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Pest Control Archives - Catchmaster Pro

Sep 09
0

Post-COVID Pest Management Tips

By | Pest Business, Rodents, Tips & Inspirations | No Comments

Navigate changing conditions with these Post-COVID pest management tips. Small businesses feel the impact of the pandemic, even six months in.  Pest control is an essential service but is still impacted via the customer base. Pest professionals report home and business owners suspended or reduced their contracts due to their own financial impacts. In other instances, concerned or immune-compromised clients refused indoor services.

Post-COVID Pest Management Tips - IPM

What are successful businesses concentrating focusing on in these times? Here are 3 tips that can help.

3 Post-COVID Pest Management Tips

  1. Businesses are being forced to digitize. To reduce or eliminate personal interaction, businesses must utilize technology like never before. From digital marketing to text and email communications with clients, businesses are feeling the impact. Those who already embraced technology are well ahead of the game while others are racing to catch up. Now more than ever technology can help your business to thrive in this new pandemic business climate. Lean on your software and marketing partners to take your business to the next level with technology.
  2. Capitalizing on commercial rodent work. Offices, hotels and restaurants sat vacant for months during quarantine.  As a result, rodent populations increased. The food source depletion prompted increased foraging ranges. Pest professionals are finding a high demand to control rodents, cockroaches, flies and more in this post-quarantine world. Ensure your business is ready to take on this demand and seek out commercial opportunities by communicating the on-going importance of pest control. This approach can work even when buildings stand vacant.
  3. Have safety policies in place and communicate them to your customer base. Safety takes on new meaning for pest control companies during a pandemic. Now is the time to put protocols in place when it comes to indoor pest services. Face masks, social distancing protocols and surveying your customer prior to service at the home or office are all things to be communicated. It ensures your customer is comfortable with your technicians in their home or place of business.

While these are trying times for businesses, they are also a time of opportunity. Stay positive and aggressive in your marketing efforts. Use this time to increase your business’ digital capabilities.

Bobby Kossowicz is a content creator for the Catchmaster brand, learn more here: https://catchmasterpro.com/blog/bobby-kossowicz/

Additional Resources

First, get more great content like this in your inbox – sign up for our mailing list here: https://catchmasterpro.com/join-email/

Next, learn more about our rodent management tools here: https://catchmasterpro.com/collection/rodent-management-tools/

Finally, learn more about your pest management professional options from the National Pest Management Association here: https://npmapestworld.org/

Jan 27
1

Top 5 Areas for Exclusion Around the Home

By | blog, Rodents, Tips & Inspirations | No Comments

Catching and trapping rodents are ways to resolve an existing rodent problem, but getting to the root of the problem is essential – here are the top 5 areas to consider for exclusion around the home.  Excluding rodents from your environment is an important part of any intelligent pest management solution.

Top Five Areas for Exclusion Around the Home

Exclusion is the process of eliminating areas in the home that a pest may enter. It is a long-term solution to a pest or rodent problem and an important part of Intelligent Pest Management.

Top 5 Areas for Exclusion Around the Home - IPM

Does exclusion sound like a great idea but you’re not sure where to start? When looking for areas to perform exclusion keep in mind that rodents enter a home in search of food, water or shelter. Experts say a mice can fit through a hole the size of a dime which is about ¼” in diameter. Rats can fit through an entry the size of a ½”. As a result, copper mesh is an excellent tool to fill in gaps and prevent rodents from entering.

Here are the top five areas to consider when performing exclusion work:

  1. The roofline of the home. Mice are excellent acrobats and can follow utility lines or even climb horizontally to enter via gaps in the roofline or damaged eaves. Consider going into your attic during daylight hours in search of areas where light may enter and secure them.
  2. Areas where plumbing and utilities enter the home. Plumbing, gas lines, damaged ducts and drainage pipes area all very common entryways into a home for rodents. Without a doubt, it is important to inspect these areas from both the inside and outside of the structure to ensure they are sealed tight with no gap larger than ¼”.
  3. Doorways and garage doors. Inspect the rubber sweep and weather strips on exterior doors and garage doors. Over time the rubber may wear down allowing mice an easy entrance right into your home.
  4. Gaps in the foundation, cement or brick. Some holes may accumulate over time as brick or cement break down. Those types of entries can be completely sealed. However, weep holes in brick walls serve a purpose from drainage to allowing a house to breathe. Weep holes should not be sealed tight, but you may use copper mesh to keep rodents and insects out.
  5. Trees, hedges and shrubbery. It is important to keep tree and shrubbery trimmed and away from the home. Branches and other greenery that meet the house offer a highway for rodents and other pests to enter.

Top 5 Areas for Exclusion Around the Home - Trouble Spots

Bonus Professional Tips

  • Don’t forget to check and seal up any cracks or damage around chimneys, dryer vents or attic vent caps.  Also, replace any damaged screens (Thank you to Ryan Ridgley from Hunstman Wildlife)
  • Under the eve where the soffit meets the roof the junction will have a 1/8 to 2 inch gap allowing mice, insects and pests to enter. (Props to Gary Andrews from Prudential Pest Management)
  • HVAC lines in particular can be a trouble spot and should be checked (Shout out to Cody Sandhoff from Sandhoff Services Pest & Termite)
  • Ridge and gable vents can cause problems and so can any  landscaping, particularly if it is against your home (Great tip from Josh McCloud with Hold Fast Enviro Pest  Solutions)

Bobby Kossowicz is a content creator for the Catchmaster® brand, learn more here: https://catchmasterpro.com/blog/bobby-kossowicz/

Top 5 Areas for Exclusion around the Home – additional resources

Get more great content like this in your inbox – sign up for our mailing list here: https://catchmasterpro.com/join-email/

Learn more about our full line of rodent management products here: https://catchmasterpro.com/collection/rodent-management-tools/

Finally, Learn more about your pest management professional options from the National Pest Management Association here: https://npmapestworld.org/

 

Sep 13
1

Catchmaster Pestimonial – Diox Pest Control

By | Insects, Mosquitoes, Pestimonials | No Comments

In this Catchmaster Pestimonial we examine how our Ovi-Catch™ Mosquito Trap helped Mike Robertson from Diox Pest Control with sensitive accounts.

mosquitoes at dusk

Ovi-Catch Helped Save This Pest Professional’s Two Largest Accounts

Mike Robertson is owner and CEO of Diox Pest Control. Prior to owning his own firm, Mike spent 17 years in the pest management industry working different aspects of the business from pest management technician to quality assurance manager in California, Washington and Hawaii. Mike recently shared with us his current struggle with controlling mosquitoes in two large resort accounts with sensitive water areas that contained wildlife, prohibiting his ability to use chemicals for control.

“Mosquitoes are a great add-on service offering for pest professionals. They are typically not a part of a general pest control contract and therefore an important and profitable addition for a pest management firm. Two of my current accounts are high-end resorts. Although they were happy with our general pest control, we struggled to get a true reduction in mosquitoes. These clients are located very close to areas where mosquitoes are reported as being infected with Zika & West Nile Virus so it’s beyond being a nuisance, mosquito control here is also about public health protection.”

catchmaster pestimonial

Catchmater Pestimonial: Ovi-Catch Mosquito Trap

“When I learned about Ovi-Catch I liked the concept and and decided to give them a try. After having Ovi-Catch out for two months, the clients are extremely happy with the control we’ve gained over mosquitoes. In just two months, they’ve hardly noticed mosquitoes in otherwise problem areas. I immediately decided to put out more throughout the rest of the property.”

Mike was thrilled with the results, “I’ve caught too many mosquitoes to count.” He went on to explain that his finding is the closer to the proximity of the standing water that you place the unit the higher the number of mosquitoes you’ll see on the glue board. Mike also began placing the units near areas where high mosquito populations were typically reported, usually within 20 feet of a breeding source to get the most control.

ovi-catch mosquito trap

We asked Mike how the units fit into the resort surroundings and he shared: “Besides being very effective, I really like that the buckets blend into the landscape. It’s a different approach to mosquito control. I can see a lot of opportunity with Ovi-Catch in the future and I’m planning to expand this to new properties as an alternative means of mosquito control. Ovi-Catch saved two of my largest accounts, totaling $50-$60k per year. I’m very happy I found this product.”

Additional Resources

Learn more about Ovi-Catch™ Mosquito Trap here: https://catchmasterpro.com/product/ovi-catch-ago-mosquito-trap/

Bobby Kossowicz is a content creator for the Catchmaster® brand, learn more here: https://catchmasterpro.com/blog/bobby-kossowicz/

Jul 15
0

Educating Your Customers: The “Aha” Mosquito Moment

By | Mosquitoes | No Comments

Educating your customers starts with inspection

Captain Stan preaches that a proper inspection, on every visit, is the key to controlling most mosquito problems and provide you with the opportunity for educating your customers.  Be aware that most customers do not associate their mosquito problem with standing water on their property; they only know they are being bitten.

The “3 Ws” of an inspection

If you find mosquito breeding sites on a customer’s property, if possible show the larvae and pupae to the customer, explain what they are, where they are breeding and why.  Educating your customers has three areas.  I like to call them the three Ws:

  1. What you found
  2. Why they are there
  3. What the customer can do to help the situation

The customer may then have an ‘aha’ moment = “oh, is THAT what those are?  I see them all over the property and never knew what they were”.  At that point, make your pitch on what the customer can do to help YOU provide a better mosquito service and you may have a friend for life!

Educating your customers – Professional tip

One other hint – show the mosquitoes to any kids that may live in the house.  Educate them and the next thing you know, you may have some young ‘mosquito detectives’ to help!

Learn more about Captain Stan (aka the Mosquito Man) here: https://catchmaster.com/introducing-captain-stan-the-mosquito-man/

Discover how mosquito control tools from the Catchmaster® brand can help you grow your mosquito control business here: https://catchmasterpro.com/collection/mosquito-management-tools/

Learn more about mosquitoes from the National Pest Management Association here: https://www.pestworld.org/pest-guide/mosquitoes/