Dear NJPMA Member:
Many PMP's have questions regarding the safety of their technicians as well as how to adapt their services during this period of a health emergency. Changlu Wang, PhD. of Rutgers was kind enough to send me this article below by Stephen Kells, PhD. of the University of Minnesota, that offers some guidelines that can help you minimize the risks.
Len
Leonard Douglen
Executive Director
P.O. Box 24, Livingston, NJ 07039
973-994-2331 * Fax: 973-992-5823
len@njpma.com
“I’ve been declared an Essential Service”
So what does that mean?
Guidance for pest management professionals
during a shelter-in-place order and afterwards
Dr. Stephen A. Kells, BCE
Department of Entomology
University of Minnesota
March 30, 2020
During health emergencies and other disasters, there is a need for certain services to continue ensuring that additional risks to human life and safety are reduced as society takes the necessary steps to recover from this crisis. The recent US DHS-CISA memo outlines job responsibilities considered critical for infrastructure during the COVID-19 crisis (US DHS 2020), though formal recognition of who is provides Essential Services remains with the Government level issuing emergency orders.
Pest management services have been declared an Essential Service
in Minnesota and many other states
Being designated an Essential Service permits you to continue work that is vitally needed to protect the health and welfare of the communities, industries, and agencies you serve. However, it also designates that you have a responsibility to determine what services are critical, or if services should be modified, restricted or stopped to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Undertaking pest management services during a disease pandemic involves managing risks that are substantially different compared with normal operations, and the potential ramifications of not implementing appropriate protocols may impact a worker (i.e., a pest management professional – PMP), their family, customers, or even the community at large. Further, complications at the community level can have downstream effects stressing local or county medical systems. So while Essential Services help you conduct business, there should be substantial changes as to how you do this work.
During a disease outbreak, businesses have to balance risks associated with the epidemic and the other risks associated with the Essential Service of pest management. Especially during health emergency declarations, managers have to determine if:
The potential injury to people or a community of people from pest activity
is more serious and immediate
than the potential risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus.
Pest and Account Risks
For pest management operations, risks may vary considerably depending on if there are immediate impacts on health directly from the pest, or other public health risks. As an Essential Service, it will be the company’s responsibility to:
- Determine the need and urgency to conduct control measures, versus
- Determine if the risk of sending someone to deal with a pest issue is greater than the potential of contracting (or potentially transmitting) the COVID-19 viral pathogen
Assessing these risks is a difficult task because PMPs service a wide diversity of accounts with different health-risks, both from a COVID-19 and a pest perspective. Making decisions about these risks is not necessarily simple and not straightforward. Considering the ability of the COVID-19 virus to be detectable in air-borne aerosols for up to 3 hours and on some surfaces for up to 3 days (US CDC 2020), there is a need to add a health risk assessment to all pest operations and, for the time being, discontinue “business as usual” pest management service.
Compared with routine pest control measures, additional steps must be taken, to ensure the more urgent COVID-19 risks are managed. Some of these steps include:
- Determining case-by-case whether service calls are truly essential at this time, or can they be delayed by 2-3 weeks or a month
- Limiting the risks that a PMP will pick up the virus during work and bring it home or move it to other locations of service, the warehouse, or company office
- Avoiding situations of “people groups” that are considered “more vulnerable” to this virus (e.g., immuno-compromised; sickened elderly, etc.)
- Limiting the risks that a pest professional might pick up the virus outside of working hours and carry and spread this virus
Considering these steps, pest management companies should set up general criteria to respond to pest risks that are immediate and urgent. “Social Distancing and Pest Control During COVID” (Kells and Reese 2020, www.StopPests.org) provides general examples of these criteria for multi-unit housing. In multi-family housing, multiple in-apartment visits for pest control procedures perhaps represents the greatest risks for pest control technicians and residents. This risk certainly increases should there be a high proportion of elderly and other vulnerable persons in the building.
Pest control services are too varied to construct a risk scenario for every type of service. So here are a few examples and criteria as to what might be considered a truly essential service need versus a maintenance service:
- Live rats inside occupied homes and apartments, stores and food manufacturing and serving facilities
- Severe infestations of mice, German cockroaches, and bed bugs
- Any pest issue that your customer(s) consider severe to their health, safety, or comfort and require immediate attention
When judging priority in other situations, the company will have to determine the risk of contact between employees and:
- Bystanders
- Infective (contaminated) surfaces
- Other employees (especially with restocking vehicles and refuse disposal)
Working outside buildings to prevent stressed rodents from entering buildings via rodent proofing is an example of managing risk of human contact and providing services to protect the building and contents. OSHA’s 2020 document (https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3990.pdf) provides an assessment of different risk levels that employees may encounter. While principally focused on medical staff (and similar services), the risk levels can be adapted to several of the scenarios PMPs face.
Operations During a Disease Outbreak
Regardless of whether the industry is operating under an Essential Service designation or as the outbreak begins to lessen; precautionary steps will still be needed. Considering the progression of the 2002-2003 SARS-CoV epidemic (Low 2004), there will likely be secondary local COVID-19 outbreaks occurring over time. It is anticipated that in 2021 there is likely to be a resurgence of Covid-19 cases (US CDC 2004), though medical advances and more aggressive responses from lessons learned this year could minimize the spread. While risks will subside, it is important to re-assess these risks and continue to maintain some preventative measures even as you begin to resume routine pest management services. Below is a list of basic personal practices and additional practices to consider as you manage risk:
Primary Disease Prevention Steps
During shelter-in-place and other emergency orders, have employees strictly follow basic disease prevention measures. Make sure that all employees understand and follow the guidance from OSHA and CDC (2020). Some of the key guidelines include:
- Have workers self-isolate if they feel ill
- Frequently and thoroughly wash hands, as per CDC guidance
- Have technicians avoid touching their face
- Cover coughs and sneezes
- Practice social-distancing and work in areas where there is at least 6 foot spacing between people
The OHSA (2020) document provides considerable information for managers relative to policies and practices to support these guidelines and ensure proper practices. Some highlighted examples relative to pest management services, include:
- Arranging for hand sanitizers in each vehicle
- Supplying materials for disinfecting service equipment, service shoes, and common-touch surfaces in the vehicle
- Determining situations and changing practices warranting the need for additional PPE (e.g., a full face HEPA, P100, vs. N95 mask, and the use of coveralls)
- Ensuring HR practices that calm worker concerns, arranging and communicating flexibility in work and sick leave policies.
I encourage all businesses to review the OSHA 2020 document and
enact measures best suited to your situation.
Suggested Additional Measures for Pest Management Professionals to Minimize Risks:
During shelter-in-place and other emergency orders:
- Avoid close distances with customers. Email invoices and avoid signatures on clipboards and handheld devices. Keep in mind that customers may be infected and shedding virus, but asymptomatic
- Ask technicians, that during off hours, they practice lower risk activities including no groups, and social distancing. Similar to customers, there is a risk that technicians may contract this virus, be asymptomatic, and be infective, also
- Be aware of the technicians whose spouses who may be in high risk occupations (e.g., medical staff, home visitors, nurses, EMS/ EMTs, etc.). These technicians can still work, but perhaps they can be assigned to exterior area and preventative work, and avoid high risk accounts.
- Designate the vehicle cab as a “clean zone” after a service is completed:
- Confine all disposable items to a garbage container in the back. All materials must be placed in an outside dumpster for disposal at the end of the day
- Change out service shoes with street shoes for driving. Service shoes should be disinfected and stored in the back of the vehicle, while driving. Place service shoes on paper toweling in a tray. (This will save you routinely disinfecting the driver’s side foot well of the service vehicle.) Disinfection for 10 minutes means that wet shoes may be slippery for driving or walking.
Please read, understand and follow the label for disinfectants you intend to use (https://citybugs.tamu.edu/2020/03/27/disinfectants-are-pesticides-so-use-safely/).
-
- For service clipboards, or handhelds, use a disinfectant wipe to clean
- Enter the vehicle with clean hands – wash your hands thoroughly or use hand sanitizer as per OSHA guidelines – this will reduce the need to repeatedly wipe down the common touch surfaces in your vehicle
- Wear clean or disposable coveralls if justified by the account risk
- Use new gloves with each account (or apartment)
- Keep technicians out of the offices and away from other staff.
- Order materials and supplies via phone or email and prepare for “curb-side” pick-up
- Restrict technician pick-up areas to ensure warehouse staff remain at a safe distances
- Isolate any products being returned to the premises to facilitate a disinfection process
- For emergencies in apartments when the risk is unknown or vulnerable persons are involved, wear disposable coveralls, booties, gloves and at least an N-95 respirator. Note that respirators with exhale valves (e.g., a P-100 chemical respirator or N-95 “cool-flow”) do not protect residents/clients from an infectious technician who may not be displaying any outward signs of being sick with a virus
As the COVID-19 Pandemic and Secondary Outbreaks Run its Course
We will get through this! The length of the disruption will depend on the continued spread of the virus through the communities. As mentioned, it is recommended that you maintain the extra precautions as you resume business practices. Then pay attention to information from local Public Health Personnel as the pandemic declines and normal life resumes.
Acknowledgements
Thanks you to the following people and groups for their review, input, and advice:
The ESA MUVE Urban Initiatives team:
Dawn Gouge, Ph.D. Public Health Entomologist, University of Arizona - MAC Experiment Station
Janet A. Hurley, A.C.E, MPA, Extension Specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
Faith M. Oi, Ph.D. University of Florida Entomology and Nematology Dept.
Karen Vail, Ph.D. Professor and Urban Extension Entomologist, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Changlu Wang, Ph.D. Urban Entomologist, Rutgers University
Members of the Minnesota Pest Management Association
Robert M. Corrigan, Ph.D. Consultant, New York, NY
References
Kells, S.A. and S. Reese (2020) Social distancing and pest control during COVID. Blog: March 25, 2020 www.StopPests.org, Information sheet reviewed by the ESA MUVE Urban Pest Initiative. Direct link: https://stoppests.typepad.com/ipminmultifamilyhousing/2020/03/pest-control-operations-and-social-distancing-in-multi-family-housing-during-the-covid-19coronavirus.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IpmInMultifamilyHousing+%28StopPests+Blog%29
Low, D.E. (2004) SARS: Lessons from Toronto. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92467/
Merchant, M. (2020) Disinfectants are pesticides–so use safely! TAMU Factsheet March 27, 2020. https://citybugs.tamu.edu/2020/03/27/disinfectants-are-pesticides-so-use-safely/
US CDC (2004) SARS Update—May 19, 2004. https://www.cdc.gov/sars/media/2004-05-19.html
US CDC (2013) CDC SARS Response Timeline. April 26, 2013. https://www.cdc.gov/about/history/sars/timeline.htm
US DHS (2020) Memorandum on identification of essential critical infrastructure workers during COVID-19 response. Memorandum: CISA-Guidance-on-Essential-Critical-Infrastructure-Workers-1-20-508c, March 19, 2020. https://www.cisa.gov/publication/guidance-essential-critical-infrastructure-workforce
US OSHA (2020) Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19. Publication: OSHA 3990-03 2020. https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3990.pdf
US NIH (2020) New coronavirus stable for hours on surfaces – press release March 17, 2020. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/new-coronavirus-stable-hours-surfaces
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