602-249-7378 Archives - Page 7 of 9 - Arizona Pest Control - Pest Management Services

The Clean Trust – training continues

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The Clean Trust -training continues…

Why did ProBest Pest Management get into carpet cleaning: Bed Bugs are the main reason.

The Bed Bug epidemic has spread across the USA at a rapid pace and people react with a sense of urgency and frustration. Often times people panic and react by immediately throwing things out and this leads to the spread of eggs and adults throughout the home including carpets. ProBest Pest Management decided to offer a service of pest treatment with a carpet cleaning as a way of total and complete eradication. What better way than to steam everything including the carpets if needed. We offer steam, limited pesticides and follow-ups if needed. ProBest immediately sought certification and so far 2 employees are “The Clean Trust” certified.

Verifi™ by FMC for Bed Bugs

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Verifi™ by FMC for Bed Bugs

OK the rumor mill advises that these products will be shipping on the 15th of April and I have it on good authority that is the case.

Are you a property manager, hotel/motel operator, realtor or homeowner that just wants to know if you have Bed Bugs. Then this is the tool for you with Peace of Mind!

Thanks to FMC and Univar for supplying the artwork above with a few modifications by ProBest.

Unwelcome visitor in my driveway on Saturday .

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Unwelcome visitor in my driveway on Saturday.

I absolutely love when our customers take photo’s and send them our way. Always on guard in Arizona, when the temperatures get HOT out come some of our friends including rattlesnakes. The Fire Department responded on Saturday and gently removed the snake and relocated it to the wash area.

Not everything needs to be killed, the snake was just out wondering and looking for food.

Thanks AJ for the picture and we will start the use of Snake Away immediately!!

Here is another picture of what can hide and where?

Effective Leadership – What Scouting Taught Me!

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Effective Leadership – What Scouting Taught Me!

I think leadership is something you are born with and is also something that you can cultivate and make better. As an Eagle Scout, former Woodbadge Scouter’s Key trained 15 year Scoutmaster I spent many a day planning, organizing and setting into motion events and training programs. Each and every day at ProBest Pest Management those same thoughts help me to plan and organize my day, month and year. I carry everyday my “Marketing and Planning book” because as the saying goes “He who fails to plan, plans to fail“. So what is my plan:

I have a 1 year plan and 5 year plan!
Marketing, advertising and planning are a day to day process.
Try something and if it works continue, if it doesn’t try something else. With that being said you must track the marketing.
To succeed everyone must understand the plan and be on-board to make it happen.
Training is essential, there are 2 things that I never care about; #1 taking my employees to events with other pest industry technicians – some leaders worry that their technicians will be stolen by other companies. If they leave they weren’t that loyal to you anyway. weren’t that loyal to you anyway. #2 I require certain amounts of continuing education and encourage my employees to learn and yes even to the point of getting them certified as Qualifying Operators which means that they could leave and start their own business. Anything is a risk but if you treat your employees well, hopefully that will come back around (Karma).
I encourage my employees to speak their minds but ultimately it still is my ship to steer.
No one is perfect and the way you learn is by making mistakes.

Scouting builds character!

Friday 13th – Beware the bugs, really!

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Friday 13th – Beware the bugs, really!

Don’t panic bed bugs have nothing to do with Friday the 13th but it got me to thinking. So do work around furniture, clothing or anywhere where people meet. I’d probably say most of us fall into that category. But it got me to thinking about some things, the other day a few Fire Fighters came in and we got into discussing Bed Bugs. They told me that a fire station in Phoenix got them and that it freaked them out, so I thought I would put together a list of potential places where Bed Bugs might latch onto a unsuspecting host. Remember Bed Bugs are not like lice and that normally they don’t travel on people but consider that they are experts on hitchhiking.

Garbage or refuse haulers, do you pick up garbage and transport it to another dump site?
Self employed haulers.
Not for profit agencies that pick up clothes, or those box collection sites.
Moving van companies and employees.
Fire Fighters, Police, Medical Personnel, EMT’s & Paramedic’s or people that come into contact with people each day.
Clothing store employees.

So take care to do some random checking as you arrive back home or to your station. If you spot something crawling immediately go outside and get that thing off of you. Consider changing clothes in the garage and washing all clothes on hot and dry on hot for an hour – the book says 30-40 minutes but just a precaution, it takes 113° to kill adults and eggs. Don’t panic just use your common sense and you will be fine.

Gotta love those Arizona termites…..

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Gotta love those Arizona termites…..

Look at those Subterranean termite tubes under that crawlspace, (Seth took these pictures) at some places over an inch in width. Our termites here in Arizona aren’t as aggressive as the Eastern subs on the East Coast but under a manufactured home – it’s very important to have yearly inspections. The damage to the wooden floor can be significant and potentially dangerous.

Call a Pest Management Professional for a termite inspection, today!

The weather is swarmer and bringing out the swarmers…

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The weather is swarmer and bringing out the swarmers… Africanized Bees that is!

Wow we have had at least 12 calls in the last few days on bees swarming, so I thought a little bee information should be spread.

Africanized Honeybees (AHB) aka “Killer Bees” look just like European Honeybees (EHB).
(AHB) swarm frequently up to 10 times more often than (EHB).
(AHB) more aggressive, respond in greater numbers, will pursue for 1/4 mile and possibly wait for you if you jump into water.
(AHB) are probably not mean per se, they are just more prone or sensitive to noises or vibrations.
(AHB) can remain agitated for over a hour and may attack any curious bystander or pet.
The American Medical Association (AMA) says that 7 stings per pound can be lethal, but remember 1 sting can kill you if you are allergic.
If you are hiking, (AHB) will bump you sometimes to let you know you may be close to their hive/colony.
Just like any unforeseen pest, anything can be dangerous and deadly but so far only 5 human deaths (AZ) can be connected to (AHB).
Check your home monthly for sign of pests and if you see bees call a Pest Management Professional – this IS NOT a Do It Yourself option!
If you decide to DIY – the number to call is 911 or Poison Control is 1-800-222-1222