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Our greatest asset is our well-trained, educated staff. Every staff member is so thoroughly trained that no matter who you talk to, whether it's an office staffer or a service technician or a manager, you can rest assured that you are always getting the best, latest and most reliable information. We believe that great customer service begins & ends with a knowledgeable staff that can solve and prevent problems.
Every Friday, all our technicians take a quiz to test their knowledge about a particular pest, products, trends in the pest control industry, new or updated methods or application procedures or safety issues. As mosquito season has now officially kicked off in the St. Louis area, one of the recent quizzes was all about mosquitoes. Wanna test YOUR mosquito knowledge? Here are some of the questions that were on the quiz -- as well as their answers.
Q: If mosquitoes can live on plant juices and nectar, why do they even need a blood meal?
A:
While mosquitoes are fond of nectar & plant juices, a blood meal, while disgustingly gross, is essential for them (and all other blood feeders) to have the ability to lay eggs.
Q: Everyone knows an infected mosquito can transmit a disease if it bites you. (Uh. Hello West Nile Virus, zika, malaria and yellow fever.) But how did the mosquito get the disease in the first place?
A: Mosquitoes get diseases that they can easily spread to us by feeding on a host that is already a carrier of that disease.
Q: Speaking of diseases, how can you tell if a mosquito is carrying a disease?
A: It is impossible to tell; however, there are precautions you can take to help avoid getting bitten. Some of these precautions include:
- Stay indoors dusk/dawn when mosquitoes are most prevalent.
- Wear light-colored clothing.
- Dress in long sleeves & pants.
- Use an insect repellent before heading outdoors.
Q: Other than ponds & streams, what are some other locations where mosquitoes might breed?
A: Mosquitoes breed in standing water and need only half an inch of water to breed. Sure, ponds and pools are the obvious areas but mosquitos can easily turn some seemingly innocent areas around your home and business into their personal breeding ground. Some of these areas include wheelbarrows, kiddie pools, overturned frisbees, decorative urns or lanterns, grill covers, gutters, trash cans without lids. tire swings, bird baths and leaky faucets. Walking around your property at least once a week for a quick check of any areas with standing water is a good ideas any time of the year -- but especially during mosquito season.
Well? Inquiring minds (also known as me!) want to know: How many of the questions were you able to answer correctly? If any of them have left you pondering additional questions, feel free to email us anytime
here, call us at 636-343-7900 or learn more about reducing mosquito populations around your home or business
here.
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As we recently wrapped up the month of April, we asked most of our customers from this past month to tell us about the technician that came to their home or business. These were the top 6 words that we heard over and over again:
1. Friendly
2. Professional
3. Knowledgeable
4. Timely
5. Thorough
6. Excellent
If you want a pest control company you can trust, you know we have your back. But did you know that if your friends, family or neighbors are looking for a new pest control company, you will get a fun surprise in the mail for referring them to us? Just be sure they mention your name when they schedule their first service visit so we're well aware because, ya know, "mind-readers" wasn't one of the words used to describe our technicians last month! :)
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My family stumbled upon this card during a family game night a couple of weeks ago. Name something people have trouble getting rid of. The top 7 answers are on the board. Blue Chip can help you out with two of them. You're on your own for the other five! :)
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| LATEST SCOOP AT BLUE CHIP |
BLUE OR PINK?
It's a boy! It's a girl! Okay...so "technically" it's neither but we do have a new arrival around here. And -- bonus! -- this arrival will never need a diaper change AND is already sleeping through the night! (SCORE!) We are thrilled to announce that in addition to our offices in Fenton, Ballwin, St. Peters & Chesterfield, Blue Chip recently opened a 5th location in the Rock Hill/Kirkwood area.
FENTON'S NEW FRIEND
Alicia, one of our customer service agents, was working in our Fenton office recently when she looked out the window and saw this little cutie strutting his stuff across a busy parking lot.
She rescued him, made him a cozy home where he can swim & climb and, at the end of the day, sent him home with Tearah, another one of our customer service agents, as a quarantine surprise for her 5-year old son. And for those of you wondering (I know I was!), this baby turtle's name is Ninja Turtle Bud! :)
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
We are pleased to introduce you to some of our recent Blue Chip new hires! They'll be in training (or have recently completed) our intensive training program & might be showing up at your home or business soon!
- Marshall, an avid guitar player, started his own music festival in Alton, Illinois called Happy Trails Music & Arts Gathering. Money generated from this festival is donated to the Oasis Women's Center, a safe place for women who are victims of domestic violence.
- Jamie, a devoted father and husband, served as a police office in Byrnes Mill for 10 years prior to joining our team.
- Dylan has worked in the pest control industry for years; however, this avid sports fan is dreaming of the day he can cheer on his beloved teams again. (I mean, aren't we all at this point in quarantine?!?! #CardinalsLove)
- When she's not taking your calls & scheduling service visits, our cheerful and bubbly Kara keeps busy by making ALLLL the tutus and bows for her 4 year old daughter. (Word on the street is that she's pretty good at karaoke too!)
- Kyle is currently house-hunting for a new place to call home with lots of extra room now that a precious chocolate lab puppy joined his family last month. Awwww!
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| CAN SIDING REMODELS CREATE PEST PROBLEMS? |
Do the stay-at-home orders have you doing more projects around your home? (Or is this just us?)
A customer with masonite siding reached out to us recently. He's getting ready to replace this siding in the near future with vinyl siding. His contractor suggested, that in order to save money, that they simply lay the new vinyl siding over the current siding. This customer was curious if doing so could create potential pest problems in the future.
We turned to our owner and resident entomologist, Jeff Phillips, with this great question and here's his reply:
That could kind of go either way.
There certainly are advantages to installing new vinyl over the old siding, especially if they add a layer of foam insulation in regards to home insulation, etc.
As far as from a strictly pest control standpoint, it can be more problematic. If there are damaged / water logged pieces of Masonite left behind the new vinyl siding, that will certainly be an attractive area for ants and carpenter ants specifically. That being said, if they remove the old siding and place down a new foam core panel or some sort of plywood or house underlayment in its place the area while less attractive to carpenter ants, could still be susceptible to other insect entry.
Vinyl is a great no maintenance option, but from a pest standpoint, there are a lot of entry points that it allows along its edges and along the bottom row. This is also true for rodent pests in addition to the insect ones.
In regards to termites, it shouldn't make much of a difference, as hopefully there is a certain amount of separation between the siding and the ground below with some exposed concrete foundation to act as a barrier. That alone is probably the biggest and most effective way to prevent termites around most of your home.
In a perfect world, I would suggest some of the new composite sidings or cement type siding as they are not only resistant to insect pests, but do a better job of "sealing" the house from pests, both insect and rodent as well as keep up the insulation factor around the home.
I know that isn't a clear cut answer, but there are a lot of variables at work here.
Lots of pest-related questions tend to pop up during home renovations. If you have any questions for us while you work your way through your projects, ask away! You can email your question to us
here.
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