By Rich Kozlovich Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Heisenberg’s uncertainty Theory – The more closely you study the subject the less clearly defined it becomes.
Heisenberg’s uncertainty Theory – The more closely you study the subject the less clearly defined it becomes.
May I be so bold as to entertain the thought that this
certainly would apply to those who attempt to define Integrated Pest Management
(IPM) or Green for the structural pest control industry? Here is the reality we
are faced with; we have agreed to use these terms without agreeing on what they
mean. I hear the statement often; “we all know what IPM is or; we all know what
Green means”. Really? The reality is that there is “no universally accepted
definition of the IPM and Green phenomena; there is no consensus as to their
range, their ideological origins, or the modalities of action, which
characterize them.”
by Chris Donaghy, President of Residex
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Green Cool-Aide: The Taste is Sweet, but the
Hangover Could be Deadly
Like a heavy bank of fog rolling off the cold Pacific Ocean into San Francisco, or a dense London fog where it is hard to see where the road begins and ends, the Green Movement is shrouding our industry with a blanket of confusion and potential risk. The anti-pesticide groups are there in the clearing and they can see perfectly through the green mist that we find so alluring yet confusing as an industry. The anti-pesticide movement couldn’t be happier as the manufacturers, pest management companies and support associations pull in so many directions that they can hear the fabric of our once united front tearing away. In order for our industry to reunite and to be known again as the protectors of health and property, we must revisit the archives of our most successful moments in history as well as the anti-pesticide’s most prominent moment in history to understand how we came to this place, and why we need to define “Green”.
By Rich Kozlovich Saturday,
September 20, 2008Like a heavy bank of fog rolling off the cold Pacific Ocean into San Francisco, or a dense London fog where it is hard to see where the road begins and ends, the Green Movement is shrouding our industry with a blanket of confusion and potential risk. The anti-pesticide groups are there in the clearing and they can see perfectly through the green mist that we find so alluring yet confusing as an industry. The anti-pesticide movement couldn’t be happier as the manufacturers, pest management companies and support associations pull in so many directions that they can hear the fabric of our once united front tearing away. In order for our industry to reunite and to be known again as the protectors of health and property, we must revisit the archives of our most successful moments in history as well as the anti-pesticide’s most prominent moment in history to understand how we came to this place, and why we need to define “Green”.
For all the years that I have been in pest control I have had to defend what we do, how we do it, and the products we use. Okay, so what? Am I any different than anyone else in pest control? If you had asked me that question 27 years ago I could have emphatically said NO! That was a time when we all came from the same paradigm! Do we today? Well now, that is a different story. Let's talk about that!
Ohio’s pest control industry has had the good fortune of always having had a few good leaders with a clear vision as to what the industry needs. Not just for what is good for them, or for merely what is good in the here and now, but a vision that goes beyond the horizon! The creation of what became the National Pest Management Association is one such example. Ohio’s pest controllers were among the first national leaders that formed what eventually became the National Pest Management Association. This is probably why Ohio pest controllers have been so involved over the years. They were there early and have remained involved through the generations ever since. Another reason is that Ohio pest controllers are passionate about our industry and the issues that face us. As new people came into the industry that passion became infectious to those who are now two, three and four generation pest controllers. People who weren’t around in the early days, but who were no less willing to reach out and carry the standard of their fallen comrades and predecessors……
Response to comments
By Rich Kozlovich Sunday,
September 21, 2008
Over the weekend
I received a comment from a Southern California pest controller and I wish to
respond. Below is his comment to my article Sub-Prime Pest Control. I had
expected some comments because the home mortgage issue has so many racial
overtones. That is always touchy and difficult in this country and excites the
emotions. I chose to go with it anyway; because the underlying principles are
the same…we just have to get past race to appreciate it......
By Rich Kozlovich Saturday, October 18, 2008
I wrote the article “Sub-Prime Pest
Control” and posted it on September 20th, 2008. Gerry Weitz of
Hearts Pest Management in San Diego took umbrage with my views and so I
published a Response to
Comments". Gerry has responded and here are his comments with
my second response
I believe my observation about you being a sincere individual is a valid one, but I fear that you are under the influence of misinformation and fallacious thinking.
I believe my observation about you being a sincere individual is a valid one, but I fear that you are under the influence of misinformation and fallacious thinking.
Here are just a few examples
I have experienced:
My very first exposure in the industry was with a man who came to my house to do a gopher fumigation in our back yard. He did not have a license to do landscape gopher work! As things turned out, I bought the company from him. I didn't realize the remifications of the practices of the former owner until I tried to expand the business and the former owner told me I couldn't report my chemical usage to the state because our gopher applications were not approved! To solve the problem I had to hire a landscape operator until I got my own landscape operator license.
My very first exposure in the industry was with a man who came to my house to do a gopher fumigation in our back yard. He did not have a license to do landscape gopher work! As things turned out, I bought the company from him. I didn't realize the remifications of the practices of the former owner until I tried to expand the business and the former owner told me I couldn't report my chemical usage to the state because our gopher applications were not approved! To solve the problem I had to hire a landscape operator until I got my own landscape operator license.
There are so many egregious issues in this paragraph that If you had sent this piece of information to me privately I would have responded privately, and I would have never published it. I am really surprised at your whole approach to this issue. In Ohio we had Litulis Kilgore, another unlicensed person making illegal applications. This is known as the "Proof by Example" fallacy. Just because they used pesticides for profit doesn’t make them exterminators and it is intellectually irresponsible to use people such as this as examples for why legitimate operators should be all hot and bothered to adopt a philosophy that is antithetical to good pest control and good public health!........
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