Initial or 1x Service – Cockroaches (German)

1. Park onsite and confirm the street address to make sure that you are servicing the correct building(s).
2. Clock in and review all documents (field sheet, tech notes, and service agreement) from the bid.
3. Grab all necessary equipment needed to enter the home. Flashlight, boot covers, and any materials that you may need.
4. Greet the client and introduce yourself. Ask the client if there have been any new developments. If there is going to be any liquid or dust applications, this is the time the client needs to evacuate. Make sure you sort out any arrangements to lock the home when you are done.
5. Identify Problem Areas
   Review all the notes from the bid and inspection that were done previously. Confirm the activity with an inspection of your own, utilizing your inspection mirror. Do not assume that all problem areas were identified during the bid. If you have any questions, you can consult the tech who performed the bid.
6. Perform Interior Treatment
   1. Using your roach toolbox, apply bait close to areas of high activity and congregation. Make spot gel bait applications to the inner corners, hinges, and crevices and crevices of all cabinets where there is activity. Bait stations can also be used (maximum 24 bait stations per residence), making sure to keep them out of the reach of children and pets. Small amounts of gel bait can be added to the sides of the stations to increase acceptability. All bait applications should be made in a neat and orderly fashion. Continue bait application according to the label in all infested areas of the building.
   2. In heavily infested areas such as water heater closets, behind refrigerators, behind ovens, or inside cabinets you will want to place a Gentrol Point Source IGR (be sure to activate it). Make sure to write the date on the Point Source so that we know if it is still active during follow-up visits. Point Source devices cannot be placed near open food or food preparation services. Each device can treat up to a 75 sq. ft area, make sure to read the label before making an application.
   3. For heavy infestations or hard to reach areas, you can utilize baits in dust form. These baits are a useful tool in areas that are greasy and dirty or otherwise have a substance on them that competes with the bait as a food source. The client must evacuate the area prior to using dust formulations.
   4. For heavy infestations, you may also choose to perform a liquid baseboard treatment. Again, the client must evacuate the home and not re-enter for 3-4 hours to allow the material to dry. You will want to use a non-repellant such as Advion WDG or Alpine WSG. There may be a benefit to using Alpine over Advion because it has a different active ingredient than the gel bait, avoiding the possibility of resistance to Indoxacarb.
7. Gather all your tools and materials and return them to your truck. Make sure all your materials and tools are outside the house before you lock up the house.
8. Lock up the home however it was arranged with the customer beforehand. Fill out an ORANGE door hanger with your name, the pest being treated, the date and time the treatment was completed, and the soonest time for re-entry of the structure. Make sure there is a door hanger for each door into the treated area.
9. Reconvene with the client and let them know when they can re-enter the structure. Report all your findings, including the measures you took to address them. Make sure to set expectations for the improvement in activity that they can anticipate. Educate them on any I.P.M. that they can do to help the service be even more effective.
10. If this is an initial treatment for a client continuing onto a regular service program you can now perform the exterior treatment (see PS.170 initial standard insect program for regular client). Be sure to web mop the building.

Note: For clients entering a regular service program during the spring or summer (when Carpenter Ants are active), this service should be combined with a perimeter Termidor treatment (see PS-184). This streamlines their service schedule by eliminating an additional visit.

11. Return to your vehicle when done and secure all equipment and make it is safe to travel. Make sure to clean out your hand sprayer. You can put it into a backpack if the materials match or you can apply it per label somewhere else. If it is transported in the sprayer, it needs to be labeled properly.
12. Enter all required information on 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). You are the first tech to be servicing at this account, be sure that you update the location instructions with any pertinent information that the regular tech should know. Remember: Clients have access to your notes so they should always be professional and appropriate.
13. 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).
14. Check off the account on your service route log.