WHY PEST CONTROL?

If you know me then you know that I cannot stand bugs. I am always asked the same question: How did you end up in this business? I’m very afraid of bugs and insects of all kinds. I have a great fear of cockroaches and spiders literally make me cry. On the other hand I don’t want to hurt anything needlessly. I’m the first one to take a roly-polie bug outside rather than kill it and I think those tiny pavement ants are cute. As for mice and wildlife, forget it. I want no part in trapping or hurting them. So how did I end up here? And why do I continue to work in this field?

The truth is my career in the pest control field happened completely accidentally. The previous place I worked had closed and I spent 10 months on the job hunt. I was picky because I knew that where ever I went I wanted that to be my final career. Let’s face it I’m not getting any younger! I found a position as a customer service rep for a local pest company. That sounded fairly harmless to me. Customer service, that’s answering the phone, scheduling appointments and posting payments, right? Wrong! I soon found that people would bring things in for me to look at. They wanted different types of bugs and insects identified. And for some reason, they always wanted to take the bug out of whatever container it was in so I could get a better look. Trust me, I can see just fine through that baggie/glass jar/plastic bowl, I promise. Because of this I had to learn about pests. I had to be able to tell the difference between different types of flies, roaches, beetles, etc. This meant I had to face my fears.

German Roaches of all ages

I remember being told that roaches had a ‘smell’ and I would always ask what they smelled like. I figured I should know in case I went into a restaurant or something. I wanted to know if I needed to turn around and leave. One of my technicians brought in a glue trap that was covered in roaches of all different sizes, in all different stages of development. He told me to smell the trap. “What?! I think not!”

Woolly Bear Caterpillar

But I needed to learn what the technicians meant when they would tell me they could smell the roaches. It took about 20 minutes, a few small screams and a tear or two, but I finally got my face close enough to smell them. And it’s true. They do smell, you will never forget what it’s like and there is no way to explain it. Everyone got a good laugh out of watching that. They also thought it was pretty funny when my manager wanted me to pet a Wooly Bear Caterpillar. That never happened.

Aside from the fun of learning about pests (I have become somewhat desensitized – although not completely) my current position offers me with new challenges. I work on the company web site, our social media sites, and other inbound marketing techniques. (this blog for instance)

The reason I’m in the pest control industry really comes down to two things:

• I love learning.
• I love a challenge.

I have learned more about pests than I ever thought I could handle. And I’m proud of how far I have come. I crave the challenge I get by maintaining our website and thinking of new ways to get Rapid Pest Solutions’ name out there. I am privileged to be able to work in a field I enjoy, at a job that I love. I have been lucky enough to work with amazing people and I have been trained by some of the best in the business.  I have tackled my fear of pests head on and I am able to enjoy the work I do. That is how I ended up in this business. If you’re interested in a career in the pest control industry, let me know. I can give you the ins and outs so you can decide if it’s the right place for you.