By: Matthew Campbell
When your home or business is invaded by pests, you want the person who’ll save the day to be professional, experienced, and trustworthy. After all, it’s your home, your business, your family or customers, and your money!
Modern focuses on recruiting the best team members – individuals who exhibit a strong work ethic, are passionate about problem solving, and provide outstanding customer service. They also need to have a safe driving record and pass a physical exam, a criminal background check, and a drug screening.
Getting Licensed
In order to treat homes and businesses with pesticides, a pest management professionals (PMP) must have a license issued by the state in which they intend to treat. In order to receive a license, new team members at Modern must pass a “core exam.” This is a comprehensive written assessment that covers pesticide laws, pest biology, pesticide formulations, label comprehension, and personal and environmental safety. This exam is demanding and requires weeks of in-house training, studying, and preparation.
States like Maine and New Hampshire (not Massachusetts) require a PMP to pass a category exam along with their core exam. There are many categories a PMP can choose from, but Modern starts our new team members out with the category for general structural pests like ants and rodents.
On the Road
Once they pass their exams with a grade of 80 or better, Modern’s new team members are licensed PMPs, but that does not mean they’re ready to treat your home or business. Modern’s new PMP will assist many of our experienced PMPs on the road and receive hands-on experience with all sorts of pests and situations.
Regular meetings with new PMPs allow our service managers to gauge how well their new team member is absorbing all of this new and technical information. And before they’re approved to work on their own, a manager will spend two full work days on the road with the new PMP to make sure they have the necessary skills to effectively service your home or business.
Further Training and Certifications
PMPs must continue their education and receive certifications that can advance their position in the company and in the industry. For instance, they can pass other category exams to become certified to treat pests like ticks, mosquitoes, and termites. Modern also pays for team members to take a comprehensive course from Purdue University that educates them on the details of pests and pest management. Many of our service professionals receive additional training in inspection/audit criteria or IPM techniques for the healthcare environment to support some of the commercial industries we service.
Of course, the pest management industry is always evolving. There are changes in laws, in pesticide formulations and labels, in research, in technology, and in treatment methods. Modern keeps our PMPs up-to-date through educational quarterly meetings and semi-annual training seminars, many of which include expert guest speakers.
Our Mission for Quality
Modern’s extensive training procedure enables us to satisfy our overall mission: to be the most highly recommended pest management professionals in the nation. From hire to your home or business, our PMPs are trained to provide exemplary service and effective pest management with the most up-to-date knowledge, equipment, and techniques.
Every season brings a new threat from pests. Be prepared. Modern Pest Services offers a HomeCare Green Program for year-round pest protection, as well as Wildlife, Termite, Mosquito, Tick, and Bed Bug Control Services. 1-800-323-7378.