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Who will be the 100th ... who will be the first?

ACE is rapidly becoming the most desired certification to hold in the structural pest management industry. As of today there are 641 ACEs (including a few who have yet to renew for 2013 and are on the ragged edge of losing their certification).

I just did some interesting analysis of our ACEs and found that Florida leads the nation in total number of ACEs with Texas as a somewhat distant second place. In Florida we have 99 ACEs and I cannot help but wonder who will have the privilege of being #100 (It is worth noting that a lot of the Florida ACEs have come through the excellent ACE Prep Courses out of the University of Florida-Gainesville and were taught by Rebecca Baldwin, Wayne Walker (ACE), and others. See this link for more information on their next course).

We have ACEs in 43 of the 50 US states, but in some of the mid-western and western states we don't have any PMPs who have earned their ACE certification. There are currently 0 ACEs in the states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Hawaii, and Alaska.  How about THAT for a marketing opportunity -- the benefit of telling your customers that you are the ONLY Associate Certified Entomologist in the state.

In four other states we have some who have just that opportunity. So here's a shout-out to those industry leaders who have gone out in front of the pack. Congrats to:

• Grady Jones of Western Exterminator - the only ACE in Nevada
• Kevin Elliott of JC Ehrlich - the only ACE in Delaware
• Brandon Hier of L/R Pest Elimination Services - the only ACE in Vermont
• Mike Spry of Precision Services Management - the only ACE in West Virginia

And congratulations to the rest of our ACEs as well -- for recognizing the benefit to their profession, their professionalism, and their career by becoming and maintaining their ACE certification.

Reality TV opportunity

Now I'm not usually a big fan of reality TV, but where it intersects with my profession, it can be pretty cool. I heard from a producer of Animal Planet’s TV show Infested!. 

They are currently looking for unique, challenging and ultimately resolved stories of pest infestation for their new series this year. Of course with a program such as this, they are after the most severe and problems to make for interesting stories for their viewers! The only true stipulation is that the critters have to have invaded the someone's home and the owners have to have struggled to rid themselves of the animal/insect.

If you have ever come across any particularly unique infestations in the past they would love to hear from you. Think big and think back on your experiences as a PMP. What kind of bed bugs, spiders, ants, bees, snakes, stink bugs, rodents (etc, etc) have you seen?  

From a marketing standpoint, it can be really good exposure for you to show how your firm has tackled crazy problems. 

If you're interested in submitting an idea, please contact mail@dsp.tv. Be sure to reference ‘Entomological Society of America’ so that we get some love too!

NEPMA ... a long overdue post

This is one of those posts that I meant to put up long ago and time just got away from me. So with advanced apologies for the timeliness, I wanted to give a huge shout out to the New England Pest Management Association (NEPMA). From what I have heard, they put together a fantastic ACE prep course on the 5th of April (taught by two long-time BCEs Mark Buffone and Kevin Moran). With over 30 people testing, the day ended with 20 new ACEs. Our congratulations to:


Mr. Ralph P. Blumenthal, ACE (Atlantic Pest Solutions), Kennebunkport, ME
Mr. Theodore W St. Amand, ACE (Atlantic Pest Solutions), Kennebunkport, ME
Mr. Rodney Dewey, ACE (Dewey Pest & Wildlife (Dewey Service Corp)), Hopedale, MA
Mr. Barry R McInnes, ACE (Eagle Environmental Pest Elimination, LLC), Dracut, MA
Mr. Eric J Polito, ACE (Eco Systems Pest Management), Hanover, MA
Mr. Jason Mosely, ACE (Ecologic Entomology LLC), Boston, MA
Mr. Thomas M Snow, ACE (Ecologic Entomology LLC), Boston, MA
Mr. Peter G. Wonson, Jr., ACE (General Environmental Services Inc), Malden, MA
Mr. Robert A. Leon, Jr., ACE (General Environmental Services Inc), Malden, MA
Mr. Edward Brayton, ACE (Griggs + Browne Pest Control), Abington, MA
Mr. Joseph P. Martin, ACE (Guardian Pest Control), Rumford, RI
Mr. Christopher Johnson, ACE (Guardian Pest Control), Deep River, CT
Mr. William King, ACE (King Pest Control), Springfield, MA
Mr. Lyndon N King, ACE (King's Pest and Lawn Services), Georgetown, TX
Mr. Robert C Gelineau, ACE (Pest-X, Inc), Seymour, CT
Mr. Guy L George, ACE (Premier Pest Control Inc), Granby, MA
Mr. Brian Michael Moran, ACE (R.K. Environmental Services), East Hartford, CT
Mr. Israel Rey Alvarez, ACE (The Steritech Group), Orange, CA
Mr. Michael J. Russell, ACE (Waltham Services, LLC), Weymouth, MA
Mr. Galvin C Murphy, ACE (Yankee Pest Control Inc), Malden, MA

And our thanks to the incredible organizational skills of NEPMA staff liaison, Matt Gatzke.