Venus Pest Company Blog-Category-Misc

Good Thing It Ain't The Newman 9!

service@venuspest.com — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:43:00 GMT

Venus Pest Company was recently awarded a Newman 10 award for being one of the 10 fastest growing businesses in the Brazos Valley. The Newman 10 awards are presented by the Bryan chapter of Rotary International and aims to promote local businesses and highlight their successes.

We had a very exciting year last year where we saw our momentum really build and our company grow inside and out! Certainly to be recognized as one of the 10 fastest growing businesses is a great honor for us. We also received this award two years ago and narrowly missed our window last year, so we’re very pleased to be back up there.

The organizers of the awards ceremony did not notify the winners as to where they placed between 1 and 10 prior to the event. So, you actually go to the awards ceremony not knowing where you rank, aside from being in the top 10. As they started the countdown at 10, Venus Pest Company came up first as the number 10 fastest growing business in the area. When I asked Dr. Scott what he thought about it later, he quoted another employee of ours and said “Well, at least it ain’t the Newman 9!”

We are extremely pleased and proud of our team and are ready to keep rocking this year! Who knows where we’ll rank next year as we continue to expand…don’t forget we now have a Venus Pest Company location serving the Dallas area!

Congratulations to all the other winners of the Newman 10 awards this year!

Brazos Technology
The Ground Crew LLC
Brazos Valley Hearing Services
Chrome: A Salon Experience
Ed Slovacek CPA
JB Knowledge Technologies, Inc.
Fifth 'C' Fine Jewelry
Expressions Dance and Music
Ashford Square Realty LLC
Venus Pest Company

There Once Was A Girl Named Venus

service@venuspest.com — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 10:08:00 GMT

There once was a girl named Venus

Who couldn’t believe she had seen us.

She cleared her eyes and shook her head,

But sure enough, the shirt still read…

Venus!

Much to our own surprise as well,

Was she serious, we could not tell?

Winking her eye, her smile was rye,

Her name could no longer be denied…

Venus!

Ok, so I’m not the best poet, but it’s hard to rhyme with Venus without entering some dangerous territory!

This poem is based on a true story however, and worth mentioning. We recently attended an open house ribbon cutting ceremony for Red Mango Frozen Yogurt here in College Station. Their specialty is non-fat, all natural varieties of frozen yogurt. With our own focus on healthy, green living we like to support other companies that feel the same. If you haven’t heard of Red Mango, or tried one yet, they have locations everywhere and are definitely worth checking out!

They day of the ribbon cutting, they had their founder, CFO, and other managers from different locations in to help out and join the celebration. One of the managers in from Dallas was none other than the very lovely Venus Basaran, pictured above. When Dr. Scott and I introduced ourselves, she really did have a look of surprise on her face and finally asked if the name of our company really was Venus Pest Company. So, of course I had to confirm whether or not her name was really Venus because I’ve never met anybody named Venus before, and I thought Venus was obviously a very unique name. How many times can you say Venus in one sentence?

All I know is I’ve never met anybody named after millions of other companies, but Venus Pest Company has one…or are we named after her? Either way, pretty cool!

They’re Swarming! Termites That Is.

service@venuspest.com — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 17:22:00 GMT

Even though it’s still cool in the mornings, Spring is in full swing! That means a lot of different things; the birds are chirping more and more, half of us can hardly breathe due to allergies, and all the insects and other critters are all moving about working on mating rituals and the like. We’ve talked about this before with carpenter ants specifically, but one of the mating rituals that can really become a nuisance to us and our property is swarming termites. Seeing a swarm near your home could indicate that there are termites present at your property.

In early Spring, colonies of subterranean termites that are healthy enough to produce reproductive members do so in preparation of their mating season. These “winged” members of the colony all take to the sky (or your living room) looking for suitable mates from other colonies that have also taken to the sky. They meet in the air, break off their wings, mate, then find a new home to start a colony. Certain conditions will trigger this annual event, and we’ve already received a bunch of calls to prove that it’s already happening this year.

Subterranean termites can be found throughout most of the country, but are heavily concentrated in the Southeast. It can be quite intimidating to witness one of their swarms as they could number in the thousands. Different species of termites, like Formosan termites, swarm later in the year and will swarm at night. Subterranean termites swarm during the day and the swarmers are essentially harmless, unless they find a mate and start a new colony…then you’re obviously talking about some potential damage. It’s estimated by the National Pest Management Association that termites cause over $5 billion in damages per year in the United States alone.

If you believe you’ve seen swarming termites around your house, the best thing to do is call a proper professional for an inspection. There are ways to identify termites and differentiate them from flying ants, but unless you’re experienced enough and confident in your identification skills, it’s best to leave it to a professional pest management company. If an infestation is found, typically the cost of an inspection will be backed out of any treatment costs that you may incur. The picture to the right shows an ant on the left and two termites on the right. You can see differences in their body shape, the color and shape of their wings, antenna, and more.

You can always call Venus Pest Company with any questions about swarming termites and termite control.

Who is Clement C. Mouse?

service@venuspest.com — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 03:16:00 GMT

If you don’t remember the story of Clement C. Mouse, allow me to reahash it for you.

One dreary morning in Fall 2009, a shrill scream could be heard throughout a quiet neighborhood in College Station, TX. It was the scream of a frightened woman as she opened her shower curtain to find a live killer mouse staring back at her from inside her tub! A quick call to Venus Pest Company and Dr. Scott was out there with his rubber boots and haz-mat suit ready for the no-good scoundrel.

Ok, it wasn’t really a killer mouse, it was more cute than anything, but it still scared her and needed to be dealt with! It didn’t really require a haz-mat suit either for the record. Nevertheless, even though the little fella scared her half to death, she made us promise not to kill him. Why would you call a pest control company and ask them not to kill the pest? Well, it made us scratch our head too, but we aim to please. So, one mouse rescue later and Venus Pest Company now had a pet mouse.

We held a contest to name our new friend on myBCS.com and received a ton of hilarious entries for naming. See the results and some of the other names from our mouse naming contest that ran on myBCS.com. The winner was Clement C. Mouse for the obvious double entendre since we spared his life on what would have normally been his execution day. A very gloomy scenario for most rodents indeed, but not this guy, not that day!

So we thought we’d share updated pictures. Clement C. has probably tripled in size since we brought him back to the office and seems very comfortable. He loves time in his play ball so he can roll around the office, although he seems to increase his size and frequency of poops by about 600% while he’s in there. His favorite food is sunflower seeds - he’ll dig through an entire pile of other fresh food to get to those sunflower seeds. Then, top of it off with a raspberry yogurt treat!?!? Are you kidding me, a mouse at a pest control company living like…well, Dr. Scott!?

I will sign off with a request of my own; please don’t call us to come save mice from your house for purposes of keeping them around. We’ll call this a one-time special offer! That said, we are more than happy to take care of any of your mouse and rat control needs.

All We Are Saying Is Give Bees A Chance

service@venuspest.com — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:01:00 GMT

People usually think of honey when they think of honey bees, but did you know that honey bees are also responsible for around 80% of all plant pollination? Around 1/3 of the human diet comes either directly or indirectly from insect-pollinated plants, thus conservation of honeybees is vital to our way of life. Interaction with bees is a necessary part of human life, so understanding what they are doing will go a long way towards helping us all get along! Below are answers to a few of the questions our clients most often ask about bees.

Where did all these bees come from?

This is a common question during early spring, like right now, or late fall. There are very few available sources of nectar for bees during these times, so their foraging may be ultra-concentrated on the few flowering plants or sometimes even soda cans. Fortunately, foraging bees are rarely a threat, they are simply gathering nectar or pollen to take back to their colony, which could be miles away. If bees are frequent visitors to your garden, use these helpful tips to avoid being stung.

Wear protective clothing when working in your garden and flowerbeds - long-sleeve shirts, gloves, long pants, closed-toed shoes, and hats.
Avoid wearing brightly colored clothing and using sweet smelling perfumes.

Do not leave sugary drinks unattended outside.

Securely close the lid on your trash can, honey bees can be attracted to sugary residues in the container.

When should I worry about bees?

If you notice bees entering or and exiting a hole into your house or other structure, there may be a colony in that structure. Honey bees will aggresively defend their colonies. With as many as 50,000 bees in a colony and Africanized bees in our area (aka Killer Bees), it is best to contact a pest managment professional and avoid the area.

Another time to be concerned is if you see a swarm on your property. A swarm is easily noticeable by the large number of bees stuck together in a tight ball. Swarms most often occur in late spring and can be found anywhere from on the ground to in a tree. Bees swarm to establish a new colony when their old colony becomes too large, or the queen's health or reproductive ability begins to deteriorate. The bees are non aggressive during a swarm, which lasts one to two days until they find a suitable place to build their hive.

You don't want a swarm to build a hive on your house, so it's best to contact a pest management professional. Venus Pest Company will usually re-locate swarms if possible. Unfortunately, swarms must sometimes be destroyed.

What if I am attacked by bees?

Although you are more likely to be killed by lightning than by honeybees, knowing what to do if attacked can greately reduce the number of stings.

Protect your face with your hands, bee stings may cause swelling around your eyes and impede your vision

Quickly get away from the colony to a safe, enclosed space. This can be inside a house or a vehicle.

Seek immediate medical attention if:

o You are allergic to bee venom

o You are experiencing difficulty breathing

o You have been stung repeatedly

Do not wave your hands around. Bees are attracted to motion and will sting you more!

Do not jump in water. Bees will wait for up to an hour to sting you!

Do not go near the colony after being stung. Bees tag you with a sting scent and will attack clothes marked with this scent hours or days later.

Remember, if you are unsure of what you are dealing with, always call a professional that has the knowledge and training to keep everybody safe.

How To Catch (Or Save?) A Cat

service@venuspest.com — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:03:00 GMT

What do you do when animal control says they can’t help you? Who do you call when the shelter won’t come pick them up?

You call Venus Pest Company!

Recently we received a call from a panicked business owner in Downtown Bryan who told us they had been hearing a cat meowing in their wall all day. He called animal control, but they wouldn’t help because the cat was inside the building. He then called the local animal shelter and they told him they couldn’t help him either.

His landlord recommended he call a pest control company, and directed him to another popular pest control company in the area. What did they tell him? By his account, they laughed at him a bit and said they could not help. The next call was to Venus Pest Company and while we were apprehensive at first, we just could not leave a cat stuck in someone’s wall to starve. Plus, this presented a new challenge and appealed to our adventurous side so we decided to go check out the situation.

When we arrived, we were shown the area where the noise was coming from. Want to hear the best part? The only way to access that area was through a small, we’ll say 18 inch by 18 inch hole. Oh, and it’s about 20 feet off the ground too! When we climbed up a ladder to get our first look, we could tell immediately that it was more than one cat, but luckily they were in the attic, not in the wall.

After going back outside to check the roof to see how they were getting in to the attic, we found some large open vent shafts. We weren’t sure at first if these were the actual entry points because we couldn’t see down inside them. At that moment, one of the cats actually jumped out of the vent and scared us so badly we nearly fell off the roof! Now it became a question of how to keep the cats from getting through these vents, and how to catch the ones that are in there and get them out?

At this point, it became a rodent job on steroids. The three components of a successful rodent control program (and now feral cat control program) are:

Exclusion

Baiting

Trapping

Exclusion

Since Dr. Scott is second cousin to Andre the Giant (not really for those who don’t know him), it was not really an option for him to squeeze into the attic. Climbing through the tiny hole into the attic and maneuvering around the small space without falling through the ceiling was not an easy task. You can see my shoes sticking out of the hole in this picture. I was able, however, to block off the access points underneath the vents using hardware cloth (screen) and securing it so the cats could not disturb it. One of the cats had jumped out again, but I knew there was at least one other cat still in there. Ever been trapped in a dark attic, hardly able to move, knowing a feral cat is somewhere close to you and you have no idea what it’s thinking? It’s like an episode of fear factor!

Baiting

Of course we can’t use any kind of poison bait to solve this type of problem. Using some dog food the owner had and a bowl of water, we set up a scenario we thought would work.

Trapping

We set up a live animal trap that we usually use for squirrels or other small animals using the dog food as bait. Like other animals and rodents, theory holds that if they are trapped and only have one food source, chances are they are going to eventually have a go at it.

Well, we caught the cat the very next day and are so thankful that the animal shelter agreed to take the cat when we delivered it over there. Sorry we didn’t have our camera when we caught the kitty or I would have posted it here.

Situations like this are why I love working for Venus Pest Company. When everybody else turned them away, or laughed at them, we were able to solve their problem and make some new friends (and clients) in the process. It’s amazing what you discover when you’re able to say “Yes, we can help!”

Rob Jones, CMO Venus Pest Company

Bed Bugs Shut Down Jay-Z and Rihanna's Studios!

service@venuspest.com — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:02:00 GMT

Bed bugs are becoming a serious problem everywhere. Even here locally, infestations are on the rise. Sanitation is usually not an issue so being clean doesn't mean you won't get attacked. They are usually brought into your home or business in someone's bag or clothing where they were picked up at a previous location.

Even Jay-Z and Rihanna are susceptible as their studios in New York had to be shut down because of bed bugs!

Here are some tips on how to check for bed bugs and call Venus Pest Company if you feel you have an infestation or would like an inspection.

Venus Pest Company is a Favorite Place on Google!

service@venuspest.com — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:15:00 GMT

We are extremely proud to announce that we recently received a notice that we are now classified as "Favorite Place on Google." This classification was only given to 100,000 businesses across the U.S. and represents less than 1% of businesses listed on Google. It's a big deal for us to receive this classification coming from a small market like Bryan / College Station to still be able to achieve the level of traffic to our website to be noticed and rewarded.

Along with this designation, they sent this pretty slick window decal that has a bar code in the bottom corner. Customers are supposed to be able to scan that bar code with the cameras in their phones which will give them access to our business listing on Google. There they can read and write reviews, or add Venus Pest Company as one of their own favorites!

Oh how far we've come in such a short time! In 2009 we put a ton of effort into enhancing our web presence to put us at the cutting edge of technology. With tremendous help and effort from the crew at Agnitek, we completely redesigned venuspest.com. The result was a much more user friendly website with substantially more, even better formatted content than we ever dreamed of having before, which is one of the main reasons we are now receiving this designation as a "Favorite Place on Google."

Embracing the social media phenomenon has been challenging but rewarding undertaking for us this year as well. We believe that being more closely connected to more of our customers better enables us to respond to their needs, and do so in a more timely fashion. Sharing important pest related news, critical updates from Dr. Scott, special discounts, and other time sensitive information through social media outlets has also added tremendous value to our company and the services we are able to provide our clients..

Please join us on Facebook or Twitter by using one of the links below where you can have a chance at 50% off your next pest control service. Each month we will announce one winner from our Facebook and/or Twitter followers that will receive 50% off their next service. You have to be set up to receive messages from us or you might miss the announcement if you are selected the winner.

Thanks again to Agnitek, our hard-working employees here at Venus Pest, and all of our friends out there who have helped us achieve so much this past year. We look forward to our continued relationship with you and for a prosperous 2010 for everyone!