311 that should kill your bugs... and everything else.

John Honoré was a little dumbfounded when he say yesterday’s high for Phoenix, AZ.  …Does heat cause dyslexia? Bulwark Exterminating denies all reports of organic pest control methods that they could be testing that might cause such an occurrence.

“Bulwark will make no formal statements on the the 311 degree high in Phoenix reported by ABC, even if it were beneficial for pest control the evidence that would suggest our involvement is circumstantial at best.”

Special thanks to our San Antonio pest control guys for bringing this to our attention:

Hot Flash: News Flash from San Antonio ABC 12

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Some of today’s tragic headlines in the pest control industry are as follows:

Pest control worker stole Rays championship ring.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/st-petersburg-police-pest-control-worker-stole-rays-championship-ring/1111162

Pest control worker arrested for allegedly stealing Rays American League Championship ring

http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_south_pinellas/st_petersburg/pest-control-worker-arrested-for-allegedly-stealing-rays-american-league-championship-ring

Unfortunately this looks pretty grim for the pest control industry and the company that hired this individual.

A couple of years ago an owner in the pool business related a sad story about an employee of his.  A small family owned pool service was nearly shattered by one bad hire.  The employee was a relative. It is sad to say, but just because one is family doesn’t make them trustworthy.  His advice, “DO BACKGROUND CHECKS ON EVERYONE.”

Since that time Bulwark has implemented background checks on all new hires.  It’s not just a matter of security for the company, but these individuals are walking into people’s homes.  Your customer’s safety is at risk.  Perhaps too often in pest control people only consider the “How safe is your pest control product?”, but the news of a hired pest control tech stealing isn’t a question of pesticides being safe, but of property, family, and company being safe. Pest Control Operators have the responsibility to thoroughly hire and train employees. It’s worthy the cost.

The story goes on to say that he lost his previous pest control job where he was accused of stealing. We are well aware that as a small family pest control business time is valuable.  But skimping on hire techniques and through background checks that do cost money, is worth the extra effort.

As a point of discussion we are curious how many other pest control companies are taking this one step further and doing drug tests and ongoing “random” drug tests?  Do you feel drug tests should be allowed? As a consumer would you feel better knowing your pest control guy is drug free?

Thanks for contributing.

Pest-Control-Stories In the News PCO, PCOs, pest control background checks, pest control owners

Walnuts have been called a super food before, but Are you Forgetting something?

Super Food attributed to Fighting Flu and Increasing Memory and Learning... in mice.

Better down a couple more of these Scooby Snacks. According to the report given on July 10, 2010 at the International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease (ICAD) in New York, mice that eat walnuts are showing results that suggest walnuts could improve brain function. The research however is only being carried out on mice. (Thus the reason your pest control guy found it first) Mice that included walnuts in their diet showed “significant improvement in learning, memory, emotional regulation and motor coordination compared to the mice with no walnuts in their diet.” However, we cannot conclude that it will have the same results in humans, until we have had further studies.

Read Full Article Here

But don’t be shy in trying this out.  The Walnuts possess many other Super Food attributes.  The are high in antioxidants, with a good dose of healthy fatty acids, and a sprinkle of copper.  According to one super food diet you should grab a handful of these nuts each and every day!

How many should I eat per day?
Grab your nutcracker and eat six.

http://lilypink.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/superfoods-diet/

_

Bulwark Exterminating is happy to endorse the walnut. All Natural, totally nutty, and wrapped in a lot of potential.  That’s a pretty big package for one small nut.

…And you may want to reconsider using walnuts in your mouse traps.  You’d only be helping your enemy get smarter.

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Pest Control Company, Bulwark Exterminating LLC, Receives Military Award from Staff Sergeant A. J. Richards.

Recently Bulwark Exterminating was nominated for an ESGR award by Staff Sergeant A. J. Richards. The ESGR award is given to employers of Guard and Reserve soldiers where the servicemen feel that the employer goes above and beyond the basic responsibility’s an employer has to their Reserve employees. The law requires those that employ Military Reserve and similar to abide by additional requirements, such as holding a position for those that serve while they are gone on military leave.  Further, they must work with mandatory military training, requiring them to allow military employees un-scheduled days off. Because of these requirements there are good reasons for employers to not hire reservists. Bulwark on the other hand gladly  hires military personnel.  The owners feel a great respect for those that serve to protect our country and our freedoms.

For this reason Staff Sergeant Richards nominated Bulwark and Adam for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve award. Here is his statement:

I have been in the National Guard for the last nine years and have had many employers. I had heard that there was a way to nominate your employer for an award through the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). But until recently I had never worked for a company more deserving. I started working for Bulwark Exterminating in 2007 as an door to door sales men and even though I struggled with that job they always had a supportive team to mentor me. After the summer they provided me with a job servicing homes in southern Utah while I finished school. After school despite my performance in the door sales field they offered me a job in their newly formed call center in Phoenix AZ. The offer was too good to turn down so I packed up the family and headed down. I have missed work many times to fulfill my commitment with the guard and Adam has always made sure that my family and I had all that we needed while I was gone. Beyond that the Bulwark family has taken my family in as their own so while I’m away I don’t have to worry about my wife and kids needing anything. This is something that is priceless if you have ever been in that kind of positions. Adam continues to support me and my service in the Guard and often encourages me to do all I can to advance in my military career even at the risk of loosing me “one of Bulwark’s top employees” (per my supervisor), for extended periods of time.

The ceremony was held at a Marie calendars in downtown Phoenix and was hosted by “The Military Order Of The World Wars” Phoenix Chapter. The chapter is made up of retired military members from Colonel down. Adam Seever was nominated by Abenadi Richards an employee that works in the Bulwark Exterminating Call center. If you contacted Bulwark anytime in the last three years for new service there’s a chance you spoke to him. Abenadi says that the influence of the people that he works for not only has helped him to become a better person but also a better soldier. He said that skills that he has learned as an employee for Bulwark has taught him to be a better leader in his military duties as well.

Bulwark even received an additional honor from the speaker when he complimented Adam and Bulwark’s pest control service with  “and they do good work too.  They service my home.” The owner was very touched by the award and the sincere compliment of the speaker.

View more Award Photos on Facebook

If you are a military family then please ask about Bulwark pest control Military Discount.

Pest-Control-Stories In the News award, In the News, pest control, Phoenix Pest Control

Michael Gurevitz has been featured in a number of recent news reports for his research into practical and useful uses of scorpion venom. His research has found varying types of venom and varying effects based upon the chemical proprieties of the venom. Documenting and researching these properties has further proven that some toxins can target specific mammalian channels, and others will attack insect channels that are non existent in mammals, i.e. humans. But Michael hopes to take this information to a whole new level by identifying how these toxin interact with sodium channels, which make up mammal and insect nervous systems.  That information could lead to a pesticide based on scorpion venom and a morphine like medicine based on scorpion venom. But what are benefits of using scorpion venom and are there possible cons?

On the subject of venom toxins Raymond St. Leger, an entomologist at the University of Maryland, states that they are “a resource with almost limitless potential,…But you need a way of getting them into the insect.” Herein lies one problem. Genetically altering a plant to produce a similar compound to the scorpion venom will be useless as a pest control technique if ingesting the plant and its newly acquired compound does nothing to the pest because it is ingested rather than stung/injected into the blood stream. Exterminators that will hunt and manually inject the compound are going to hard to find. Clearly this is not the intent. The objective is to develop a pesticide that will be absorbed through an insect’s exoskeleton. The pest control products need to penetrate into the insects and attack their nervous systems, leading to paralysis and death. Determining the venom’s effective life span and how long it will take to be absorbed will determine the success of this natural alternative.  In order for a pesticide to be effective it must have a decent residual, something many natural products lack.

Individuals must further investigate the human health effects of occupational exposure. What dangers do these bio-pesticides and bio-insecticides poise with frequent and regular use to the applicators? What danger does this put on those that milk the scorpion’s venom? Adam Seever, put it this way, “I know it may seem backwards, but I don’t focus on how the products we use will effect my customers. I focus on whether they are safe for my technicians to use on a day in and day out bases. If my techs are safe then the customers will be safe as well.” On a pound per pound base is the scorpion venom more or less toxic then your average pest control product? Lastly, the most severe problems that occurs with products and even with scorpion toxins are caused by a mammals allergic reaction to the products. This varies on a case by case base, but one must wonder if this reaction would be higher in a pyrethrin based product or a scorpion based product.

The response that Michael Gurevite gave us on the potential allergy’s and dangers of the scorpion venom is as follows:

“In the venom of scorpions of the Buthidae family, to which the Israeli yellow scorpion belongs, one can find a large variety of peptide toxins that affect ion channels. We work on those that affect sodium channel. Among these toxins there are different classes divided according to their pharmacological effects (alpha and beta), and further divided to groups by their ability to compete for the same receptor site, and their activity toward mammals and insects. Some of the toxins would be active against practically all animals, some show preference for mammalian channels, and some are anti-insect selective. All these differences in activity and preference are those that interest us at the molecular/structural level.

The desert bark scorpions belong also to the family Buthidae, the most common is Centruroides sculpturatus in Southern US and Mexico. Their venom contains mostly toxins of the beta class that affect mammals and insects. We work on toxins of both the alpha and beta classes.”

Hopefully Michael’s research pays off. It is very fascinating that he is documenting these effects and classifying them on a molecular level to the point that he can determine a “alpha” or “beta” class. This will in no doubt be beneficial in developing more pest solutions that will only effect insects and not humans. Or taking that one step further, that can target specific insect species.

And yes there is a sinister side of this in that we could use the scorpion’s sting against itself. Imagine the novel title now, “Scorpion’s recruited for Scorpion Control.” And homeowners that deal with scorpions would welcome the opportunity to use an effective scorpion insecticide against scorpion infestations in Phoenix, Austin, and Las Vegas. Especially using their closely related Buthidae family members for Scottsdale scorpion extermination.

There is also a potential that the research could lead to a scorpion based “morphine”, or other scorpion related health care products. Scorpion venom has even been tested in fighting off cancer. Could it be possible that a pesticide and a cancer “fighting” agent could use the same chemical makeup? Perhaps some day sooner than you think.

What are your thoughts on scorpion venom being used in pest control products?

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Pest Control Technology Magazine gave the owner of Bulwark a quick interview about what makes Bulwark Exterminating’s company so different.  Here is what they reported:

Bulwark Exterminating, Mesa, Ariz.
At 10 years old, Bulwark Exterminating
is built differently than most firms. More
than half of employees’ compensation is
determined through statistical analyzes,
said President Adam Seever. They typically
make 30 percent more than the industry
average, according to Seever, due to
higher productivity and the company only
promotes from within, giving them “lots of
reasons to stick around.” Employees must
feel financially and emotionally respected
or they can’t respect your customers, explained
Seever. The company has 250
employees at 11 offices in seven states,
including five programmers to manage its proprietary software.
http://pct.texterity.com/pct/201001/?pg=41&pm=2&u1=friend#pg41

Why by the numbers?

Many companies look to accountants to manage by the numbers, these companies often fail. But  Bulwark’s numbers are not found on a typical accountants balance sheet.  Bulwark tracks all kinds of numbers that most never think to track. And with 10 years of tracking Bulwark can see trends.  So Bulwark takes these numbers, puts a real monetary value on the impact of these numbers and then reworks the system. For example, how much more productivity could a company gain if customer call backs drop by down by 10%?  That value is calculated, monetized and then redistributed to those individuals within the company that make it happen.  The bottom line is the company runs more efficiently, more productively, and those individual’s that make it happen are rewarded for their efforts.

What’s beautiful about this system is that everyone wins.  “Yeah, Right… that’s just too cliche.” True, it is hard to believe in systems that promise to benefit everyone. But back to customer call backs… If the tech does the job correctly and takes a little more time upfront, to save time on the back end, (time=$$$) then the client, the tech, and the company all benefit.  The tech gets a bonus for having a lower call back number.  The customer is happier that the problem is being solved and that they don’t have to call us back.  The company saves time, which equates to dollars. Plus, the tech, the customer, Bulwark’s office staff, Bulwark’s managers, and the rest of the tech’s team are all happier.  Not a bad system… if it works. Don’t worry works. Proven by the same numbers that we meticulously track.

And it’s truly numbers that everyone can hit.  Many theorize that you should just play your team with your All-Star performers.  “Manage your producers and showcase them.” The most common analogy following this line of thought is that professional sports teams rely on only their superstars to make it happen. Well, pest control is far from a fantasy football team, and frankly, Bulwark has always believed that everyone on the team should play.  So Bulwark doesn’t develop a matrix to benefit a few top performers. The owner will focus on what is going to make the biggest impact on all of Bulwark’s players.  It’s a win-win-win-win-win… get the point?

Find ways to incentivize performance. And better yet, find ways to improve so everyone wins!

Pest-Control-Stories General Pest Control, In the News In the News, pest control news, proprietary software

After a recent visit from an exterminator declaring they were indeed infested with bed bugs the Wilmington Fire Station threw out mattresses, upholstered furniture and carpets, anything that might be housing the bed bugs.   And these little blood suckers cost more then a few drops of blood.  The total cost to the fire station was over $5000 between the loss of the furniture and the pest controller’s bill of $800+.

ABC reported on the matter first.  Also citing a CDC saying bedbugs are up by 500% over the last few years.  Considering that bed bugs had been virtually eradicated from the US over 20 years ago, that number doesn’t do the Bed Bug epidemic justice.

Fortunately doctors still have not found any serious health risks associated with bedbugs or the spread of disease through bedbugs.

Interesting points specifically about this bed bug case – Was it really necessary to throw out all the furniture?

Perhaps not, but throwing away old mattresses that need to be replaced anyways will certainly help cure a bed bug problem.  Perhaps consumers should consider the old adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

And prevention is easy.  A proper mattress cover will thwart any attacks made by bedbugs on your resting place. Yes, it really is that simple.  No need to pay $300 per room as some exterminators quote for bedbug treatments.

Get a mattress cover today so you can rest easy… pun intended.

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“Former President Clinton recently had to clear out of his office for a few days because it’s infested with bed bugs.” according to the New York Times laugh line… but bed bugs isn’t a laughing matter for pest control companies and victims of this spreading epidemic.

Sure its funny to insinuate that Clinton has a new guest in his bed, or multiple bed buddies for that matter, but these guests are blood suckers.  Bed bugs are nocturnal insects that feast on the host.  The bites are painless since they inject a numbing agent which keeps the victim from feeling the bed bugs while they feast.  Most infestations go unnoticed for a couple of weeks as they feed and reproduce more feeders.  Victims usually begin to note something unusual after their skin breaks out with red eruptions. Some of these sever cases require medical attention for the skin irritations.  But by the time all of this has happened the bed bugs have not only infested the bed, but have moved on to couches and out the door with clothing.  Within relatively short periods of time entire apartments, hospitals, and other structures are crawling with this tiny invaders.  And so the epidemic roles forward.

Perhaps its good that this problem has finally bitten a politician.  Of course, one blood sucker may have compassion on the other blood sucker.  And since “politics” can be broken down into “poli” meaning “many” and “tics” meaning “blood sucking creatures” we may be able to conclude that they are indeed in bed together.

Do-It-Yourself Bed Bug Control

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The other day we were delighted to receive a phone call from the wall street journal asking about our green pest control solutions.  Adam spent some time on the phone with her explaining the pest control industry and how efficacy directly affects profit margins.

Mesa, Ariz.-based Bulwark Exterminating LLC, which operates 11 branches in eight states, uses only botanical sprays and boric-acid products (also derived from boron) whenever customers request all-natural solutions and often includes them as part of an overall treatment plan even when they don’t.

“About 35% of people who call now ask us, ‘Will this hurt my kid or dog?’ ” says Bulwark founder Adam Seever. One customer, Carol Kidd, lives in a rural suburb of Phoenix and recently rang Bulwark to cancel her service because she was experiencing hormone imbalances and had read pesticides might be a contributing factor. Bulwark instead switched her to an all-natural service, employing botanical oils and boric-acid bait around her foundation instead of a synthetic solution, and didn’t raise her $44-a-month price.

“I’ve seen no excess insects since switching,” 39-year-old Ms. Kidd says, “and I’ve got bugs in the yard around my chicken coop, but not on my patio or in my house.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204563304574318231044370704.html

Bulwark has always offered a green pest control service and for those that want even more bulwark offers an all natural pest control solution.  We deliver what the customer wants, a bug free home in the cleanest and most friendly way possible.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

ABOUT OUR GREEN PEST CONTROL

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