Wow what a winter! We had several new carpenter ant calls come in so far this week - which is unusual this early in the year (but no surprise given this warm winter!) We also heard about an active termite infestation in a callers basement which has yet to be validated but, again, there'd be no surprise. Carpenter ants and termites go through a period of reduced activity called diapause. Termites head below the frost line while carpenter ants huddle together in their hollowed out chambers in wood. They do not "die off," instead try to think of it as a hybernation for insects. When the environmental factors are just right, the insects begin waking up. It appears some colonies of insects have gotten that signal a little early this year.
Tuesday February 14th, 2012.
Happy Valentines Day!! Just a friendly reminder to check you motel rooms for bed bugs before getting cozy. These jokes just dont get old. But all kidding aside, bed bugs are in the news again. Courtesy of the indystar.com, bed bugs have popped up in a childrens hospital: the Riley Hospital for Children! A family staying at the hospital with their newborn daughter discovered the bugs. This shouldnt surprise anyone giving the current epidemic. Hospitals are just as succeptable to bed bug infestations as anywhere else.
Friday February 10th, 2012.
Heres an article for the parents and schoolteachers. Teachers in Greenville, Ohio discovered bed bugs on a students backpack and on another students coat. The kids were in kindergarden and second grade. More than a week went by until another bedbug was found on a student. This time health officials met with the parents. Finally, two weeks after the last incident a letter was send home to the parents of all the kids. Now, parents are outraged that it took so long to notify them. Expecially considering the mobility of bed bugs and thier ability to find new hosts. Bed bugs could have easily infested fellow students, classrooms and etc... Heres the link.
Thursday February 9th, 2011.
I just read an article that accurately protrays the bed-bug war. You can read the article here. Basically, a unit of a public housing complex was experiencing a bed bug problem. This issue was not immediately treated. Over the course of six or seven months, the bed bug population grew and spread out. Now, all residents are waging a war. One resident spent her own money ($200.00) on furniture encasements, bug spray and rash ointments; all without much success. She now lives knowing that these creepy-crawly blood suckers could be crawling on her and living off of her. It's not a pleasant way to live. The management team at her complex didnt jump on the issue soon enough and now all of the residents are suffering. The moral of the story is: bed bugs are a serious threat to your property and well being, they can be quite difficult to kill but the early you start the better your chances of irradication are. On a side note, today our technician Aaron got to experience the horrors of bed bug infestations (...again)! An empty appartment unit full of hungry bed bugs exploded with movement. "Bed bugs were climbing up the walls it was so bad!" Apparently the tenent moved out and left some "things" behind. It was a good call to have us go in there and treat before they spread or before someone else moved in.
Friday February 3rd, 2012.
We just got our booth for the Worcester Home Show 2012. We will be in attendance! Our booth has yet to be determined, but when we find out we'll make that information available. This is our first Worcester Home show ever. In years past we set up shop at the Big E Home Show, so this will be a different experience for us. The DCU center is the host and the dates are March 9th through the 11th. We hope to see you there!
Tuesday January 31st, 2012.
Wow, we can't beleive it's the end of January already! This winter is going by fast, but there still is no snow on the ground. This can pose a problem in the spring, as winter is beleived to help keep pest populations in check. Take, for example, the tick. Harsh winters are correlated with low tick populations in the spring and summer. I just went hiking last weekend in Easthampton and pulled 2 ticks off my pant legs. Ticks are still alive and feeding. I beleive that if this winter continues on this note, tick populations will become a problem. But thats not all. Carpenter ants (and all insects) slow down and go through a period called diapause - mainly to escape the cold. With temperatures so far above normal, could their activity be increasing while they remain "hidden?" Termites go through the same period, however, the ground isn't even frozen here in Springfield. These are questions we're all waiting to see. It's certainly not the first time we've had a warm winter, but given lasts years mouse insurgence who knows what this year will bring!
We've also just finished a company meeting. On our agenda was the seminars we went to a few weeks ago in Atlantic City. Our bed bug jobs have been enormously successful, but our preparation and procedures are vastly different than other companies. In the end, we decided to stick to what was working. We also nominated technicians Jeff and Aaron as our bed bug specialists. Their knowledge and thoroughness fit the job description completely.
Monday January 30th, 2012.
Tomorrow we are having a mandatory company meeting @ 8:00 AM. On the agenda are basic procedural changes in our bed bugs jobs and material learned from the conference in Atlantic City a few weeks ago. Our routes are winding down, so we're planning on taking some time to make sure we're still on the same page. We've got a new hire John with experience in the pest control industry, so it will be interesting to hear his experiences.
Monday January 23rd, 2012.
Greetings! We've just got back from the (International) National Pest Management Associations (NPMA) Eastern Regional Conference in Atlantic City, NJ. This was a 3 day learning experience for all of our guys. We enjoyed listening to the latest and greatest methods and research from leaders in the industry. We'll be taking this information and incorperating it into our own work. It's always interesting to see how other companies handle certain pests - this year the emphasis was on bed bugs. We all recieved hours and hours of facts about pests and their irradication - we were cramming our skulls with information on bugs! Can you imagine?! Pests many not be everyones cup of tea, but here at Premier Pest Control it's what we do - and we enjoy doing it. Plus, the conference was in Atlantic City; thats a bonus! So, if you called our offices between Wednesday January 18th and Saturday the 21st we're sorry you got our answering service, but thats where we were!
Thursday December 22nd, 2011.
Tomorrow is our last workday before the holidays. We've all been given the Christmas week off, with pay! This means our offices will be closed from December 23rd at 5:00PM until 8:00AM on January 3rd. We appologize for any inconveniences this may cause you. Our answering system will be on during the holidays, so you can always leave a message. We all hope you have a merry christmas and we wish you a great year ahead.
Friday December 16th, 2011.
Thank goodness it's Friday!! We're wrapping up a busy week as we try to squeeze in all of our rescheduled stops and new customers. On Sunday we're rounding up the gang and getting festive with our annual Christmas party over at the Log Cabin. 'Tis the season! And when the tinsel settles, well be back at it, killin' bugs Monday morning. We hope you all have a great holiday season as well. See ya soon!
Wednesday, December 7th, 2011.
We're kicking it in to high gear with our winter services this week. We dont always get to see our customers in person during the warmer months, so it's great to get to see them. On top of that we're stilll receiving calls from frantic customers looking to eradicate their mouse problems. All and all, its been a busy yet very successful year for us and we're trying to finish it out on a strong note.
Tuesday, November 29th, 2011.
Here we are again, nearly into the month of December and rounding the corner to the end of the year. Our interior residential services will be starting on the first day of Demcember. We are frantically scheduling in every customer, mailing out invoices and making changes as needed. Please call the office as soon as possible if your designated service date does not work and we will gladly reschedule you. Other than that, we hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and we look foreward to seeing you this winter.
P.S. Just because it's winter time and it's cold outside doesn't mean pests aren't active. Carpenter ants restrict activity to inside (or close to) their nesting sites, which can be a tree or even your house. Pregnant stink bugs, boxelder bugs & lady bugs all look for warm and sheltered places to spend the winter - like an attic or inside window sills. Mice, as we all know, would love nothing more than to get inside a nice warm house and spend the rest of their life. Surprisingly, even adult preganant female wasps can last the winter. They also look for a nice warm spot to hybernate until the spring, when they start their new colony. Hey, pests can be interesting, too.
Wednesday November 23rd, 2011.
Today our office will be closing at 5:00PM. Tommorow is Thanksgiving and Friday is black friday. We will not be open again until Monday November 28th @ 8:00AM. However, you can feel free to leave us a message on the answering service and we will get back to you as soon as we can on Monday morning. Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving weekend!
Friday, November 18th, 2011.
Bed bug calls back to back to back to back this morning and it's not even 10:00AM yet. And Thanksgiving and black friday are rapidly approaching! Who knows what will happen once travel picks up and people from around the country are all squashed into the same house! Next week we will be working Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday - but Thursday and Friday we will be closed. Our answering service will be on, so in the case you need to contact us you can always leave a message. Enjoy the holiday, we'll be back in business Monday, November 28th.
Thursday November 17th, 2011.
Yesterday our technician Christopher, who had been deployed with the Army, returned to work. If you see him, be sure to welcome him back! We also completed a training program in Hartford. FMC corporation has developed a new bed-bug detection system. It looks promising - but it wont be available until the middle of next year. We're hoping it works better than the previous systems... but can it surpass the dog?
Friday November 11th, 2011.
This mid-November day has been packed with excitement. We're looking into several instances of swarming Carpenter Ants. This is unusual given the time of year (mid November!). Carpenter Ants go through a period of inactivity during cold winter months called diapause. You can think of diapause as a hybernation for insects. Anyways, Carpenter Ant colonies send out "swarmers" or flying carpenter ants each year. These flying ants have one purpose in life - to reproduce. They often do not travel far from the nest so it is a good warning sign if numerous flying ants are found inside of a structure. This is a good indication of an infestation.
We're also doing our share of mouse work. More and more customers are asking if we do any "clean up" work regarding mice. For example, drop celings or kitchen cabinets covered in urine and feces. The answer is yes, we do offer these "HAZMAT" services. We have industrial strength, non-staining disenfection (fungicide, viricide, bactericide) products and HEPA filtration equiptment. We can treat anywhere unsafe conditions exist.
Bed Bugs are everyhwere! Word of mouth travels farther than any form of advertisement i guess. We've been very successful with our Bed Bugs treatments. Now our customer database is growing. We use a no-nonse type of approach to dealing with these bugs - a shock-and-awe complete service. But, as with anything in life there is always room for more knowledge. We've scheduled a trip to New Jersey for the entire crew here which involves 3 days of nothing but learning. The main topic on the agenda: Bed Bugs!
THANK YOU ALL AND HAVE A WONDERFUL VETERNS DAY. MAY WE NEVER FORGET THE MEANING OF THIS DAY.
Monday, November 7th, 2011.
The snow storm and power outages that swept across western Mass may have canceled or delayed our halloween, but not for good! An Atlanta based pest control company posted their 5 "creepiest" pests - just in time for halloween! You know the guys of Premier Pest Control enjoy halloween - so we came up with our own. They can cancel halloween but they cant take away our sense of SCARE!
1) Bed Bugs - Evasive blood sucking creatures that can live 6 months between meals, survive the cold and reproduce very quickly. They sense CO2 and can hitch a ride on unsuspecting victims. Next thing you know YOU wake up CREEPED OUT with bites all over, but you just cant spot the culprit. Let me tell you folks - we take bed bug infestations very seriously here and so should YOU! Our advice is to know their behaviour, protect yourself and learn the symptoms. 2) Black Widow Spiders & Brown Recluse Spiders - Although not as common as people think, these killers go largely undetected in wood piles and in cracks and crevices of garages and basements. Very rarely do we ever hear of bites from these pests and seldom do we actually find evidence. Nonetheless, we find ourselves in Black Widow/Brown Recluse territory quite often and the threat still exists. When walking through a damp and dark basement and pulling cob-webs off our hats, we cant help but wonder what type of spider caused it 3) Rats - True this pest isnt poisonous, it doesnt suck blood and it wont bite unless provoked. But, as exterminators, we all have stories of uncovering infestations by surprise. Let me tell you, their's nothing quite like rounding a corner in a tight crawlspace with about 2 feet from ground to floor and a coming upon a rat with no escape. They may look cute and cuddley (for some?) but their blood-curdling hiss will send you off screaming in a hurry. 4)Ticks - Personally i thought this could have been higher up on the list. There is (almost) no worse of a feeling than walking back to your truck, turning the key in the ignition and YIKES SOMETHING IS CRAWLING UP YOUR LEG! Yea, it happens. 5) Fleas- The plague was started by fleas, but it was the rats that brought the fleas into the homes. The virus jumped from flea to rat to flea to human. Sharing blood with vermin is never a good thing. Not to mention the effects on the environment. Adult pregnant females consume more blood than they can digest. As a result they defecate blood onto your floors and carpets. That blood, along with dust and other "odds and ends" is consumed by flea larva living on your floor.
We appologize for not posting more frequently over the past few weeks. We've been slammed with work! This fall we've seen our share of rain (more than enough, thank you!) and mice, fleas and bedbugs (oh my!)... But, now im writting to you about a different setback. Our technician Christopher Hodges, whom some of you may know, was recently deployed as a member of the National Guard. We wish him the best of luck and hope he returns safetly, and soon. Before he left, he gave Guy and Darlene George a special gift. Two administators from the Office of the Secretary of Defense came in by surprise and presented Guy George with a special "Patriotic Employer" award recognizing Guy and Darlene for their support of the Guard and the Reserves. As a small business, we're very greatful our contributions matter. Thank you to Chris Hodgers, Don LaRiviere and the rest of our countries finest past and present. Come Home Safe!!
And the Award Goes to....
Chris Presenting Guy the Award
Thursday, October 6th, 2011. The last few days we've been flirting with freezing temps and 60 degree days. This weekend we have a 3 day stretch of 80+ degrees. We're expecting a ton of insect activity! Remember, insects are considered "cold-blooded" so more heat = more energy. This weekend should recharge insect activity - be especially prepared for the wasps and ants!
Friday, September 30th, 2011. The end of summer and the beginning of fall will bring about new pest problems. This cold, snow packed winter created a nice insulating layer keeping overwintering insects and rodents nice and cozy, or at least warm enough to survive the winter. We've been receiving many phone calls this year - more than ever, actually - from new customers with pest problems. Our biggest increase in calls this year will be awarded to the rodents. Second place on our list goes to their close friend, the fleas. We beleive these two go hand and hand because fleas are most commonly found on rodents - and this winter actually helped rodent populations. To follow-up on these two topics, I've pulled the following preventative tips from a newsletter in our archives:
Rodents can enter your home through a hole the size of a dime. You must make your home and outbuildings less attractive to rodents by closing off access to food, water and shelter. Some steps you can take to help protext your family from rodents are:
1. REDUCE POTENTIAL FOOD SOURCES - Store bird and animal food in metal or thick plastic containers. This includes grass seed. Be sure garbage cans have tight fitting lids. Do not leave pet food or water out over night.
2. PREVENT OR REDUCE ENTRY POINTS - Use steel wool, cement or insulating foam to seal, screen and exclude all access points. Utilize metal roof flashing burried 6" deep around the base of raised buildings.
3. ELIMINATE RODENTS AND FLEAS - Wear a mask and rubber gloves. Use disinfectants when cleaning droppings, urine and handling dead rodents. Treat for fleas if necessary. Use snap traps, glue traps and rodent baits; using caution for non-target animals and children.
4. OUTSIDE CONTROL - Keep vegetation around the home trimmed. Move wood piles and trash cans away from the home. Keep compost piles away from the home and all other structures.
5. DISINFECT - Always wear rubber gloves during cleanup. Do not vacuum or sweep areas of rodent activity until disinfected. Have carpets and furniture professionally cleaned.
6. PROTECT YOUR PETS - Use some form of flea and tick control on your pets. Although this doesn't guarrantee success it at least offers some protection.
When in doubt call a professional. Thats what we're here for!
Thursday September 22nd, 2011. We've just completed our weekly company training meeting regarding "eco-friendly" pest control and IPM strategies. We do this once a week to stay fresh and at the top of our game. New ideas were brought forward and we'll be working on ways to incorperate them into our services. Our customers strive for the best possible service and we're constantly looking to perfect it. As part of this, we also review existing accounts to make sure our service plans are successful. Hey, just because most jobs can be done by an individual doesn't mean they're not a team effort. So far so good this rain soaked week, we'll be back at it again tomorrow.
Friday September 9th, 2011. NEWS RELEASE
For more information contact: Guy L. George Owner/President Premier Pest Control, Inc. (413) 467-2680 bugman0088@comcast.net
Premier Pest Control, Inc. Partners with EPA on Responsible Pest Management
Granby, MA • 09/08/11—Premier Pest Control, Inc. has joined the U.S. EPA’s Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP), a voluntary program that forms partnerships with pesticide users to reduce the potential health and environmental risks associated with pesticide use.
By joining, Premier Pest Control has pledged that environmental stewardship is an integral part of pest management. IPM is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices.
“We are excited to be a member of PESP and partnering with EPA to promote environmentally responsible pest management,” said Guy L. George.
“I want to take this opportunity to welcome Premier Pest Control, Inc. as a member in the Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program. PESP is an exciting, voluntary program to reduce the risks from the use of pesticides. I am pleased that your company is taking a leadership role, along with our other members, in working with EPA on environmental stewardship,” said EPA’s Thomas Brennan.
For more information about how we can serve you better, contact Brian M. Kerr at (413) 584-6870 or thekingofubgs1@gmail.com.
Thursday September 8th, 2011. Today, Premier Pest Control is battling torrential rains and flooding. We'll be servicing our commercial customers for pests like roaches, rodents, ants, fleas and bed bugs. However, we'll have to work around the rain for our residential customers, even working through Saturday. Rodent calls are still up BIG this season, spread across Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties. We have a feeling this is due to the heavy snow packs over the winter, perhaps insulating the ground cover. Due to the high volume of bed bugs calls we have received, we just wanted wanted to make one thing clear to everyone: putting your furniture out on the curb or throwing things out is not a solution to your bed bug or flea problems. And for those of you that love free things - there's likely a reason things are left out. Bed bugs and fleas are good hiders and WILL spread across your establishment with ease.
Thanks, Premier Pest Control
Premier Pest Control, Inc. Granby, MA 1-800-540-0241
