Pest Control and Bug Exterminator Blog

Image via CrunchBase

Everyone knows Facebook can be a powerful marketing tool. It allows you to connect with a broad audience, provides a venue to interact with customers, and can give your company a personal feel. However, to be effective, Facebook must be used correctly. There are a number of mistakes that some companies make that turn off potential customers.

1. Posting Too Often

Of course it is a good idea to post frequently. It keeps customers engaged and coming back for important information. However, there is also a point where it becomes too much. If you are posting five times a day, people are going to get annoyed and stop following you. Many people recommend no more than once a day.

2. Not Posting Enough

On the other hand, you don’t want to be completely silent on Facebook either. People need a reason to follow you. If you haven’t posted in weeks, people will think you are irrelevant or that there’s no reason to follow you. Be consistent.

3. Uncreative Content

People will only like your page if they think it has something valuable to offer. There are so many people on Facebook that you need something to set you apart from everyone else. Post creative content, even if it doesn’t seem to have a direct connection to the product or service your company sells.

4. Unresponsive to Fans

One of the best elements of Facebook is the opportunity to engage with fans of your page. If people ask questions or give compliments, they will be offended if you don’t respond. The more you engage customers the more they will be willing to purchase your services.

5. Arguing With Customers

While it is important to engage with customers, always keep it positive. Never get into arguments about a product, even if a person is wrong. There are people that will intentionally try to get a negative reaction out of you. Simply apologize when people complain and stay out of fights.

6. Posting the Same Topic Over and Over

People need variety. If you just post about the same thing every time, people will get bored and stop following you. Try to add variety to your posts. Not everything has to be directly about the product you sell. Try to engage customers in interesting conversations about a wide variety of topics.

7. Not Having a Plan

You simply will not be successful if you don’t start out with a strategy. This is essential for any type of marketing campaign. Understand what type of audience you want to target and how you will reach them.

8. Focusing Too Much on Numbers

Some companies feel that the ultimate goal of a Facebook page is to get as many followers as possible. This isn’t necessarily true. A greater focus should be based on the actual content of the page and how it is impacting viewers.

9. Ignoring the Analytics Feature

Some people don’t look at or don’t even realize Facebook gives you analytics about your page. Looking at these stats will tell you how many people are viewing your page and what types of posts are working.

10. Not Having a Cover Photo

This is free advertising space. Facebook is frequently coming out with new profile features, so pay attention to them. Pictures are the first thing people will pay attention to. Keep them updated and visually appealing.

About the Author: Lindsey Patterson is a freelance writer who specializes in the latest social and technology trends, specifically involving the use of social media. She is currently a consultant for Vivint. Follow them on Twitter here.

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Guest Post Published By Thomas Ballantyne

WARNING! If you ever want to enjoy an Oreo cookie ever again, don’t read this article.

Pictures have surfaced on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumbler of a spider that has allegedly been found inside of one of America’s favorite snacks… The Oreo Cookie!

Spider Found Inside Oreo Cookie

Photo Courtesy of Facebook

The Oreo spider pictures come with the following caption:

“This is why you always take Oreos apart before eating them, always. Now think of all the Oreos you’ve ever eaten foolishly.”

After seeing the above picture, the public is left wondering if the Oreo was found this way by the consumer, or it was an easily replicated hoax. Is it real or fake?

The idea of finding a spider in your favorite milk dunking cookie is not unbelievable–After all, we have evidence of a maggot stuffed cookie.

Theories On The Oreo Spider

• It’s fake. Somebody untwisted an Oreo and then smashed a living or dead spider into the cream. They posted a picture of what they “found in their cookie.” The cookie even appears to have some dirt attached. 

• It’s real. The Nabisco plant is in desperate need of spider control as it deals with a full-fledged spider infestation. Maybe they should call Bulwark Exterminating. 

• Introducing the newest flavor of Oreo: Spider Oreos! The Oreo R & D department took things too far this time after their success with the Candy Corn Oreos last fall. 

• The cookie was one of those generic Oreos, from Mexico, where the Mexican Council of Food regulations are a little lax. Spiders run rampant throughout their cookie factories. 

• The spider Oreo is a prototype of the upcoming Halloween Oreos that will be hitting supermarket shelves this fall. Watch for the Oreos with bats, mice, and centipedes inside too. 

• The Oreo is from another country, where eating spiders, scorpions, ants, roaches, and other insects is common practice. 

• Somebody was in need of an extra protein boost for their afternoon snack. Just imagine, an Oreo with nutritional value. The spider might be the healthiest part of that Oreo. Anybody could rationalize that!

Is The Spider Found In The Oreo Real Or Fake?

My professional opinion, as a bug guy, is that this Oreo spider is a hoax. Obviously there is a spider implanted in the Oreo’s cream, but it was likely put there on purpose.

We did the same thing here at the office with a scorpion. Here is a Scorpion Birthday Bash Oreo:

At first glance, the spider seems to be a simple garden spider. These spiders are rarely ever associated with indoor environments, and wouldn’t make its home in the very clean, and very FDA regulated, Nabisco factory.

Spider In Oreo Undetermined

The truth is that nobody is 100% sure if this is just an easily replicated hoax, or if a spider was really mashed between an Oreo during the manufacturing process. Oreo has yet to release a public statement. Investigative websites like Snopes are uncertain about the photographs authenticity; its hoax status is labeled undetermined as of March 1, 2013.

Us bug guys will keep you updated when we know more. Until then, maybe you should untwist your next Oreo before you eat it… Just to be on the safe side.

One thing we do know for sure at this point– The only thing worse than finding a spider inside an Oreo cookie you’re eating, is finding half a spider.

Happy dunking!

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Anthony Ball

Toilet Spider

Toilet Spiders Deemed Hoax 

Here we go again. Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumbler have been inundated as of late with reports of poisonous spiders biting people, as they sit on the toilet of all places, resulting in your eventual death.

Here Is The Claim 

NEW POISONOUS SPIDER IN THE UNITED STATES

A spider bite…please read………… And you thought the brown recluse was bad!

Three women in North Florida, turned up at hospitals over a 5-day period, all with the same symptoms. Fever, chills, and vomiting, followed by muscular collapse, paralysis, and finally, death. There were no outward signs of trauma.

Autopsy results showed toxicity in the blood. These women did not know each other, and seemed to have nothing in common. It was discovered, however, that they had all visited the same Restaurant (Olive Garden) within days of their deaths. The health department descended on the restaurant, shutting it down. The food, water, and air conditioning were all inspected and tested, to no avail.

The big break came when a waitress at the restaurant was rushed to the hospital with similar symptoms. She told doctors that she had been on vacation, and had only went to the restaurant to pick up her check. She did not eat or drink while she was there, but had used the restroom.

That is when one toxicologist, remembering an article he had read, drove out to the restaurant, went into the restroom, and lifted the toilet seat. Under the seat, out of normal view, was a small spider.

The spider was captured and brought back to the lab, where it was determined to be the Two-Striped Telamonia (Telamonia dimidiata), so named because of its reddened flesh color. This spider’s venom is extremely toxic, but can take several days to take effect. They live in cold, dark, damp climates, and toilet rims provide just the right atmosphere.

It is now believed that these spiders can be anywhere in the country. So please, before you use a public toilet, lift the seat to check for spiders. It can save your life!

And please pass this on to everyone you care about.

Source: Facebook

Just A Hoax 

Wikipedia and other credible online sources have debunked the claim of toilet spiders biting restaurant patrons; stating the stories are fictitious. Although some spiders do prefer cool dark places, the harsh chemicals used to clean the toilet would likely deter any spider from making a toilet it’s home. No such story of a Two-Stripped Telamonia biting rear ends has ever occurred. The story is considered an urban legend.

The Real Two-Striped Telamonia Spider 

The two-striped jumper (Telamonia dimidiate), is a jumping spider found in various Asian tropical rain forests. They are common in wooded environments in India, Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Bhutan. They do not live in North Florida Olive Garden restaurants.

The Two-Striped Telamonia Spider ranges in size from 8-11 millimeters. Females are a light yellow, with a white stripe down her middle. She also has a red ring around her legs. The male is very dark, with white markings, and red hairs around the eyes. The venom of this species is not medically significant.

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Anthony Ball

Have you ever had a hose break on you in the middle of a service? Try having that happen when doing weed control and having the tractor dye spray all over a home. Hose problems can be a real mess, costing lots of time, and causing lots of customer headaches and dissatisfaction for changing routes last minute. Well here are 5 easy steps to keep your pest control hose it top shape.

Top 5 Pest Control Sprayer Hose Problems You Can Avoid
By Andrew Greess

Here are a few simple actions you can take to extend your pest control hose life and reduce chemical spills.

1. Clean hose exterior. When rewinding hose, run the hose through a rag to remove grit and debris that will reduce hose life.
2. Periodically completely unroll all the hose off the reel.Turn the power spray on to put some pressure in the hose. Rewind the hose. This will prevent the hose from becoming permanently flattened out, which can negatively affect system performance, especially on low pressure sprayers.
3.  Reverse the hose. In the same way you rotate tires on a vehicle, reversing the hose regularly will even the wear and extend hose life.
4. Cut and replace bad portions early. Inspect hose, particularly the first 20 feet for wear and damage. If it looks bad, don’t wait for it to leak, cut it off. This will prevent chemical spills and downtime.
5. Make a hose repair kit a standard part of your pest control equipment inventory. The kit will allow you to fix minor hose problems so you can finish your route before having to return for a permanent hose repair or replacement.

These simple tips can reduce equipment problems, missed stops and chemical spills.

Andrew Greess is the President of Quality Equipment & Spray, which designs, builds and sells pest control equipment. Follow Greess on Facebook & Twitter. For more information or to share comments, check out www.SprayEquipmentBlog.com

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National Cockroach Race Day is Wednesday, Jan. 26th.  To honor this absolutely fabulous day, Bulwark Exterminating is sponsoring its first ever #RoachRace on Twitter.  What exactly is a #RoachRace you ask?

It’s actually quite simple.  Sponsors (Contestants) will claim a specific cockroach species.  German Cockroach.  Madagascar Hissing Cockroach.  American Cockroach. Etc, etc.

Sponsors will then be assigned a corresponding hashtag. #BulwarkGermanRoach. #BulwarkHissingRoach. #BulwarkAmericanRoach. Etc, etc.

That assigned roach hashtag  will be coupled with the hashtag #RoachRace

Now comes the race.  Contestants will have the task on Wednesday to see how many tweets and retweets they can get with their assigned hashtag.  The contestant with the most mentions of their hashtag…wins!

What’s the prize?  Well, since we’re not really in a position to take bets and disclose odds and spreads and stuff like that, we’re giving away one of @tshirtSEO’s famed and highly coveted t-shirts.  These shirts were recently featured on ABC’s Now@9 morning show in Phoenix.

All sponsors will receive a Roach Pest Control t-shirt, featuring our super cool roach logo.  We’ll also throw in a 10-pack of glue traps from PestProJoe.com.  And of course they will get lots of props, mentions, and thank you’s.  This is all stuff money can’t buy, folks!

And if you happen to be in the Phoenix area, we’ll even treat you to a nice lunch.

Last but not least, don’t forget to follow us on twitter and like us on facebook.

So, we here at Bulwark tend to fancy ourselves at social media geeks.  We all have facebook accounts.  We all have twitter accounts.  Naturally, we run the Bulwark accounts on a regular basis.  We always check in with Foursquare when we go out to lunch.  Whenever we get the chance, we always try to attend any local twitter events that A. sound interesting and B. interest us.  We went to #SunsTweetup a couple weeks ago vs. the Portland Trailblazers.  Both interesting, and of interest.

This week we had another fabulous experience at a local tweetup.  ABC15 here in Phoenix hosted the first ever live and on air tweetup event during the Now@9 morning show.  We documented the experience from start to finish, and this is how it looked.

Before we even got to the station, this is how the morning started as we got off the freeway in Phoenix…

High Voltage Warning Sign

Despite the warning, we pressed on, and within minutes found ourselves at the ABC15 studios.  After a brief waiting period our group of 100 tweeps was escorted into the filming studio.  We were lucky enough to get first row seats in front of the news desk where the anchors sit.  The majority of our group was parked behind us at a different angle, facing big monitors and some green screens.  The anchors soon made their way to the set and began all the last-minute prep work before showtime.

ABC15's Amber Sullins and Susan Casper

Camera #2 at ABC15's Studio B

ABC15 Tweetup Audience

Before we knew it, the show was off and filming.  This was how the show began…

Our esteemed head honcho, Thomas, aka Thos003, has a thing for printing custom twitter shirts for the host of that particular twitter event.  We look for a humorous tweet from that person (or people) and put it on the front chest of the shirt.  For SunsTweetup, we printed one for Jared Dudley.  We think he liked it!  So of course we made shirts for the show’s anchors: Susan Casper, Rebecca Thomas, Amber Sullins and Kirk Yuhnke.  We even made a couple for some of the producers.  Here is Kirk showing his shirt on air and giving a little love to Bulwark and yours truly.

And the show rolled on…

ABC15 Now@9 Morning Show

We also shared the spotlight with a holiday caroling group, The Goode Time Carolers.

“Net Neutrality” was the big topic of the morning across the country, and Now@9 took time to read a few Facebook comments regarding the issue.

Next national controversy of the morning was the decency of Hooters Restaurant girls.  The business model is a little too liberal for places like San Francisco, and apparently there is a pending lawsuit against the famed restaurant.  The anchors weighed in…

The hour went by rather fast.  After the anchors closed up the show they glad-handed all the tweeps and snapped a few photos with us.  As planned, each anchor got their own shirt with their own tweet on the front.

Steve and Thomas with the Now@9 anchors

Big thanks to ABC15, Susan, Rebecca, Amber and Kirk for holding the tweetup and allowing us to come share the morning with them.

@Thos003

-

Thomas: Well it’s been a fun month, all kinds of fun things are happening. We’ve got Jerry the Bug Doctor set up for a Blog Pest Control interview today. Despite his title as the Bug Doctor, Jerry isn’t working to make the bugs feel better. No,  Jerry stays busy doing pest control in Ocala. There are a lot of bugs to keep you busy in Florida.

@pestcemetery

Jerry: Busy is an understatement but it beats the alternative…lol

Thomas:So let’s not waste anymore time here…How many years in the bug business?

Jerry: Started pest control in 1984 with Terminix in Baltimore. I worked my way up from residential to commercial tech and then into sales. I eventually made it to commercial sales and National accounts Rep. before changing companies. I’ve worked for 5 other companies as everything from tech to region mgr. before finally striking it out on my own in 1993–technically 91 as a franchisee but ugh what a waste.

Thomas: From 1984 to present… That’s a lot of years! I think in 84 I was probably just starting my first roach collection, my mom didn’t let that last very long. So over 25 years of experience now.  Impressive.  And after big company headaches you moved on to a family pest control operation? So… who wins your heart a family employee or a non-blood?

Jerry: My wife and I have built this business, The Bug Doctor Inc., from zero and although we’re not huge we are a strong force in the area.  She is a Registered nurse whose paycheck got us through the first few years but now she works Bug Doctor full time. She’s my favorite but Kevin is also special. He’s been with me 8 years and has yet to miss even one day. He’s not perfect but he is faithful and I admire him for that.

Thomas: Hard to beat the wife for your heart I guess, so good response. And having loyal employees makes all the difference.  It is wonderful to have employees you can trust your company and name with.  How do you find and keep good exterminators?

Jerry:

Family Owned Pest Control for 17 years

I guess I break  a lot of rules. They say don’t hire people you know because you can’t be their boss. Kevin for example was a customer and friend long before I asked him on board. We played on the same volleyball team for years. I’m not a micro mgr. at all and there are whole weeks that go by that I don’t even see him. Because he’s a friend I just know and trust that he gets the job done. Diane also was (and still is) a customer, she’s worked out real well. I tried two guys in the last year that I did not know and neither lasted very long and I didn’t feel comfortable leaving them to their jobs & firing them was an unpleasant experience.  I want my people to like me and be motivated by that, not out of fear as so many bosses operate.

Thomas: Good employees are important in setting yourself apart. What other areas set you apart?

Jerry: I’d like to think I am the best commercial pest specialist in town and we handle some larger accounts but WDO (as in wood destroying organisms) inspections is something even other pest companies call me for on a regular basis. We service 5 counties in North central Florida and my favorite bug is the termite WDO.

Thomas: Termites are your favorite bug? Very cool.  They are an interesting lot and the damage they cause each year is unbelievable. I like how active you are online.  Seems like it comes pretty easy for you as a social pest control guy.  How is the bug blog life?

Jerry: I’m building www.PestCemetery.com to be a ‘real go to’ resource for pros as well as DIY and also have an entertainment value–we’ll see.. blogging is a long hard road

Thomas: Yes. But a hard road don’t mean it can’t be a fun road…. And just for fun do you have a favorite author or book?

Jerry: My favorite book was ‘Escape to Witch Mountain’ –The movie stunk.

Thomas: Typical. Why ruin a good book? Thanks Jerry.  Glad to have you doing good things for our industry and the overall exterminator image.

Be sure to check out Jerry’s great blog: The Pest Cemetery