloves, carefully remove them, touching them as little as possible. Was them ASAP with soap and hot water, separately from other clothing. 3. Wash affected tools or equipment with a dilute bleach solution while wearing rubber gloves. Wash up thoroughly after touching the affected item. 4. Relieve itching with calamine lotion, hydro-cortisone cream, or wet compresses. For sever cases, see a physician.
There is always a technician who brags that he or she never gets poison ivy. Just like insect stings or bites, sensitivity can develop with increased exposure. That unprotected technician may be surprised to end up with a full-blown, itchy case of poison ivy!
As published by Techletter.
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Penn State Extension provides updates on transformation
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From Mary Wirth, Director of College Relations & Communications
Penn State Extension is going through a transformation, with a keen focus on improving our products and services and building stronger relationships with our customers and stakeholders. A lot of exciting activities are taking place within the college, and I wanted to take a moment to update you on several key initiatives.
June 30
th is the date we will lose significant institutional knowledge as many of our seasoned employees who took advantage of the Penn State voluntary retirement program will be departing, including more than half of the current district directors. As you are aware, we are going through a restructuring at the county level and have been filling those positions under the new model as quickly as possible.
Linked, you will find the names and short bios of those in place to date. They are a very talented group of professionals who are excited about working with Penn State Extension and being a part of new era of delivering information to our customers and stakeholders.
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News from NPMA
NPMA Public Policy Team Meets with EPA Office of Pesticide Programs
Recently, the NPMA Public Policy Team met with EPA Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) senior management. During the meeting, NPMA staff reviewed and summarized comments submitted to the docket regarding the proposed
Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessments of Synthetic Pyrethroids and Pyrethrins
. Staff highlighted the importance of pyrethroids in protecting public health, the benefits of this class of insecticides to society as a whole, the unique nature of structural pest control use patterns, and reiterated important technical points made by allied groups.
In addition to reviewing the pyrethroid comments, staff updated EPA on the progress of the fumigation stewardship initiative and discussed holding another workshop for EPA staff to learn more about structural use patterns and application equipment.
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Upcoming Meetings
Join the Western Division on
August 31st, in Cranberry, PA for their 27th Annual Conference and Trade Show. Registration information is available
here.
The
Eastern Division has announced their fall seminar slated for
September 14, 2017 in Trevose, PA. Registration information can be found
here.
Please note that the hotel has changed ownership to a Wyndham. Same great location, just a different name!
On
September 21st, the
Northeast Division will be hosting their fall meeting. Click
here for information and to download a registration form.
Mark your calendars now for the Annual Meeting, scheduled for
November 12-14 in Lancaster, PA! Registration information and a conference schedule is now posted
here!
The
Meetings and Events section of the website is always the most up-to-date resource for happenings of the Association. Be sure to check it out!
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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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.
Since last month, the House has yet to return to act on the Senate's recently passed revenue package which included a Severance Tax and a Gross Receipts tax. It is still undetermined if the House of Representatives will move forward with this revenue bundle. Versant Strategies is paying close attention to the following legislation on your behalf:
SB 76 - Argall, David - Act providing for tax levies & information related to taxes; authorizing a personal income tax or earned income tax by a school district; for exclusions from sales tax; for increase to personal income tax; est. Fund; & repeals.
This bill has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee and awaits a committee meeting for a vote.
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| 08-22-2017 |
4 city neighborhoods on county's list for mosquito control
The Allegheny County Health Department will be spraying a handful of Pittsburgh neighborhoods after mosquitoes there tested positive for the West Nile Virus, according to a county statement. The county said recent mosquito samples collected in North Side, Lawrenceville, South Side Slopes and Knoxville were found carrying the... - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |
| 08-21-2017 |
Pennsylvania leads U.S. in Lyme disease
The map gives a bird's eye view of the state-by-state cases of tick-borne Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and mosquito-borne Zika and West Nile cases. Pennsylvania led the nation in 2015 with 7,351 cases of Lyme disease. New Jersey was second with 3,932 cases.Lyme is by far the most common of the... - Chambersburg Public Opinion |
| 08-17-2017 |
Invasive Insect Poses Threat To Fruit Trees, Grape Vines
The spotted lantern fly is a growing threat to fruit trees and grape vines in the region. State officials are still trying to develop an effective way to stop it. The invasive insect is a large colorful bug that was first detected in Berks County in 2014 and can endanger apple and peach trees, grapes and... - KYW News Radio 1060 |
| 08-14-2017 |
Controlling Japanese beetle swarms
Residents and farmers alike are experiencing a high number of Japanese beetles this year, a long-time garden pest. Once these insects get ahold of prized decorative plants and crops, it's clear how destructive they can be. "I've seen them all over my property this year, especially on a lot... - Waynesboro Record Herald |
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