The future of pest control
Written by: Daniel Schröer
I don't know if you have the same feeling that this year past super quick. My personal feeling really is, that we are already knee-deep in 2021. What does this tell you? It tells you, the 2023 is going to be around the corner in a blink of an eye. Why am I telling you this? Why is 2023 so relevant? Well, it's just so seems that in 2023 a lot of anticoagulant rodenticides/rat and mouse poison could be taken off the market or in very clear words they could be for bidden. Why? Here goes my thoughts on this:
First, there are economic reasons. As you read and most of the reports of the big businesses in our industry, less and less biocides and pesticides are being used. This means less revenues for the big producers of such active ingredients. A registration for a new rodenticide costs a few hundred thousand per country and the development of such product surely costs a few million euros. Now, if you decide to do this and it is the core of your business, then you're not planning to have your costs covered or to make profit in the very first year.
And contrary it takes around 4 to 5 years to make this really profitable. So, a lot of the chemical businesses in the world are definitely going to wander and evaluate whether it is a good idea to follow down this route. Especially, as so many businesses offer biocides, the market has become very competitive. That really means only one thing, which is the margins have decreased. Now if margins are decreasing I would definitely search for a new field of business, to keep my company healthy and feed the families of my employees.
Do me a favour and type “digital pest control” into Google. Among the first results are the websites of large international chemical companies
that are now venturing into emerging markets like digital traps and surveillance, just like we are.So, do you agree with me, that this is a natural selection? To be honest and to add this to the bold statement, I actually heard from distributors and manufacturers these very facts, so I'm not only making this up on my own, but just telling what a lot of people in the industry are planning and thinking.
Second, there is a large chance, that alternatives to rodenticides are considered as a serious alternative. What does this mean? The European chemicals agency says, that anticoagulant rodenticides pose large risks for our environment and therefore should not be used. Because rodents form such a large threat to human health and food security, and nobody was yet very fond of limiting the use of biocides, nothing was offered as alternatives in a serious manner. Well, honestly there was, but it was not a complete set of facts that the European chemicals agency excepted back in the days in the last phase of re-approval. Considering what our European associations and parties that are interested in the topic, working on guidelines and in serious organizations, currently due to change that within the next reassessment, it can be considered as a realistic goal, that at least partially we will be seeing limitation of legal application of these products.
It's funny that a lot of people from the industry think that we are enemies of rodenticides. In contrary, we would love to keep them forever. But, we just know and I challenge you to prove me the opposite, that they are not used according to law in all cases. If you read the risk mitigation measures for instance in Germany or the memorandum of understanding by CEPA you tend to think that we do not have a problem. Everything, if performed according to the statutes and according to the law, would be absolutely fine and the impact that these critical products would have a non-target organisms or on our environment/nature would be so minimal, that they would be absolutely acceptable and future proof. I mean, if you look at the IPM pyramid, you would see that it actually stands on its head, as most professionals use chemicals first and very seldom consult their clients towards ceiling or proofing, hygiene measures and more. It doesn't happen for sure, and some companies do it extremely well, I know a lot of companies in Holland where the law is actually being controlled and there are high targets that you need to pay if you didn't act according to the law.
But actually in most cases it is still just replacing bait in the shortest period of time possible as offering ceiling and proofing and getting the client to pay for it is honestly very hard. But and I think we will all agree on this, it is the most sustainable way to keep pests from your business, to prevent and exclude them.
I don't make all of this up, it is basically common sense and a lot of information from nobody else then Dr. Robert Corrigan who is probably the worlds most renowned rodent Control expert.
So, do you agree with me?
I personally am very optimistic that rodenticides are going to be decreased heavily in this decade. Even if not, the figures of the international leading service businesses indicate that they have incrementally decided to drastically reduce rodenticides. So it will happen no matter what the key drivers are and I didn't get even speak about food standards that are surely impacting the vertical world from a farm over production to a supermarket, as they too will act more responsibly, more sustainable and I am pretty sure that they will some day relate to the IPM pyramid even heavier than ever before.
Conclusion
So again to my opening thesis: this year pass really quickly and 2023 is going to come extremely fast. So do you want to be impacted and surprised by what happens in 2023, or do you find that the above are facts, that should drive you towards new methods and a new way of working?
In the end every single product we made was produce to offer to the pest control or a full portfolio of sustainable and digital means of preventing and controlling pest problems in and outdoors, in the industry and on the field.
We are very proud that with this broad portfolio a pest control start up company could buy all their products from us and be 100% conform with law, future proof for the next 10+ years. As I love my industry I would love to invite you to contact me for a free consultation or for a free product trial.
I am also quite bullish by the way on free trials, as I think that the next generation is already used to free trials looking at Netflix, Disney and many other platforms that offer you a free trial for three months, I think it is realistic that in the future you can trial of a digital software, traps or other products for three months cost free. What do you think about that?
My goal with his blog is really just to inform you about what is happening because I do not want you to experience the titanic effect in which nobody thought an iceberg was coming, but indeed it was and it hit the titanic very heavily. I want you and your business to be prepared and to not be hit like crazy so you and your employees will struggle in this decade.
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