So the Midland Home Show was this past weekend. Held at what is now known as the Bourgeois Community Centre, there were about 50 businesses and organizations represented. Lots of swag to be picked up but of course, our pens are still way better than anyone else’s thanks to Jessa’s continuing manufacture of tiny bees to put in them. Tamara came up with the idea of having her do some butterflies for next year – she’s not very enthusiastic at this point, but maybe we’ll wear her down.
We also gave out a whole bunch of antennae – Ross insisted I had bought too many, so thank you to everyone who took one (or more LOL). I hate when he gets to say he told me so.
As always, we were happy to talk to people about anything related to pest control – but especially about the differences between our services and others. That is:
We care for the environment – so we’re willing to do extra to support that value. We use garlic spray for mosquito control, even though that means we might need to go back more often, and even though it makes my grandkids turn up their noses at my stinky cars.
We also care about not killing more than we have to – so when we do a rodent job, for example, we focus not on placing bait, but instead on finding and repairing access points so that the rodents stay outside where we belong, and do not carry bait in their little bodies that other critters can eat to their detriment.
The truth is that the effect of rodent baits on owls and other critters is generally nowhere near as devastating as some would have you believe – but rodent poop carries diseases and worms and it all adds up to filth you and your family don’t want to be exposed to! We don’t want you to be exposed to it either – so we seal the holes – even though that means you won’t want or need to pay us to keep coming back to refill your bait stations! It’s not good for business – but it’s another way we do the right thing and care for your environment.
And we do carpenter ants differently, too. Spray and pray is a terrible approach for most ants – it kills the foragers, and even some of the others – but it rarely reaches the queen. Carpenter ant queens can live for 20+ years – and as long as they’re alive, they’re making more ants. They might move to a “safer” place within your property – that just means more damage as they excavate more nesting areas. By using bait, we use the foragers to get to the queen. Once she dies, the nest is done. It might take a day or two for all of the ants to get the message and wander away – but they will.
And then we’ll come back and dust with diatomaceous earth to render the nests and access points uninhabitable to new populations – and any other unwanted creepy crawlies, also!
We know that solving your pest problems and preventing future problems is counter-productive to “good business practices” – it means you won’t need us on a recurring basis. But that aside, it is the right thing to do, and both Jessa and I are sticklers for doing the right thing – no matter how many times it bites us in the butt.
