Fallon company gets Lyon pest-control contract

A Fallon pest-control company beat out the previous contractor with the winning bid to fight mosquitoes and black flies in Central Lyon County.

The Lyon County Commission has awarded a three-year, $293,850 contract to Integrity Pest Management, which offered the lowest of four bids.

Jeff Van Diepen, owner of Pestmaster Service, the previous contractor, argued that Integrity Pest Management was too new and too small to handle the job.

"Is it in the public's interest to award the bid to an inexperienced company?" he asked.

But the commissioners were not swayed and awarded the contract to Integrity Pest Management, owned by Timothy Plants, a former Pestmaster Service manager.

Plants said he has had a Nevada license for 18 years and in addition has worked in pest control in Florida, Alabama, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.

His company has been contracted to perform pest control operations at Naval Air Station Fallon.

Van Diepen said Integrity was rejected three years ago by the county because of inexperience and alleged the company was misrepresenting its abilities, staffing and insurance coverage.

Van Diepen said flooding last year made pest control more difficult, and that Pestmaster Service of Sparks was supported by other Pestmaster franchises in Sacramento and Bishop, Calif.

"Last year we had huge rainfall, tremendous amounts of water that contributed to high levels of mosquitoes," he said.

Toni Anderson, chairman of the Central Lyon County Vector Control District board, recommended Integrity over past contractor, Pestmaster Service of Sparks, because she said that Pestmaster had not given satisfactory service.

A letter from Dayton Rancher Grace Ricci complained that employees of Pestmaster had left gates open, allowing cattle to get into alfalfa fields, which could have caused their deaths. She also said Pestmaster employees did not treat ponds or the Carson River.

Commissioner Bob Milz said he also received complaints from area ranchers about Pestmaster and accused Van Diepen of only criticizing his competitor.

"You are concerned about other companies and not about what you are going to do," he said. "We've learned what you can do, and it's not much."

Other bidders for the contract were R Bug Man for $316,374, Pestmaster for $341,084 and Sheldon's Pest Management Services for $358,500 per year.

The contract will cover manual spraying and trapping. A a separate contract with Frey Spray in Fallon for aerial spraying is maintained by the district.

• Contact reporter Karen Woodmansee at kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111 ext. 351.