Founder
Derek Giordano
Founder, Summit Pest Control · Licensed PCO (Florida, 2005–2008)
Founder of PestControlBasics.com
LinkedIn Profile
Derek Giordano is a Licensed PCO (Florida, 2005–2008). He passed Florida's extensive pest control operator certification exam and ran his own office, building Summit Pest Control to more than 2,000 paying customers with offices in five states before selling the business in 2007. He left the pest control industry after the sale. His hands-on experience running a pest control business — from performing inspections and treatments to managing technicians and ensuring regulatory compliance — gives him the practical, field-tested perspective behind the site's editorial standards.
Derek founded PestControlBasics.com and sets its editorial standards. His goal is simple: make sure the information on this site is the same information he would give a customer standing in their kitchen asking what to do about a pest problem.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Name | Derek Giordano |
| Professional background | Former pest control company owner |
| Licensing | Licensed PCO (Florida, 2005–2008) |
| Issuing authority | Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) — Division of Agricultural Environmental Services |
| linkedin.com/in/derekgiordanoa | |
| Role on this site | Founder; sets the site's editorial standards |
Derek's professional experience as a pest control company owner and licensed PCO covers the full scope of residential and commercial pest management, with particular depth in Florida's pest pressures — one of the most challenging environments in the country due to its tropical climate, year-round pest activity, and wide range of species not found in other states.
Cockroaches, ants (including fire ants and carpenter ants), termites, bed bugs, fleas, mosquitoes, stinging insects, and stored product pests.
Rodent exclusion, trapping, bait station management, and structural entry point identification for Norway rats, roof rats, and house mice.
Label-compliant application of pyrethroid, neonicotinoid, IGR, and bait formulations. Safety protocols, PPE requirements, and re-entry intervals.
Pest control company management, technician training, customer communications, regulatory compliance, and quality assurance across residential and commercial accounts.
Subterranean and drywood termites, palmetto bugs, no-see-ums, Formosan termites, roof rats, and invasive ant species.
FIFRA compliance, Florida DACS regulations, EPA label law, and continuing education requirements for license maintenance.
Pages on PestControlBasics.com are researched and written with AI assistance from university extension publications, EPA-stamped product labels, the CDC, the National Pesticide Information Center and peer-reviewed research. Every statement on a pest profile, pesticide page or guide is tied to the source that supports it, and product directions come from the product's EPA-accepted label. The About page describes the editorial standards, and the contact page is the place to report an error.
A reasonable question: why does experience licensed and practiced primarily in Florida matter for content that serves readers across the country? Three reasons make Florida experience disproportionately valuable as a baseline:
Florida is a pest-pressure stress test. Year-round warm weather, high humidity, abundant water, and a major port of entry for invasive species combine to make Florida the most pest-pressured environment in the continental US. Almost every common pest found elsewhere in the country is also found in Florida, plus a substantial list of species — Formosan termites, palmetto bugs, no-see-ums, several invasive ant species — that aren't yet established in most of the country. If a professional has handled Florida pest pressure, the lighter pressure of most other regions is generally well within reach.
The pesticide chemistry is the same. Federal pesticide regulation under FIFRA means the active ingredients available to a Florida applicator are the same actives available in Massachusetts or Oregon. Mode of action, resistance management principles, and safety requirements are federal. State-specific regulations layer on top (and are flagged in our state-specific content), but the underlying chemistry knowledge transfers directly across state lines.
Climate trends are bringing Florida-style pressure to more regions. Warming winters are extending pest activity windows in formerly temperate regions and allowing subtropical species to establish in places they couldn't survive twenty years ago. The brown widow spider, Formosan termite, and several invasive ants are all on documented northward expansion paths. Florida-pattern pest pressure is increasingly the future pattern for more of the country, which makes experience handling it directly relevant for readers outside the southeast.
Regional content on PestControlBasics.com is always cross-checked against local university extension sources to catch state-specific quirks, but the underlying professional judgment about treatment selection, safety, and DIY-vs-pro thresholds rests on field experience that applies broadly.