Author Archives: The Bug Doctor

About The Bug Doctor

Jerry Schappert is a certified pest control operator and Associate Certified Entomologist with over two and a half decades of experience from birds to termites and everything in between. He started as a route technician and worked his way up to commercial/national accounts representative. Always learning in his craft he is familiar with rural pest services and big city control techniques. Jerry has owned and operated a successful pest control company since 1993 in Ocala,Florida. While his knowledge and practical application has benefitted his community Jerry wanted to impart his wisdom on a broader scale to help many more. Pestcemetery.com was born from that idea in 2007 and has been well received. It is the goal of this site to inform you with his keen insights and safely guide you through your pest control treatment needs.

The Niche In The Haystack-A Little Starting Help For Your Bug Blogs Traffic

Over the past few months I’ve gotten several questions about ‘how to blog.’ How to get started, where does your traffic come from, how do I compete? These are all great questions and the world of blogging has changed since … Continue reading

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A War I Could Not Win Part II

As my feet grudgingly take me to my last stair downward, an over powering feeling of helplessness comes over me like a cold wave. In front of me is just the first part of an all but impossible task that … Continue reading

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A War I Could Not Win Part 1

It’s Tuesday, 2:30 am: It is my first stop. A weekly account that is the crown jewel of my branch, indeed the envy of the region and one that rivals any in the entire company. The company, that is at … Continue reading

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Winning the Anecdotal Fight Is Just A Myth

anecdotal |ˌanikˈdōtl| adjective (of an account) not necessarily true or reliable, because based on personal accounts rather than facts or research: while there was much anecdotal evidence there was little hard fact | these claims were purely anecdotal. Not to … Continue reading

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The Four Seasons Of Truck # 2

The days grow shorter, it’s only 5:30 and the darkness is all but settled on the driveway. A crisp chill is in the air & it reminds our determined entrepreneur that another harsh period of time is upon him and … Continue reading

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Meet Me At The Cemetery

It’s hard to believe that www.pestcemetery.com is 7 years old. First off I can’t believe I haven’t even come close to running out of things to write about but what’s more incredible is, that I actually have people who read … Continue reading

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Top Ten List When Considering Referrals

Everyone says that “word of mouth is the greatest advertising.” Yet so few people take it much further than this. If indeed it truly is the greatest–why don’t we at least take the time to consider more about it? Why … Continue reading

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How To Read An Anti Pesticide Article If You Absolutely Must

I have stated for years that there are 3 things that have contributed greatly to the great advancement of mankind. #1- Advances in the medical field, #2, Plumbing and #3, Pest Control. Yes that’s right! I said ‘pest control.” Now … Continue reading

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A Tiger By The Tail

Long before I donned a suit and tie and hit the road as a wildly successful, –eh hem – cough cough,—-Commercial Salesman later to become a National Accounts rep, I was a simple and happy residential pest control salesman. (money … Continue reading

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Lest You Forget

Your pest control business, your baby. You started this thing from just an idea. And through all the hard times and the great break throughs– it was you who saw it through. You nurtured it through the infant stages, chased … Continue reading

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I Hate Collections

One thing I hate to see on my daily route sheet is a large collections bill that isn’t accompanied by a service receipt. What this full page bill complete with red and/or yellow colors tells me is that somewhere along … Continue reading

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The Mysterious Mouse Of St. Agnes

It’s 4:15 am on Wednesday and just like last week and the week before, I’m running late. With my defrost blasting and my windshield wipers doing what an ice scraper should have done, I careen down Reisterstown road heading for … Continue reading

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So You Want to Own A Pest Control Business

So the decisions been made. It’s been an idea brewing up in the back of your head for quite some time and now you’re ready to take the plunge. You of course have thought about this, ran the numbers, calculated … Continue reading

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What If I Could Start My Pest Business Over Again? I’d Be Just Like You

I often think what it might be like if I could nix what I have and just begin again. I have many ideas of how a perfect business should be and in all honesty, mine is far from it. Now … Continue reading

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5 Rookie Mistakes & Why Your New Hire Needs To Be Like Brett Favre

Football Question; Who caught Green Bay Packers long time quarterback Brett Favre’s first NFL pass? I’ll provide the answer at the end of the article which may surprise you-but in the meantime, let’s talk about rookies. In professional sports we … Continue reading

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