Skyhawk Expands Its Trapmate Leadership Team

The industry’s fastest-growing remote monitoring provider adds seasoned executives to head up the sales, business development and marketing for its Trapmate product line

March 6, 2024 (Derry, NH) — Skyhawk, the leader in battery-powered remote monitoring solutions, today announced the appointment of Mitchell Goldstein as national sales director and Carly Best as marketing manager to oversee its Trapmate (www.trapmate.ai) remote monitoring business. The hires strengthen the company’s ongoing commitment to developing technology that improves operational efficiency for pest control and wildlife control operators.

Goldstein, who brings more than four year of pest control remote monitoring experience to Skyhawk, will lead all sales, business development and customer support activities for the Trapmate product line. In addition to Goldstein’s previous work with remote monitoring for pest control, he also brings substantial industry experience in food safety, one of the disciplines with the most need for effective rodent control.

Best will oversee all marketing activities for Trapmate. She comes to Skyhawk with more than a decade of leadership experience at client and agency settings driving results for technology and other B2B as well as B2C companies.

“We’re delighted to have Mitch and Carly join our team,” said Rich Shevelow, CEO and co-founder of Skyhawk. “They will help us help our customers with improved solutions and support enabling them to improve their operational efficiencies.”

Both Goldstein and Best will work at Skyhawk’s Derry, NH headquarters office, where they’ll also work closely with the product development team to make sure that Trapmate products are engineered and fine-tuned with the customer’s needs in mind. Their appointments are the latest in a series of staffing additions for Skyhawk, which has recently added new product management, software development and quality assurance staff to its roster.

Skyhawk develops, designs and manufactures all of its own products, allowing it to rapidly introduce new products and iterate on existing ones to meet the evolving needs of the industries it serves. Already in 2024, Skyhawk has launched multiple new Trapmate products, including an infrared motion sensor, a new member of the Kiwi family and multiple accessories, making Trapmate the only remote monitoring solution that will work with the full range of traps that PCOs and WCOs use.

Skyhawk, furthering its mission to provide remote monitoring solutions in volume at cost effective prices, recently launched its Skyhawk Oversea boat monitoring system at the 2024 Miami International Boat Show, where it was awarded a prestigious Innovation Award for Consumer Electronics. The company has also previously received the Outstanding Innovator of the Year award from NWCOA for its Trapmate introduction.

Shevelow stated that, “These awards, judged by industry professionals, demonstrate our focus on providing our customers with practical solutions using our Skyhawk’s unique PRIoT (Portable Remote IoT) Platform, which enables new capabilities for remote monitoring for multiple vertical applications.”

About Skyhawk

Skyhawk is the leader in battery-powered remote monitoring solutions. Headquartered in Derry, NH, the company has developed groundbreaking technology which enables new types of remote monitoring applications and forms the basis for its Trapmate, Oversea, and PRIoT product lines. Skyhawk IoT devices are installed in thousands of locations worldwide. Skyhawk is part of the PICA Group, which has developed and manufactured some of the world’s best-known consumer, medical and industrial products. For more information, visit www.skyhawk.ai.

Skyhawk Launches Newest Member of its Trapmate family: The Kiwi+

News, Uncategorized

The Trapmate Kiwi+, debuting at NWCOA’s Wildlife Expo, adds increased power lifetime and durability for remote monitoring of animal capture traps

February 6, 2024 (Derry, NH) — Skyhawk today announced at the Wildlife Expo the launch of the Kiwi+ (Kiwi Plus), the latest member of its Trapmate line of electronic remote monitoring products for rodent and wildlife control.

The new Kiwi+ is on display at Wildlife Expo at Skyhawk’s exhibit at the Marriot Westchase Conference Center, Booth #111

The Kiwi+ is the successor to the Trapmate Kiwi, the most widely used electronic remote monitoring device in the wildlife control industry. Similar to the original Kiwi, the Kiwi+ utilizes Skyhawk’s DualSense™ technology for detecting when animals are traps. The Kiwi+ sends trap and device alerts and other status information to the Skyhawk app and enterprise portal using a cellular cloud connection.

Longer Power Lifetime and More Durability

The Kiwi+ adds additional battery power, extending the lifetime for a single set of batteries to between three and five years based on usage. The batteries are now more easily replaceable than with the original Kiwi. Combined with other enhancements, the Kiwi+ is much more resistant to environmental conditions than the original Kiwi. All Kiwi+ units will come, as well, with the Kiwi sleeve, for additional protection from the elements and to make installing the device even easier.

The included Kiwi+ sleeve also includes a slot for easy and secure addition of accessories, such as magnet cradles, which makes setting it up easy on any kind of animal trap.

Most Reliable Remote Monitoring Solution for Wildlife Control

The DualSense Kiwi+ offers two different ways to detect when an animal is in a trap, which can be used together or separately. The reed switch, which uses a magnet, alerts you when the trap door has closed, providing a nearly 100% accurate alert. The adjustable sensitivity internal accelerometer, which detects vibrations, sends alerts when it detects the movements of an animal in the trap.

“The Kiwi has become the gold standard for remote monitoring for wildlife control and other animal trapping applications, a market that we’re proud to serve,” said Rich Shevelow, CEO of Skyhawk. “The Kiwi+ is the first in a line of new Kiwis we’ll be launching in 2024 for wildlife control operators that want single-trap solutions.”

The Kiwi+, which retails for $109, comes with a Kiwi+ sleeve and a magnet pull kit. It is available for purchase on a pre-order basis now through the Trapmate web site, or by calling Skyhawk (800-760-3699). First orders will be shipped in March 2024.

The Kiwi+ will also be available in March through most major wildlife control equipment distributors.

Trapmate Launches New Passive Infrared Motion Sensor

News, Pest Control, Uncategorized

January 23, 2024 (Derry, NH) — Skyhawk today announced the launch of the Trapmate Passive Infrared (PIR) Motion Sensor, the latest member of its Trapmate (www.trapmate.ai) line of electronic remote monitoring products for rodent and wildlife control.

The Trapmate PIR Motion Sensor, optimized for use with multi-catch traps, uses an infrared detector to sense the changes in temperature that rodents create when inside of a trap. Two years in development, the PIR Motion Sensor was specifically engineered for accuracy, to reduce almost to zero the risk of false positive alerts that have plagued other IR sensors.

Mounts Easily to All Major Multi-Catch Traps

The PIR Motion Sensor mounts on the outside of traps, allowing it to be used with metal traps of any type where internal sensors wouldn’t easily function. For the easiest installation, Skyhawk offers as an accessory the Trapmate Universal PIR Adapter, which attaches to almost all common multi-catch traps and fixes and aligns the infrared detector to a viewing port in the trap wall.

Similar to Skyhawk’s other Trapmate sensor, the Dual Vibration/Magnet Sensor, the PIR Motion Sensor uses a proprietary finely-tuned sub-GHz RF network to link with the battery-powered Trapmate Hub, which can be located hundreds of feet away, or even thousands of feet away if the traps are outdoors. Each Hub can monitor hundreds of Trapmate Sensors at once, sending alerts and other status information to the Trapmate mobile apps and enterprise portal.

Optimized Solutions for Each of Your Preferred Trap Types

The addition of the PIR Motion Sensor means Trapmate now provides three different sensing technologies for detecting trap captures, more than any other company in pest control’s remote monitoring sector. Depending on the type of traps in use and the PCO’s preference, they can monitor for captures with infrared motion detection, with accelerometer-based vibration detection, or with a magnetic reed switch that detects trap arm or door movements.

“Skyhawk is committed to providing the rodent control industry with solutions that allow them to leverage the gear they already have,” said Rich Shevelow, CEO of Skyhawk. “By providing different sensors that work across different trap types, and adapters for easy attachment to almost any manufacturer’s gear, we’re lowering the cost of remote monitoring for the industry.”

The Trapmate PIR Motion Sensor is powered by two replaceable AA batteries, with a lifetime of 5 or more years per set of batteries. It is lightweight (8 oz.), small (3.8” x 2.2” x 1.1”) and rugged enough for almost every rodent trapping environment.

How to Buy the PIR Motion Sensor

The PIR Motion Sensor is sold in lots of 5 sensors, for a price of $219, and is also available bundled with the Trapmate Hub in quantities of 5 and 20 sensors. You can purchase them through the Trapmate web site (www.trapmate.ai/shop) or by calling Skyhawk (800-760-3699). Need more information? Reach out to us at [email protected] or by using this contact form.

Roof Rat Removal: Outsmarting This Wily Rodent with Remote Monitoring

Articles, Case study, News

Roof rats (rattus rattus) have proven to be one of the most challenging and dangerous rodents in the U.S. today. Once confined largely to the South, roof rat populations have steadily spread to the Southwest and West, and are now starting to take root in the middle of the country.

Carriers of multiple diseases, roof rats are a public health hazard. They cause considerable damage in the food value chain, from agriculture to food processors to food service facilities, and are a nuisance to businesses and homeowners.

You can place Trapmate-equipped traps virtually anywhere roof rats might run

A Formidable Foe

The climbing and acrobatics skills of the roof rat make it much more formidable than other rodents. The roof rat’s ability to scale walls, walk on wires, and get pretty much anywhere makes it harder to trap. Traps on the ground will be unlikely to significantly reduce a roof rat population.

To effectively eradicate a roof rat infestation, you’ll need to place traps at some of the most hard-to-reach places in a structure: on pipes, rafters and columns, above drop ceilings, and in trees and attics. Monitoring all of the traps manually demands significant physical effort and creates a risk of injury to those that have to reach the traps.

Outsmart the Roof Rat

But you don’t need to check all traps if you’re using Trapmate. Our networked Hub and Sensors remote monitoring systems alert you with absolute certainty whether or not there’s a kill in your trap. You’ll only climb into the attic or into the drop ceiling when you need to clear the trap.

And you’ll know exactly where and when the rats are being trapped, providing critical intelligence for your exclusion efforts. The time Trapmate saves you, eliminating empty trap checks, will free you and your team up to focus on inspection, exclusion, cleanup and other critical tasks. As importantly, you’ll reduce the physical strain and risk of injury for your staff.

Trapmate makes managing traps in hard-to-reach places much easier and safer, so you can deploy more of them

Why Trapmate?

Trapmate’s unique attributes make it the ideal monitoring system for defeating roof rats.

Trapmate sensors are small in size and securely attach to the most common rat traps. You can deploy Trapmate-equipped traps anywhere roof rats might travel, something you can’t do with the bulky devices of other remote monitoring systems. You’llbe able to use your existing traps, saving you a lot of money.

Equipped with a reed switch –a magnet sensor — Trapmate sensors provide virtually 100% accuracy when recording a kill, eliminating the false positives that are time wasters for PCOs.

Trapmate’s battery-powered Hubs can be mounted anywhere. You can place them on trees, on roofs, onrafters — really, anywhere since you don’t need to plug them in — safely out of sight and out of reach.

There’s no pairing or passwords require to set up Trapmate sensors. And you can check trap status from anywhere, unlike Bluetooth-based systems which require you to be on site.

Trapmate Delivers Rapid Results

In addition to enabling long-term monitoring of locations with a typical degree of rat pressure, Trapmate can be used for rapid eradication of roof rats and other pests in heavily infested areas. Our low cost of deployment and operational costs enable PCOs to quickly knock down populations with extensive trap deployments, eliminating or reducing the use of rodenticides.

Underneath view of Trapmate-equipped traps mounted on a pipe

You’ll only need to open up the drop ceiling when something is in the trap

In a recent deployment with over 500 sensor and trap deployments the PCO was able to eliminate over 200 roof rats in a single 2 week period.

The PCO equipped their existing traps with Trapmate Vibration/Magnet Sensors and mounted them (as shown in the pictures) under drop ceilings, on pipes, and along other conduits.

Trapmate’s agnostic approach to trapping methods and equipment design permits PCOs to operate using their preferred methods and equipment. This flexibility also facilitates rotational strategies to deal with trap shyness, and allows PCOs to dynamically react to different circumstances at different locations for a wide range of customers.

Got Roof Rats? Get Trapmate!

Want more information on how you can use Trapmate to defeat roof rats for you and your clients? E-mail [email protected], call (800) 760-3966 or use this form. If you’ve been a user of ActiveSense monitoring systems, ask about our ActiveSense replacement program

Winning the Rat Race in the Remote Monitoring Era

Articles, News

Winning the Rat Race in the Era of Remote Monitoring

The pest control industry continues to grow – and with it, the level of competition. Electronic remote monitoring (ERM) will elevate your pest control and help you stay ahead of your competitors.

The business of pest control is as competitive as any large industry. While our industry is friendly as a whole, PCOs still have to compete for every piece of business. Those that win the new business will grow; those that don’t will tread water or, worse, lose ground.

In this period of industry consolidation, achieving growth is more important than ever. If you’re goal is to stay independent, profitable growth gives you the ability to sustain the ups and downs of our business cycles.

If you’re looking to acquire other firms, having a growing book of business and higher margins will help you finance acquisitions. If you’re looking to sell your business to another company, the larger your top and bottom lines are, the higher a multiple you’ll command.

How, then, to achieve a competitive edge as a PCO? Isn’t this a business where pretty much everyone uses the same types of equipment, the same general business models, and performs similar services? Aren’t the keys to competition having a better reputation, more engaging employees, and better salespeople?

Electronic Remote Monitoring – The Game Changer

There’s no doubt that word-of-mouth referrals, engaging employees, and salespeople that are closers are important assets for your business. So are a good website, good advertising, and local business partnerships.

But none of these things are truly transformative to your business.

That’s where electronic remote monitoring (ERM) comes in. The ability of today’s technology to know where and when animals are entering your traps is changing the face of pest control.

ERM has been around for some years now, but until recently, most PCOs just saw ERM as an additional cost. If you’re not willing to change how you run your business, that’s what it is.

But savvy PCOs are changing how they run their business. They’re building new service models based around ERM, achieving faster growth and bringing more to the bottom. And they’re winning this business from those of you that don’t have an ERM offering.

Stay Up with the Big Boys

Electronic remote monitoring is so key to the future of pest control that the biggest players in the industry have acquired, developed, or white-labeled their own ERM offerings.

Anticimex has made electronic remote monitoring a linchpin of its growth strategy. Every Anticimex office uses their Anticimex SMART technology, which is featured in almost every proposal they make for both residential and commercial jobs. Anticimex companies are winning market share and the group is enjoying some of the fastest growth rates in the industry.

Rentokil offers its customers remote monitoring through its PestConnect technology. Ecolab promotes its customers with Intelligent Rodent Monitoring System. These big companies wouldn’t offer ERM services if they didn’t better financial results.

I want to win the business. Let's connect.

If you’re not already using electronic remote monitoring, it’s time to start. Those PCOs that master how to use ERM in their business will be able to compete effectively, win the “rat race” and grow their businesses. For those that don’t use ERM, well, the trap door is closing.

How can you make the investment in electronic remote monitoring pay off for your business? And how do you need to rethink your service model to stay competitive using ERM technology?

Making ERM Pay

What’s the financial payoff for investing in ERM? How does having real-time data about what traps have animals in them help your bottom line? Based on reports from the early adopters of ERM, these are some of the benefits you could see from using remote monitoring:

You’ll win more business	The fact that you’re using advanced pest control technology is a key selling point for many prospects. Promote your use of ERM, and the benefits they’ll receive, and your chances of getting them to buy increases. And customers will pay a little more for better service.
You’ll reduce the time you need to spend on site	Checking empty traps is a time and money waster – a study by Bell suggested that using ERM can save 78% of your time by eliminating empty trap checks. You can use these time savings for other clients, or use the time for faster inspection and exclusion. This, in turn, saves you time down the road, and makes for happier clients.
You’ll be able to eliminate unnecessary visits	Some of your customers want regular visits, but others don’t like to be interrupted unnecessarily. With ERM, you’ll be able to skip trips – and the costs associated with them – when there’s nothing to be done.
You’ll be able to create new upsell packages	Some PCOs provide ERM as an integral part of their service package as a way to win more business. Others offer ERM as an upsell and are able to increase their monthly fees as a result. ERM creates other opportunities for upsells, like a rapid response option, for those that want dead rodents removed faster than the standard service window.
You’ll reduce employee churn	A “hidden benefit” of ERM is the improvement in working conditions for your technicians, which reduces employee churn. Given our industry’s work force shortages, keeping your employees is a huge money saver. ERM makes the job easier and more satisfying for your team. Checking hundreds of empty traps is tough on the body, as is crawling into a home’s crawl space to check just one or two. And focusing on pest control strategy, inspection and mitigation instead of trap checking makes the job more satisfying as well.
Your customers will be happier	By using ERM, you’ll be able to get more done more quickly, which makes for repeat and referral business. You’ll have an option for clients that want to stay away from rodenticide at their homes and businesses. And some customers appreciate the additional face time from technicians that can focus on customer service instead of empty trap service.

This is just a partial list. PCOs that use ERM and change their services to leverage the technology are finding new benefits all the time. The sooner you start to adopt remote monitoring, the faster you’ll gain the advantages it brings to you and your customers.

How to select the remote monitoring system that’s right for your business

But what ERM system should I choose? There are several vendors to choose from. Here are some questions to consider when evaluating the field.

Does the ERM system work with my existing traps, or require me to buy new traps?

Some ERM systems require that you buy new traps with monitoring built in. Other ERM systems allow you to use the same traps and stations you have in inventory. This can be a key factor in the overall cost of your ERM investment.

Does the ERM system offer true remote monitoring – checking trap status from anywhere – or does it require you to be present on the site?

Some ERM systems connect directly or through a gateway/hub to the cellular network, so you can get real-time information from your traps virtually anywhere and avoid unnecessary visits. Systems that use Bluetooth can require you to be on site to get trap information, meaning you’re not getting information in real time. With these systems, you’ll still be making trips when you don’t need to.

Does the ERM system require wall power, or does it run on batteries?

Most sensors run on batteries. But most ERM gateways require wall power, making them vulnerable to accidental unplugging and power outages. Gateways that need to plugged in usually have to be placed in locations not ideal for sensor signal reception. Fully battery-powered ERM systems – where both sensors and gateways run on batteries – provide more reliability than wall-powered systems, and you can place them virtually anywhere at the customer’s site.

Are the batteries in the sensors replaceable?

Some ERM solutions use off-the-shelf batteries which are easily replaceable, ensuring a long lifetimes for your ERM devices. Other systems require that you purchase a new sensor, or even a whole new trap or station, when the batteries run out, significantly increasing the lifetime cost of such systems.

Is the ERM software easy to use?

All ERM systems provide software for technicians and home offices to use. Make sure you get a look at each ERM vendor’s software, to make sure you’re comfortable with its ease of use and the features that are provided.

Does the ERM system offer different types of trap sensing for different types of traps?

Different types of sensors work best for different types of traps and stations. Accelerometers, which send alerts based on vibrations, work in most cases but not ideal for multi-catch traps. Reed switches, where magnets connect physically to snap traps and trap doors, are virtually foolproof indicators of a kill. Infrared sensors, which detect animal warmth, are good for multi-catch stations. Check with your ERM provider so understand what sensor types are provided. Some provide only one; others provide multiple sensor options.

How accurate are the alerts I get?

No ERM system can be 100% right all the time. False positives – where the system indicates a kill when none has happened – can be annoying, especially if you make a special trip to a site based on them. False negatives – where no alert is sent when a capture is made – mean you might be leaving animals to decay in traps. Make sure you test all the main ERM systems, if possible, as some are more reliable than others.

How good is the vendor’s customer support?

Everyone provides great service during the sales process – what matters is how good the support is after you’ve made the purchase. Check with customers that use the vendor’s systems…ideally on your own, vs. using the provided references.

Is the vendor committed to the ERM business?

When you look at the ERM vendor landscape, some of the vendors have been bought and sold multiple times. When private equity is involved, or when companies make most of their revenues off of chemicals or other hardware, their focus on ERM isn’t guaranteed. Look for vendors that are focused on ERM as their core business.

Who offers the lowest cost of ownership?

This is the big question! Many factors go into this calculation. Here’s what you should look at – in total.

What’s the purchase cost (or lease cost) of the hardware?
What’s the cost of the subscription?
Do I need to buy new stations and traps, or can I use my existing inventory?
When would I need to buy a new device (e.g., if the batteries aren’t replaceable)
Does the system save me from unnecessary visits?

It is important to consider all these factors, and not any one in isolation. For example, if an ERM system has no subscription costs, but requires you to replace all your existing hardware, it may not offer the lowest lifetime cost. Other vendors require you to lease their systems, making the hardware cost much higher.

The good news is – you have different ERM choices to look at, and no matter which you choose, you’ll be able to compete with a profound advantage over your slower competitors.

About Skyhawk Trapmate

Skyhawk Trapmate is a full line of electronic remote monitoring hardware and software solutions for both pest control and wildlife control. All Trapmate devices are powered for years on off-the-shelf batteries, which can be easily replaced, ensuring easy installation and the lowest cost of ownership of any ERM system. Combining long-range RF connectivity to sensors, and a cellular uplink, each battery powered Trapmate gateway can be placed anywhere at a job site, and can connect to hundreds of sensors as much as thousands of feet away.

Trapmate’s DualSense sensors combine a reed switch and an accelerometer into a single device, for the most accurate alerts in the industry, and the Trapmate passive infrared sensor is an ideal alternative for multi-catch traps.

Skyhawk is the leader in battery-powered remote monitoring, and is exclusively focused on designing, developing and manufacturing the best ERM solutions for pest control and other industries. The company, founded in 2017, is based in Derry, NH.

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Jim Nase Joins Skyhawk as Industry Ambassador

News

Jim Nase Joins Skyhawk as Industry Ambassador

Pest and wildlife control veteran to continue his advocacy for electronic remote monitoring (ERM) at technology leader Skyhawk

Derry, NH— October 30, 2023 — Skyhawk, the emerging leader in electronic remote trap monitoring, today announced the appointment of James “Jim” Nase, as its ambassador to the pest control and wildlife control industries.

Nase, with 45 years of experience in pest control and wildlife control, was an early advocate for the use of electronic remote monitoring in pest control and wildlife control. In his 25 years as technical service director at Moyer Pest Control, Nase deployed many of the available ERM systems before settling on Skyhawk and the Skyhawk Trapmate ERM product line as his preferred solution.

“We’re delighted to continue working with Jim in a more formal capacity,” said Rich Shevelow, CEO of Skyhawk. “He’s a recognized expert in remote monitoring for animal control who is well known throughout the pest and wildlife control communities.”

In addition to his work at Moyer, Nase also served on the Urban Pest Control Technical Committee and the Copesan Technical Committee and is the owner of Nase Wildlife Removal, a thriving business that is using Trapmate products.

“Skyhawk’s work in making electronic remote monitoring more reliable and easier to deploy stands out in the ERM industry,” said Nase. “I’m proud to be able to help further connect them with leaders in the pest and wildlife control communities.”

For more information on Skyhawk Trapmate electronic remote monitoring, visit www.trapmate.ai

About Skyhawk

Skyhawk is a leader in the design, development of manufacturing of remote monitoring systems for challenging applications. An innovator in Internet of Things (IoT) technology, Skyhawk has developed the only IoT systems that run entirely on batteries, enabling new applications and eliminating any reliability on power or connectivity from deployment sites. Skyhawk’s Trapmate product line is the emerging leader in electronic remote monitoring for pest and wildlife control. The company, part of electronic manufacturing conglomerate the PICA Group, is headquartered in Derry, NH, with offices around the US, in Malaysia and in China. For more information, visit www.skyhawk.ai.