For the last week of November, Jerry Schappert and Bryan Baird recapped three of the most interesting posts made on the Pest Cemetery Facebook Group.
The first thread mentioned was Diana Dincoff Wallace’s thread about Pharaoh ants.
She wrote: “We have been dealing with Pharaoh ants in an apt building for several years. We have used baits non-stop and even tried some Temprid and Phantom, but they keep coming back. I have called several universities and all I get is ….bait them. We are way up north so looking outside is not an option right now. Looking for some additional tips, options or procedures. O,k you southern people what’s your secret?”
For the most part, the hosts agreed with the universities. Jerry mentioned a classic treatment method involving standard drinking straws, jelly and boric acid. He did elaborate by saying you must 1. Find the trails, 2. Bait the trails, and 3. Bait all other possible harborage areas.
Both hosts agreed baits (and not non-repellents) were far and away the best way to control Pharaoh ants. As one of Bryan’s early trainers said, “Put your kit away when dealing with Pharaohs”.
The second post highlighted was started by Richard Bridgers. Richard posed an excellent question to the group. Richard asked, “Has anyone in here started their own company and failed?”
Jerry praised the question, as the community has seen several posts about pest control start ups and the success stories that followed, but never has the group fielded a question about the possibility of failure. The hosts agreed the only “secret ingredient” to success is persistence.
Lastly, Jerry shared a customer story when results were less than optimal. The customer attempted to instant message Jerry, but accidentally posted to the business’ Facebook page. Jerry was faced with the temptation of deleting the message or leaving it. Ultimately, He left the message to demonstrate transparency and how his business addresses customer dissatisfaction. This proved to be a good choice, as the same customer who wrote the message is now an advocate for The Bug Doctor.
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