Today we’re throwing it back to Training Day last month for all of Team Blue Chip. We were thrilled to bring Bobby Corrigan to St. Louis for a full day of extensive training. A nationally-noted rodentologist, Bobby shared refreshers & new techniques in how to maintain greatness in our rodent control program.

We place such a strong emphasis on the importance of rodent control that it’s included as an essential part of our two most popular general pest control programs — the 4x/year program and the 6x/year program. It also comes with our 365-day guarantee. (Translation? You shouldn’t have any issues whatsoever with rodents on our program but if you do, we’ll come back free of charge to get any issue under control.)

Here are some snaps from our busy and educational day!

Do your weekend plans include an outdoor BBQ? And quite possibly an ice cold beer? Watch out — you’re not the only one might be after a cold brew!

Six. That’s the number of exclamation points this thrilled customer used in just two sentences when writing about a pest control company. Her pest control company. And, luckily, it can very easily be YOUR pest control company too. If we aren’t already! 🙂

We take pride in being “over the top”, shine with an entire team dedicated to “exemplary customer service” and love being the “best!!!” But what we appreciate is the fact that this customer of ours told us that Blue Chip is one of the places that can be recommended to family & friends without reservation. If you haven’t tried one of our awesome services yet, it’s time to give us a try!

Every single person on Team Blue Chip — from our owners to our office staff to our technicians to our managers — is required to complete and pass a course on pest management from Purdue University.

Upon completion of this course, we continue to put an emphasis on education and training by offering many more opportunities for continued education through additional college-level courses.

Please help us celebrate all our new June Purdue grads!

During the past 5 years there’s been a significant shift in the number of people growing their own food — namely vegetables. As a matter of fact, 35% of all households in America grow food either at home or in a community garden. Are you one of these people? Or at least considering joining them? There’s a lot of reasons to consider planting a garden in your backyard. Lowering grocery bills, taking up a new hobby, improving your health and teaching your kids about nature top this list. All great reasons but one thing you might not consider is the impact a backyard garden may have in a possible increase in the number of pests and wildlife populations that find your tomatoes just as juicy as you do!

No problem! You just need to take some time to educate yourself about problems that may arise and to learn some techniques that help keep pests from wreaking havoc on your garden. Let’s explore some of these techniques together now:

1. Make your garden unattractive. Yep, that’s right. Make your garden as unattractive as possible to curious (and hungry!) wildlife. Clean up any nearby spilled bird feed. Seal off access to any crawl space below your deck or porch. Remove tall grasses which could be possible nesting areas.

2. Some temporary solutions can work — if only temporarily. Scent repellants such as castor oil and garlic can sometimes be temporary solutions; however, they must be monitored and reapplied quite often.

3. Put a lid on it. Literally. You can create simple covers for your plants out of chicken wire that are usually effective at keeping most wildlife at bay.

4. Plant more! This time, plant some things that wildlife typically find repulsive. Azaleas & marigolds annoy rabbits. Daffodils can repel deer.

Even more annoying than wildlife in your garden is if the critter decides to make itself at home INSIDE your home. We have an incredible team of Wildlife Specialists who are only a phone call (636-343-7900) away!

 

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

As you celebrate our independence day with family & friends, here are 4 fun fact about the 4th to share with them.

1. Both Thomas Jefferson AND John Adams died on July 4th in 1826.
2. The Philippians and Rwanda also gained their indolence on July 4th.
3. Americans eat 155 million (yep, million!) hot dogs every year on July 4th. Are you one of those 155 million? 🙂 Our founding fathers didn’t indulge in hot dogs — their celebratory meal included turtle soup!
4. Due to significant cracks, the Liberty Bell hasn’t been rung since 1846; however, each year on July 4th this 2,000 lb bell is tapped 13 times.

Have a safe and happy holiday!

Sweet summertime is here! Bring on summer vacations! A beach? Theme park? A lake? The mountains? A big city? Overseas? Or perhaps in the middle of the sea! No matter where you go for vacation, it’s always a good idea to protect yourself from any encounters with biting pests.

When choosing a hotel for your vacation, you might pay attention to whether you’re booking a one-star or five-star hotel; however, bed bugs just don’t care. Despite a hotel’s best prevention tips, anyone can bring in bed bugs. And at any time. And, for whatever reasons, bed bugs tend to peak in the summer. It’s important to check where you stay as well as your belongings. Here are some good places to check and tips on how to prevent bringing any of these guys home as souvenirs.

BATHROOM: The safest place to store your luggage as soon as you enter your room is the middle of the bathroom floor. Or, better yet, right in the bathtub. Bed bugs have a rrreeaaallllyyy tough time with tile so they tend to avoid these areas. Grab your cellphone & use the flashlight (or a flashlight app) during your room inspection.

BED(S): This is a no-brainer, right? Pull back all the sheets and inspect the  mattress seams and box springs thoroughly. You should look for pepper-like stains, blood marks and, of course, any actual bed bugs. Don’t forget the headboard.

CHAIRS, COUCHES & CURTAINS: Bed bugs like coziness. (I mean, who doesn’t, right?) Look around all upholstered surfaces paying special attention to crevices and folds.

WALL SOCKETS: Bed bugs hitchhike to other rooms through luggage, housekeeping carts, and even wall sockets. For this reason, make sure your inspection includes wall sockets. (Side note: Bed bugs use wall sockets to travel one floor up and one floor down so if you do find evidence of bed bugs and continue your stay at the same hotel, request a room on a floor at least three floors above or below your original floor.)

Once you’re inspected the room and all’s good, you can relax and enjoy a  GREAT vacation! Oh yeah — you can also take your suitcase out of the bathtub now! 🙂

Got more questions about bed bugs or how to protect yourself? Go back to our home page and LIVE CHAT us or give us a call at 636-343-7900.