Bed Bug Infested Sofa. Check Out the Video!!!

Bed Bug Preparation

In my experience in pest control, I have come to realize that bed bug preparation is the most important part of bed bug treatment. If a customer prepares their home properly, there is a good chance that their bed bug problems will be eradicated. Removing clutter is probably the most important step. I've seen bed bugs in dolls, pictures on the wall and lamp shades. All items in the room need to be checked for bed bugs. All clothing needs to be removed from closets and drawers. Curtains need to be taken off of the window. All items underneath the bed need to be removed. All clothes need to be placed in big plastic bags. If clothes are clean, they don't have to be washed. Clothes can be placed in a dryer for 5 minutes in high heat. If clothes are dirty, they can be washed and placed in dryer for 30 minutes in high heat. Please keep in mind that the plastic bags that were used to place the clothes in the washer or dryer needs to be thrown away. New plastic bags are needed to place the dried clothes in. This procedure can be done before or after treatment. If all these bed bug preparation steps are taken, the bed bug customer should be bed bug free.

Bed Bug Fumigation

I just attended a great presentation sponsored by Bug Off Pest Control Center. Bed Bug Fumigation specialists offered their services to the metro area. I truly believe this is the new wave of pest control. Fumigation may handle all of our bed bug needs. I plan on offering this service to all of my current and future customers. Thanks Andy and Bug Off for showing me the light.

Ants

Ants have definitely been on the rise this spring. I can't recall a season like this in years. We've been getting calls after calls for ants. Carpenter ants have been on the rise. We spray Temprid to combat carpenter ants. Customers are also calling because ants are in their kitchens and bathrooms. We  spray the kitchens and bathroom with Suspend SC. The spray lasts for 30 days and kills the ants on contact. We also gel the kitchen with Max Force gel. Gel lasts for 90 days. Ants eat the gel then go back to their nests where the other ants eat their droppings. This kills off the population. We place Max Force disks which contain gel in the kitchen cabinets. We've also been offering to spray the perimeter of customer's homes. We spray the perimeter with Suspend SC. We also place Eco Smart granulars around the home. This repels the ants away from the home. Also when it rains, the granulars get embedded in the soil.

Bed Bug Presentation at Tower Gardens

I was honored to conduct bed bug presentation at Tower Gardens apartments in Bronx last night. Tenants had great questions. I believe that they left with a greater awareness of this bed bug epidemic. I explained to tenants that bed bugs are hitchhikers. Tenants were interested in prevention. I recommended bed bug covers for their mattresses and boxsprings. Tenants were educated in what chemicals we use when servicing their aparments. Thanks to Clayton Johnson for making this happen.

Bed Bugs and Bed Bug Eggs on Mattress. Check Out the Video!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCQYQ0-xQuc

Wealth Seminar

I went to a Wealth Seminar this week featuring Dan Gordon from PCO Bookkeepers. It was very informative. Event was sponsored by Bug Off Pest Control Center in NYC. Dan spoke about bringing your business to the next level. Dan spoke about not letting your customers going past 60 days in past due accounts. You can't grow your business with customers owing you months of service. We need to start having more customers paying for monthly, quarterly and yearly services up front. Dan talked about the power of Social Media. Terri Mason from PCO Bookkeepers also gave her expertise in that area. Dan mentioned how he used to put tons of money in the Yellow Pages. He also had a big time time customer that used to put big money in the Yellow Pages. He advised us that Yellow Pages is not the way to go. He advised us on utilizing community outreach via local churches and local little leagues. Great seminar. I'm glad I attended. Received a WEALTH of information.

Cockroaches

I went to a cockroach training this morning. I learned that there is so much food and water in the kitchen that cockroaches won't necessarily go to the bed rooms unless there is a heavy infestation in the kitchen. You can have a steak sandwich sitting in the bedroom, they won't touch it because there is so much to offer in the kitchen for them to survive. Sanitation of course plays a part. Cleaning all fecal matter is important. Roaches breed on fecal matter. Clutter also plays a part. Roaches love papers and can take the ink off of newsapapers.

How To Protect Your Apartment When Living Vertical

So you steam clean your luggage when you come home from a business trip or throw new clothes purchases in a dryer right when you walk in the door. Do you think your neighbor in the apartment next door, above or below does this too? Doubt it. Sorry. The truth is when you are living vertical in an apartment or co-op chances are someone is going to have a run in with bed bugs. Are you protected from their infestation?

Here's our action plan for keeping your neighbor's bed bugs out: