Orlando Pest Control News

Heron Service Director is the Jeopardy Champ at Pest Management Workshop 4 years in a row.

Each year the University of Florida/IFAS Extension Education Center offers continuing education credits for licensed pest control operators.   Each year Celeste White and Tom MacCubbin, Extension Agent Emeritus, have a contest at the end of the class. The best of the best are challenged Jeopardy-style, and it is not pretty!  Tom MacCubbin can really turn up the heat. All contestants battle it out for prizes and bragging rights.

Winning, well, that’s an elusive prize set aside for only those with “the right stuff.” So it should come as no surprise to anyone that Steve Okros, Heron VP and Corporate Service Director has taken the gold, four years running! It’s true – no one else has been able to overcome Steve’s encyclopedic knowledge of our industry, although many have gone down trying.

Why should that matter to you? Steve oversees all the training at Heron Pest Control. He manages the company service manual, he orchestrates the build-out of the trucks, the size of the tips on the sprayers, the dimensions of the hoses, the ratio of nitrogen to potassium in our fertilizer, the frequency we swap from microencapsolates to desiccants in our pest control program, and so, so much more. You would not believe what Steve performs behind the scene s on your behalf!

You want Steve, four-time All-State Pest Control Champ, on your side. You want Steve losing sleep over our shrub care program. You want Steve examining your termite treatment with a clip board, a measuring stick, and a flashlight. You want Steve watching quietly while his Managers check in your technicians at 6PM on Friday from the back of the room. You want Steve holding his “customer care” meetings every month.
Go Steve!
Follow this link and scan down to page 4 to see Steve in action!

Question: I just moved into my new home here in Orlando, and I have a lot of small bugs with pinchers coming into my home.  I am not used to this.  Do they bite?  How do you stop them?

Steve Says:

The scary little bugs are called earwigs.  With all the rains we have recently had, many insects, especially earwigs are being driven into your home from areas adjacent to your home being over saturated with water.  They like to hide under anything they can find like door mats, shoes, mulch, newspapers etc.  Although their bite has never been proved serious, it is entirely uncomfortable.

You need an exterior application of insecticides and baits to keep the population down and stop them from coming inside your home.  The ones that are inside need to be treated.  The only good thing I can say about these bugs are they are seasonal.  Once the heavy rains slow down, so will the pressure to push them inside your home.  Either way, you need to have your home treated by a pest control specialist.

HERON EXPANDS FURTHER INTO EXISTING TERRITORY (SEPT. 09)

Heron acquires Bee Green Services
Heron Pest Control has acquired the assets and customer base of local competitor, Bee Green Services. Bee Green provides lawn care and shrub care services in the counties where Heron already has an impactful presence, and the caliber and scope of their program is compatible with ours.

“We are very pleased and excited to welcome James Whittaker as the newest member of the Heron family,” announced Joe Patti, Heron CEO. “His definition of customer care combined with his experience and technical expertise make this a great marriage.”

“The relationship James had with his customers” Joe continued, “is sacred to us. No changes, by company policy, can occur to pricing, scope of work, or frequency – unless they represent an improvement to the consumer. It is in this fashion that we demonstrate to these newest Heron customers our commitment to remain perfectly faithful to them.”

Rodney Lackey, Heron President, is quick to add that the company’s robust growth over the years has been completely organic until this point. “and that type of expansion” he continues, “cannot be sustained without the consistent delivery of a service to every customer that has real and indisputable value. There is no other way.”

Heron renews commitment to Volusia county youth baseball organization
Heron Pest Control is a proud supporter of youth organized sports, for all the obvious reasons. In past years we have pledged our support for several teams across many counties competing in both youth baseball and football.

In 2008 The West Volusia Americans (Ozone Division) were undefeated, and went on to become Division and State championships.

In 2009  they won the Dixie State Tournament Championship to qualify for the Dixie Baseball World Series, which begins July 31 in Enterprise, Alabama. It is the second straight State championship for the 13-year-old team, which went 4-1 with wins over Tampa, Okeechobee, West Seminole and Spring Hill. Frankie Martello won two games, while Troy Turner and Josh Lackey won one game apiece.

“You look at all the statistics” Says Joe Patti, Heron CEO, “and you see that a kid participating in these things during formative years goes a long way in preventing problems down the line, when the stakes start getting really high. We’re really happy to be involved in things like this.”

You can follow the link provided to read about the team, and perhaps lend your support to their effort as well.

http://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=wvyb

PCT MAGAZINE (MAY 2009) RANKS HERON 89TH LARGEST PEST CONTROL FIRM IN THE U.S.

Each year PCT Magazine examines all the Pest Control operations across the country, and compiles their “Top 100” list for publication. Heron first appeared on the list last year, in the number 100 slot. “Our consistent rise in the rankings” says Rodney Lackey, Heron President, “is continued validation that even in this economic climate, our model of superior customer service and stubborn insistence on creating substantive value during every contact point with our customers, is a winning philosophy.”

“Plus, there’s more there than meets the eye.” He continues. “For example, last year among our 99 other peers, we were the fastest growing in the country. This year, by a margin of just 1%, we took the number 2 slot nationally. That level of performance cannot be sustained by accident.”

“Further, our move of 11 slots up the ladder was significant. Only one other Pest Control firm in the rankings had a more substantial move than ours – and we’re watching the details closely in our home State of Florida as well, where in just 6 years we have become the 12th largest firm in the State.”

Heron Pest Control employs over 70 full-time men and women in Central Florida, and continues to add more positions on a regular basis to keep pace with its expansion. Your confidence in us continues to create opportunity for employment (and family healthcare coverage) during a time when State-wide unemployment rates and lack of affordable access to health care benefits are devastating to so many families.

QUESTION: I have recently bought a new home in Orlando and the back porch screen enclosure has a spider in every corner.  I believe they are black widows becuase they have the distinctive orange hour glass shape on the belly, but they are not black but brownish.  They also have eggs that have spikes on them.   I am concerned for my children if they are black widows.  Any suggestions?

ANSWER: These are Brown Widow spiders.  The spikes on the eggs is the indicator they are Brown Widows.  They are one of five types of widow spiders in America.  The other widow spider eggs will have a somewhat smooth, coarsely woven white to tan surface and is teardrop to spherical in shape.  The egg sac of the brown widow is beige to off-white in color and spherical in shape, but its outer surface has numerous distinctive pointed or spine-like projections like the ones you are seeing.  The venom of the brown widow has been reported as being the most lethal of the five species but on average they contain the least amount of venom per spider. Reactions to humans tend to be localized to the bite site, with systemic reactions restricted primarily to the young. 

In order to control spiders, you must treat them directly with a contact insecticide.  I would leave this to a professional.  If you do not kill the spider because of an incorrect treatment, it could send them foraging in the wrong direction…..inside your home.  An initial application will kill all your spiders and then a good preventative quarterly application will keep them away.  Until the bug man gets there, keep the kids away!!!!

Question: I have small bugs flying out of a window in my house. Are these termites?

Steve Says:

They could be!  One way to tell is by counting how many body segments the insect has.  If it has three body segments, it is probably an ant. If it has two body segments, it is likely termites eating at your home!  Either way, I recommend you have a professional come perform an inspection!

Question: I currently have a local Orlando pest control company taking care of my lawn care, shrub care and inside pest control. What is the difference between the rest of the pest control companies I see around Orlando?

Steve Says:

Most of the local pest control companies are the same in Orlando. When you get to the top five Orlando pest control companies you will start to see major differences from all the rest. First, go to the Better Business Bureau website and look at the top five Orlando pest control companies. Look at their grading score which will let you know how many complaints have gone unresolved. At Heron, we hold an “A” rating. Compared to some other pest control companies in Orlando, that says a great deal about us.

Angie’s List is another area for you to research. Angie’s List tracks thousands and thousands of contractors, coast to coast. Less than 4% of them have consumer reviews good enough to win them the Angie’s List “Excellence in Service” award. We won it for the Orlando market last year. No other pest control company in Orlando did.

Most pest control companies will not have a Service Consultant to their home within an hour or two for estimates like we do here at Heron. Heron is one of the only Orlando pest control companies that offers free termite monitoring with our pest control service. No other pest control company that I am aware of offers {crabgrass control in St. Augustine turf} like Heron does.

Most Orlando pest control companies do not have uniformed employees enduring background checks, bi-annual license checks to maintain a “safe driver” status and random workplace drug-screens. Most companies do not have fleet GPS systems in each vehicle to ensure the correct amount of time is spent on each property, delivering superior service.

Finding the differences in all the Orlando pest control companies can only be done by research. I encourage you to do just that. At Heron Lawn and Pest control, we can confidently say we are the best pest control company in Orlando.

Question: My neighbors refer to my St. Augustine lawn as “The Garden of Weeden” What can I do to get the weeds out of my lawn and keep them out?

Steve Says:

First you need to start with good lawn care cultural practices.  Water only when your grass needs it. Wait for the leaf blades to fold in half length wise and you see a blue gray haze to it. This is called the first sign of wilt. Then water 1 inch per watering.  Use any cylindrical cup or can to measure this.  This will moisten the whole length of your root system.  Excessive moisture will cause aquatic weeds to germinate, like dollar weeds and sedge.  Too little water will cause drought and dry weeds to germinate like Florida Pusley and Spurge.

Then you will need a good fertilization and pest prevention program to keep the grass thick and the bugs out so no dead areas appear.  When lawn care is not optimal, thin or dead areas appear and weeds will follow soon.  Once weeds are there, a Heron lawn care specialist can treat them with a post emergent weed control. This practice will kill existing weeds. A pre emergent applied correctly by a Heron lawn care specialist in the Fall and Winter will prevent your summer annual weeds from germinating from the start.

Last, keep your grass cut.  It sounds simple, but many people wait too long to cut their grass.  Once a week should take care of keeping the grass healthy. Letting it grow too long then cutting causes unwanted stress on the grass and slows growth allowing weeds to grow.

St. Augustine is an excellent grass to have in Central Florida for a thick, green lawn with minimal weeds, but taking care of it is not for the novice. For the best lawn care available in the Orlando area, request a free quote today.

Question: I have had several pest control companies in Orlando treat my grass over the years. My current company says they cannot be responsible for chinch bugs damage since they are resistant to pesticides. Are they kidding me?

Steve Says: It comes down to the pest control company and what products they are using to kill and prevent chinch bugs. The constant use of Synthetic Pyrethroids in low dose forms over the past 10 years by most Orlando pest control companies has made chinch bugs immune to this type of pesticide in Florida.

The newer neonicatinoids insecticides are working extremely well in killing and preventing chinch bugs. The problem for most Orlando pest control companies is that these products are extremely expensive. At Heron Lawn and Pest Control we only use these
products in our program for chinch bugs and lawn damaging insects. This allows us to keep providing a sod replacement guarantee to our customers. Request a quote from us and see what we can do for you.