Priority Service – Stored Product Pests

Review paperwork, both on your phone and on your service route log at the beginning of your day
and before you travel to the bid location. Pay attention to COW notifications, client concerns, or any other special remarks.

1. Park with the flow of traffic on the street. Do not block driveways when possible.
2. Review the Order Instructions and Location Instructions. Review your route log for hand-written notes.
3. Check the history of the account to see when the last time it was serviced.
4. Confirm the street address to make sure you are at the correct building(s).
5. Time into this account via mobile or on the paperwork.
6. Bring your inspection gear to the door. Do not cross over grass or landscape on your way if avoidable.
7. Ring the doorbell or knock; step back to give personal space.
8. Greet them, introduce yourself, and identify that you are with Good Earth Pest Company.
9. Ask them about what they have been seeing and if you can enter to inspect. Also, collect any samples they may have.
10. Inspect interior for activity and confirm an ID if possible. Proper identification is vital to control.
11. When dealing with stored product pests the culprit is typically going to be a moth or a beetle.
    • If it’s a moth you will want to be able to distinguish the Indian meal moth and tobacco or warehouse moth from the different clothes moths you may find.
    • For beetles, there is a wide variety of possibilities. From weevils to confused flour beetles. Even carpet beetles can act as stored product pests occasionally. If there is no obvious source, getting a proper id can point you in the right direction or at least eliminate the possibility that it is a wood boring beetle.
12. Find the source
    • Start with the pantry. You are looking for infested food. Mostly grains and seeds and the things that are made from them. Cereals, pasta, flours, herbs, spices, are all suspect. Usually in open containers but also can be found in closed packaging. Look for tiny holes in the packaging.
    • If the source isn’t found in the pantry alternatives may include birdseed or pet food. Ask the client about their history with rodents. Rats, mice, and squirrels will cache food inside walls and in crawlspaces and leave it to get infested by pantry pests.
    • With both moths and beetles, you are looking for larvae and adults. The moth larvae are usually longer and more caterpillar like than the short grub like beetle larvae. The moth larvae will also spin a silken cocoon for itself in cracks and crevices.
13. Remove all infested materials and sanitize the area. After which you can apply a residual pesticide into cracks and crevices if you feel it is necessary. The use of point sources and igrs  can also be effective. Monitor for continued activity.
14. With Indian meal moths, larvae may leave the infested food site to pupate. Be sure to check cracks and crevices nearby.
15. If re-infestation occurs it may be necessary to pull baseboards and molding to find hidden pupae.

16. Reconvene with the client and report all your findings, including the measures you took to address them. Also, make sure to set expectations for the improvement in the activity that they can anticipate. If the client is not home and you need to communicate with them, please call or send them a text. Make sure to leave a door hanger so the client can confirm that you were onsite.

17. Enter all required information on the material applied into PestPac Mobile. Also, enter notes on the service provided today as well as any client concerns, observations you made, or necessary environmental changes (see PS.102 Entering material information and notes into PestPac Mobile). Be sure to update the location instructions with any pertinent information that other techs should know. Remember: Clients have access to your notes so they should always be professional and appropriate.

18. If it was a particularly pleasant interaction be sure to send a review invite via the Podium app (see PS.150 Sending a review invite using Podium Mobile).

19. Check off the account on your service route log.