People in the news: Hirings and promotions from Cetane, Truly Nolen and Sprague

Cetane Associates adds two new team members

Jack McMurchie and Taylor Garnett

Cetane Associates recently hired Jack McMurchie and Taylor Garnett as analysts. Both provide support to Cetane’s M&A deal execution team.

“As Cetane continues to expand across the home and commercial services sectors, bringing on professionals like Jack and Taylor is essential to sustaining our momentum,” said Barrett Conway, managing director and principal of Cetane. “Their financial expertise and strong work ethic enhance our ability to serve clients nationwide.”

Before joining Cetane Associates, McMurchie spent three years at Turner Stone & Co. as an audit professional, leading and supporting engagements for both Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)-registered and privately held clients. His work included analyzing financial statements, testing internal controls and ensuring compliance with accounting standards and regulations.

Garnett has more than three years of experience in commercial banking, specializing in financial services for healthcare and not-for-profit organizations. Before joining Cetane Associates, she was an associate at Texas-based Amegy Bank, where she supported financing for a wide range of clients including churches, nonprofits, private schools, arts organizations and healthcare institutions.

Truly Nolen promotes two to new roles

Aaron Meyer and Edward Tapia

Truly Nolen Pest Control, based in Tuscon, Ariz., promoted Edward Tapia to operations manager of the company’s Santa Fe, N.M., service office.

“Edward’s people skills, pest control knowledge and ability to develop others made him a great choice for his new position,” said Emily Cruz, Truly Nolen area manager, West Texas and New Mexico. “I know he enjoys being part of the Santa Fe community and I am glad he is a member of our team.”

Tapia joined Truly Nolen in May 2021 as a pest control technician. Some of his new responsibilities include helping the service office continue to maintain visibility with the local Santa Fe community as well as instilling the company’s core values throughout his team.

“I am most excited about coaching and teaching others to grow professionally as well,” said Tapia. “My favorite thing about working for Truly Nolen — besides our mouse ears — is working with others who take pride in their work and have a passion for success.”

Truly Nolen also promoted Aaron Meyer to operations manager of the company’s North Valley service office in Phoenix, Ariz. Meyer joined Truly Nolen in August 2012 as a pest control technician.

“Aaron’s ability to connect with others, his work ethic and his desire to help others success made him the perfect choice for his new position,” said James Adams, Truly Nolen area manager, Phoenix, Prescott and Flagstaff. “I look forward to watching him help take our North Valley team to new heights and I am glad he is a member of our team.”

Sprague Pest Solutions promotes two operations managers

Christian Guidry and Michael Franks, ACE

Sprague Pest Solutions promoted both Michael Franks, Associate Certified Entomologist (ACE), and Christian Guidry to operations manager roles.

Michael Franks, ACE, operations manager, Denver, Colo.

• Joined Sprague in 2010.
• Completed Sprague’s Leadership Development Program in 2014.
• Was appointed as the team’s trainer technician in 2019.
• Earned his ACE designation in 2025.

Christian Guidry, operations manager, Seattle, Wash.

• Joined Sprague in 2023.
• Has served as the branch’s Safety Champion, promoting a culture of workplace safety and accountability.

Guidry joins as the second operations manager for the Seattle team, a milestone that reflects the expanding growth and complexity of the branch.

“As we continue to grow and expand, we are proud to elevate talented individuals who exemplify our core values and commitment to uncompromising service,” said Shane Hartnett, director of operations. “Mike and Christian are both proven leaders whose experience, initiative and passion will undoubtedly strengthen their teams and Sprague as a whole.”

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Sacramento CA

Mosquitoes should be mitigated through an active IPM inspection

Michael Boyd

Ensystex

Mosquitoes can pose a serious risk to loved ones and should be mitigated through an active IPM inspection of home and property. Make your customers aware of any standing water, such as in rain barrels, old tires, yard debris piles, birdbaths or open trash cans, all of which can attract and harbor mosquitoes.

For treatment, you can’t beat the one-two punch of larvicides and mosquito traps. Apply bacterial and growth-inhibiting larvicides to standing water — and lawns, in granular form — to kill mosquito larvae and disrupt their development. Meanwhile, light- and water-based traps entice and eradicate adult flying mosquitoes.

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Sacramento CA

Gardner Products: LED ILT line

IMAGE: GARDNER PRODUCTS

Gardner’s new, patented line of light-emitting diode (LED) insect light traps (ILTs) is engineered specifically to attract flying insects. This groundbreaking design is the result of extensive testing and years of observation of traditional 15-watt ultraviolet light (UV)-fluorescent bulbs. Through research, the Gardner team identified that fluorescent bulbs emit a broad range of UV wavelengths. Building on this insight, they developed an advanced LED lamp — awarded a utility patent in 2021 — that emits multiple targeted nanometer wavelengths of light that are highly attractive to flying insects. Each LED lamp is equipped with an integrated circuit, allowing it to operate directly on 110 volts without the need for a ballast. All Gardner LED models come standard with fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) diffusion-coated safety lamps, ensuring maximum UV output while maintaining user safety. Shown: iFly Classic LED model, available in white and stainless steel.

About Gardner Products

Based in Horicon, Wis., Gardner Products started as a custom sheet metal fabricator. It expanded its product line to focus on barn equipment and insect control products. Today, the company has 80 years of experience as a reliable source of pest-elimination equipment distributed all around the United States.

GardnerFlyLights.com

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Identification of Common Wasps

Social Wasps

Yellowjackets (Vespula spp. and Dolichovespula spp.)

• Yellowjackets are small, stout wasps about 0.5 of an inch long, with black and yellow banding
• Queens are larger, reaching 0.75 of an inch
• Ground-nesting yellowjackets (Vespula spp.) build nests below ground, often in old rodent burrows
• Aerial-nesting yellowjackets (Dolichovespula spp.) build exposed paper nests in trees, shrubs or structures such as eaves or attics

Bald-faced hornets (Dolichovespula maculata)

• Despite their name, bald-faced hornets are a type of yellowjacket
• Black with white or creamy markings on the face and end of the abdomen
• Large, robust body (up to 0.875 of an inch long)
• Build large, enclosed aerial nests (up to 2 feet wide) from chewed wood pulp
• Aggressive and capable of stinging repeatedly

Paper wasps (Polistes spp.)

• Paper wasps are slender, with long legs and a more tapered body compared to yellowjackets
• Size: 0.75 to 1 inch
• Color: Typically reddish-brown with yellow markings
• Build open, umbrella-shaped nests with a single comb suspended by a stalk
• Less aggressive unless provoked

Solitary Wasps

Wasps / Thread-waisted wasps (Sphecidae)

• Range from 0.75 to 2 inches long
• Distinct narrow waists; bodies are often black with yellow, red or white markings
• Females excavate ground nests and provision them with paralyzed prey (such as grasshoppers or crickets)
• Adults feed on nectar

Cicada killers (Sphecius speciosus)

• Large wasps, 1.125 to 1.625 inches long
• Black and yellow markings with rusty-red thorax and brownish wings
• Prefer dry, sandy soil with sparse vegetation for nesting
• Females paralyze cicadas for larval food
• Adults feed on nectar and overwinter as larvae in soil

Sand wasps (Bembix spp.)

• Stout-bodied with pale greenish-yellow and black markings
• Females dig short burrows in sunny, sandy soil
• Prey mainly on flies for larval food
• Not aggressive; sting only if disturbed

Mud daubers (Sceliphron spp., Chalybion spp.)

• Slender body with a long, thread-like waist
• Color varies: metallic blue (blue mud dauber), black and yellow (black-and-yellow mud dauber), or solid black (organ-pipe mud dauber)
• Females construct mud nests on walls or under eaves
• Provision nests with spiders for their larvae

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Sacramento CA

Effective ways to recognize employees who do outstanding work

We asked columnists and editorial advisory board members of Pest Management Professional about some effective ways to recognize employees who do outstanding work. Here are some of their responses from our June 2025 print edition.

Greg Baumann

Greg Baumann

“Families also contribute when the tech has a late-night call, etc., so treat the family to a night at the local Minor League Baseball game.”

Foster Brusca

“Start a peer-nominated program where teammates can nominate someone who swooped in to help them with a tough job or went above and beyond in dealing with a challenging customer. The winner gets a small cash bonus, gift card, extra paid time off or even some special company swag. Make it fun and announce this monthly at a company meeting.”

Doug Foster

Doug Foster

“Recognize outstanding work for customers and outstanding teamwork, helping fellow technicians and staff. Each month, our Top 3 team members with the most Google or Yelp reviews or call-in kudos get to pick from blank envelopes stuffed with $20, $10 and $5. It helps create a better team culture and fun atmosphere.”

Paul Hardy

“This reminds me of a lesson I was taught at Orkin years ago by Sam Walkup, who said ‘You get what you inspect, not what you expect.’ Checking in on the job every so often is a simple way to find your best employees in all of their assignments.”

Dr. Faith Oi

Dr. Faith Oi

“A public thank-you and merit raise or bonus.”

Pete Schopen

“It all starts with core values and setting goals. How do you evaluate their effort if you don’t have something for them to attain? If they attain their goals using your core values, recognize them in group text chats, end-of-the-month meetings and end-of-year award ceremonies. ‘Atta-boys’ go just as far as gifts and cash rewards sometimes.”

Mark Sheperdigian, BCE

“Reward them with cool logoed apparel that can only be acquired by performance. But cash is good, too!”

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Sacramento CA

Control Solutions Inc.: Tekko Trio Products

IMAGE: CONTROL SOLUTIONS INC.

From inspection to application, professionals rely on Tekko Trio for long-lasting, science-driven fly control. Whether you’re addressing an active infestation or preventing future outbreaks, these insect growth regulator (IGR)-based solutions can offer consistent, reliable results.

Features & Benefits

• Contains three IGRs. It combines (S)-hydroprene, novaluron and pyriproxyfen to deliver a multi-faceted approach that targets insects at every life stage, offering more complete and reliable control.
• Helps manage house fly populations. It effectively reduces fly breeding and development, making it an ideal solution for high-pressure environments like commercial kitchens, dumpsters and livestock areas.
• Breaks the insect life cycle. It interrupts development from egg to adult, stopping reproduction and dramatically reducing pest pressure over time.
• Long-lasting formulation. It stays active where it’s applied, providing extended protection in hard-to-reach areas like drains, cracks and crevices.
• Inhibits re-infestation of cockroaches for up to 6 months. It delivers long-lasting residual control, reducing the need for frequent reapplications and giving you greater efficiency and peace of mind.

Choose the right formulation for your fly control needs with Tekko Trio:

• Tekko Trio Foam offers a ready-to-use solution that expands into hard-to-reach areas like drains and wall voids — great for targeting breeding sites directly.
• Tekko Trio Concentrate is ideal for broad-surface treatments and flexible mixing options, making it perfect for large-scale or routine applications.

About Control Solutions Inc.

Founded in Pasadena, Texas, Control Solutions Inc. (CSI) is a mid-sized, U.S.-based specialty chemical manufacturer with a long-standing tradition of providing effective and economical solutions to customers in the pest control, turf and ornamental, consumer products and professional animal health care markets. CSI leverages its position as a subsidiary of the ADAMA Group, one of the world’s largest agricultural chemical companies, to access a wide range of active ingredients and offer an extensive product portfolio.

The company can actually trace its roots to 1958, when President and CEO Mark Boyd’s father, Richard, purchased a small pest control company in Pasadena and founded Ford’s Pest Control. By 1960, Richard Boyd launched Ford’s Chemical to formulate and sell pest control solutions to colleagues and the public. In 1976, he merged the two businesses into Ford’s Chemical and Service. Read more about the history in Pest Management Professional’s anniversary coverage in its July 2018 issue here.

CSI-Pest.com

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Sacramento CA

Liphatech: FirstStrike

Liphatech’s exclusive FirstStrike soft bait continues to help pest management professionals (PMPs) tackle an array of rodent challenges. FirstStrike is still going strong because it simply works. PMPs can be assured that they are using bait that demonstrates palatability and performance.

FirstStrike’s exclusive active ingredient, difethialone, an anticoagulant rodenticide, was invented by Liphatech. FirstStrike has a bait matrix that rodents will eat. It is ideal for rodent cleanouts and is also a good choice for lingering rodents, tough infestations or for everyday use. Even in very hot environments, FirstStrike will maintain its palatability and integrity.

Known as The Soft Bait Innovators, Liphatech also invented bromadiolone, the active ingredient in Resolv soft bait, and chlorophacinone, the active ingredient in Flatline soft bait – both anticoagulant rodenticides. All Liphatech soft baits are labeled for the control of Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus), roof rats (R. rattus) and house mice (Mus musculus).

FirstStrike is available in 10-gram pouches — as a case of four 4-pound bags, two 8-pound pails or one 16-pound pail — and 40-gram pouches in a 16-pound pail.

Members of Liphatech’s long-standing technical team have the experience to help PMPs troubleshoot the toughest problems with FirstStrike and other soft baits from Liphatech. Go online today to contact a Liphatech technical expert to learn more about FirstStrike and how it can help with a wide variety of rodent challenges.

About Liphatech

With U.S. headquarters based in Milwaukee, Wis., Liphatech is a worldwide manufacturer of pest control products. It is considered to be the developer of three of the industry’s active ingredients: chlorophacinone, bromadiolone and difethialone. The company was founded in France in 1946 io develop anticoagulants for the treatment of heart patients. It developed chlorophacinone in the 1960s and branded it as Rozol, a family of products that includes grain and pelleted products for field and structural use, and a tracking powder for use in and around structures. In the 1970s, Liphatech developed bromadiolone, its original second-generation rodenticide active ingredient.

The innovations continued with the opening of its U.S. facility in 1987. Research there and in Europe resulted in the discovery of difethialone during the late 1980s, with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency registration as an active ingredient in 1995.

Liphatech.com

 

 

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