It was just a few years ago I remember a new pest control invention coming across the TV with a ‘Ronco’ buy it NOW style ad. Much like the sonic pest chasing devices it claimed to work on all sorts of creatures. The ad claimed that it was a safe and effective way to put a barrier (I guess they didn’t want to use the term insecticide) in hard to reach places and the protection would last and last. It showed a lovely hand of a woman ‘drawing’ her pest control barrier around the counter tops, up the sides of the cabinets and behind the dishes and food on her kitchen shelves.
Of course the ad claimed complete safety because there was no liquid splashing from high pressure sprayers and went on to use animation graphics of bugs crossing the barrier and then vanishing. I guess the insect acting guild was on strike so they had to use an artists but I never paid it much mind & I don’t remember if I ever saw the product ever in the stores but now I’m wondering why?
Could it be that this great and wonderful invention was snapped up by DuPont or Bayer to keep people from buying it? You know just like the carburetor that’s sitting on a shelf in Detroit that would have given every car 100 miles per gallon but BIG AUTO bought the thing and hid it from us all these years. I can’t imagine why someone would take this pesticide application tool away. It was such a simple device and looked so much like a crayon our kids use to color, it would store so easily in a drawer and last forever. If it got dull you could just use the sharpener in the side of the Crayola box or a knife from the same drawer just like we do for real crayons. Pest control could now be fun for a change since you could draw a target or R.I.P. with a tombstone on your cutting board or toaster and then just sit back and watch your bugs disappear. I guess we’ll never know but they could have made it in pretty colors so you wouldn’t have to see any residue on your kitchen surfaces and what’s not to like about that? Mom’s could take them to work for the ants on her desk and children could have hours of fun on the sidewalk encircling wandering insects of all sorts. D.O.T. wouldn’t have to worry about placards or spills from those unsafe bug trucks anymore and once and for all we could get rid of that evil pest control sprayer!
As a professional exterminator I’m tired of BIG CHEMICAL calling all the shots. Finally a product comes along and suits so many needs of our industry and they hijack it from us all in the name of profits. If you’re as mad as I am leave your comment below and I’m sure they’ll be reading this fairly soon. (they have spies everywhere) Our voice needs to be heard on this issue and I hope you’re with me.
Speaking of coloring, did you see my new coloring book at my Bug Shop? Nope,
no insecticidal crayons come with it but it’s yours free. Simply download it and print as much as you’d like. This book was professionally illustrated by my good friend Natasha Wright and it’s something I’ve wanted for a long time. I tried giving out fly swatters to kids but that didn’t turn out so good. (kids hit each other with them) Natasha did such a wonderful job and the children that I give them to are always very happy to receive it and they light up at the great drawings of bugs and the chance to color them. For the pro’s out there who’ve always wanted something to give the kids on their route that could also be a ‘silent salesman’ to the parents we can put YOUR LOGO on the images. There is a fee for that but not much, you can use the Ask The Bug Doctor tab to send me your logo or just email me at thebugdoctor@pestcemetery.com and I’ll put it in the works.
