Tom Tynan:
Pests pose problems perpetually. And with the range of pests to contend with, sometimes you need to get a pro involved. So Scott, what are some of the telltale signs that people have a pest control problem?
Scott McGrath:
Well, they’ll see things like droppings. They’ll see streak marks and they’ll see things like trash and grease.
Tom Tynan:
What kind of signs that aren’t evident to most people that you see after you do an inspection?
Scott McGrath:
The biggest thing would be any kind of conducive condition, such like excessive moisture, things covering up the foundation, rotten wood. These are signs that we look for all the time that we know will attract insects. They’re both inside and outside. We walk around the house, we can take a look at different things. We can look in corners of the house, underneath cabinets that we know that, if they have certain things that we know for a fact will attract bugs and that we can address with the homeowner.
Tom Tynan:
Scott, in the Houston area, we have a lot of pest problems, but what are the most common ones?
Scott McGrath:
Right now, we see roaches, we see spiders, we see ants, termites, mosquitoes. Those are the biggest ones we get all the time.
Tom Tynan:
I know you come in and take care of the pests for people, but what can people do to prevent some of the problems themselves?
Scott McGrath:
Sanitation, pest prevention. Seal up areas that we know insects will come in from, windows and doors, plumbing areas. Seal those areas up.
Tom Tynan:
Scott, we live in a world full of chemicals. And I know part of your business is using them, but using them right. Is there a way that you can do a pest control treatment for people that will minimize the use of chemicals or even avoid them?
Scott McGrath:
Integrated pest management is what we call it, IPM. It’s more of a pest prevention where we go around their house, we can put sticky traps, we can put monitoring stations. But then we also too will educate the customer on where to seal up, or how a roach or an ant or a spider is going to get in your house. And let’s seal up those areas so they can’t get in.
Tom Tynan:
So you really do think like a bug.
Scott McGrath:
We do think like a bug.
Tom Tynan:
All right.
Scott McGrath:
As much as we can.
Tom Tynan:
But what about the big ones, like the raccoons and stuff? What are the things that you’ll see in the Houston area?
Scott McGrath:
Rodents, squirrels, raccoons, possums. They like to come inside just like everyone else does when it’s hot or excessive cold outside. So we know how to get rid of them out of your house and prevent them from coming back in.
Tom Tynan:
Scott, I see people with these box doors buying gallons of all kinds of pest control products. And to me, it’s scary. It’s a lot of poison. To kill a bug, it might kill me too. Is this the reason people should really trust a professional on this one?
Scott McGrath:
Yes. You call a professional because we know how to do it and when to do it and why to do it.
Tom Tynan:
It’s because he thinks like a bug. That’s what makes Scott and McGrath Pest Control my certified pest control HomeShow pro. For homeshowradio.com, I’m Tom Tynan.
