As a pest control/management company we are often asked a lot of questions and rightly so that is our business. I will admit, if you bring in a specimen try not to smoosh it to much. It really is difficult to identify a bug that was 1/4 inch and is now 1 inch – anyway the questions.

1. We have tried everything and still have scorpions what can we do?
2. If my neighbor in the apartment next to me has roaches or bed bugs will I get them?
3. My other bug company can’t seem to get rid of the bugs – what do you do different?
4. Why do we often notice dirt like castles or dirt on wood fences, why are termites more active in October?
5. I’m buying a house and everybody including HUD/FHA say I don’t have to have a termite inspection, do I need one?

Thse are all tough questions and some longer than others but I’ll try to answer them all. First off – you can always call the office 480-831-9328 and we will answer any question we can FREE – no nonsense and to the point. So let’s tackle these:

1. Scorpions are difficult to control but not impossible. The most important is to seal/caulk your home, start at one point and caulk everything facia boards, lights and seal any holes with copper wool and caulking and don’t forget inside fans, lights etc. Less entry points = less scorpions getting in. Bark scorpions can climb straight up the stucco to the attic so pay close attention to any small cracks or crevices. The block fence wall around your home is an ideal spot for all kinds of insects and scorpions hide during the day and come out at night. The block walls retain the heat well into the evening hours so you can go hunting at night with a blacklight and catch scorpions – reduce the numbers. As always ProBest can do this for you – just call 480-831-9328.
2. Well the bad news if you live in an apartment or condo or attached home it is possible for insects to travel and I think the number 1 way for roaches is pipes since they really connect to everyone. So seal off those pipe entrances in the back of the kitchen and bathrooms. Before I forget don’t bomb, when you use those aerosol devices it just drives the bugs deeper in! Bed bugs travel as well but not by pipes, they are so small they can enter under walls or hitch rides in backpacks, clothing and used furniture.
3. WE listen to your complaint and come up with a plan, we also have a specific way of doing pest control. Today unlike many years ago, it is not necessary to put pesticides in your home each month. Most work can be accomplished from the exterior, if or when you have a problem inside just bring it to our attention when we call and we will be happy to assist.
4. We have a few different termites here in the Arizona Desert, the ones you are noticing are called grass eaters and typically will scar over wood fences, sometimes they will eat the drywall paper and sometimes try to eat the dead bark from trees or cactus. Usually we don’t worry to much about these and thatwis why we protect your home and not everything in your yard.
5. I really don’t understand Hud/FHA at all on this one, their comment was that if you lived in an area that wasn’t highly prone to termites you could decide not to get the inspection. The bell map clearly shows Arizona in a High to Moderate zone – DON’T TAKE THE CHANCE, get an inspection

These guys have been painting top notch work (as usual), but nothing beats the last 10 seconds of this video. That bowl of what looks like Golden Grahams is actually a Korean delicacy; a helping of cooked roaches! Watchem’ take a spoon full with a straight face!

POSE & EWOK in KOREA – A Supervision Film. from Ironlak on Vimeo.

Care and Feeding of Your Pet Cockroach

With the growing resurgence of the roach population, I thought it only fitting that someone inform the public on the care and feeding of these creatures, since so many of us have them as pets in our homes.
1. Your pet roach will love you if you leave crumbs around for him. He can live for days on a tiny morsel of bread left uncleaned up in your kitchen.
2. If you forget to feed your roach, however, it is of no consequence, since a small family of roaches can live on a speck of dust or even the fibers in your carpet. They love cardboard and newspaper material too!
3. If you have a standard pet, such as a dog or cat, they will love you even more if you leave your standard pet’s food out for them! They’ll even eat it if the standard pet doesn’t!
4. Cat owners: Remember, roaches love cat poop too! So don’t clean the litter box and they’ll have a party in it!
5. Since roaches reproduce every 12 days, remember to make a spot that’s warm and has lots of sugar and water for the little ones! When they’re small, they need sugar to grow and plenty of water. Don’t leave any of that nasty roach powder around and you’ll have a whole colony in no time!
6. Remember that boric acid makes a roach hungrier, so make sure you don’t leave any out, or they’ll starve trying to eat!
7. Roaches are natural swimmers, so don’t hesitate to throw them in a nice sink or toilet full of water once in a while! Just remember not to flush!
8. Your roach will love you even more if you leave your bathroom sink running a trickle so they can have fresh water at all times! As long as there’s just a single drop, they can really enjoy it.
9. Leave cups of tea or soda sitting around unattended, too, since roaches love the sweetness of both and will jump in to get a taste!
10. Do not pet your roach to hard, since this disturbs their wings and can squish them!
Now that you have the basics, you know how to manage your roach with the utmost joy and glee! However, if you don’t want to keep your roaches happy, they’ll continue to live in your home anyway, since they were here before humans and can live off of anything!

- Talking to the baby roaches in your room is one thing. Actually thinking that they are cute? Now that is unforgivable. Even if they are tiny little ball-ish things with the cutest shiny backs and tiny fee…I have gone insane. I hate these things!

Well, not really these ones but..umm.

I hate roaches. And I must seriously be out of my mind to even be in the same room as one, let alone a whole bunch. Though they are tiny. But I just cannot kill these little ones, no matter how I try. They are so…cute. *groan*

I sure pick the strangest things to get emotionally attached to. This is all my mother’s fault. Somehow. I will have her deal with the little ones, when they are not as little and cute anymore.

- Watching old videos of 2PM, I have realized that JaeBum seemed a little more..pretty-ish with his longer mohawk-y hair. He just seemed more…docile, for lack of a better word lol.

Or maybe it’s just me, lol~ But goodness, his eyes are gorgeous. Lol.

He is going to be in every post of mine now. Just so you know. And yes, my room is that messed-up that it has baby roaches in it.

But first this months numbers 01-0031939, 01-0006790, 01-0036905 – if this is your account number please call our office

Top 7 Creepy Crawly Jobs – Pest Management is #2 ————— I love my job….

 1. Funeral Director, Median Salary – $46,000 Qualities that funeral directors must possess include a calm demeanor, having soothing words and paying close attention to detail. Their duties include ensuring that funeral services go smoothly, the coordination of transportation and the burial of the body. James Olson, owner of Lippert-Olson Funeral Home, says, “I don’t think of what I do as creepy. Being able to give a person the opportunity to grieve for their loved one is an honor.”

2. Pest-Control Worker, Median Salary – $35,600 Are you not afraid of spiders, rodents and roaches? Then you may make a perfect fit as a pest-control worker. This position requires training and certification by law.

3. Phlebotomist, Median Salary – $27,400 Job duties of a phlebotomist include drawing vitals of blood for medical tests, blood collection and donation. Phlebotomy work can be found at hospitals, neighborhood health centers, public facilities, HMOs, diagnostic labs and physicians’ offices. There is recommended training, education and certification programs offered through groups like the National Phlebotomy Association and the American Society of Clinical Pathologists.

4. Archaeologist, Median Salary – $47,200 Archaeologists regularly uncover human remains and ancient artifacts to discover more about our ancestors. The job involves history and working outside. A bachelor’s degree can get your foot in the door with an entry level position as a research assistant or a writer. However, a PhD offers the best employment opportunities.

5. Theatrical Makeup Artist, Median Salary – $44,300 Theatrical makeup artists recreate anything from a gashed lip to a missing eye to five freshly burned fingers. This job offers the benefit of a flexible work schedule; however the hours can be grueling at times. The greatest number of makeup artists work in Los Angeles and New York City. A college degree is not always required although a state cosmetology license is.

6. Night Security Guard, Median Salary – $28,700 According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, this field is expected to grow 17 percent through 2016. A license is required in most states to be a security guard. However, if the job requires carrying a gun then there’s more training and licensing needed. Greater exposure to danger can increase earnings like working at a nuclear power plant or weapons installation.

7. Sewer Pipe Cleaner, Median Salary – $35,900 Would you like to work in a cramped, smelly and somewhat creepy place? Well if you do then you might have a career as a sewer pipe cleaner. They work in the cities’ massive sewer systems. It’s easy to get started as on the job training is common in this profession.

 I attended the almost week long event and over the next few weeks I’ll share some of what I took away. But first – Ok normally I don’t get all into celebs but this show is right up my alley. As you probably know Seth and I went to the National Pest Management Conference in Las Vegas last week. I had the chance to talk with Mike Masterson from the show Verminators and this company Iso- Tech Pest Management from California is what Pest Management is really about, no-nonsense and get the job done right. Honest and Ethical all the way.

Just a down to earth guy – we talked for about 20 minutes and he really listened and commented on what I was talking about. Watch the show it’s very good – The Verminators (the only problem for me is that it is on at 10 pm) my buddy Bryan tapes it for me and the rest of my team at ProBest.

So I had to share with everyone my signed copy of the show and the characters. Wooh Who!!!!

http://www.isotechpest.com

We’ve got it!  The Fisherman & I will celebrate 7 years of living on St. Croix November 4th.  Seven years ago we decided to take a chance.  It was easy back then.  No kids.  No “real jobs” (although my employer at the time might argue against that).  Nothing to tie a couple of twenty-somethings down.  We packed 4 bags total (mine had curtains in them), loaded up the Rodeo, drove to Florida with a 3lb Yorkie

(may she rest in peace), put the car on a ship and got on a plane (with a 3lb Yorkie). 

And never looked back.  I don’t think I could do that now.  It was our age.

Regardless, we said we would give it a year.  A year came and went…and so did two…and three…and so on.  We partied hard those years before kids.  This was OUR island.  Now, raising a family on our tropical land mass, we are experiencing a new St. Croix that we love just as much.  And we still find time to party.

All that mushy lovey stuff being said, YES!  I miss Texas.  YES!  It is harder than hell to live here.  YES!  I miss my family.  YES!  I miss all the convenience that comes with living stateside.  YES!  I miss the seasons.  YES!  I miss Target.  YES! I miss central A/C.  But would I give up what I have here  and move back???  Well, that all depends on the circumstance.  The Fisherman and I discuss it quite often, actually.  Its kind of hard for him to fish in Central Texas.  And fishing outfits are a dime a dozen in Florida.  He’d be a little fish in a big pond. Oh, and not sure where we would get the million dollars to buy a boat to compete on the banks of Florida.  And, I am quite certain that if (or when) we move back to the states, I would find just as much stuff to bitch about and miss living the good live in STX.

Here are a few honest truths I have learned about living on St. Croix…for the past seven, SEVEN years.  Remember, these pertain to MY (The Holley Household) lifestyle on STX; if you are currently a resident you may agree, disagree and have your own set of realities.  In no particular order, Here Goes:

• Conserve water, food and electricity.  Only flush after #2.  Turn off the fans and lights if you are not in a room.  WAPA will eat you out of house & home.  Food costs are high and the quality is low.  Make every bite count.
• Everything costs more (see above).
• Roaches & rats live in paradise, too.
• Always greet people with Good Morning (MOOR’ NIN), Good Afternoon (or AFTA’ NOON), and Good Night (as a greeting, not something you say when you leave, Texans).  And you don’t even have to be particulary cheerful about it.
• Never go grocery shopping on the 1st or 15th of the month.
• Plan on visiting 2-3 grocery stores to complete your grocery list.
• Enjoy every minue at the beach.  Most people dream of “this lifestyle”.
• You can have an open container (of an adult beverage) in your vehicle AND even be drinking it, but you MUST, I repeat, YOU MUST have your seatbelt on. (and not be talking on the phone).
• Centipedes are a f’in way of life.
• Plan on at least a full  8 hour day when dealing with a government office. Drivers license, registering your car, business license, taxes…
• Mongoose like to fight with iguanas.
• Coconut wata’ does not taste good.
• Bananas from my yard at the best!
• Never sleep under a coconut tree.
• Forcast for the past seven years has been Sunny, 88 degrees with a 10% chance of rain.

On my St. Croix, Today is the same as yesterday, and tomorrow will be the same as today.

The days are long, but the years are short.  Seven years have flown by.

Let’s give it another year.

footnote:  Thought you would enjoy this flier my M.I.L helped me put together for our “scouting trip” to STX.  We thought were so cool.  Can’t wait for our kids to see this a appreciate it:

There is something compelling about this photo to me. It has some kind of poignancy I can’t ignore. It could be the circumstance behind it and the fact that I know that the photo is candid and her actions and expression are genuine. I can’t put my finger on it yet. Let me know if you have the answer.

I was 22 years old when I got married. It was fall of senior year when we got engaged and we were right out of college when we got married. I always thought that’s how life worked. I come from a long line of young marryers. It never really occurred to me until freshman year of college that most people didn’t get married right after graduation. Up until that point, I was quite naive. I thought I’d go to school and get a degree that wouldn’t matter because I wouldn’t work for long anyways and meet the man I was going to marry.

I went to school. I got a degree that doesn’t really matter because I’m doing something that isn’t even closely related to my major. And I met my husband. Yep, I got an MRS.

Let me just say this. Marrying young is not for everyone. Marrying isn’t even for everyone. So please don’t think that I think my way is THE way. With that being said, let me add this: Marrying young IS for me. Of this I’m sure.

I forgot what it was like to be single. Stephen and I have been married a little over 2 years. Some days it feels like it has flown by, other times it seems like much, much longer. We’ve shoved a lot into those two years and all of that stuff seems to push away the old memories. What was my life like back then?? I can’t remember what it’s like to live with a girl. I can’t remember life without stacks of bills. What did I do in the evenings before marriage? What did I eat for dinner every night before I had to cook food for a man who required meat in every meal and didn’t think soup was food? I can’t remember.

Now that it’s Thursday, I can tell you that Stephen has been out of town since Monday. I chose not to share these details with you incase you happened to be a hatchet murderer and wanted to break into my house and steal my 30″ television or my collection of DVD’s from the $5 bin at WalMart while I just stood there helplessly yelling for my husband and while Rookie peed all over the floor. But he’s back now, so set your sights on someone else’s copy of Mr. Deeds.

Anyways, I must admit that when I found out he’d be gone I got slightly excited. He left on Monday around noon and got back last night at an hour that I don’t want to speak of. Monday evenings I go to Bible Study so we don’t really spend much time together anyways. Tuesday I watch The Biggest Loser so that means there is a two hour slot in which he’s not allowed to speak to me. So it seemed that Wednesday would be the only time I’d notice he was gone. That and the fact that our bed is colder, I wouldn’t get hit in the face in the middle of the night, and nobody would be there to pop my toes. But sometimes it’s nice to be alone. It’s nice to have total control over the remote. It’s nice to be able to sit and read with the television off! I pumped myself up to have a Chelsea-centered three days.

Monday night I slept like a baby. A full night! That just never happens to me. I woke up on Tuesday morning and thought, “Uh oh! It must be Stephen’s fault that I can’t sleep through the night.” While that may be partially true, it’s not entirely. I slept a total of 3 hours on Tuesday night. I am the only one to blame for that!

I planned to eat dinners that Stephen doesn’t really care for. Salad, grilled cheese with tomato soup, and more salad. I had high hopes for myself and my decision making. But it turns out, when someone isn’t watching me, I don’t make great decisions. Monday night I had a Totino’s pepperoni pizza, Tuesday I had Velveeta Shells & Cheese, and last night I had a cheeseburger and small fries from McDonald’s. I am currently hanging my head in shame. I need accountability!

In the almost two years we’ve lived in that house, I’ve probably seen only 3 roaches. That is a big deal since we live in a neighborhood full of trees and surrounded by water. Roaches like it around here, but for some reason they have stayed away from Hurst Castle. Of course the first night my husband is gone, a roach shows up in my living room. I’ll have you all know that I killed it all by myself! Granted it was the size of a nickel, but it was still crunchy. I considered putting a pot over it like I used to do in college but since our living room floor is made from thin tiles, I figured the little goober could get out through one of the indentions from the grout.

Three days without my husband has made me realize that the single life is just not for me. I can’t handle it. I guess there was a part of my brain that was screaming “This chick needs a man!!” throughout my life. I may be terrible at accounting and world history, but I got a degree in the area I am good at!

What started off as great weather on the drive down – cold but sunny with patches of blue – it turned out to be a day of a 1 lead and 1 solo each. Put it this way it took over an hour for my toes to defrost on the journey back to Penny’s house.

With a midday start we’d missed the best part of the day – I blamed getting stuck behind a trail of vintage cars doing about 15 MPH. I started off on Easy Gully Wall (on Roscoe’s Wall area – upper tier) only a S 4a. Nothing much to report although at 20m felt like a decent outing with a pleasant mixture of manoevres – nothing too taxing and decent gear. Pen then led Hangman’s Crack another S 4a – but to me as a second the move into the crack seemed a little tricky and exposed so a better route overall. We’d both eyed up Crack and Corner a S 4c, one which I’ll return to on another trip. By that time the weather had come in, fine drizzle and frozen fingers and toes so we soloed an easy Diff ‘The Rib’ before escaping.

A drive back to Pen’s followed by evening with Newton Faulkner ;o).

How the West was Lost…

Yes, Barack.  You did.

Again, her unpretty song beats a rhythm to match the gaping gorge at the core of my being. She’s leading the dance there, too. The lil’ biatch!

I’ve heard tell of the folk that, in the grip of this malaise, fully believe they are dying (right now as opposed to eventually), and so they call an ambulance. I really, really understand that one.

But see, I’m still standing. Not falling over, no slurred words or nausea. Just the sensation of my heart torn asunder with a crowbar wedged firmly down the middle.

Funny thing – I can still move about like anybody else, as if there’s nothing at all the matter! Peculiar and more peculiar.

Tried walking it out, working with my breathing, and consciously relaxing, but no, it’s not done yet. Not yet. Better today than last night, though.

Off the tram and walking the longer way home last night, I was crying over nothing. Stupid TV show with the sad music didn’t help matters either. Instamatic tears, just cue song.

I remember how it used to work – wrap it all in a gossamer ball and float in a fairy floss bubble so the bumps don’t hurt so bad. Rinse, repeat and then wait.

My problem right now is, can’t seem to find those Elvin weavers, my helpful Maestros of Magical Protection.

So I’m just left to deal with the Panic Attack Fairy all on my own! Luckily she’s a little vagabond and eventually passes through…

The good news though – she ain’t got the same shock and awe impact these days… mostly. But still, she leads the smackdown with enough force that, if I didn’t know any better, I might begin to wonder… and it’s almost like I’ve forgotten my previous defensive manoeuvres.

I dunno, I dunno!

So my question… is this just a spectre? An echo? Remnants of what has been, perhaps? Or, like when you fumigate and get most of the roaches, is some of my stuff lurking, packed between the floorboards? Lessened and dormant, biding time for an opportunity to multiply?

Sure, I’m stronger now and I can see the whole process more clearly. Generally speaking, of course.

But I think my stress-o-meter’s constantly on a hair-trigger now, and maybe that doesn’t help?

I mean she’s never in-your-face obvious. There’s sneakiness involved. And slithering seeping creepiness, slipping through closed doors, under pillows and behind eyelashes. Seeking, slinking, and it’s like I can sense the turbulence before she arrives.

Seems I have a kind of PA Fairy radar. A PAF radar? A PA Fradar? Who are you A Fradar? Haha…

Look that’s great and all, but still, there’s no seatbelt to fasten, no emergency bracing position. Just… do I have enough protection to cope?

As she takes little pieces, tiny sacrificial slices, just milligrams here and there, but with a vice-like grip that once connected keeps on tearing, til its time.

~Svasti

Last month, my husband and I moved into a beautiful Arizona home.  It is probably the nicest place I have ever lived since leaving the comfort of my high school home.  From high school, I went to college, where I lived in a dorm for a year.  For the next two years, I lived in an apartment in a 12-story building which was full of dirty college students.  You don’t even want to know what that trash room smelled like, though our apartment was reasonably clean.  My last year in college, I lived in a very old house with 9 other people, some of which had very questionable cleaning habits.  After college, I moved in with my husband (then fiance) into an apartment with very cheap rent and neighbors whose dog peed on me everytime I saw it.  They didn’t really seem to think it was a big deal…luckily for the dog, it was always on my work jeans which smelled like old food and stale beer because I was bartending/serving at the time.  We didn’t live there for long, and we moved into a townhouse, which was decent.  We lived there for 3 years together.  Then my husband got a job across the country, and I moved into an apartment in a brownstone home in Philadelphia.  The place was awesome, but very, very old.  Then after moving in with my friends and my mom temporarily, we moved into the wonderful house we live in now in Arizona.

The reason I went through this detail living history is because out of all of the place I have lived on my own, about half of them had the potential to be true roach motels, but it is only the nicest one that has ever had cockroaches.  It wasn’t the huge college apartment complex, or the 200 year old row home in Philadelphia.  Nope, it’s this great house that we otherwise love.

Since August, I have been at war with the roaches.  We’ve had at least two species – the big creepy ones in our bathroom, and the small ones in our kitchen.  There may be more than one species of small ones.   To qualify the problem, it’s not that bad.  It’s not like everytime you open a cabinet, 10 roaches come flying out at your face, so don’t be afraid to come and visit.  They only come out after around 11 pm.  Some nights I see none, other nights, I’ll see a few.  Below is a summary the arsenal I have against the roaches…

Methods that don’t do shit

Killing individual roaches – while this method makes you feel like you are actually doing something and can be quite emotionally satisfying, for every one you see, there are 1000 others inside your walls spawning.

Raiding your house – Raid does nothing but make your house smell like a toxic wasteland.  It will kill an individual roach in a very slow and painful way, but it smells so bad that the roaches avoid wherever you sprayed.  All you are really doing is giving you and your pets lung cancer.

Roach motels – those little stick-up things with holes the roaches can crawl into.  The people who lived here before left like 60 of them stuck up in the kitchen, and clearly, they did not work at all.  I think all they do is attract roaches into our cabinets.

Geckos – I have found a number of small geckos in our house, but they don’t seem to even put a dent in the roach population.

Cat – The cat shows no interest in the roaches, but sure likes to eat the geckos.

Obsessively cleaning your house*** – this will make you feel like you are doing something productive, but roaches will eat ANYTHING.  If you already have them, unless you douche everything in bleach before you go to bed, they will find and eat the tiniest, tiniest little crumb.  I found one eating a solitary crumb off of the dining room table.  Martha Stewart couldn’t clean a kitchen well enough to make a roach starve.

Methods that seem to do shit

Professional exterminator – this actually did work.  It got rid of the large cockroaches in our bathroom entirely, but did not work so well for the small cockroaches in the kitchen.  A drawback is that it’s relatively expensive, and he would probably have to come back a few times to eradicate them and some of the chemicals they use are very dangerous for you and your pets.

Boric acid – ask your grandma how she kills ants and she’ll tell you to mix Borax with powdered sugar.  Boric acid is a powder that is not terribly toxic to humans or pets, but deadly to roaches.  It has no odor, and supposedly tastes OK, so roaches don’t avoid it like they do Raid.  A light dusting on countertops and in cabinets lets roaches walk through without noticing it, then they clean the powder off of themselves and die.  Because it doesn’t kill them instantly, they carry it bad to their nest and kill everyone else too.

I am confident in the Boric acid method.  After the first night, I found like 4 carcasses…who knows how many more there are that died where I can’t find them.  I have been seeing less and less alive ones and more carcasses.  Online sources say it can take up to a month to work fully, but that it can eradicate the whole population.  Because I am extremely impatient and can’t passively sit by for a month while this works, when I do see a roach, I douche it in boric acid powder so it can carry it back to it’s nest.

I think after all of them are gone, I will caulk up all of the crack around the cabinets and countertops just to be super safe…but I want them gone first!

***I still obsessively clean the kitchen.  The reason I put an asterisk next to “Obsessively cleaning your house” is because this is a good roach prevention method, but not necessarily a good eradication method.  If you take out the trash often, don’t leave crumbs or dirty dishes around, roaches will be less enticed into your home.