Pest Control Pro - Steve Jackson

Let’s face it, the pest control industry has a lot of customers looking for the lowest price. Some of these customers can be combative when they feel they’re being charged too much. In this episode, Bryan and Steve give suggestions on how to deal with these potential customers.

In addition, Jody Green gives us some insight on what it’s like to assist individuals suffering moderate to severe cases of delusory parasitosis.

Should you use the same profile pic for all your social media platforms? Find out on episode 20 of Webster Wednesday!

For episode 100, Bryan and Steve enlist the help of Dr. Jody Green and Daniel Dye. With all the new products flooding the market, Jody gives us advice on how to determine which products best suit our individual needs.

Daniel Dye talks about the relationship between rain and exterior treatments and how to communicate with customers who might be concerned with potential rainfall.

Daniel also shares some of his experiences in becoming an Associate Certified Entomologist.

Thanks to both Jody and Daniel for helping make this landmark episode an informative one!

For episode 19, Patrick and Steve talk about the best ways to respond to good, bad, ugly, and illegitimate business reviews. You won’t want to miss this one.

For episode #99, Bryan and Steve discuss the three biggest reasons German cockroaches would avoid gel bait. They also share stories about elevator pit infestations and Steve’s recent cricket infestation.

In addition, Bryan introduces his ACE Challenge. He’ll be interviewing PCOs about the victories and challenges they face while preparing for the ACE exam.

Steve’s Notes:

German Cockroach Bait aversion: Is when the target pest avoids the bait, or more commonly, consumes a non-lethal dose.

Why roaches would avoid a bait. In no particular order:

1. Learned behavior
   1. If a roach ingests a non-lethal dose of bait and they sense something is going wrong, they could regurgitate it, consume lots of water or eat a different food source to dilute the toxicant or push it through the body faster. After they weather the storm, they’ll make a mental note to avoid that stuff.
2. Taste
   1. A common roach-bait ingredient is corn syrup. Corn syrup is sweet, it has a lot of glucose and fructose, which are simple sugars. Roaches generally love sweets because they have lots of carbohydrates. However:
   2. Some roaches are what they call glucose-averse. We don’t know for sure if glucose actually tastes bitter to a glucose-averse roach, but we do know that glucose triggers their bitter receptors. When this type of roach stumbles across sugars, it runs in the opposite direction.
   3. Roaches could be avoiding the type of proteins, inert ingredients.
3. Nutrition – At different stages, roaches need different ratios of nutrients.
   1. German cockroaches are survivors. If need be, their bodies can overcome nutritional shortcomings. Just one of many examples is that if there’s a lack of protein available, roaches can conserve uric acid. If, however, their nutritional needs can be met through some additional foraging, they’ll seek out the food source that will give them the nutrient(s) in need. Which caught me off guard, because I’m from the school that good bait placement is all you need. I thought roaches would feed off of the first food source they stumbled across, but that’s not always the case.
   2. So to combat that, manufacturers try to find ways to either compliment the roaches current diet by offering materials not readily available, or be able to “out-compete” the other foods available. Here’s where it gets tough. Not only do manufacturers have to come up with a food matrix the roaches will choose over other available foods, they have to be able to put it in a tube, ensure it will withstand moderately hot and cold temperatures, stay pliable for a decent amount of time (it would get too hard, too fast), make sure the different ingredients don’t separate , etc.

For the latest edition of Webster Wednesday, Steve explains how to use the websites of your competition to grow your pest control business.

Step 1. Use a website analysis tool

The really good website analysis tools charge a monthly fee, but you can find a few of the premium ones that offer a free trail period.

has generated. Analysis tools can also tell you what search queries were used by viewers to discover the page.

Once you get signed up and registered with one of these tools, it’s just a matter of entering your and the competitions’ website addresses. Most tools allow room for five or more competitors.

 

Step 2. Analyze the Data

For sake of the podcast, let’s focus on posts that generate high page views by readers looking for information that is touched on, but not the centerpiece of the page. For example, let’s say you find a competitor webpage titled “The Differences Between Black and Brown Widows”. Let’s also say that within the article, the venom potency is briefly mentioned. During your research, you discover over half the readers of the post, found the page while searching for “Are Black or Brown Widows More Venomous”.

Knowing that a large number of people that visit your competitors page are looking for answers to black and brown widow venom questions, you can build a page specifically for that topic.

Step 3. Build a Better Alternative

Make a page titled “Black or Brown Widows – Which is More Venomous?”. Write a post that cites studies made by people with PHDs, link to a whitepaper or two that support your claims, use original photos that have never been posted to the internet. Basically, make a page that answers the question thoroughly. If you do a good job, Google will reward you.

How does a post about spider venom generate business?

Although you MAY pick up a customer or two that stumble upon your blog post, the real prize will be in the area of business rankings. When Google sees your website as a trusted and credible source, the search engine will be more likely to bump your website above your competitors.

Hope that helps!

On this episode, Bryan and Steve discuss a new extortion tactic used against small businesses, Bryan reviews ActiveGuard Mattress Covers. The guys also chime in on weed in the workplace.

The pest control industry recently lost a legitimate “Hall of Famer”.

For episode 97, Michelle Senner reflects on her father’s pest control legacy.

Truly Nolen was far ahead of his time. He adopted “Green Pest Control” in the 1970’s, helped change public perception of our industry, and displayed several acts of marketing genius.

Huge thanks to Michelle for sharing a part of her father’s story!

We skipped a week or two, but we’re finally back. This week, Patrick and Steve talk about creative ways grow your business through the use of email.

This week, we have a treat! Frank and Sandy Honess (founders of Ladybug Pest Management) are best known for their highly trained and certified bed bug scent detection beagles, Daisey, Dolley and Dixie.

Join them and the Arthropodcast team as they discuss K9 certifications, training, inspection techniques, and much, much more.