Pest Control In Thailand

[izdubar]

I recently bought 10 rai of farmland near Phayao. I have worked 13 years in pest control here in the States-is there a market for a pest control company either for ag pests,stored product pests,bed bugs or rodent control there in Thailand?

[WatersEdge]

No, there isn't a niche for a foreigner in pest control.

The residential pest control market is fully covered.

Termite, Roach, Ant, Mosquito, Fly...a ready solution for all.

Growing Plant pests are covered well,

both chemical and organic solutions.

Stored Product pests such as weevil and rodents are taken care of.

Like just about every sector of business,

you could probably offer a superior service for a higher price,

but low price always trumps.

[drtreelove]

WE is right in some respects, the market is covered, but being experienced in the US you would find the quality and safety issues are pitiful, things that you could never get away with in the US, because of the licensing requirements and testing, use reports and enforcement, and the level of demand and scrutiny by customers for full disclosure of product safety, and customer service professionalism.

In Thailand there is very little enforcement, and customers are easily duped into complacency with acceptance of "mai pen rai" as an explanation and reluctance to put the hard questions to the PC operator. Therefore the level of deception and false claims runs deep on product safety and quality. Worker safety is a tragedy if you see the lack of PPEs (personal protective equipment) and label violations. What you and I know about long term effects of cholinesterase inhibition etc will make you sick to see what workers are being subjected to. And many chemical products are from China and India and have extremely toxic impurities that are not listed on the label, and even professionals don't even think about. The information that the farmers and urban residents are able to obtain on pesticides comes primarily from the manufacturers, shop owners and sales persons. So you know what they are pushing.

Some PC operators that I checked out in Chiang Mai and Bangkok are advertising with the "eco..." and "organic" terms, and making claims that I found to be untrue. One "eco" company is advertising organic pest control products, but when I found out what they are actually using, it turned out to be pyrethroids. I would consider pyrethroids to be "less toxic" and safer to use for the applicator than carbamates, chlorinated hydrocarbons and organophosphates, but pyrethroids are certainly not "organic" in the sense of OMRI certified and no signal word. (For the information of other readers, danger, warning and caution are signal words used by the US EPA to reflect level of toxicity to humans, danger with skull and crossbones is the highest toxicity rating, caution the lowest, no signal word indicates relatively low or no toxicity.) (If you want to find out what a pesticide is all about, look for the "label" and 'MSDS", and there are websites that can give you an honest run down. The label is more than a sticker on the bottle, it's a US EPA required sheet with key information on use and safety. The Material Safety Data Sheet, MSDS, is all about safety and first aid.)

I think you could find a niche, but you must check into the particulars of doing legitimate business in Thailand, it takes some serious baht to start a registered company. As a foreigner you will find serious resistance to doing business, unless you are legit or invisible. Immigration laws are important to comply with on working in Thailand. Thai operators will not be nice at all if they think you are competing for their business; you'll get reported, sabotaged or shot and you'll have little recourse. If you have a Thai wife or partner, you could stay in the backgound as an advisor. If you haven't lived in Thailand yet or done business here, don't jump into anything without being solidly informed and knowing what you are getting into. Personally I don't like doing any business in Thailand, its a real circus; there is dishonesty, backstabbing, and deception as the norm. And "mai paeng" = 'cheap' is the national motto, even with many expats.

I don't know about Phayao, but you may find a niche with the growing expat community in Chiang Mai (or Pattaya and Phuket). Especially if you are honest and straight-forward and informative, and are into IPM (integrated pest management) and the latest generation of truely less toxic alternatives. Structural termite control is the big one of course. I found that most PC operators are using fenobucarb and now more are using fipronil; definitely better than some other older generation stinky ones. I haven't seen tented fumigation, orange oil or altriset use yet. Landscape pest control is usually heavy soil drenching and foliar sprays with cypermethrin (a pyrethroid) or carbamates. Farm pest control us usually done by the owner-operator and in-house staff. There may be farm service providers, but I haven't seen them beyond a local village guy who happens to own a sprayer and hires out. If you could find a customer base that appreciated selective, specific pest identification and targeted pest-specific applications, and use of safe alternatives in the home and business environment, you might grow a business in that way. But I think that you'll find that most Thai customers won't care, as long as the bugs are dead. Mosquitos are taken for granted, and for rats you just get a cat. If you are into non-specific, broad spectrum, calendar spray-it-whether-it's-there-or-not, then you will be doing what most of the PC businesses do here already.

Pricing in Chiang Mai from what I've gathered, is usually at 5,000 to 8,000 baht a year for quarterly or monthly residential service. I hope that helps you in forming a picture of the reality, but it's only my personal experience and frustration.

don

[izdubar]

WE is right in some respects, the market is covered, but being experienced in the US you would find the quality and safety issues are pitiful, things that you could never get away with in the US, because of the licensing requirements and testing, use reports and enforcement, and the level of demand and scrutiny by customers for full disclosure of product safety, and customer service professionalism.

In Thailand there is very little enforcement, and customers are easily duped into complacency with acceptance of "mai pen rai" as an explanation and reluctance to put the hard questions to the PC operator. Therefore the level of deception and false claims runs deep on product safety and quality. Worker safety is a tragedy if you see the lack of PPEs (personal protective equipment) and label violations. What you and I know about long term effects of cholinesterase inhibition etc will make you sick to see what workers are being subjected to. And many chemical products are from China and India and have extremely toxic impurities that are not listed on the label, and even professionals don't even think about. The information that the farmers and urban residents are able to obtain on pesticides comes primarily from the manufacturers, shop owners and sales persons. So you know what they are pushing.

Some PC operators that I checked out in Chiang Mai and Bangkok are advertising with the "eco..." and "organic" terms, and making claims that I found to be untrue. One "eco" company is advertising organic pest control products, but when I found out what they are actually using, it turned out to be pyrethroids. I would consider pyrethroids to be "less toxic" and safer to use for the applicator than carbamates, chlorinated hydrocarbons and organophosphates, but pyrethroids are certainly not "organic" in the sense of OMRI certified and no signal word. (For the information of other readers, danger, warning and caution are signal words used by the US EPA to reflect level of toxicity to humans, danger with skull and crossbones is the highest toxicity rating, caution the lowest, no signal word indicates relatively low or no toxicity.) (If you want to find out what a pesticide is all about, look for the "label" and 'MSDS", and there are websites that can give you an honest run down. The label is more than a sticker on the bottle, it's a US EPA required sheet with key information on use and safety. The Material Safety Data Sheet, MSDS, is all about safety and first aid.)

I think you could find a niche, but you must check into the particulars of doing legitimate business in Thailand, it takes some serious baht to start a registered company. As a foreigner you will find serious resistance to doing business, unless you are legit or invisible. Immigration laws are important to comply with on working in Thailand. Thai operators will not be nice at all if they think you are competing for their business; you'll get reported, sabotaged or shot and you'll have little recourse. If you have a Thai wife or partner, you could stay in the backgound as an advisor. If you haven't lived in Thailand yet or done business here, don't jump into anything without being solidly informed and knowing what you are getting into. Personally I don't like doing any business in Thailand, its a real circus; there is dishonesty, backstabbing, and deception as the norm. And "mai paeng" = 'cheap' is the national motto, even with many expats.

I don't know about Phayao, but you may find a niche with the growing expat community in Chiang Mai (or Pattaya and Phuket). Especially if you are honest and straight-forward and informative, and are into IPM (integrated pest management) and the latest generation of truely less toxic alternatives. Structural termite control is the big one of course. I found that most PC operators are using fenobucarb and now more are using fipronil; definitely better than some other older generation stinky ones. I haven't seen tented fumigation, orange oil or altriset use yet. Landscape pest control is usually heavy soil drenching and foliar sprays with cypermethrin (a pyrethroid) or carbamates. Farm pest control us usually done by the owner-operator and in-house staff. There may be farm service providers, but I haven't seen them beyond a local village guy who happens to own a sprayer and hires out. If you could find a customer base that appreciated selective, specific pest identification and targeted pest-specific applications, and use of safe alternatives in the home and business environment, you might grow a business in that way. But I think that you'll find that most Thai customers won't care, as long as the bugs are dead. Mosquitos are taken for granted, and for rats you just get a cat. If you are into non-specific, broad spectrum, calendar spray-it-whether-it's-there-or-not, then you will be doing what most of the PC businesses do here already.

Pricing in Chiang Mai from what I've gathered, is usually at 5,000 to 8,000 baht a year for quarterly or monthly residential service. I hope that helps you in forming a picture of the reality, but it's only my personal experience and frustration.

don

[izdubar]

WE is right in some respects, the market is covered, but being experienced in the US you would find the quality and safety issues are pitiful, things that you could never get away with in the US, because of the licensing requirements and testing, use reports and enforcement, and the level of demand and scrutiny by customers for full disclosure of product safety, and customer service professionalism.

In Thailand there is very little enforcement, and customers are easily duped into complacency with acceptance of "mai pen rai" as an explanation and reluctance to put the hard questions to the PC operator. Therefore the level of deception and false claims runs deep on product safety and quality. Worker safety is a tragedy if you see the lack of PPEs (personal protective equipment) and label violations. What you and I know about long term effects of cholinesterase inhibition etc will make you sick to see what workers are being subjected to. And many chemical products are from China and India and have extremely toxic impurities that are not listed on the label, and even professionals don't even think about. The information that the farmers and urban residents are able to obtain on pesticides comes primarily from the manufacturers, shop owners and sales persons. So you know what they are pushing.

Some PC operators that I checked out in Chiang Mai and Bangkok are advertising with the "eco..." and "organic" terms, and making claims that I found to be untrue. One "eco" company is advertising organic pest control products, but when I found out what they are actually using, it turned out to be pyrethroids. I would consider pyrethroids to be "less toxic" and safer to use for the applicator than carbamates, chlorinated hydrocarbons and organophosphates, but pyrethroids are certainly not "organic" in the sense of OMRI certified and no signal word. (For the information of other readers, danger, warning and caution are signal words used by the US EPA to reflect level of toxicity to humans, danger with skull and crossbones is the highest toxicity rating, caution the lowest, no signal word indicates relatively low or no toxicity.) (If you want to find out what a pesticide is all about, look for the "label" and 'MSDS", and there are websites that can give you an honest run down. The label is more than a sticker on the bottle, it's a US EPA required sheet with key information on use and safety. The Material Safety Data Sheet, MSDS, is all about safety and first aid.)

I think you could find a niche, but you must check into the particulars of doing legitimate business in Thailand, it takes some serious baht to start a registered company. As a foreigner you will find serious resistance to doing business, unless you are legit or invisible. Immigration laws are important to comply with on working in Thailand. Thai operators will not be nice at all if they think you are competing for their business; you'll get reported, sabotaged or shot and you'll have little recourse. If you have a Thai wife or partner, you could stay in the backgound as an advisor. If you haven't lived in Thailand yet or done business here, don't jump into anything without being solidly informed and knowing what you are getting into. Personally I don't like doing any business in Thailand, its a real circus; there is dishonesty, backstabbing, and deception as the norm. And "mai paeng" = 'cheap' is the national motto, even with many expats.

I don't know about Phayao, but you may find a niche with the growing expat community in Chiang Mai (or Pattaya and Phuket). Especially if you are honest and straight-forward and informative, and are into IPM (integrated pest management) and the latest generation of truely less toxic alternatives. Structural termite control is the big one of course. I found that most PC operators are using fenobucarb and now more are using fipronil; definitely better than some other older generation stinky ones. I haven't seen tented fumigation, orange oil or altriset use yet. Landscape pest control is usually heavy soil drenching and foliar sprays with cypermethrin (a pyrethroid) or carbamates. Farm pest control us usually done by the owner-operator and in-house staff. There may be farm service providers, but I haven't seen them beyond a local village guy who happens to own a sprayer and hires out. If you could find a customer base that appreciated selective, specific pest identification and targeted pest-specific applications, and use of safe alternatives in the home and business environment, you might grow a business in that way. But I think that you'll find that most Thai customers won't care, as long as the bugs are dead. Mosquitos are taken for granted, and for rats you just get a cat. If you are into non-specific, broad spectrum, calendar spray-it-whether-it's-there-or-not, then you will be doing what most of the PC businesses do here already.

Pricing in Chiang Mai from what I've gathered, is usually at 5,000 to 8,000 baht a year for quarterly or monthly residential service. I hope that helps you in forming a picture of the reality, but it's only my personal experience and frustration.

don

[izdubar]

No, there isn't a niche for a foreigner in pest control.

The residential pest control market is fully covered.

Termite, Roach, Ant, Mosquito, Fly...a ready solution for all.

Growing Plant pests are covered well,

both chemical and organic solutions.

Stored Product pests such as weevil and rodents are taken care of.

Like just about every sector of business,

you could probably offer a superior service for a higher price,

but low price always trumps.

[izdubar]

Sorry for my slow respose-thanks for relply-thought I could make an extra buck(baht)tthere but doesn't seem to worth getting involved. Thanks again.

No, there isn't a niche for a foreigner in pest control.

The residential pest control market is fully covered.

Termite, Roach, Ant, Mosquito, Fly...a ready solution for all.

Growing Plant pests are covered well,

both chemical and organic solutions.

Stored Product pests such as weevil and rodents are taken care of.

Like just about every sector of business,

you could probably offer a superior service for a higher price,

but low price always trumps.

[izdubar]

Sorry for late response. Thanks for your thorough replly you sound like you ran a company in the States.As i said to WE doing pest control work there doesn't seem to be worth the hassle. By the way I read about how the death of an English tourist(maybe some more people too) was attributed to I forget the chemical name now but we use to call it "Dursban". Somehow doesn't seem right. I can't see someone dying from contact with it lest they were allegic to it. Maybe it was an AG pesticide like Parathion or som other really bad news pesticide and mistalenly identified. Thanks again for your replay.

WE is right in some respects, the market is covered, but being experienced in the US you would find the quality and safety issues are pitiful, things that you could never get away with in the US, because of the licensing requirements and testing, use reports and enforcement, and the level of demand and scrutiny by customers for full disclosure of product safety, and customer service professionalism.

In Thailand there is very little enforcement, and customers are easily duped into complacency with acceptance of "mai pen rai" as an explanation and reluctance to put the hard questions to the PC operator. Therefore the level of deception and false claims runs deep on product safety and quality. Worker safety is a tragedy if you see the lack of PPEs (personal protective equipment) and label violations. What you and I know about long term effects of cholinesterase inhibition etc will make you sick to see what workers are being subjected to. And many chemical products are from China and India and have extremely toxic impurities that are not listed on the label, and even professionals don't even think about. The information that the farmers and urban residents are able to obtain on pesticides comes primarily from the manufacturers, shop owners and sales persons. So you know what they are pushing.

Some PC operators that I checked out in Chiang Mai and Bangkok are advertising with the "eco..." and "organic" terms, and making claims that I found to be untrue. One "eco" company is advertising organic pest control products, but when I found out what they are actually using, it turned out to be pyrethroids. I would consider pyrethroids to be "less toxic" and safer to use for the applicator than carbamates, chlorinated hydrocarbons and organophosphates, but pyrethroids are certainly not "organic" in the sense of OMRI certified and no signal word. (For the information of other readers, danger, warning and caution are signal words used by the US EPA to reflect level of toxicity to humans, danger with skull and crossbones is the highest toxicity rating, caution the lowest, no signal word indicates relatively low or no toxicity.) (If you want to find out what a pesticide is all about, look for the "label" and 'MSDS", and there are websites that can give you an honest run down. The label is more than a sticker on the bottle, it's a US EPA required sheet with key information on use and safety. The Material Safety Data Sheet, MSDS, is all about safety and first aid.)

I think you could find a niche, but you must check into the particulars of doing legitimate business in Thailand, it takes some serious baht to start a registered company. As a foreigner you will find serious resistance to doing business, unless you are legit or invisible. Immigration laws are important to comply with on working in Thailand. Thai operators will not be nice at all if they think you are competing for their business; you'll get reported, sabotaged or shot and you'll have little recourse. If you have a Thai wife or partner, you could stay in the backgound as an advisor. If you haven't lived in Thailand yet or done business here, don't jump into anything without being solidly informed and knowing what you are getting into. Personally I don't like doing any business in Thailand, its a real circus; there is dishonesty, backstabbing, and deception as the norm. And "mai paeng" = 'cheap' is the national motto, even with many expats.

I don't know about Phayao, but you may find a niche with the growing expat community in Chiang Mai (or Pattaya and Phuket). Especially if you are honest and straight-forward and informative, and are into IPM (integrated pest management) and the latest generation of truely less toxic alternatives. Structural termite control is the big one of course. I found that most PC operators are using fenobucarb and now more are using fipronil; definitely better than some other older generation stinky ones. I haven't seen tented fumigation, orange oil or altriset use yet. Landscape pest control is usually heavy soil drenching and foliar sprays with cypermethrin (a pyrethroid) or carbamates. Farm pest control us usually done by the owner-operator and in-house staff. There may be farm service providers, but I haven't seen them beyond a local village guy who happens to own a sprayer and hires out. If you could find a customer base that appreciated selective, specific pest identification and targeted pest-specific applications, and use of safe alternatives in the home and business environment, you might grow a business in that way. But I think that you'll find that most Thai customers won't care, as long as the bugs are dead. Mosquitos are taken for granted, and for rats you just get a cat. If you are into non-specific, broad spectrum, calendar spray-it-whether-it's-there-or-not, then you will be doing what most of the PC businesses do here already.

Pricing in Chiang Mai from what I've gathered, is usually at 5,000 to 8,000 baht a year for quarterly or monthly residential service. I hope that helps you in forming a picture of the reality, but it's only my personal experience and frustration.

don