The situation with COVID-19 is rapidly changing. Please check back with us by liking us on Facebook (@PMUNews), Twitter (@PMU_News), or subscribing to the newsletter (email foi@ufl.edu)

PMPs are critical to protecting public health. Arthropod and vertebrate pests do not decrease because we have a human crisis. In fact, they may become more serious problems. We are heading into mosquito, tick, flea, termite, ant, and stinging insect season all at once due to our mild winter. A couple of years ago I did a series titled “What the World Would Look Like Without Pest Control.” We don’t have to go down that road.

Our suggested recommendations:

Within your companies, develop a communication strategy that emphasizes the importance of pest control as an “essential function” to public health to share with customers.

Show concern for your customer’s concerns. Physical distancing=social distancing (6 ft perimeter) is required. You already practice physical distancing when you apply pesticides to protect customers from pesticide drift.

Members of the pest control industry are thankfully generally healthy. It is true that most healthy people infected with the virus will have mild symptoms, but this is the danger: You may be asymptomatic for COVID-19 and unknowingly transmit it to your customers or others. (Conversely, your customers may be asymptomatic and may transmit COVID-19 to you.)

How would you feel if a loved one contracted COVID-19 because someone did not take this threat seriously? How much more guilty would you feel if you caused a serious illness or even death to someone because you were an unknowing carrier of COVID-19?

We talk about the “risk” of pesticides and that “risk” is related to exposure. COVID-19 is no different. Your risk will increase with exposure. How can you minimize your exposure to COVID-19?

Appropriate PPE. We use PPE for pesticides, rodent, bird and vector control work. PPE for you will be critical under these circumstances.

Limit services to outside where possible. Many pests start from the outside, including those that endanger food safety, eldercare and other health-related facilities.
Pests of medical significance that can be serviced from the outside include:

  • Rodents
  • Fire ants and other stinging insects
  • Mosquitoes
  • Flies
  • Ticks
  • Fleas

Consider providing a call-ahead notification before performing a service, if not already doing so. This will allow you to inform customers of any service modifications and social-distancing steps you are taking to minimize exposure to COVID-19 before arriving on property.

If you have to go inside, is your customer willing to maintain physical distancing of at least 6 feet? You probably already practice physical distancing with customers of inside services when you politely ask clients to give me space to concentrate on what I’m looking for during inspections and for their safety when using inspection tools.

Pests of medical significance that may need to be serviced inside include:

  • Rodents
  • German cockroaches
  • Bed bugs
  • Fleas

Other obvious points to show concern for your customers:

Do not go to work if you are sick.
Use common sense. Wash your hands like you handled a pyrethroid. Don’t touch your face.

Our friends at PCT and NPMA also have guidance for you and your businesses—posted on FB last week.

https://www.pctonline.com/article/pcos-safeguard-employees-customers-coronavirus/
https://npmapestworld.org/member-center/coronavirus-update/
Simple flyers for your businesses by CDC https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/communication/factsheets.html

FAQs

Why is COVID-19 so bad and spreading so fast? COVID-19 is a “novel” virus and is spreading much like invasive species spread in a new area when unchecked. Think tawny crazy ant. They are bad for a while, then plateau. With COVID-19, the window of time to the plateau will depend on people cooperating with guidance minimize their exposure to others.

Where did COVID-19 come from? We believe it started in an animal then jumped to humans. Viruses mutate. For example, we’ve known about Zika since 1947, but it is a mutation caused the virulent strain that resulted in microcephaly and other human illnesses.

Acknowledgements: Thank you to Louis Witherington (Falcon PC), Michael Bentley (NPMA), and Joe Jonovich (PMU) for suggestions and edits to this document.