The do’s and don’t of door knocking for pest control sales

Posted on August 3, 2010 by The Bug Doctor

My first experience with selling door to door was in Spokane Washington and I was a window washer at the time. I had my bucket, squeegee and bottle of ammonia and I was going to tackle the world. After a whole morning of resounding no’s and doors shut in my face I did manage to get one lady to say yes. Boy I was excited and I cleaned her windows from top to bottom and they were squeaky clean. When I went to the door to finally get paid I got the ultimate rejection because the lady who at first was so kind now just peered through the window and told me to go away. That had to be 30 years ago and even though it was only $3.00 that lesson has stuck with me ever since.
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Posted in Tools of the trade | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Pest control people ‘toot your own horn’

Posted on August 1, 2010 by The Bug Doctor

I’m sitting at a Panera Bread right now in Appleton Wisconsin and soon I’ll be flying back from this beautiful weather to the hot buggy paradise I call home. As always when I travel I check out the local bug companies and see what the most prevalent pest issues are and the different trends from across the country. You can find most of this out in the local phone books, on line or even a phone call once in awhile. It’s always so interesting to see what signature pest is the most dominate and it’s very easy to see when you look at the advertisements.
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Posted in Choosing a pest control company | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Mom & Pop pest control & Acme Meat Packing

Posted on July 31, 2010 by The Bug Doctor

What do “Mom and Pop” pest control companies and the Green Bay Packers have in common? If you said they were both owned by regular folks and not some huge corporate conglomerate, you’d be right. There are other similarities as well and for today’s venture into all things pest control I thought I’d list just a few. Of course with any analogy like this there is a breaking point but I think you’ll be amazed at the closeness the two stories share.
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Sticktight Fleas The Eyes Have It

Posted on July 29, 2010 by The Bug Doctor

Traditionally we think of fleas as hopping all about our socks and infesting our pets and for the most part that is correct. There are however over 2400 different kinds of fleas and the variety of nature didn’t pass them by. Sticktight fleas are about 1/2 the size of a cat or dog flea and mainly infest chickens or other farm type animals like other birds, goats, dogs, cats and even sometimes humans. They get their name because they spend their time actually attached or more correctly ‘burrowed’ into their host and don’t bother with the hopping around so much as their cousins do so well.
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To PMP or not to PMP is it even a question?

Posted on July 28, 2010 by The Bug Doctor

Ask just about any homeowner, “What is a PMP?” and I’m sure you’ll get some raised eyebrows, stammering guesses and end up with the same final answer almost every time. “I dunno.” If you search “pmp” on the net you get 10 straight pages of Project Management Professional web sites and the occasional Portable Media Player thrown in before you ever find anything related to pest control. Granted the mystery of Google and page ranking is more magical and money rather than science but since our industry seems to be all PMP all the time now you’d think some articles or references would have stuck so that at the mere mention of these 3 letters you would automatically associate it with pest control. So my question is has PMP run its course?
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A class act for the pest control industry

Posted on July 27, 2010 by The Bug Doctor

This past weekend was a great example of good people in the pest control world coming together for one another’s aid. Competitors from around the country got together for the common cause of furthering our knowledge and standing in the industry we all love. A.C.E. stands for Associate Certified Entomologists and it is fast becoming one of the most sought after titles in pest control. Over the years I have often been asked if I’m an entomologist and my reply has always been the same. “I wish.” This high and lofty accomplishment is akin to becoming a heart surgeon or rocket scientists and there was no way I thought I could ever attain such a position. In May of 2004 the ESA, Entomological Society of America, launched a program for pest control professionals dedicated to furthering their knowledge and credentials and now that goal is reachable for anyone who’s willing to put in some work. While this is not a full fledged entomologists degree it is the highest standard any pest control professional can attain short of 8 years of college and the requirements just to be eligible make it that much harder to attain.
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If pest control was a super hero which one would it be?

Posted on July 26, 2010 by The Bug Doctor

Ok, so I’m a little whack but I just spent the weekend testing for the A.C.E. program and I’ve got insect facts like nodes,spiracles, kingdoms, genus and exoskeletons clogging up my brain so allow me a little creative license here. I mean think of it, pest control is actually in the big 3 list for mankind’s very existence and without it just where would we be? You’ve got your advances in medicine, that’s a no brainer, indoor plumbing which if you think of it is a huge betterment to all our lives and allows us to live cleaner and healthier and then there is pest control. Without it, insects would literally rule the day and you’d be hard pressed to find fresh edible food, our homes would be ram-shackled structures infested with every kind of vermin there was and the vast majority of our population would be sick, dying or already gone due to the wide spread disease and famine that would surely over take us. So in my mind pest control definitely has at least a seat at the table when it comes to grand and noble deeds and fills out most of the definition of what we might consider a super hero. Now all we have to do is put a name and an action figure to it.
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30 Second Bed Bug Control

Posted on July 24, 2010 by The Bug Doctor

Bed bugs can be a BITE, especially when you’ve tried for months to get rid of them. Do you know how you get them? Well overwhelmingly you get bed bugs in your travels and they hitch a ride in your luggage and go home with you. Take 30 seconds every-time you travel and stop this from happening.
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Subterranean termites on the roof

Posted on July 23, 2010 by The Bug Doctor

When we think of the word subterranean our minds might take us to some deep very dark caves where you literally can’t see your hand in front of your face. You could never imagine living in utter darkness like this and if you stay too long, even in your imagination you’ll soon be looking for some light, any light and a way out. Termites actually live in this world and thrive is the secret abyss with no trouble at all.
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The Protected Roach Behind Your Cabinets

Posted on July 22, 2010 by The Bug Doctor

German roaches have plagued mankind since the early days of living in homes. As if spreading filth and disease weren’t enough they can be impossible to eliminate by even the most determined homeowner. They’ve adapted to our many styles of living, the types of treatments we devise and will even resort to cannibalism when times really get tough.
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The Miracle Of DE aka Diatomaceous Earth And Its One Giant Flaw

Posted on July 21, 2010 by The Bug Doctor

What would you say if there was a pest control product that not only killed your pests efficiently but could also be applied directly to your dog or cat for fleas, given to them orally for parasitic worms, sprinkled on surfaces you will come in contact with and eat, could be handled with your bare hands and you could mix a spoonful up in your tea and have a daily dose which improved your health? Certainly this would catch your attention and you’d think this would be all the rage in the industry with its slow but steady turn to ‘green’ pest service. After-all a product with these qualifications seems to fit the bill perfectly with what consumers and watch dog organizations have been clamoring for isn’t it?
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Posted in Tools of the trade | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Quick Ant Removal

Posted on July 20, 2010 by The Bug Doctor

What do you do when ants are literally running all over the floor? Do you grab your Raid, foggers or just pick em off one by one with your pin stream setting on your sprayer? None of theses are really that great because they’ll either stain, be slick, cause you to leave the premises or all 3.
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Posted in Ants | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

Stucco and siding offer pest gateway into your home

Posted on July 17, 2010 by The Bug Doctor

I’m often asked the question of how bugs enter a home when it seems that there is no blatant way that we can visibly see. Doors are sealed, windows are tight but still there is a persistent problem with bugs getting in. In some houses that is a difficult question to answer because the home is well maintained yet in others it can be quite obvious. Insects are very adept at finding entry ways using heat, light, moisture, air currents and yes even blind luck. We as exterminators know our barriers do a great job but if you can seal them out that would be a much better solution.
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Deer Mice In A House Mouses Territory

Posted on July 16, 2010 by The Bug Doctor

Deer mice have got to be one of the all time cutest creatures. Deer mice are also referred to as field mice but that is an all encompassing term and could include other rodents such as voles. With their soft looking two toned fur and their rounded bodies and large ears this very cautious rodent is larger than your average mouse but smaller than a rat. Deer mice are highly intelligent and studies show that they will think through situations before acting. The deer mouse gets its name because of it’s ability to run very fast and jump but for climbing and trapeze type moves, the house mouse is still superior in my opinion but perhaps this is because of their careful nature. The deer mouse is also very faithful and usually stays with one mate for life. The female can have 4 litters per year with 3 to 6 babies per litter. In as little as 25 days the baby mice are full grown but can spend considerable time with the parents and they can live up to 5 years. Populations sometimes get out of control but the poor deer mouse is on the bottom of the food chain and literally sought out by every predatory animal you can think of from snakes to owls and everything in between. For this reason the average life span is only about 2 years.
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Posted in Rats and Mice | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Tech’s on a hot tin roof-dangerous bird control work

Posted on July 15, 2010 by The Bug Doctor

Bird control means one thing, going where the birds are and that sometimes can be very dangerous. Leaning out over roof tops walking on thin ledges and hanging from the last rung of a ladder used to be pretty common place when it came to servicing bird control accounts. Today thank God, we as an industry have a little more sense and use equipment like cherry pickers, scaffolding, safety harnesses and of course the old trusty ladder. They say anywhere from one million to one BILLION birds die every year by striking buildings (mostly windows) but thankfully there are not to many serious injuries (at least reported) of pest control technicians doing bird work. While I’m not surprised with this for todays bird control workers I am amazed that I didn’t die back in the day when bird work was a huge part of my route. You may remember my story of the flour mill and how I refused to make a very dangerous jump just so I could treat a silo for birds. That was one sane moment in my career but there were a couple of other times when sanity had ‘left the building’ and yes pun intended. This is one of those.
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