Pest Control and Bug Exterminator Blog

The internet is a sea of information.  Some salty, some entertaining, some exciting, and some information is just useless.  The world of pest control has been around for some time now.  There are industry giants that have been around for close to 100 years now. The pests may evolve , but not much really changes on a daily bases. So I sometimes wonder “how can anyone add new and valuable content to the topic of pest control?” Sure there is a new love song everyday of the week. Yes, Facebook is revolutionizing the social scene.  But PEST CONTROL???

But, as with love songs, it’s the passion that keeps the flame burning.  And while pest control isn’t most people’s topic of choice, there are those that carry the torch because they love what they do.  This past week a fellow exterminator reminded me why pest control is a good business to be in. Hearts Pest Control out of San Diego, really does have heart.

Hearts Pest Control, San Diego Pest Control Service that Cares.

Written by Gerry Weitz and reproduced with his permission.

Published in PMP magazine
http://www.mypmp-digital.com/pmpdigital/201004#pg14

Take Back My Paycheck

It is hard to part with money, yet I enjoy personally handing out paychecks.  At my office, the employees usually take a second look at the envelope before opening to see the paycheck.  Occasionally, they’ll look at the envelope and say, “Take this back, you didn’t write a fortune cookie.”

Whether or not the paycheck is particularly good, the staff enjoys seeing genuine notes addressed from me to them personally:

“Outstanding teamwork!  Good start to a great career at Hearts!”

“Love those extra efforts at client retention!  Thanks so much.”

“Mistakes get made.  Don’t let it get you down.  We’ll get there together.”

Something special is happening when employees care first about a small, heartfelt message before their paychecks.  It not only inspires them.  It inspires me.  I’m not a fool to think the employees would be here if they didn’t get a decent paycheck.  Nevertheless, people will exit companies that don’t inspire them.  Appreciation is a powerful word.  Combining that with inspiration for a better future is that much more empowering.

Great companies continue to inspire staff even as they grow.  Writing a personal note to one random employee each week might start a workplace legend.  There is something wrong when employees say, “It’s all about the numbers.”  If that sounds like your company, beware!  One way to prove you are listening to staff is by responding with communications that show you care about their personal and family welfare and their careers at your company.

Communicate those little things that make your employees want to feel as happy to come back on Monday morning, as they do walking out on Friday with paycheck in hand.

-Gerry

www.heartspm.com

Need San Diego Pest Control? Call Gerry at Hearts Pest Control.

Putting the Service back into Pest Control

I really enjoyed Gerry’s article and from what I have learned about Gerry I can tell that he runs a good operation. Service companies should understand service from the top down. Service should be a genuine action of your personal choice with the intent to help another. To be genuine, the giver will have no motives to question. An act of service is also not given out of obligation. It is about caring. While I am not an employee of Hearts, I believe Gerry cares for his employees.

-Thomas Ballantyne
“Yes, I am a pest control guy.”

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I remember a call that I got last April, and it is a month this customer will never forget.  While in her laundry room, she noticed an odd, gray bug clinging to the wall.  She showed it to her husband and neither of them knew exactly what it was, so into the garbage disposal it went.  Afterwards, she went out of town leaving her dogs and husband at home for about ten days.  When she returned, she found another odd bug in the laundry room.  She also found ticks crawling on the walls, floors and embedded in her poor little pups!  She immediately called the vet and picked up some very expensive tick guard.  She went to the local pet store and bought even more expensive sprays and foggers to try to stop these horrible little creatures from their massive invasion. She had to take all my dogs to the groomer and have them shaved so she could check them for ticks on an hourly basis!

Her tick problem was just getting worse so the neighbor, vet and groomer suggested she seek professional intervention.  Heeding the neighbor’s advice, she called Bulwark and spoke to me.  I made a special trip to their home the very next day because I could hear and feel the frustration and overall panic in her voice.  The customer said in a review “Chris and his technicians came to our home several more times treating the yard, inside the home and even provided them with some tick spray for our dogs!”  We answered their calls and her questions in a caring professional manner.  It took about two months to completely eradicate the ticks and all their eggs, but they are happy to report they are tick free!  Bulwark sprays their home once a month and they continue to be pest free.  Living on the desert of Phoenix is beautiful but leaves everyone more susceptible to many critters, large and small.  The small ones are oftentimes the most irritating and destructive.  She continued to say, “Thank goodness for the professional team of Bulwark and their ability to take care of all our pest problems.   I always recommend Bulwark and Chris Benham to anyone who does not want a pest problem!”

Chris Benham

Phoenix AZ

ThomasB General Pest Control 4, B, Extra mile, Phoenix AZ, Ticks

Bulwark has gone through a few different stages in its marketing.  To say the least, finding a consistent voice that really communicates what your company, culture, service, ideology, and values are all about isn’t as simple as it might seem.  Some people refer to this as branding, others call it public relations, or simply put its your public face.

Well as the new year rolls in, we want to visit this thought just a little bit more.

“Live a pest free life.” Catchy phrase that we promoted for a little while.  It conveys the hope and aspiration of what a pest control company delivers to its customers.  But it sounds almost too cliche.

“Like Family.” Perfect for how Bulwark views and treats all within its sphere of influence.  Employees, customers, we want all to feel at home with us. But is it too vague?

“Small enough to care, big enough to deliver.” This seems to hit the nail on the head.  Bulwark is the perfect medium ground between small family owned companies, and the larger corporate pest control services.  Bulwark still remains a family owned operation and services thousands of US homes.

“Do you have a Bulwark protecting your home?” Now this is a play off the definition of Bulwark, a defensive wall or barrier.  So in light of the definition we hoped that people would catch on to the goal of our service.  Get the bugs out and keep them out.  But, like a bad joke, if you have to explain it then it doesn’t work.

Needless to say, at this point, we still have no really marketing message.  Bulwark’s pest control service simply rolls forward by providing good service.  Business comes from referrals.  Referrals come from providing good service.  In the end, if we perfect what we do best, pest control service, then we won’t have to do the talking at all.  Our customers will do it for us.

“ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS.”

To sum it up… Live a pest free life by getting your Bulwark today from a pest control service that is small enough to treat you like family but big enough to do it right.

ThomasB General Pest Control Bulwark, Live a pest free life, pest control service

It is Christmas Day and we hope that all is well for you and yours.  Merry Christmas from the bug guys.

ThomasB General Pest Control Merry Christmas

Now Proudly Displayed in our Gilbert AZ location

Scanning the Bar code for the Boss. To show him this high tech stuff.

This is way cool! Here we are!

You can actually scan this from your computer screen!

Bulwark was honored to receive its first letter last Friday from Google Maps.  The letter boasts a big congratulations on front and a very pretty window sticker.  Then it went on to explain that “Between July 1 and September 30″ each location had been found X number of times and received X number of requests “for driving directions or other information about your business.” After doing some digging online and checking to see how legitimate this honor was, Bulwark’s owner found listed on Google’s site the following

“Over 100,000 businesses were identified as Favorite Places, representing less than 1% of the 28 million U.S. businesses. We believe that our standards for selecting businesses are as selective or more selective than other companies which have run similar initiatives.”

“Google users “decided” based on their actions, and we sent the decals.” http://www.google.com/help/maps/favoriteplaces/business/faq.html

The owner quickly recognized the value in this recognition from Google and a email went out Monday morning to all of our locations to keep their eyes peeled for these envelops.  Sure enough, 3 other branches of Bulwark had received the letters!

“I got the golden ticket.” was the email reply from one of our Austin managers.  While he may have been joking, the owner and web team were not.

“It is an honor to receive this and we are happy to post the sticker in our window boasting Google as well for being an industry leader.” said Adam, the owner and CEO of Bulwark.  “And hopefully more are on their way.”

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Jon McCain step out on a limb and called attention to some of the new funds going out of the national government for the sake of economic stimulus.  A recent report from our local Phoenix Pest Controller debates the value of this stimulus money when it comes to researching ants.  The report says that 3.5 jobs will be supported at the Arizona schools with this near million of taxpayer’s dollars.  The 3.5 are only jobs in the schools, and it does not account for the workers that will be needed in the field research.  Even still, should the state of Arizona get $950,000 to research harvester ants and turtle ants?

Visit the original post at:

http://pestcontrolphoenixaz.net/Pest-Control/2009/12/arizona-gets-near-1-million-dollars-to-research-ants/

and add your thoughts on if $950,000 is too much for ant research.

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Do Electronic Pest Control Devices Work?

I just got this story from Grandpa Ballantyne which has much wisdom in it, so as a wise old man once said…

In a nutshell, it isn’t that the ideas of people are done with bad intentions (often, at least), it’s just that they don’t work. My grandson put a bunch of fruit in a cookie tin yesterday, explaining that it was “for Santa.” It was very thoughtful of him, but because I love him, I explained that while it was thoughtful of him, it would not work. Yes, like so much that is proposed by well-intentioned people, it was thoughtful, but, no, it will not work. We should all at least do as I did with my grandson, and point out what is obvious to us. Many will ignore us, but some will actually see the logic. Meanwhile, we will have done what we should do, and sometimes this all we can do.

Why wouldn’t a tin full of fruit for Santa work?

Perhaps because today is the 2nd of December and fruit left in a tin for Santa to eat on the 25th would only spoil and be wasted. Perhaps the grandson was wanting to hide the tin, which would only mean a stinky banana in the home for his poor single mother to clean up months later. Yuck.

What this story is about is being realistic with a child and taking a moment to teach the child despite his good intention.

How does this relate to Electronic Pest Control Devices?

Quite simply, electronic pest control DOES NOT WORK EFFECTIVELY. It doesn’t matter what you call it, ultrasonic pest control, electronic pest repeller, electronic spider control, electronic insect control, pest devices, or pink barking poodles, none of them provide effective lasting pest control. They are not effective at pest defense or offense. Now I know that you may be saying, “He’s just a pest control company trying to hold back technology that he sees as a threat to his livelihood.” But I am not the only one saying this. Try reading the Federal Trade Commission’s report warning consumers of fraudulent electronic pest control device claims.

“Staff of the Federal Trade Commission’s Division of Enforcement today announced that they have sent warning letters to more than 60 manufacturers and retailers of ultrasonic pest-control devices, stating that efficacy claims about those products must be supported by scientific evidence.

…that any reaction by rodents to ultrasound would be temporary at best because rodents become accustomed to ultrasound and will return to their nesting or feeding areas even in the presence of an ultrasonic device. Furthermore, previous FTC complaints alleged that ultrasound devices do not control insects.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices”

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2001/05/fyi0128.shtm

Further, Bulwark Exterminating supports advancing technology and society. If electronic devices worked we would happily embrace them and find a way to sell them, service them, and stay in business. Our customers want the safest most effective pest control service. We recognize that electronic devices would be cleaner and greener. And if they worked then they would be potentially less toxic then even tap water. But customers want both safe pest control and effective pest control. A fly-swatter is considered a safe pest control device, but it’s not an effective roach control device.The only semi-effective electronic pest control device that Bulwark will acknowledge are the blue glowing zappers that mesmerize bugs into their ultimate destruction… I love hearing mosquitoes get zapped.

If you think that pest control companies are afraid of electronic pest control devices then Bulwark and  pest control companies everywhere should also be the Do It Yourself pest control stores.  If you want to a Do-It-Yourself pest control solution then visit www.PestProJoe.com, see not afraid of them.  Bulwark caters to individuals that want a guaranteed hassle free pest control service. Yes, service is the keyword there. Consumers want the safest most effective pest control solution.  If a pest control company does not provide an effective service then they will struggle to stay alive.

Morale of the story…

Electronic Pest Control devices may be a good idea and have really good intentions, but its similar to a grandson putting fruit in a cookie tin for Santa,… its just fruitless.

P.S. If super sonic electronic pest control devices do become effective at some future date then Bulwark pest control will gladly support them.

For further reading and reviews on Electronic Pest Control devices can be found at EcoSmarts blog:
http://blog.ecosmart.com/index.php/2008/08/28/electronic-pest-control-reviews-and-ratings

Read what Universities are saying about whether electronic pest control devices work or not…

Considering Ultrasonic Pest Control Devices? Save Your Money -
http://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/resources/ultrasonicdevices.shtml

If you are considering electronic pest control devices for Christmas this year then perhaps you should consider a Charlotte pest control service instead.

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Fire Lt. Fred Godawa of Daytona Beach blamed a recent fire on a carpenter ant colony.  According to this fireman, the ants had build a large home around the electrical outlets in the wall.  When the ants hit an electrical wire, the electrical shock ignited the ants, shoot out of the outlet and caught the entire house on fire.

For pest control operators, though this case is rare, it is no surprise.  Ants and other pests frequently travel on the homes electrical wiring.  These wires become an insect highway.  Homes are built with the wiring passing through the framework.  Holes are drilled in the wooden studs.  These holes make it much easier for pests to travel from one wall void to the next.  If they follow the wiring they can easily travel from one end of the house to the other.  They can move freely upstairs, down stairs, into the attic, and out of the outlets into your home. For this reason, in wall treatments are highly effective against pests especially when concentrated on these outlets.

Other smaller ants are also known to travel not on the wires, but in the wires.  Certain ants are so tiny that they can slip under the protective covering of your electrical wiring and travel through the home on these wires.  They too will short out your wiring causing damage to your home’s electrical system.  A manufacturing company in Texas was closed down for a few days due to these ants destroying their electrical system.  The company would not say how much damage was done or how much productivity was lost.

As the old saying goes,

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Ants still prove to be one of the most difficult insects to control.  They are highly organized.  Some colonies will splinter off into multiple colonies when threatened. Their sense of smell is so keen that the slightest error in a mixture could render the pesticide detectable and therefore useless.  And they reproduce so rapidly that killing off  a thousand or two today, will be replaced with a thousand or two tomorrow.

So how do you get rid of ants?

Is there an effective pest control solution?

Yes. Get Ant Control.

Call a professional exterminator and Get Ant Control today!

Guaranteed Ant Control is included free with this month’s special on Bulwark’s whole house protection plan.

—————————————–

Covering all of your Raleigh pest control needs.

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Do you believe that a single pest control company could have over 1,700 5 star reviews on Google?

Do you believe that a pest control company could have 94% of current customers willing to recommend their pest control service to friend or family?

Do you believe that there is pest control solution for scorpion control?

Do you believe that there is a pest control solution for fire ant control?

Do you believe that there is a pest control solution for spider control?

If you answered “No” to any of these questions above then there is a 98.6% chance that you are suffering from IDS. Don’t believe me? That makes it a 99.4% chance.

Irrational Disbelief Syndrome may be affecting millions of Americans. Take your free test today at www.CopingwithDisbelief.com

To learn more about IDS and possible cures for IDS visit the IDS foundation here: http://www.fiberone.com/copingwithdisbelief/default.aspx

*This message was published as an endorsement for FiberOne’s genius in marketing.

**The writer of this post, and the sponsors of this website have no affiliation with FiberOne or the bogus Coping with Disbelief foundation. It is simply a joke about a joke.

***This message is brought to you by your local

Raleigh pest control service-  514 Daniels Street Raleigh, NC 27605

Take it mucho easy… Make it a great Friday!

ThomasB Uncategorized IDS, pest control disbelief, pest control jokes, pest control Raleigh

You may call them winter pest. You may call them holiday visitors. We call them seasonal invaders. They are the bugs and insects that strike when the cold weather approaches.  These winter visitors seek the warmth and comfort of your beautiful home.  Crawling in every crack and crevasse they can to escape the pending winter. They include pests such as spiders, crickets, centipedes, millipedes, springtails and mice.  All of these pests are known to invade your home during those months that most people consider to have low pest activity.

It is true that many pests die off for the winter, or go into hibernation, or retreat to their winter forts, such as ants.  But there are many pests that would rather not take a winter vacation.  Instead they fly, crawl, or jump to the more tropical weather provided by the shelter you know as your house.  For this reason, residential pest control shouldn’t be skipped for the winter months.  There are in wall treatments that can be done, or other exterior fortifications that should be applied to keep your home bug free all year long.  Skipping service for a few months could mean that spring cleaning will be even more intense.  And in certain areas, like Tulsa, OK, this letting down of your bug guard could mean letting in the local brown recluse.  And fall is certainly still high scorpion activity.  Is it really worth risking your family’s safety by letting your pest control maintenance slip for a month or two?

Ideally, you should continue to have your home treated even when you believe that all the pests are taking a winter break.  Just like cleaning out your garage, its best to keep it clean and not let the clutter biuld up again.

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