Case Study: McCloud Reduces Callbacks, Increases Profits

Pictured (from left to right) are Dr. Jason Meyers, market development specialist of BASF Pest Control Solutions; David Yuknis, director of operations of McCloud Services; and Travis Chambers, sales specialist of BASF Pest Control Solutions attending the Pest Invasion conference.

Editor’s note: April is PCT magazine’s annual ant control issue and it includes feature stories about invasive ant species, “Fast Food Junkies,” ants in the National Zoological Park and more. In the following online extra, submitted by BASF Pest Control Solutions, learn how McCloud Services uses an established ant control protocol to reduce ant callbacks and increases profits.

Ants are a mixed blessing for pest control technicians. Ants account for more new customer calls than any other pest, which boosts business. But they’re also the biggest reason behind profit-draining retreatment callbacks. Century-old McCloud Services, headquartered in Illinois, was spending $100,000 a year on ant retreatment callbacks and that’s too high a price for this — or any — large pest control company.

McCloud serves a nine-state region, so some technicians drive as far as 200 miles round trip to service a single customer. A callback can trigger a cascade of business-hindering consequences, including higher fuel costs, longer work hours, and reshuffled schedules for customers and technicians.

Why are ants so difficult to control? Depending on the species, their feeding preferences, foraging patterns, nesting choices, and colony structures vary widely, so it’s crucial that technicians carefully select the treatment strategy and products to stop the invaders the first time.

When David Yuknis, director of operations, joined the McCloud team in June 2010, he quickly saw a need to be more profitable and to improve customer confidence in the company’s ant control service. Because Yuknis was new to the industry, he decided to seek outside counsel to develop a program to properly control ant problems, minimize callbacks and establish trusted customer relationships.

Chief Operating Officer and President Chris McCloud  suggested Yuknis meet with Travis Chambers, sales specialist, and Dr. Jason Meyers, market development specialist, both with BASF Pest Control Solutions. When the three met, they discovered opportunities to improve treatment protocols, product recommendations and follow-up programs.

“We needed a protocol that took advantage of distinct ant biology and social behaviors,” Yuknis said.
Chambers and Meyers worked with McCloud to customize a pocket guide that identifies infestation hot spots inside and outside of structures. The guide, based on the BASF SmartSolution for Ants, describes products that work best in specific locations, provides tips for controlling various ant species, and helps technicians identify each species both morphologically and behaviorally.

“The BASF SmartSolution for Ants is a step-by-step guide that walks technicians through a range of products that address the special challenges of ant control,” Chambers said. “It’s effective because the products are delivered in ‘layers of treatment’ both outside and inside, taking advantage of distinct ant biology and social behaviors.”

Technicians can use the guide to complement their overall integrated pest management program. The SmartSolution for Ants incorporates three treatment layers that control ants by addressing infestation symptoms and sources, which ultimately helps prevent future re-infestations.

“The SmartSolution for Ants has paid tremendous dividends by reducing ant callbacks an average of 65 percent from 2010 to 2011,” Yuknis said.

The benefits go beyond ants.
“We also dropped an average of 40 percent of returned occasional invader jobs during 2010 and 2011,” Yuknis said. “We know the savings from reduced ants and occasional invader retreats is because McCloud embraced and implemented the SmartSolution for Ants program.”

And McCloud Services gets even more in return. McCloud’s results include:
•    Reduced fuel costs and maintenance on trucks.
•    Less overtime for technicians.
•    Improved arrival and departure for technicians moving from job to job.
•    Better company reputation and superior customer satisfaction.
•    Increased likelihood of technicians completing monthly schedule.

“We had a technician with 10 years of experience use the SmartSolution for Ants on his worst account for callbacks and within 16 months, the account had zero returned calls for ants,” Yukins said. “I saw the relief in this technician’s eyes. He felt accomplishment and a sense of gratification knowing his worst account for returned jobs wasn’t calling him.”

The goal of McCloud’s new program is for technicians to grab the pocket-guide whenever they hear the word “ants” during a phone conversation, face-to-face meeting, inspections, or follow-up visits. 

“Our technicians walk through the pocket guide’s inspection and treatment process every time they respond to an ant job,” David Yuknis said. “It’s become habit.”

Inspection provides the information needed for precise treatment. At a minimum, technicians should identify:
•    Locations of ant activity.
•    Ant species.
•    Nest locations, if possible.
•    Conditions conducive to ant activity.
“Attacking ant problems using the three-layered approach has been a success,” Yuknis said. “It combines the right products with the right situation and results in excellent control.”

Layer 1: Exterior On Structure

Termidor termiticide/insecticide is the core product of the SmartSolution for Ants and provides the most effective outdoor, low-dose control of ants available. A Termidor treatment creates a zone of nonrepellent protection around the home. Ants passing through the treated zones pick up Termidor on their bodies and transfer the active ingredient to nest mates through routine social contact. The Transfer Effect™ enables Termidor to control ants that never make direct contact with a treated surface. Because most of the colony members are in the nest rather than foraging, this is a crucial component of the success of Termidor in preventing callbacks. They only need contact other ants that have been exposed to Termidor. Termidor can be applied to the exterior of structures twice annually and is a powerful “first layer” of control, providing an extremely effective base for the other BASF products.

Layer 2: Exterior Off Structure

Treating away from the structure (including trees, landscaping beds and grounds) reduces the pest pressure around the building, aiding control and helping to prevent new colonies from invading. Prescription Treatment® brand Advance ant baits and Prescription Treatment® brand Cy-Kick® CS provide a “second layer” for thorough ant control.

Cy-Kick CS features SmartCap Technology, which delivers residual control technicians can rely on, even on the toughest outdoor surfaces, such as concrete and mulch.

Advance ant baits take advantage of ants’ food-sharing habits (trophallaxis). Ants recruit nest mates to help collect food, carry it back to the nest, and distribute it throughout the colony. This social interaction allows the active ingredient in the bait to spread through the colony using the ants’ own behavior and biology. Advance ant baits are designed to be extremely attractive for quick acceptance by ants. The baits are available in granular, gel, and liquid formulations to treat a wide variety of ants.

Layer 3: Inside Structure
The SmartSolution for Ants includes a flexible range of nonrepellent indoor ant control products and application methods that complement the exterior Termidor treatments.

Like Termidor, Phantom termiticide-insecticide utilizes advanced nonrepellent technology to eliminate ant populations within days. Phantom is labeled for use indoors and outdoors. Technicians have found that Phantom successfully controls difficult ant species.

Prescription Treatment brand Alpine products offer many options for immediate-need interior and exterior areas. All Alpine formulations (Foam, Dust, Gel Bait, and Pressurized Insecticide) contain the nonrepellent active ingredient dinotefuran, granted reduced-risk status for public health use by the Environmental Protection Agency.

“We highly recommend incorporating the SmartSolution for Ants into a treatment protocol to reduce callbacks,” Yuknis said. “Travis Chambers and Jason Meyers were tremendous and went above and beyond to make this program work for us. They took the time to educate our technicians on what this program could do for them. And they welcomed me into the industry as a new partner and were helpful in the process of teaching best pest management techniques.”

A Termidor termiticide/insecticide application can only be performed by a licensed pest control professional.  
Users must always read and follow label directions.

*All Alpine formulations contain the active ingredient dinotefuran, a nonrepellent to the pest control industry that the EPA has granted reduced-risk status for public health use.