Buy PCT Field Guides in India from Giridhar Pai Associates

November 7, 2024

Figure 1 Five Pest Control Technology (PCT) Field Guides Available in India

Partnering with its fifth leading global pest control industry brand, Giridhar Pai Associates launched GIE Media’s PCT Field Guides in India on 5 November 2024.

GIE Media is a leader in quality, targeted, business-to-business media products. Since 1980, they have published the Pest Control Technology magazine for the structural pest control industry.

Historical Context:

Early Days of Pest Control: In the United States of America, pest control as a formalized industry emerged in the early twentieth century. Early pest control practitioners relied heavily on experience and word-of-mouth to share their knowledge within their businesses and with their industry peers.
Rise of Trade Publications: PCT Magazine, founded in 1980, has played a crucial role in disseminating information and best practices to pest management professionals (PMPs) over the past five decades.
Need for Practical Resources: As the American pest control industry grew more complex, the demand for reliable, accessible field guides among PMPs increased. Such guides provided PMPs with essential information for identifying pests, understanding pest behaviour, and implementing effective control strategies.

PCT’s Role:

Early Guides: PCT began publishing field guides in various forms in the 1990s to meet the growing needs of its readership.
Evolution of Content: While early PCT Field Guides focused on common household pests and basic control techniques, over time, they evolved to encompass a wider range of pests, including those in commercial and industrial settings.
Emphasis on IPM: As Integrated Pest Management (IPM) gained prominence, PCT’s guides have incorporated those principles, emphasizing environmentally responsible and sustainable pest control practices.

Key Features and Impact:

Practical Focus: PCT’s Field Guides use a practical, hands-on approach, providing PMPs with the information they need to effectively do their pest control work.
Visuals: PCT Field Guides are richly illustrated with high-quality photographs and diagrams to aid in pest identification.
Concise Information: PCT Field Guides authors present their information clearly and concisely, making it easy for PMP readers to access and understand.
Industry Standard: PCT’s Field Guides have become a trusted resource and an industry standard for PMPs, helping to raise the standards of professionalism within the industry.

At the start of the sale of GIE Media’s PCT Field Guides in Asia, GPA is offering the following five PCT Guides to Asian PMPs.

The PCT Field Guide for the Management of Structure-Infesting Cockroaches: This book is a field guide for PMPs dealing with common and uncommon cockroach species that invade buildings. It is a handy, pocket-sized publication ideal for field use by pest control technicians and includes case studies that can be useful during classroom and field training. The book has a 24-page colour identification section, making species identification quick and easy. The book’s three sections deal with the three cockroach categories: economically important, peridomestic and miscellaneous.

PCT Field Guide – Management of Structure-Infesting Beetles – Volume I: Hide and Carpet Beetles, Wood-Boring Beetles: Stoy A Hedges and Dr Marck S Lacey authored this book and Dan Moreland edited it. This book is a handy guide on the biology, behaviour and control of hide and carpet beetles and wood-boring beetles that infest structures. This book also has colour photographs to aid PMPs in identifying the different structures infesting beetles described in it. The book’s usefulness is from the key beetle-wise identifying characteristics and practical pest management strategies for pest control technicians.

PCT Field Guide – Management of Structure Infesting Flies: Stoy A. Hedges authored it, whereas Dan Moreland edited this book, which is ideal for field use and classroom training. This PCT Field Guide contains basic fly anatomy and biology and identification and control tips of filth flies as house flies, blue bottle flies, green bottle flies, flesh flies, fruit flies, phorid flies, drain flies, stable flies and other structure-infesting flies. The guide helps pest control service technicians better serve their customers with tips to solve difficult fly problems they encounter in the field. The guide’s taxonomic key for structure-infesting flies and a four-colour identification guide make it very useful for PMPs to learn the species-wise characteristics. The book has chapters on small dung flies, freeloader flies, biting midges, ked flies, tachinid flies, hover flies, robber flies, bot flies and the little house fly.

PCT Technician’s Handbook: Dr. Richard Kramer & Joshua Kramer authored this book, which Jeff Fenner and Lisa Lupo edited. GIE Media published this guide in 2015, with the version available in 2024 being the book’s 4^th edition. The PCT Technician’s Handbook is an essential guide for pest control technicians to identify and manage pests. The book has the identification and management information for a hundred common pests that a pest control technician will most likely encounter. The pest profiles, case studies, identification guide and taxonomic key, make this book useful for PMPs. Numerous pest control operators (PCOs) have used The PCT Technician’s Handbook for classroom training and provide the book to their technicians for use in the field while carrying out pest treatments at customers’ premises.

PCT Guide to Commercial Pest Management: Copesan Technical Committee members authored this very useful book for PCOs to use in their pest control business. The PCT Guide to Commercial Pest Management is a handbook on pest control services for various commercial pest management service customer segments. It introduces the subject by focussing on the customer service needs of commercial pest management segments such as apartments, food processing, hotels, zoos, etc. The book is useful as a quick reference guide for technicians to start work at the customer sites of new commercial customers. The book reviews the important aspects of different commercial pest management segments and is highly useful for PMPs to learn how to serve commercial pest management customers better. The PCT Guide to Commercial Pest Management is essential for every PCO managing commercial pest service customers.

Figure 2 Three PCT Pest Guides and PCT Technician’s Handbook

GPA’s PCT Field Guides website section details the five PCT Guides it offers to Asian customers. In addition, GPA can supply the following PCT Guides on demand:

PCT Field Guide to Stinging & Biting Arthropods by Stoy A. Hedges, BCE, and Dr. Gerald S. Wegner
Bird Management Field Guide by Dr. Richard Kramer
Bed Bug Handbook – The Complete Guide to Bed Bugs and Their Control by Larry Pinto, Richard Cooper, and Sandy Kraft
The Service Technician’s Inspection and Identification Training Set by Dr. William H. Robinson

The GIE Media PCT Guides are industry standards for the benefit of the global pest control industry.