We are pleased to announce our Technical and Training Director for Pest Prevention, Phil (or as we all call him, “Doc”) Nichols, was awarded the 2011 Crown Leadership Award by Pest Control Technology & Syngenta Professional Products!!

This award recognizes individuals who have contributed to the development of the pest control industry and have established strong relationships with fellow business leaders, civic groups and customers in their local communities.

Doc is an expert in the pest prevention industry with over 35 years of experience. He helped introduce Termidor® to the US market in 2000 and is well-respected by professionals in the industry for his advancements in termite treatment and his extensive research and development of new pest prevention equipment.

Doc was presented with this prestigious award last Thursday, October 20th, at the National Pest Management conference in New Orleans.

Congratulations Doc!

A nationwide telephone survey of homeowners shows Florida is the worst state for bug problems, with Louisiana, Texas, California and Georgia close behind. The survey, conducted in June, shows a whopping 90 percent of homeowners said they have experienced an insect infestation of one kind or another. The most common invaders? Ants, termites and cockroaches.

While Florida placed No. 1 overall as the worst state for bugs, it also ranked third-worst for bed bugs, behind New York and California. The least amount of bug problems were reported in Washington, D.C. The next most favorable reports came from South Dakota, Connecticut, Idaho and New Hampshire.

The Zebra Longwing butterfly, Florida's official state "bug"

The top 10 buggiest states are:

1. Florida

2. Louisiana

3. Texas

4. California

5. Georgia

6. New York

7. Mississippi

8. Alabama

9. Missouri

10. South Carolina

Read more: Florida worst state for bugs

Think again. Bed bugs are no laughing matter… even though they played a role in NBC’s hit show “30 Rock” in November when Alec Baldwin’s character Jack had a bed bug infestation of his own. He was humorously ostracized at work, forced to take the subway instead of the company car and heckled by his coworkers for having “a bad case of the chew-daddies.”

While watching the Nightly News on NBC last night, another story ran on these little creatures. (Click here to view.) Turns out that the population of bed bugs has risen 500% in recent years and that one out of four hotel rooms has had an infestation.

From the National Pest Management Association’s site pestworld.org, below are some FAQ’s on bed bugs:

Why are bed bugs so hard to treat?
Bed bugs should not be equated with filth or sanitation problems – in hotels or in homes. Bed bugs are very elusive, transient and nocturnal pests. They can live for a year or more without eating and can withstand a wide range of temperatures. Bed bugs can be controlled with vigilance, constant inspection and treatment by a professional.

Why are bed bugs an issue for hotels, visitors and homeowners?
Bed bugs leave itchy, bloody welts on human skin. Once inside a hotel or home, bed bugs spread rapidly from room to room – through pipes, in vacuum cleaners, on clothing and luggage. In a hotel, bed bugs can even spread to neighboring rooms.

Are bed bugs just in beds?
Bed bugs are not just in beds. They can be in chair cushions, sofas, behind electrical outlets, cracks and crevices around baseboards, or even behind picture frames. In other words, they can live pretty much anywhere.

What can you do to protect yourself from bed bug infestations?
When staying at a hotel, inspect the mattress, bedding, headboard and nightstands thoroughly. And when returning from a trip, check your luggage and clothing.

My coworkers and I were swapping stories yesterday about kids and bugs and I was reminded of how fascinating these little creatures can be – not only to adults, but especially to children. Unlocking the door to a miniature universe of wonder can be as simple as just poking around under a rock or in the grass.

You and your little explorer can try these fun ideas, courtesy of Scholastic:

1. Plant a butterfly garden. In a sunny spot out of the wind, plant blooming varieties like geraniums and hydrangeas, plus plants that provide food for larvae such as Mexican milkweed. Find out what else the butterflies in your area need at butterflywebsite.com.
2. Listen! Catch a non-stinging insect that makes noise in a paper cup. Crickets and flies are good candidates. Cover the cup with waxed paper and hold it on with a rubber band. Now place your ear against the paper and listen.
3. Do the worker-bee waggle! Honeybees “dance” to communicate the location and distance of a nectar stash to the other bees. Talk with your kids about this fascinating communication, and then make up your own version.
4. Take an umbrella out on a sunny day. Place it open upside down under a leafy, low-hanging branch. Shake the branch like you mean it — then identify what lands in your umbrella with an insect book or online.

Tools for the Trade
These items will make your child feel like a real scientist:

• Butterfly net
• Tweezers (only for dead specimens)
• Observation jar (punch holes in the lid of a clean jar)
• Magnifying glass
• Notebook for recording thoughts and sketches
• Bug and spider identification book like Simon & Schuster Children’s Guide to Insects and Spiders (Simon & Schuster, $23; ages 9 to 12) or Don’t Squash That Bug: The Curious Kid’s Guide to Insects (Lobster Press, ages 4 to 8, $15)
• Click here to visit Massey’s bug database 

Massey provides pest prevention services for residential and commercial properties, but not all insects are harmful! Have fun exploring!

This weekend (April 9^th thru 11^th) is the perfect time to spring into gear and get a free, no-obligation inspection for Pest Prevention, Termite Protection, GreenUP Landscape Services (including renovation for freeze-damaged landscapes) and Irrigation Maintenance and save big!

There is no obligation to have one of our trained inspectors come to your home and provide you with a free home and lawn inspection. And to make the deal even sweeter, we are offering some AMAZING SAVINGS- this weekend only!

If you are interested in purchasing one of our great services – now is the time! Spring is here and these savings only happen once a year.

To schedule your free inspection for this weekend, click here or call us at 1-888-2MASSEY (262-7739) today!

Please share this exciting news with your co-workers, family, friends and neighbors that may be interested. Existing customers can take advantage of our Pass It On referral program and earn a Publix gift card for yourself AND every new Massey customer that you refer!

Jeff Buhler

You may remember our post a couple weeks ago about Ed Dougherty being promoted to Executive Vice President Consumer Services. Well, we’ve had a few more promotions that we just had to announce!

Jeff Buhler has been promoted to Executive Vice President of Landscape Services! Jeff was previously the Vice President of Operations at Middleton Lawn & Pest Control. We are very excited to welcome Jeff to Massey and look forward to the leadership that he will bring to our Landscape Services Division!

Paul Giordano

Paul Giordano has been promoted to Vice President of the PrevenTech Commercial Services Division. Paul was previously the Divisional Manager of our PrevenTech Commercial Services Division. We are confident he will keep providing outstanding service to our customers and strong leadership to our team!

Mike Swanson

Mike Swanson and Greg Kopplow have both been promoted to Regional Managers of our GreenUP East and GreenUP West Divisions, respectively. Greg and Mike were both Regional Managers at Middleton Lawn & Pest Control before joining the Massey Services family. Both bring extensive experience and expertise, and we’re lucky to have them on the team!

Greg Kopplow

We’re just so proud of our team that we couldn’t keep this information quiet! Please join us in congratulating them.

We are pleased to announce the promotion of Ed Dougherty to Executive Vice President of Consumer Services for Massey Services. In this role, Ed will oversee all residential Service Center operations.

Ed has been a pest management professional for approximately 26 years, and he has worked for Massey Services for approximately 18 years. Prior to assuming his new position, Ed has served as the Vice President and Division Manager for Massey Services’ GreenUP Division as well as Vice President and Regional Manager of the Central Florida and Georgia regions.

“Ed has consistently demonstrated his commitment to service excellence and the growth of our company,” said Tony Massey. “His contributions within Massey Services span all aspects of our company, from residential pest prevention to commercial service to lawn care and irrigation.”

Ed began his career in the pest management industry after he received his B.B.A. in Marketing from Eastern Michigan University in 1984. He completed the Harvard Business School OPM Key Executives Program in 2004. He remains involved in the Central Florida community through commitment to Junior Achievement, Leadership Orlando and Florida Citrus Sports.

Many pest service providers only service the interior and immediate exterior of their commercial properties.

To have a truly integrated pest program, a service should focus on identifying conditions, avenues and sources of pest activity. Many times these sources  can often be found away from the structure along property lines, plant bed areas, parking lot islands, trash collection areas and other property features. Inspecting these areas and putting into place corrective and preventive actions is critical to keep pests from getting in and coming back.

When selecting a pest service provider, be certain to look for one who takes these steps to assure the program is truly preventing pests and not reacting to them after they enter the structure.

To find out more about Massey’s PrevenTech Commercial Pest Prevention Program or to get a Free Pest Inspection, call us at 1-888-2MASSEY (262-7739).

Tips to prevent pests

Massey’s Pest Prevention Service is a customized service that identifies and eliminates the conditions, avenues, and sources of pest infestation in and around your home.

On the very first treatment, instead of blindly providing treatment to your entire home, Massey performs your first service in a very targeted way.

• We thoroughly inspect inside and out for pest colonies, avenues they may take and conditions that caused the colonies in the first place.
• We protect interior wall voids with a long-lasting dust
• We seal gaps that the pests use to gain access into your home and directly treat any individual nests that we uncover.
• We brush away and remove spiders and webs, wasp and dirt dauber nests from around windows and eaves.
• We prune away vegetation touching the home that serves as an avenue for ants and other crawling pests.
• We inspect and attempt to clean out some gutter debris and try and free up the main gutter drains.
• We dump standing water in cans, pots and kids toys to prevent mosquito buildup.
• We inspect and spot treat within a 50-foot radius surrounding the home or to the property line if it is less than 50 feet from the home.
• We even rotate the materials we use each month to prevent pest resistance. Our graduate entomologists and technical experts determine the best materials for use seasonally in your region and select the most effective baits for specific pests to keep them from bothering you.
• Most importantly Massey will make written recommendations to help even further in preventing your pests: We may recommend replacement of damaged door seals that allow roaches to enter or we may recommend pruning larger tree limbs off of the home or moving woodpiles from the foundation to the far edge of the property.
• Following the initial quarterly treatment we follow up in 7-10 days to ensure maximum pest prevention.

Massey’s goal is to provide the very best pest prevention services in our industry.
To find out more about our Pest Prevention Program, get a Free Pest Inspection or call us at 1-888-2MASSEY (262-7739).

If you just moved down from “Up North” you might not be familiar with fire ants. But just about everyone else “down here” is. First, be careful where you stand. What appears to be a nice, fluffy mound of dirt can, in fact, be a nest of fire ants.

Prevent Fire Ants on your Property.

Secondly, what’s with the name? They’re named “Fire Ants” because the pain from hundreds of cumulative stings feels like your skin is being set on fire. Ouch! The stings from fire ants are quite annoying, each one usually developing into a tight pustule that itches and burns. Unlike a bee that loses its stinger, each fire ant worker can sting again and again until it is brushed away. Sometimes, the sting site can get infected, so treat each wound carefully with appropriate medications. Persons allergic to bee and wasp stings should carry doctor-prescribed medication in advance of being stung to prevent anaphylactic shock.

Winged female fire ants can fly into a yard and land anywhere on the ground to begin another nest. Within a month or two, colonies rapidly build to up to a quarter million ants or more per mound. That’s because each mound can harbor multiple queens that are all prolific egg layers. A well-known fire ant researcher estimates that there may be approximately 2.5 million tons of living fire ants in the Southeast! Areas of the yard where kids and pets roam should be regularly scouted and treated for fire ants.

Fire ants will often try and enter your home through tiny cracks and gaps in the foundation or under door plates to gain access behind baseboards and walls, eventually locating food items inside the home.

If you think you have an ant problem, or want to learn about Massey’s Pest Prevention, schedule a Free Inspection, or call us at 1-888-2MASSEY (262-7739).