We recently spoke with Sean Steele of Paradise Pest Control. Paradise Pest Control uses the most advanced, effective and nature-based products available to abate pests. No rodenticides are ever used and their pest control methods are 100% green.
AT: Hi, and welcome everybody. Thanks for listening to our latest A24 Automatic Trap interview series. Today we're joined by Sean Steele of Paradise Pest Control. Paradise Pest Control is a 100% green pest control company in California, that doesn't use toxins or rodenticides or any other inhumane rodent control methods for that matter. They are also a big proponent of the good nature A24 and how it can be used for pest control operators. So we want to welcome you today, Sean, and thank you for joining us and we'd love to hear some of you and your teams experiences in the world of pest control. So welcome.
Sean: Absolutely. Thank you. I'm happy to be here.
AT: Can you start off by sharing with us a bit more about yourself, how you got into pest control and a bit about Paradise Pest Control?
Sean: Yeah, sure. I haven't always been in the pest control industry, in fact, it's not really what I had in mind growing up as a young child. I've actually been working in the medical field since 2006. I've been working in the radiology department. Did that for about 10 years while also teaching as an adjunct instructor at Santa Barbara City College in the radiology department. So been very invested in medical and medical education.
My wife and I took some time to go live abroad for a year. And when we came back, we didn't really know what direction we wanted to go in. And my father in law — who has been doing pest control locally for many years and had a lot of experience just doing his own thing; doing agricultural pest control — said that I could work with them and learn the ropes. So I started doing that.
I quickly learned that I kind of wanted to branch off and do my own thing. So in 2017, that's when I started Paradise Pest Control. Essentially, being involved in education, I didn't want to just learn how to do it — I wanted to learn about it. So once I started seeing all of the negative aspects of the so-called conventional methods of pest control, I told myself there's got to be something better. There has to be something better than what's happening right now.
So, saw the need for effective alternatives and once I had kind of a line of clientele ready to go, I went 100% and we're not planning on going back.
AT: That's awesome. That's a really interesting story. Everyone kind of always comes from a different angle I feel like to get into the pest control industry, and that's a really fascinating path. Where were you living abroad, if you don't mind me asking?
Sean: So my wife and I were living in the Czech Republic, in the capital, Prague.
AT: Awesome. It must've been some cool experiences there for sure.
Sean: It was fantastic, yeah.
AT: Yeah. So in terms of geography, what are some of the pest control challenges that your team faces that are a little bit unique to the area that you operate in?
Sean: Well for anyone that's driven through Santa Barbara County, they may have noticed how close the city is packed between our beautiful mountain range as well as the Pacific ocean. So because of that location, just about all of the housing is right up against nature. There's no way you can get away from the fact that you might have mountain lions, raccoons or skunks coming through your yard. It's just a fact of life. And with that has created some unavoidable run-ins with, of course, rodents. Not only do we have the coast, we have many creek beds that run through our area. We have the mountains I spoke of. We have the 101 freeway and we have a railroad. So all of those are natural breeding grounds for rodents. And because of this, pretty much the entire area — especially the areas of Montecito and up into the Hills — have rodent issues.
But that's not really the big problem because I don't like to call nature a problem. It's actually a beautiful thing. The difficulty is the culture that surrounds this issue. Many people want to just make things go away and because of nature's natural processes, there is no silver bullet to just make any particular thing disappear. So the biggest challenge geographically is the abundance, but also the culture of trying to help people understand that we can't just make these things go away. We have to learn how to live with them and among them and find a balance.
AT: Right, of course. And that's obviously a very unique California issue as well. And obviously rodenticides and just the awareness in that part of the country, it's very strong and growing day by day.
And you also mentioned when you started Paradise Pest Control, you wanted to do it better or differently, I should say. And so why is it so important to you and your company to dispatch a pest humanely?
Sean: Well, the answer to that question kind of starts when I started getting to know my wonderful wife, Julie. I always had an appreciation for nature, but she is very much an animal lover — had a lot of empathy for wildlife. And of course, when you get married, those personality traits start rubbing off on you — so much so that we actually got married at the Santa Barbara Zoo. So that kind of began my appreciation for nature. And my core belief is that mankind's place on this planet — part of that purpose is to be a steward to nature. Because of our rank — I guess for lack of a better word — on earth, I see it as our duty to make sure that we take care of what's around us regardless of the relationship. Whether some things are considered undesirable or pests, we still have a duty to handle them in a humane and a caring way.
Pests, even just that word pest to me, it's obviously got a negative connotation. But in reality, it's just nature that's causing a human being discomfort. And so scientists are learning every year more and more about the traits of animals and even rodents, how their social interactions are, how intelligent they are. And before it was just, "Oh, there's a rat, let's kill it." But we're discovering more and more that there's a lot more to animals than we ever knew. And I think we kind of need to pair that humility that comes with those discoveries, with the duty of being a steward to nature so that we make sure that we're not increasing suffering regardless of our actions.
AT: I agree with you 100%. I think you've probably mentioned this in your previous answers, and so would it be rodents — rats — particularly that Paradise deals with most frequently?
Sean: Yeah, so in our area the majority of the rodents we deal with — and yes it is mostly rodents — we have a lot of roof rats, wood rats, also known as pack rats. So because of the area that we live in, it's really common to find tons and tons of nests on people's property of woodrats all along the creeks and things like that. We have the California mouse, a very cute little white tummy. They're always running around looking for a home. We also — with Paradise Pest Control — we deal a lot with the local pocket gophers. And then also ants are a big issue and mostly the Argentine ant because it is invasive. And for those that know about this ant, basically, all of California is one giant supercolony. So they work together, so those can be a real issue too. Right now our main thrust and focus is on the above-ground rodent control.
AT: Right. So I guess a good question — I guess it's not a shameless plug entirely, but you deal commonly with dispatching rodents lethally. How did you first hear about our trap, the Goodnature A24.
Sean: So I can't exactly say where the first time I saw it was. I was searching online, I was just looking for better ways. One thing I knew is that with a snap trap, the amount of time it takes to go and check the traps and things like that — it doesn't match up to the price point that clients are looking for. It's not as effective. So I know it was online. What really sealed the deal was when I started getting into and purchasing them, and then I also saw the video from, I think it's Shawn Woods, and I saw it and he struck me as someone who really knew what he was talking about. So when he was saying how much he liked it, that helped me know that I was going in the right direction with that.
But the biggest thing was, I was looking for an effective alternative to rodenticides because I just knew someone's got to be out there that's come up with something better.
AT: Right. So what does your team like about using the traps? Obviously you mentioned there's no rodenticides, it's automatic so they don't have to go out and set the trap. Maybe you could tell us a little bit about your experience with them and why it's been so beneficial to your business.
Sean: Yeah. Well, like you said in the introduction, we do 100% A24 rodent abatement. So that is actually the only tool that we use. We really like it because it's easy to install, it's easy to move, the way that we have them set up — and I don't want to pull the curtain back too much on the methods we've figured out because we've been working with them for a couple of years now. The method we've developed is, we're able to move them very easily within seconds and maintain. I also really appreciate that I can give results to the client.
One thing that I've noticed about the pest control industry is it's unintentionally clandestine. People don't really know what's going on. They have a problem, they call someone, he comes out in a nice shirt, and then that's really all they know. But I can actually give clients results and tell them, or even all my clients at once, "Hey, you guys have helped contribute to this amount of humane kills." So I can track the results. I can give that to them. And one thing I'm really, really happy about is to provide poison-free scavenging. Like I said, we see local wildlife all the time. I recall approximately maybe six or seven years ago, my wife and I were coming away from visiting a friend in Montecito and we drove right past a mountain lion. So they're there — they're in our backyard. And knowing that what I'm doing is not putting them in danger helps me feel good about my business. So I'm not just sending bills out. I feel like I'm really helping our community.
AT: Right. That's a great answer. And yeah, we see it all the time with the user-submitted videos people send us. Whether it's a stray cat, a raccoon, a fox, etc. — that's one of the really interesting benefits to our trap, is when it is set up in the wild you see those wild scavengers and you're not throwing that poison into the ecosystem, which is obviously why we're doing this and why you are as well.
Sean: Yeah, exactly.
AT: Well that's great. I guess that's pretty much all of the questions that we wanted to go through today. Lastly, we want to know what's next for Paradise Pest Control and where can people find you online, whether that's social media or your website. Now's your time to plug what you guys have got going on and let people know where they can find you.
Sean: Absolutely. Thank you for asking. Well like I said, 2020 is kind of the year that we're ramping up. We are a small team so we're basically looking to expand in 2020. The biggest things we're excited about is that we've actually been installing with permission from some of our client's trail cams on their property, watching the scavenging happen. So as we continue to do that, we're going to have more and more videos that we're going to be uploading on our social media, demonstrating locally how our clients can help contribute to local scavenging.
So far we've gotten some skunks, caught a couple of possums. We haven't caught any bobcat's on the video yet or mountain lions, but hopefully, that'll be close at hand. And so we really want to share that with the community.
Also, we are going to be working with some local organizations in California to try to do some fundraising for them. We're going to be going through Bonfire to do some t-shirts for them. And I actually tagged Goodnature in a post today. And so I'm trying to appeal to the nostalgia of my generation, but also increasing awareness to rodenticides and how we can reduce those.
But really, the biggest thrust I could say that we're planning to move towards is, we don't want to just be a pest control service that you hire. Our goal is to help our clients feel like they're part of a solution. And because of that, we want to have engagement with them. We don't want to be the secretive company that just comes on their property, does something and then sends them a bill. We want all of our clients to know what they're a part of and we want to be transparent because we feel that that's what our communities deserve. So that's kind of the biggest thrust, is not just being a company, but we really want to be part of a community that people are happy to be a part of.
AT: Yeah, that's fantastic. We're on the exact same wavelength. We really appreciate your enthusiasm for the product. It's a real pleasure for us to talk to a company such as yours that just gets it and gets where we're coming from and we're trying to achieve a lot of the same goals. So we really appreciate you taking some time out of your day to share with us your energy and your vision for Paradise Pest Control. We're looking forward to partnering with you guys in the future. And once again, Sean, thanks for everything.
Sean: Absolutely, and just real quick, I forgot one little plug. It's still here in this bag I have — it's that the best way to follow us is on Instagram, it's all one word, no spaces: @paradisepestcontrol. We have paradisepestco.com, but that link is in our profile. But Instagram is really the main way that we're reaching out to our community and trying to build those relationships. So if anyone wants to really see those scavenging videos, they want to see the efficacy of this system and really be a part of that community, follow us on @paradisepestcontrol. And if there's any organizations out there, we would love to host a fundraiser for you. 100% of the proceeds for each particular one will go to that organization. We are thinking about doing one for ourselves to purchase more trail cams, but first, we want to get more money into these organizations.
AT: Awesome. That's great. We definitely recommend to our user base to follow you guys, great follow, awesome content and very engaged with the community.
So I guess that wraps everything up. Sean, thanks again for your time. Look forward to talking again in the future.
Sean: Me too.
]]>We recently spoke with Wesley Parker of Parker Eco Pest Control, a company specializing in natural rodent control in Seattle to learn more about their eco-friendly rodent control strategies.
AT: Hi everybody, and welcome back to our automatic trap, A24 interview series. Today we're joined by Wesley Parker of Parker Eco Pest Control. Parker Eco Pest Control is a pest control operator with a commitment to eco-friendly pest control and green solutions. They serve Seattle and its surrounding areas, finding green solutions wherever possible, including the Goodnature A24 — so we want to welcome you Wesley, and thank you for joining us today. We're excited to hear about Parker Eco and some of your experience in the world of pest control, so welcome.
Wesley Parker: Hey Ty, it's great to be here. I'm excited to talk about the trap.
AT: Of course. All right, well let's get into it... Why don't you start out by sharing with us a bit more about yourself and Parker Eco Pest Control.
Wesley Parker: Yeah, I mean you covered the basics. We're an eco-friendly pest control company in the Seattle area. My husband and I own the business. We're a pretty small company so we're still less than 10 people. But we started the business wanting to do something that was really different from what everybody else offered. So as I'm sure you and all of your listeners know, rodenticide is basically the go-to tool that the vast majority of pest control companies push when it comes to solving rodent problems and we didn't like that because of the risk of secondary poisoning. Also, everybody hates it when rats die in their walls. And so we thought, I wonder if there's something better. And so we started looking around and we ultimately landed on the A24 from Goodnature and we've just been moving them like hotcakes. Our customers and us absolutely love them.
AT: Yeah, and I'm guessing that part of that is the area, the geography—the geographic area that you're in. On the West Coast people are very familiar with secondary poisoning and looking for an alternative there. Can you maybe explain some of the unique challenges that you face out of Seattle or the Pacific Northwest in general?
Wesley Parker: Yeah, I mean us, a lot like California, we don't really get super, super cold in the winter, climate-wise here. So there's not an opportunity for a big die-off like there would be in other parts of the country where maybe it gets a lot colder in the wintertime. So we see that rodents are an issue pretty much year-round. And luckily for us, we have a really educated client base here. We have a lot of very conscientious customers who care a lot about doing what's right for the planet. I mean the Seattle public utilities is like the greenest utility in the nation. We do composting, we do all that cool stuff.
It's very much the minds of my clients. And not all of them come to us saying, "I want to do something poison-free." But most of them come to us and say, "I want to do something that isn't going to be harmful." And so we kind of have to educate them on what rodenticide is—what the little black boxes are. That's something that a lot of people don't understand that's a poison in there. So if you look at your neighbor's house and you see those little black boxes, those are rodenticide bait boxes. So we have a really good opportunity in that we have that climate thing that keeps the rodent population high all the time. And the customers who are hungry for something that's a lot safer.
AT: Right. And you know with those little black boxes, it's important to know even poisons and its longterm effects—it's very inhumane the way that rodents are dispatched. So why is it so important to you and your company to dispatch of pests or rodents specifically, humanely?
Wesley Parker: Yeah, we have a lot of clients who are vegan and so they care a lot about how the rodent experiences the death. We even have some clients that ask that we don't dispatch of them at all, so we have some challenges in that remark. But when we educate them about the fact that the A24 is certified humane and that it's a very quick death, as opposed to something like rodenticide. Which to be honest, especially if it's a commercial account like a restaurant, for example, or perhaps it's a Buddhist temple that also has some philosophical concerns around how the rodents are killed—we'll have to tell them, "Did you know that those boxes that are on your property are actually already containing rodenticide? Did you know that this is actually how it's been going on for over a year since you started that contract?" So sometimes we're able to say, "Maybe we're not going to go to a no-kill strategy, but we are going to improve on what you have and get you to a more humane strategy."
AT: I think for a lot of people it's an out of sight, out of mind kind of thing. And then once they learn and they get their hands a little dirty they start to understand. Especially with rodenticide, it's often quite brutal the toll that it takes. So for you guys specifically—what is the most common pest that you guys deal with?
Wesley Parker: We see the Norway rat and the Roof rat—just like honestly, probably most of the United States—are really big here for us. The Seattle area is really, really green. There's stuff growing absolutely everywhere. The trees are super lush and all of that adds up to kind of a rat highway from all those food sources on the ground, all the food sources in the trees, and then they just climb right onto your roof or to go into your dirt crawlspace, because a lot of the houses in our area don't have full basements.
So when we talk about exclusion being obviously the greenest and most eco-friendly thing you can do, right? Just seal your home in such a way that there's no access for rodents. When you have a dirt crawlspace, exclusion sometimes means getting a rat slab for $5,000- $7,000 and if your listeners aren't familiar with what rat slabs are, it's a non-structural pour of concrete that's just a couple inches thick that basically gets poured into your crawl space so that there's a physical barrier, so they can't enter. But $5,000 for a rat slab or can we just do some ongoing trapping? Can we install an A24 in your back shed, for example, in an area that's really secluded and cozy where we know they're going to feel comfortable feeding and suddenly the math on that makes a lot more sense.
AT: Yes, exactly. So where did your team first hear about Goodnature and about the A24 in particular?
Wesley Parker: Yeah, my husband and I, our business has only been around for about four years, so we're still a pretty young company and so we're super open to finding new products and new solutions that help us be greener, more efficient, more humane. And he found an article about the A24 online when we were looking into just the gamut of different types of traps that we can invest in. So we actually bought one for ourselves as our first try because we're lucky enough to have a dirt crawlspace at our house, and we know we had a rat issue when we bought the house. That was the super obvious, but obviously we were ready to take on the job.
So we bought the A24 with the counter for our property and we were just amazed at how many hits we were getting. And then what we love about the version with the counter which is actually all we buy now—we only buy the one with the counter because we just love showing people the data. We could see, you're getting this many hits at the initial install and then you can see the hits go down over time as the population on your property decreases. So, it's just so much more tangible than rodenticide where you might have one really dominant rat that comes in and eats the whole lot. You don't actually know how many rats you were able to control when you bait with rodenticide, whereas the A24 this is completely unambiguous.
AT: Mm-hmm, yeah, a lot of people do like that... It's almost like a KPI or an analytics number that they can use when controlling their rat population. So how does your team use a Goodnature products specifically? I know you had mentioned the crawl space for yourselves, but how did it branch out into usage for your team?
Wesley Parker: Yeah, so our team has an A24 in their van at all times, every single technician. And what that means is if they come to a house for a rodent inspection, especially if the client's only seen rodents outdoors, if they haven't had any activity in the house, then exclusion—maybe there's proactive exclusion that can be done or maybe they just need something done on the exterior of the house. So whereas traditional pest control companies would drop some bait boxes, we say, "How about instead of paying us to come back here on an ongoing basis, you buy this trap from us now, we'll help you find a place on your property that's really well-suited." So we find that the trickiest part is just knowing where rodents are going to feel comfortable feeding because you cannot just put a stake in the middle of a field and stick this trap on it right? Nobody wants to eat in the middle of the field.
So yeah, we'll do basically a consultation and an installation, and we'll check in with you and see how many hits your counter has had. If maybe you haven't seen any hits, after about two weeks, we'll come back and we'll move it. Sometimes we'll take foliage and arrange it around the trap so that it has a little bit more natural feeling cover to it. So we basically have a 100% success rate in selling these traps. If ever there's a situation where a client has not been satisfied, it's typically because they've wanted it to be in a really particular spot on their property. And we've had to come back and say, "Maybe we should move it to the back of the garage, like we talked about."
AT: Right, right. So is that deciding where to put the trap? For most consumers it ships with the Goodnature Lure Tasters. Do you guys kind of decide just based on your experience and kind of... What are the factors—the criteria that goes into making that decision?
Wesley Parker: Great question, for most homeowners…
AT: Or is that kind of the secret sauce?
Wesley Parker: Oh no, by all means, I'm always willing to give people the secret sauce for free, because a lot of people don't want to deal with a rodent issue themselves, right? Even if it's just a matter of sealing off holes and stuff like that, maybe you got to go by the ladder, maybe... There's all kinds of stuff that they're just not willing to do themselves or don't have time to do themselves. So we find that even if we do give people our secrets, they tend to call us back.
So as far as the trap placement goes, we always recommend that it's installed in an area with natural cover. So if you have bushes, areas that have... Maybe if you have debris piled up against the side of your house, and maybe you're not willing to move that debris or maybe you have a canoe leaning against the side of your house, sticking it underneath things is really important. Also getting the height right. So we've seen when people do their own installs, sometimes they put them too high off the ground or too low, so it's not at a comfortable feeding height for a rat. Especially if they think they have mice. Because if you think you have a mouse issue because maybe you haven't identified the droppings properly or also psychologically, maybe you just would really like to have a mouse issue instead of a rat issue.
AT: Right. Yeah, most people would.
Wesley Parker: Yeah, that's something that's pretty common. Basically they're imagining a mouse height, not a rat height and so the installation maybe isn't optimized exactly the way that we would. So definitely an area with cover where they feel comfortable feeding. And then if we are able to see classic signs of rodent activity, like tunneling, grease marks, droppings obviously, any sort of gnawing may be on your crawlspace—anything that's going to show us this is a common trail is a good indicator that we will have success with a trap in that area.
AT: Great. Yeah, those are awesome tips. What does your team like specifically about using the trap?
Wesley Parker: I think the number one thing we like is that it's poison-free. Our clients don't want to use poison. We have a little flyer printed up that's got all of the information on how the A24 trap works. And then on the other side, we have some educational material from the state of California about how rodenticide impacts the wider environment—even in urban areas. So it's got a nice diagram that shows the flow of that poison from the bait box directly if something gets access to it that's not a rat or through secondary poisoning, if the rats are consumed. So the fact that people maybe have talked to other pest control companies that just say, "Put out poison, put out poison." We can come in and say, "Here's an option that's not poison." And they can feel good about it, and also not have rats in their house.
AT: Yeah, exactly. And not have to go out and reset the traps every time that they have a hit as well, right?
Wesley Parker: Yeah, of course. And the fact they don't have to clean it up. So people who know that they can just set it and forget it for six months at a time. And the fact that their refills are a very low cost. It's a very easy thing that any homeowner can do on their own as long as we get that placement correct at the onset so that you're kind of set up for success.
AT: Absolutely. And I think that really the key is, a lot of people will see the video online and think it's just a beacon for rats, but you really still do have to think like a trapper and finding that proper location and optimizing your trapping areas. That's where you're really going to have success. Start thinking like a rat.
Wesley Parker: One of the main complications that we see is that people with chicken coops… So obviously when you have a chicken coop, the rats have a lot of other food sources because they're able to eat all the feed that gets scattered for the chickens. So one of the things we like to do is actually take the chicken feed and put that in the bait cup. So if that's what the rats are used to eating, let's make that the bait for the trap.
AT: Yes, we definitely recommend that as well with the DIY basket using chicken feed or grain whatever is being used there. And also cleaning that area around there with a shop vac. Just eliminating any food competition, especially in an area of high competition, like a chicken coop. That's a great example.
Wesley Parker: Yeah, although if you tell chicken owners to clean up their feed, I generally don't see a lot of … Chickens are a lifestyle.
AT: Yes, and unfortunately rats make a lifestyle from those chickens.
Wesley Parker: We've even thought about trying to go door to door to people who are... Because we don't do any door-to-door sales, but when it comes to chicken coops, we've thought about. If we have a client with a neighbor who's got a chicken coop, do we just go and establish a relationship with that chicken coop owner and the three houses around it for example, to say, "Okay, moratorium on birdseed for three months, moratorium on spraying the chicken feed on the ground, just give us a little bit of time chicken free, and then we'll see where we can go from there."
AT: Right, exactly. Well lastly, we just want to know what's next for Parker Eco Pest Control and where can people find you online?
Wesley Parker: Yeah, so our website is parkerecopestcontrol.com. Anybody can book an appointment online anytime, even if it's two in the morning. Log on, find yourself an inspection time, and we'll be there. We're growing but very, very carefully. We only want to hire the best technicians that we can who are going to give you the best advice possible. So I'd say even if you just need advice, give us a call.
AT: Awesome. Well, again, we want to thank you for being with us today, Wesley, and we look forward to catching up in the future.
Wesley Parker: Thanks for your time, Ty.
AT: Thank you.
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We recently spoke with Sam Aruch of National Resource Data Solutions or NRDS. NRDS has developed Place-Based Project Management Software for Agriculture & Conservation; a secure multiplatform location-based software that combines project management, GIS, data collection, reporting, and analysis.
AT: So we're joined today by Sam Aruch from Natural Resource Data Solutions. So first of all, thanks for being here with us. Why don't you start off by telling us a little bit about yourself and Natural Resource Data Solutions.
SA: Well first of all, thanks for having me. So in Natural Resource Data Solutions or NRDS or Nerds, it's a plant-based project management platform, mainly for agriculture and natural resource management. So we help farmers and different conservation managers measure, map and share their impact in a cost effective easy way.
SA: So essentially it's a combination of GIS for mapping mobile data collection and project management. And I got into this, I started out as a field biologist and a land manager and working in super rugged in remote places, doing things like removing invasive species, protecting rare plants and animals and then taking a step back. Measuring and monitoring the effectiveness of the work we were doing.
SA: But as you probably know, a lot of the people that do this kind of work, it's really frustrating because using tools like paper and pencil to collect data or even if you've moved to digital tools, there's really just like this patchwork of incompatible tools and it makes it really hard to do things like learn from your mistakes or share your successes. So we essentially, we created NRDS. Mobile tools to create, collect data in the field, and then with dashboards and analytics to make decisions in real time. So, help make sure-
AT: You don't have to carry around a case, or stacks and stacks of paper and pads and pen into the field, right?
SA: Exactly. And, and when you need to find something, you know where it is, and essentially it just help you do your work and then save a lot of time and be more efficient.
AT: Awesome. So, Nerds, I love that little acronym there. That's great. I think it's probably pretty accurate being a nerd myself. So why is Nerds or NRDS perfect for trap management?
SA: Well, it's easy. It's accurate and it makes the data you collect compatible and shareable either within your team or with your collaborators. And it scales depending on what you're doing. So we have an app that works offline. It's map-based so you can add traps to your map, check them, recheck them, look up past data in the field. And then on the admin side you can manage your trapping program and look at trap efficacy and beta efficacy. Manage all the dropdowns and it scales, right?
SA: So if you're just using it really basically just to put traps on a map so you can remember where they are, you can use it like that. Or if you're trying to really tune in you're trapping program, you can collect lots of really detailed data.
AT: So it's as robust as you want it to be, right? You've got your base level user and then some people that would be in the field that would go a little bit more in-depth I would imagine.
SA: Exactly. And then you can also create reports and run different types of analytics and analysis.
SA: I was going to say also you can link it to, depending on what type of work you're doing, you could integrate that trap data and link it to whatever types of resources you're protecting and measure your impact in that respect as well.
AT: Right. That's very cool. So can you tell us about some of those other modules that your team's developed and maybe some of the other industries that are currently employing and NRDS?
SA: Sure. So we work with a lot of different land managers, people ranging from watershed protection to invasive species removal and endangered species protection. So we have things like water quality, seabird monitoring, different types of trapping. So you can set up trapping workflows for box traps or tracking tunnels or camera traps. And even we have a tool that you can run through thousands of camera trap photos and tag them, different types of monitoring. And we're working with production agriculture operators as well. So different farmers. So you can do things like track your harvest and your plantings, fertilizer use, different inputs and outputs.
AT: Yeah, it sounds like really the applications are pretty robust at this point. In terms of traps and are Goodnature traps specifically, why do you think there's such a great fit with Goodnature traps? And there are a lot of ecologists that are using NRDS that use our traps as well. So why do you think that fit is such a good crossover?
SA: Well, those tools in the workflows were developed by people that use the traps. And there's been a lot of iteration. So we've been helping people use these traps for a number of years. There's probably been, well I know there's been tens of thousands of trap checks managing thousands of traps. So it's been pretty well beat up and we have a great customer base that's really given us a lot of really good feedback and helped us to dial it in. So it works really well for them. It's been a bottom-up approach. So it's really been focused on, it's people using it in the field and giving us feedback and making it better.
AT: Well, from that standpoint, can you give us a walk through, what would a typical day of somebody managing a grid of Goodnature traps that also use NRDS, what would that day look like?
SA: Sure. So say you're going out and you're doing your trap line, you can look at the app and it shows you where you are on the map. You can click on the trap that you're standing next to or click a button and drop a new trap. You could also look up the trap or if it has a barcode on it, you can scan it, pull up the trap itself, click Check Trap and then fill in the form, right? Record counter difference what baits you used, the status of the bait on arrival. If you have any recoveries for your targets, you can pull up a sub-form and then list the type of target you've recovered, the age, sex, color, and you can pull out that kind of data as well. So you've got a combination of the mapping side and the data collection side.
AT: Yeah, super useful. I would imagine it just has really revolutionized organization at least. And you're right, having that bottom-up approach is definitely an advantage for you guys. So how would somebody in a remote location be able, I know a lot of this is web-based, so how would somebody be able to manage their data in the field, especially when they're in such remote locations, for example?
SA: We have groups that take the app out into the middle of nowhere. We're based in Hawaii, so we have a lot of projects that fly into these super remote and rugged areas and take the app out for a week or over a week at a time. So you can check out your data onto the app, so everything's local. And then work in the field and then when you get out, you push your data out.
AT: Right. Okay. Well that makes sense. In terms of development and the challenges that you and your team have faced, what were some of the early development challenges with getting the app running and how did you overcome these?
SA: I would say probably one of the hardest challenges is getting that offline workflow to work really well. And we overcame that because we have a great team of developers. But most importantly we have a really great group of customers that are able to give us feedback, really beat up the app and help us make it really good. So that's the main thing, having that group of customers that are going to give you honest feedback. And we're really, really receptive to that. And we're really customer-focused so we listen to what people say, and our goal is to make their lives easier.
AT: Well, what were some of those interesting discoveries that you made in that process?
SA: Just the diversity of different use cases and how people want different little customizations. And if you listen to five or 10 different groups, you start to see the patterns of okay, both of these groups want this different feature, but it's really the same feature. They just call it a little different or we can figure out a way to automate this for them and make it faster. Something like, one feature is trap repeat, right? So you can switch it on repeat. So if you're checking 150 traps in a day, you can just fill in the form, go to the next trap, pick the trap, click the button and it's already filled in the form for you. So just make it really fast for them, really efficient.
SA: Another one is quality control, right? So, maybe you're checking 500 traps in a day and you need to figure out if you missed any. So building in some quality control tools that help them to figure out which traps they missed or reminders and those kinds of things.
AT: Right. So you almost have those built-in focus testers and those, the ecologist and farmers, et cetera. That's perfect. Can you share any stories from the fields? Anything interesting that you'd like to share with us?
SA: Well, this doesn't really have anything to do with trapping, but one story is, so like I said, I started out as a field biologist and we're based in Hawaii and I did a lot of forest bird work. And there's one story where we were doing bird surveys and the plan was to get dropped off at the top of the mountain and walk for three or four days down the mountain, counting birds at different stations. So, super remote, super rugged, really steep, really thick vegetation, climbing over things and under things with a really heavy pack.
SA: So we got dropped off I think at about 8,000 feet and we walked all day long and that night, we're just camping in hammocks and it just started pouring rain, thunder and lightning all around us. And there's no cell service, we couldn't get anybody on the radio. And to make it even more fun, wild pigs started rooting around under, under the tent, right.
AT: Circling the wagons?
SA: Circling the wagons, yeah. And it was just pouring thunder and lightening, so you're really practicing the power of positive thinking, right? So this is going to be a great story to tell my kids one day.
AT: Yeah, there's that thought and then you're channeling your inner Rambo that's just coming right up from under you as well.
SA: Oh yeah. You could hear the streams flash flooding and we had to cross a bunch of streams and there were places we were going to have to climb down waterfalls with ropes. So you're thinking this three-day trip is going to become a seven-day trip. So in the morning, it cleared a little bit and we heard the helicopter coming to check on us. They were worried. So we got on the radio, and the pilot said, "Oh, there's nowhere I can pick you up for miles except this one little spot about a hundred meters away from you guys." So we cut down a couple branches, he hovered, we jumped in the helicopter and we got out.
AT: And it's now a good story.
SA: And it's now a good story. But that shower and that burger that night, were probably the best I've ever had.
AT: Oh, I can imagine. Awesome. Well yeah, thanks for talking with us for sure. Where can people find National Resource Data Solutions online and connect with you guys through social media?
SA: We have a a website, NRDSdata.com and you can check that out. And then there's also some tutorial videos oDS.io. And we have Instagram now, I think that's it's NRDSAINAPRO, A-I-N-A-PRO.
AT: Awesome. We'll link to it for you as well, so people will be able to just pick it up right from the article.
SA: Great.
AT: Awesome. So lastly, what's next for you and your team?
SA: Just improving the workflows and usability. And now we're actually starting to focus and look into more tools for agriculture. So helping with agricultural record keeping and helping to help farmers be more efficient, especially when it comes to record keeping and certifications. So things that are coming down the line for farmers that are really burdensome for them, like FSMA, Food Safety Regulations. And there's different organic certifications. So that's some of the things that we're starting to work on now.
AT: Exciting stuff. Well, thanks again for coming in and talking to us today and yeah, we look forward to connecting in the future.
SA: Great. Thank you very much.
AT: All right.
See, our product isn't like a toaster. You can't simply plug it in, kick back, and expect the rodents to pile up — no, the A24 automatic trap more is like a fishing rod. Even the best fishing gear in the world still requires attention to detail, know-how, and patience. Trapping simply isn't an exact science. When using any trap, it is important to remain pragmatic and follow the setup instructions exactly.
We wanted to take a look at some of our reviews from Amazon and Trustpilot the Good, the Bad, the Ugly, and address some simple trapping tips for issues that some have run into, as well as showcasing the success that customers have had with our trap.
It’s important to know a little bit about how rats work when it comes to their food source. They are very intelligent animals with an excellent sense of smell. They can analyze the nutritional content of food determining fat, protein and carbohydrate composition.
Rats can take time to trust a new food source. When they encounter new food, they taste a small amount and then go away to see if it makes them feel sick. They repeat this process until they’ve decided the new food source can be trusted.
Once they determine if the food source is safe, it may still take some effort to get them to try something new. It’s a bit like when you want fish ‘n’ chips on a Friday night… you’re going to go past the burger bar and the pizza restaurant.
Rats are also very social creatures. They touch noses together when they meet and in doing so they use that excellent smell sense to see what their companion has been eating lately. If it seems rats are not attracted to the bait in your trap, the first thing to determine is if there is another readily available food source. If you use a compost bin, the bin should be moved to a sealed container and stored elsewhere for 3 weeks. It may take that long for rats to decide they need to search for new food.
If there is seasonal food available like falling fruit from trees, it may be a challenge to trap until the fruit is gone. As long as your Goodnature A24 Trap is in place, they will have a source to go to when the current food source is no longer available.
If there is chicken feed or animal feed in the area, it should be stored in rodent-proof containers and food that is left on the ground or outside the chicken coop should be swept up whenever possible. Any cat or dog food should be kept inside only, or immediately moved once outdoor pets are finished eating. All trash cans should also have secure lids.
It’s important to recognize that trapping isn't an exact science, and rats and mice can be notoriously hard to catch. Finding the right combination of lure, trap placement, and eliminating other food sources can be more crucial to your success than even the trap itself.
Here are some important steps to take:
Remember, a rat lives in a dangerous world and will only investigate a new food source when they feel safe to do so. It’s an absolute must to use your Goodnature™ Lure Tasters to detect the best place to put your trap — not (as some people think) to detect whether or not you have rats!
Use Goodnature™ 200g Chocolate Formula and Nut Butter Formula lure for rats to pre-feed the site. Put up to a dozen pea-sized dabs of lure at ground level around your trapping site. This helps to sign post the new food source. The knowledge of the new food source causes the rats to search for it…and that’s when they’ll find it in your Goodnature™ A24s.
Be sure to follow your trap’s installation guide to properly mount your trap. The trap must be properly secured and be mounted at the correct height for rodents to enter.
The Goodnature A24 has been proven to be an effective trapping device for rats and mice. However, successful trapping takes patience. If you expect to set up the trap and kill several rats every night, you will most likely be disappointed. This actually does happen in some cases, but many times it will take time to test the proper location and lure. If you are not having success with the chocolate or nut butter formula lure, we would recommend using a different bait lure such as peanut butter, dog food, or other baits the rats might be accustomed to eating in the area. The trap kit includes a DIY Lure Basket to formulate your own lures.
If your trap does not kill any rats or mice the right away and you give up, then you will be back to square one with your rodent problem. However, with some time and patience, you will be on your way to successful trapping.
Rats may inhabit an attic or other places in your home, but it doesn’t mean they are finding their food source in the same location. Rats and mice only eat where they feel comfortable and safe. If they are not attracted to the trap lure, it may be because they are not used to eating in the particular lotion. The Lure Tasters mentioned above are a crucial step in detecting where rats are eating and determining the best location for your trap.
Remember, location, proper installation, and a competing food source are all important factors. Successful trapping takes time and patience. It is very possible to go a week or more without trapping anything, and start trapping once the rats seek out the new food source and are comfortable feeding in that location.
Not all rats are attracted to the same type of lure. Rats may be accustomed to different food sources in different areas, and not as hyper attractive to the chocolate lure included with the trap. For this reason, we include a convenient DIY Lure Basket so you can try different lures. Customers have had success with many different lures – including peanut butter and dog food.
It’s important to keep in mind that trapping does not always happen overnight. Rats and mice are intelligent animals and successful trapping requires patience and perseverance.
Recently we caught up with Rebecca Dmytryk from Humane Wildlife Control to chat about the industry, the A24 and some of the modern challenges with pest control. Humane Wildlife Control is a pest control operator with a difference. They're one of under 20 service providers in the country that exclusively offer humane dispatch methods. They operate across California from the central coast to the Greater Bay Area as well as the greater Los Angeles area.
AT: So first of all, thanks to Rebecca for joining us today. Can you start off by sharing with us a bit more about yourself and your company, Humane Wildlife Control, as well?
RD: Yeah, sure. Well, I started out about 35 years ago in the wildlife rescue and rehabilitation industry, if you will. And we were more of a paramedic service. So we had to go out in the field and capture wildlife. And to do that we had to understand the species, their different characteristics and sometimes even the individuals, their personalities in order to be successful, to capture them. And so through that experience, and people coming to us with their wildlife problems, we got more and more calls, animals in traps, problem animals. And so we expanded the work that we did to include, if you will, nuisance wildlife. So that's how I got into this field. And that's where I focus most of my attention now, is in resolving as humanely as possible and long term as possible, resolving wildlife conflicts.
AT: Right. So can you expand a little bit about humane wildlife control? You know, what you guys are about as a company and you know how, how you got started with the company.
RD: So yeah, I got into this business, it kind of evolved out of my rescue service where we were just getting so many calls to help people with more of the wildlife conflicts. And yeah, again, that's where I spend most of my time right now in the... To the right audience, which I hope this is, I'll describe our work as holistic. We go out to solve a wildlife problem, whether it's a mouse or a mountain lion, we're looking to solve the problem long term. So we have to look at the whole picture, everything that's contributing to the conflict. And so we try to find the solutions that are going to be lasting and the most humane and the least invasive on the whole property. It's similar to biodynamics in the sense that we look at the person's home, their yard, the vegetation, and the wildlife as a functioning system. And there may be a need for a little tweaking here and there and maybe a little shift in perspective of the human to achieve this balance, but that's our end goal, is to find balance and to not be so intrusive into the environment because it's gotta be harmony. That's what we're looking for really.
AT: Right. And I think California is the perfect place for that, but it also presents a variety of challenges for pest control. Can you explain some of those to us? Do you find that you're really at home in California with your niche market?
RD: Yeah. So I think California is unique in — especially along the coast, it seems really unique in kind of leading the way in reducing the use of pesticides and rodenticides and things like that and people seek us out and I love it. I love it when I get those calls from people who are looking for me rather than having to convince somebody this wants me to just kill it because I'm really going to push back on that. Even though there are some situations, you know, we try and be humane, right, in what we do and we try and work within the ecosystems and stuff. But that doesn't mean that we're going to be non-lethal. Non-lethal is optimal, there are going to be those situations where we have to put some lethal controls in and that's where the A24 comes in, it's humane, it's effective, and it's easy to use and you don't have to keep setting it all the time. I love that about this trap.
AT: Why is it so important for your company to dispatch of animals or in some cases referred to as pests, humanely?
RD: Why? I mean, it's just we have to. I wouldn't think of it any other way. There's no other choice for me or the people that work with me. It's got to be humane. It's gotta be... It's what we are, you know, human, humane. It's the right thing to do. When we have to take these animals lives, we have to do it with respect, I think. And that has to be... That's gotta be important. It is important to us.
AT: Absolutely.
RD: And that's what we're going to offer.
AT: That's it. Exactly how we stand on it. And the other, just to add in a little side note there, it's when we say it dispatches of a rat humanely and somebody says, "Oh, well why would you want to be humane with a rat?" It makes you really question why would you not want to be right? I mean...
RD: Exactly. And the traps are great. When I have to explain it to people, they don't really... They want to understand it clearly. So I just say, "It's like a captive bolt. It's how we humanely dispatch cattle. Actually, I was talking with somebody the other day at... I was talking with a guy that runs one of the shelters and I mentioned it and he, right on, right away, he clicked, it's, "Oh, captive bolt." And said, "Oh, that's great." I go, "Yes, it's quick." And one of the other things I mentioned earlier is you don't have to go reset it and you can check your traps as often as you want, but there are ways so that you don't have to go check these traps. And they work continuously.
AT: When somebody asks me how does it work, one of the first questions I always ask them is if they've seen No Country for Old Men, and then I'd say the captive bolt system, because you know a lot of people wouldn't just know that by name, but that's exactly what it is, right?
RD: Yeah, absolutely ingenious. Well done.
AT: I cannot take the credit, but I very much appreciate the accolades. What is the most common animal that your team is dealing with?
RD: Yes. So, while we deal with pretty much everything, like I said, the majority of calls, I guess, are about mice and rats, the most misunderstood of them all perhaps and the ones that instill a bit of terror in some people. But when they... After talking to me, I think a lot of people calm down a bit. I go, "Remember, Mickey Mouse and the mouse or rat is a little pal when you were a kid and they're so cute.” And I get people to see the lighter side. I get them, I get them to rethink all the junk that they've heard, fear-mongering, there's so much out there, and to treat these guys with more compassion, that they're living creatures and born that way.
AT: They're survivors really.
RD: They're so smart. They're so incredibly smart and we use that intelligence to resolve the problems that people are having with them. Most of the work that we do involves exclusion, but there's times when a lot of my clients, not that many, but a few I guess, they need or they feel the need or want to also have lethal control.
RD: Lethal control is your last option. It's the last thing you want to do because the animals aren't the problem. Their presence is a symptom. The problem is they're getting into something, whether it's a house or a garden or a chicken coop, and you need to resolve that. Their access to whatever it is that you want to protect, maybe even a vehicle. So, lethal control is not really going to do anything until you solve that problem. How they're getting into whatever you want to protect, but some people still want to have that little security blanket or whatever. They feel compelled to have some lethal control. And so what we do is come in and say, "Okay, well let's... This is the most humane and it's not going to hurt the environment." My goal is to, again, be sensitive to the-
AT: Harmony...
RD: Yeah, and in harmony and no poisons ever. Never. And this takes the place of it. So now I can offer my clients who want lethal control, who think they have to have it. Okay, then let me bring in this. And they're great with it. The other day I took out about six bait stations and replaced them with the A24s.
AT: Wow. That's great to hear. So what does your team... I mean, you have mentioned it, but what is it your team like about or yourself like about using Goodnature products?
RD: Yeah, I think it's that we can offer clients that really feel they need to have the lethal control, we can offer them this tool that's humane, eliminates the need for poisons and you don't have to check it all the time. It's not like a snap trap, which I don't consider.
AT: Yeah. It's not really a humane option, right? Snap traps.
RD: The glue traps are horrible.
AT: Can you tell us a bit about how would your team use a Goodnature product in the field? What would your kind of set up be?
RD: Yeah, great. Thank you for asking that. Because again, lethal control, when we're talking about using these traps, it's usually outside of something. It's going to be outside of a house, outside of a building, outside of a chicken coop. It's not going to be inside because we are going to apply rodent proofing. Right? So, outside in the environment, you want to protect everybody else, the raccoons, the skunks, anything and the... For people who are listening, the a24 is kind of like this tube that faces down with an opening towards the ground and the animal sticks its head up to sniff the bait. Well, you don't want a raccoon to stick its hand up there, so what we do is we apply a little fence, little garden fencing around it so that the rodents can get in very easily and it doesn't impair that access for them, but the raccoons and other animals cannot. And that's how we set it up.
AT: I've seen pictures of this, it's really clever. So we have a product like that called The Blocker, which is on a smaller scale. We've never had a reported incident of a pet or anything or a child getting up in there. But it's just that safety blanket, a little bit more peace of mind. But I've seen how your team's applied it and it's really, I gotta give you props, it's quite a smart application for the trap.
RD: Thanks, thanks. Yeah. We wanted to make it, you know... Rats are so smart and they are neophobic. They're scared of new things. And we wanted this... Where we were putting it was at a recycling place. And we wanted to make it so that the animals were comfortable. The rats were comfortable going into this area. So you have to... They feel what their whiskers, so you want to make the opening wide enough that their whiskers don't touch or that they don't feel confined, claustrophobic. And so they'll go in readily and go into the area where the trap is, but nothing else can reach it. So if you think that way, if you think about the animals, the way they're perceiving it, you'll be really successful.
RD: We've also, we tried putting them in the five-gallon buckets that with a screw-top through the lid and that worked, that has worked really well. It probably would work better. They just had, like you were saying, they had too much food other places, so why go into this bucket? But it did work really nicely and you could rinse it out. If the animal was in there and you wanted a fresh start, you could rinse it out. So, the five-gallon bucket with a hole cut in the bottom at the very base or a couple of holes cut in the base. And then the A24 sits inside. You can just carry it around and put it wherever you want. Nobody can see what's inside it. And it's nice and clean and it works great.
Setting an A24 in protective housing from Humane Wildlife Control Inc. on Vimeo.
AT: Can you tell us a little bit about your nonprofit Wild Emergency Services?
RD: Yeah, Wildlife Emergency Services is kind of the paramedic side of the work that we do. So we go out and we respond to calls for animals in distress and we pick them up just like a paramedic. We'll go out, we'll capture them, give them first aid as needed, and then transport them to the local wildlife hospital. That's what we do. We also do a lot of testing of rodenticide victims and get their livers tested so that we... We've spent a lot of money this year on doing that.
AT: Is there a certain animal that you do more testing on for the rodenticides or is it just kind of all across the board?
RD: Bobcats — bobcat. These cats are just... So royal and they're just top of the food chain and they look at a human, they're not going to hurt a person, they don't hurt people. And to see the kind of cocky and stuff, and then to see them just skin and bones dying from rat poison. It breaks my heart. I mean, I've captured many, many, many, many sick and dying bobcats and we've taken the time to get them to the hospital and the work that goes into trying to save them at the hospital, just for them to die, and we test their liver and every single one of them really has come back with different rodenticides, rat poison. Rat poison, ground squirrel poison, gopher poison.
One of many bobcats that dies as a result of exposure to rodenticides. Photo Credit: Michael Bolte
RD: And fortunately, there's a bill that's going through the committees and-
AT: 1788?
RD: Yeah, 1788 and we hope that it gets passed. Even if it does, it allows for use in agriculture and "emergency situations". The pushback from the pest control industry, I really don't understand because my company makes a ton of money, really comfortable living providing environmentally sound, rodent control services and the pushback is unnecessary. I think it's all about money. It's all about greed. How easy it is for somebody, for these pest control operators to go out and just place bait stations outside of buildings and collect their monthly income. It's not needed. Just do some great exclusion work and if you have to do a kill if you have to have a kill solution, use the A24.
AT: Yeah, that's exactly how we feel and the bill, successful or not in it, it looks like... We're optimistic at this point, but it's really... This issue is on the front lines now and it's becoming a little bit more mainstream and people are just... Even just if it's an acknowledgment or an awareness play, I think things will really start to change in the next couple of years.
RD: I do too. I see it already. Yeah, it's good. It's hopeful.
AT: Yeah, exactly. Well, we really appreciate you taking your time to talk with us. Lastly, we just want to know what's next for humane wildlife control and where can people find you online.
RD: Oh, well, great. Thank you. Yeah, we're doing really well, maybe expanding, but people can find us online at humanecontrol.com and if they're out of our area, they can find someone, one of those 20 or so people that do exclusively humane solutions. You can find them through our trade association. Similar name, humanewildlifecontrol.org.
AT: Excellent. And any anywhere on social media where people can find you or, or Humane Wildlife control?
RD: Yeah, just www.humanecontrol.com is our business and through there you can get the links too. We have Facebook etc...
AT: Perfect.
RD: Okay?
AT: Well, we really appreciate you talking to us and we'll chat again in the future.
RD: Great. It was great. Thank you so much.
]]>Our latest interview is with renowned pest management expert Janet Hurley from School Integrated Pest Management, Texas. Janet shared with us some of the common misconceptions about pest control, what people can do to remain vigilant against pests all year round, and also how the A24 Rat & Mouse trap is a staple in her pest control arsenal.
Automatic Trap: We're joined today by Janet Hurley, extension specialist for the Texas Integrated Pest Management school program. They provide training and advice for school districts and other institutions in Texas and the southwest. First of all, we want to say thanks for joining us today, Janet. It's definitely a pleasure to have you here with us. Why don't you start off by telling us a bit about yourself, school IPM, and your current role there?
JH: Well, again, you for inviting me and chatting with me. I have been in my position since 2001. I was actually hired by the Texas A&M Agri-Life Extension Service to support an EPA grant for school IPM back in 2001 to establish what they called then, Southwest Technical Resource Center. And my main goal back then was helping schools to have the right resources. And from there it has really blossomed. One, Texas having one of the oldest laws on the book for school IPM, my role really expanded once the schools found out that they had a resource to go to for someone to help them out. But two, it's also because of my role and there's not that many of us around the United States that does this, I've been introduced and have been blessed with working with a lot of great people across the country. You know, not just learning about pest control, but being able to formulate such a niche of being able to work with more mammals than insects.
Automatic Trap: Well that must be great working with people from all over the country, but I do want to hear some of your perspective coming directly from Texas. From scorpions to bats to snakes, Texas definitely offers a landscape with a lot of different variety and a lot of challenges for pest management. So what is something that is uniquely Texas in terms of pest management, and may have factors including the Texan climate.
JH: Well, the interesting thing about Texas is we're such a diverse state. I mean, it can literally be snowing up in our panhandle and you can be in South Padre in a bathing suit and that's all in the same month. The other part is, is our pests never get a break. I talked to people who live north of Texas. I've got relatives up in the New England states. I deal with people up in Wisconsin and stuff. And they can kind of get a break from pests during the winter months. We get no break. And I will say that there's some unique stuff. I mean, especially with my school. The first time I got a call on, "Hey, we've got bats in our school building. What do we do?" I was like, "Well that's not a cockroach. Let me get back to you."
Automatic Trap: So there's no downtime. That's 12 months of the year, 24/7 kind of thing. There's no time to take back, strategize, take that 10,000-foot view. You're consistently beating back pests, I would assume.
JH: Yes, because if it's not ants, it's roaches. If not roaches, it's termites. If it's not termites, it's rats. Bed bugs. I mean there was always something going on. There is always a pest.
Automatic Trap: Well, that's a great segue into my next question. So I think everybody wants to know, is everything truly bigger in Texas?
JH: That's an urban myth.
Automatic Trap: Well, you know, we had to ask anyway. From a pest standpoint.
JH: From a pest standpoint, I mean, our cockroaches are no different than anybody else's, although my teachers will tell me that they are three foot tall. And I'm like, "If there's a three-foot tall cockroach out there, I'm out." But you know, our cockroaches are no different than anybody else's. Our rats are no different than anybody else's. It's just-
Automatic Trap: Of course.
JH: Like I said, there's always something, there's not a slow month.
Automatic Trap: Right. And that must be a huge challenge, being vigilant 12 months of the year. So what would you say is a common misconception that most people hold about pest management?
JH: Well, there's a popular commercial out there that's tagline is a product kills bugs dead. And I tell everyone that is a belief, and it's a well-honed belief by a lot of people. So you first have got to overcome that no, it just doesn't ... There is no silver bullet for anything.
Automatic Trap: Of course.
JH: You've got to know that pest and it's knowing the difference between species, and knowing what their biology and lifestyle are. Because most folks, you know, "Oh I've got a bug and you just need to come over and kill it."
Automatic Trap: Right. And I think that kind of speaks to this modern generation. You want to go to the grocery store, you want to go down the aisle, grab the product that ... You know, it's supposed to work, and boom, your problems solved. But that's not necessarily always the case. Right?
JH: That is exactly true. I mean, you've got to know what you're dealing with. And even though, yes, marketing is a great thing, for pest management professionals, our biggest hurdle is making the customer understand that we're here to solve a problem, not just kill that bug.
Automatic Trap: So you would say there is a massive part of this that is education. It's not just killing the bug, but I mean on the other hand there is prevention, there is knowing why the bug is there, and how to responsibly and ethically remove of it.
JH: It's proper past identification. One of the things that when I'm dealing with ... So a lot of times I get asked to come in and audit. Audit a school, audit a pest control company. I look at their records, I look at those application use records. And I'll see them write down ants or roaches or mice, and my comment to them is, "They're not just an ant. What kind of ant are you dealing with? What kind of Roach?" German cockroach versus an American cockroach, well, German cockroaches only live indoor with man. You know, they're transported from human to human. They don't come ... Like an American cockroach, well they can be living outside in your flower bed or your compost pile or in a sewer drain, and they may make their way inside. So I tell everybody, know thy enemy and know it well.
Automatic Trap: It kinda sounds like somebody that's going fishing and they just say that they're going fishing for fish. Right? Whether you're going for tuna, bass, salmon, you need different lure, you need to know what part of the water you're going after.
JH: Exactly.
Automatic Trap: Well, there you go. There's a metaphor or simile that you can definitely use on your next-
JH: I just might. I like that one.
Automatic Trap: Okay, well consider it yours. So I also wanted to talk today about increased rodent activity. So across North America, in major urban centers, we're seeing increased rodent activity across the board. What would you say are some of the contributing factors that are leading towards this?
JH: It's humans. And I say that with meaning that if you look up the definition of commensal rodent, the commensal names "to live with man". And I tell everybody, human, be it, man or woman, we're our own worst enemies. We create a lot of garbage. We love to have clutter. We have things around our homes, dogs, cats, birds. We do everything we can to invite the invite the rodents to our own backyard. And even when you're the most diligent of people that being me, they're still going to come because we have so much to give them.
I just look around, even in the area within which I live, I've watched our area increase in population, increase with homes, apartments, shopping areas, and the rats aren't going away and everybody contributed it to construction. And I'm like, no. The construction people may disturb the area, but they also invite it. Because again, they've got their garbage from Doritos and your soda can, or you know, we don't use organized trash, so we've got trash pile buildup, or I have a woodpile and they can go make a home in a woodpile. It's everything. Humans are our own worst enemies.
Automatic Trap: And it's been like that I guess since we industrialized, flourished and started traveling to all parts of the globe, I guess.
JH: Yes, it's ever since we've had an industrial lifestyle. And if you go back to our history from agricultural to the industrial, the minute humans started living in a centralized location is when we saw rodents increase, and it is anywhere from the Middle Ages up till the 21st century.
Automatic Trap: So if they really don't have anything to offer us then why is it really important for us to focus on dispatching rodents in an ethical and responsible manner?
JH: Well, the majority of people who don't like rats, but they also don't like the way that we've killed them in the past. There are a variety of snap traps, but some snap traps that are used take a long time for the rat to die. I mean, I've seen it with my own two eyes. It's not easy to just go pick up a rat and go, oh, it's going to be easy to kill. So coming up with more humane ways to get rid of them, and also cleaner ways to get rid of them. I mean, rats can carry up to 63 different types of diseases. So keeping them localized and close to where they are dispatched actually helps with not spreading diseases as well.
Automatic Trap: Absolutely. That's a great point. So what would you say to maybe a business owner, homeowner, property management, some tips, tricks maybe, for prevention or dealing with a rat or mice infestation?
JH: Well, so this is the interesting part. I love watching home improvement shows, but I have yet to see a home improvement show go through and say here's some simple steps that you need to remember as a homeowner or even apartment dweller. You know? How well sealed are your doors? And I'm talking about the doors too, if you're living in an apartment complex, out to the hallway. What about your patio door? Homeowners, how well are your doors sealed? Some people think about it from an energy standpoint. And that's good, at least they are thinking about it. But most people don't realize that if a mouse can get through the size of a hole the size of a dime, or a quarter of an inch, or like I tell everybody, the size of your index finger, then that needs to be sealed up.
If you've got areas where pests can come in, then those are some of the things. Doing some of these great remodels is great, but let's think about this from I'm a cockroach or I'm an ant or I'm a mouse or a rat. How do I get in your house? I mean, I literally had to go back in and reseal up my mom's house because I took that over several years ago because the rats and the squirrels were having a heck of a time getting into the attic. And my first thing was, no, no, you're not living with me.
Automatic Trap: Right. No need for new roommates. Okay. So I guess it's shameless plug time. You've posted a lot about the Goodnature A24 trap. What do you like about it, and how have you used the trap?
JH: So when I first found this product I was just amazed that it was quote-unquote the better rat trap. Because you've always heard if you build a better mousetrap, they will come. Well, this one was really something different. And when I installed it, and literally it is installed on my back porch and has been there since the summer of 2017, I refer to it as my passive monitoring get 'em. And the reason I say that is is it's there. It's there if I'm at home. It's there if I'm on the road, it's there no matter what. I change up the bait. Yes, I do use the ... I try to freshen up the bait.
But what I liked about it, and this was really important, I had gone away for Christmas break. I came back, looked, I was opening the door, actually to let my dogs out and noticed the fresh rodent droppings. And with that, I had this huge sigh. I'm like, ugh, really? But the way I have my A24, it's in a corner so that the dogs can't get to it, but it's easy for me to inspect. So then I walked around and looked, and I looked down and I went, well I have two dead rats. I had fresh droppings and I had to fresh dead rats. So for me, that was great because that meant they weren't trying to get into the house, they weren't getting into the plants, and it did its job even though I wasn't there.
So for me, this is a level of peace of mind, constant control because it's in the active area. Before I placed the trap, I literally watched the game cameras to see where their ... I kinda knew where their hotspots were, but the game cameras allowed me to say, okay, this is where I'm going to permanently place it. And I have not moved it. People have talked about, well, you should move it. I'm like, nope. Unlike other traps, you know, the wooden snap traps and some of that, where we talk about trap shyness and stuff, these rats don't have it in them to know that they're supposed to be afraid of this, because when they go to explore it, they die. In a humane way, but the rest of the family doesn't know.
They just know that Joe the rat didn't make it home that night. Okay? They just know that this is the area they smell, you know, I'll make sure that it's fresh. I'll make sure that the bate is fresh. I just let it go because I know that I'm going to see rats 12 months out of the year in my house.
Automatic Trap: Yeah. And you know, we've said it many times before, that's definitely a challenge. So we're really happy to hear that you're having a lot of success with our traps. That's actually it, Janet. So we again, want to thank you for coming on today. Lastly, why don't you let everybody know what's in store for school IPM, what's going on with you, and where people can find you online.
JH: Well, school IPM is alive and well in Texas. It is a law and it's something I'll be doing. I enjoy doing the training for school IPM. I also, like I said earlier, my fascination is with rodents and with bats, so I'm planning for our spring rodent academy in March and then we'll do another one in the fall. And then I'm easy to find because if you look me up on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, I'm there. I'm pretty much ... I've got a good profile out there. But then we also have our school IPM website, which is schoolipm.tamu.edu. And then for my pest management professionals, we have our professional site which is called The IPM Experience House, which is where we do all of our pest management training, like the rodent academy and we do bedbugs and everything else, and that one is ipmhouse.tamu.edu.
Automatic Trap: Definitely no shortage of ways to get in touch.
JH: Yes, there is ... I put myself out there, but I enjoy it. I enjoy talking to people about their problems, because I think that's the part we forget to talk to people about it, I'm a problem solver. No matter what it is, I'm going to try and help solve your problems. It may not work the first time, but I'm one of those persistent people. I'll just keep going.
Automatic Trap: Right, and that's the main thing in this industry, is pragmatism, right? Well, we want to say thank you again for joining us today and we look forward to chatting with you in the future.
Janet Hurley: Well, I can't wait to talk to you some more and good luck to you guys as well.
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We were fortunate enough to sit down with Andrew Burress from Natura Pest Control who's team caught 39 mice in one night using Goodnature Traps! Natura Pest Control operates out of the Reno/Sparks area in Nevada. The area has had a considerable rise in rodent activity as urban development continues to naturally displace rats & miceF. Andrew talked to us about the challenges of working in the area as well as how using Goodnature™ Traps has changed the way his team works!
Automatic Trap: Hi, Andrew. Thank you for joining us today. Why don't you start off by telling us a little bit about yourself about Natura PC?
AB: Of course. Thanks, obviously again for having me, I've been doing/selling pest control since 2010. I started in door-to-door sales for a company in California, sold there for four years. After selling, I moved more into the service side of things, and really enjoyed it and sort of found my niche and what I wanted to do. Since then, I've worked with several other companies, like Clark Pest Control in California, now there's Terminix, before starting my own pest control company here in Reno, called Natura Pest Control.
We operate out of the Reno-Sparks area. We also cover Carson City now. You know, we've officially been a business here since early 2017, so we're still pretty darn new in the area, but we love the area here and all that it has to offer, in not just pest control but obviously the wonderful people and the area.
Automatic Trap: The Reno-Sparks area produces pretty favorable conditions for pests. You've got a mild climate and moisture throughout the year, and on your website, you even call the area an ideal breeding ground. What are some of the challenges of working in a climate like Reno?
AB: When you're in an area that is high desert like we are, you deal with a type of pest that is adapted to the environment. Bugs have an amazing ability to adapt to the weather conditions, and with Reno experiencing four different seasons throughout the year, you deal with invaders much more often than you would when have an area that's warm all year long, like Southern California.
So, when you get a sudden influx of climate and moisture, you have more frequent movements in bug activity from outdoors to indoors. With this type of environment you also deal with the longevity of the product, you know, lasting as long as you need it to. So, year after year, it's important to stay up on current trends in the industry, and also product always stay one step ahead of the bugs.
Which gets interesting when you have add the climate to the equation, and not just the natural ability for the bugs to adapt. You know, it makes for a challenging area for really good pest control.
Automatic Trap: What would you say is unique about Natura Pest Control and what you have to offer your clients?
AB: Like I mentioned before, I had the opportunity to work for a lot of different companies in the industry, through the years of selling and servicing. I felt like I had an ability to see sort of where there were big gaps in the services offered to customers. One of those main things is the overhaul and the usage of product.
At Natura, we don't try to simply just promise that they'll not see bugs, but more importantly, we try to obviously make sure and ensure that, and what we do to do that is overhaul our products every other year to make sure that there's no cross-resistance built up on customers' properties.
You know, so it's real important to stay up on trends like that and adapt your product to the service and the climate, because obviously, bugs are continuously doing that throughout the year.
Automatic Trap: what is the most common pest that you deal with?
AB: Any market you go into, I think ants and spiders will always be the top pest that you deal with. Here in Reno-Sparks area, though, we also deal with a ton of rodents.
New neighborhoods are being built higher and higher into the hills. Which naturally displace the rodent population that's already established in that area. In Reno, I'd say we do something rodent-related for at least half the customer base that we have.
And then obviously, seasonally you deal with a lot of ants in the spring, summer, and then mid to late summer, early fall, you're dealing with a lot of spiders and beetle-type invaders in the home.
Automatic Trap: So, around 50% you would say is rodent-related?
AB: Yeah, I'd say that's probably a pretty conservative guess. You know, it's close to daily that we hear something rodent-related here.
Automatic Trap: So, why are rodents so particularly hard to catch?
AB: Mice are not particularly hard to catch, but because of the numbers of mice in any given area, and also given the fact that they can fit through anything about a quarter of an inch or bigger, presents a lot of problems for our customers in the ability to catch them. But just the sheer numbers of the mice and stuff like that obviously make it hard for really continuous control for our customers.
Rats, on the other hand, are very smart. They have a fear of new things in their environments. You know, they have a pecking order, a social order too. So most of the time, when you catch a rat, first, you're dealing with whatever rat was lowest on the social order there.
So you really can't chalk it up as win in the win column. Rats are quick to learn from their mistakes. Rats take a lot more time to trap and eradicate from areas, and so, it takes lots of-
Automatic Trap: Trial and error?
AB: Yeah, trial and error, but also problem-solving. You know, you can't just sort of put a trap out there and cross your fingers that it works.
Automatic Trap: So, you're saying you have to be very pragmatic and ...
AB: Yeah, very much so. You've got to sort of take the time to do it right the first time. Otherwise, you're just going to be playing a game of catch-up.
Automatic Trap: When did you first hear about the A24 Goodnature Automatic Trap?
AB: To be honest, I don't remember if I saw it on Facebook or YouTube first. I do remember vividly, though, watching the video on how the trap worked, and thinking to myself, This is exactly what Natura needs.
Like I said before, I'm always looking for new trends, new technology to come out, to just keep us one step ahead of, not necessarily just the competition but obviously the pests that we have in the area.
So, I remember watching that and thinking to myself, "Yeah, this is the direction that we need to go," because it just sort of makes sense.
Automatic Trap: So, how are you using Goodnature Traps at Natura?
AB: We use this very frequently in the crawl space of customers' homes. We have sort a variance in the type of crawl space that you'll have here in town. You have the older homes where the crawl space entrance is on the outside. It's not very well put together. It's very disorganized. But with that being able to be screwed into stem walls under a house makes it a quick and easy option for us. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of it.
It's something we use as well when we need to escalate a rodent service. You know, let's say we started out with sticky traps. That's just not working. We can escalate to that.
We try to do everything we can to use the process of elimination to see where rodents are getting into the home and where they're trying to establish a nest. With the Goodnature Trap, it makes guesswork a lot less, and obviously it saves us a lot of time. We can put the trap up into a certain baiting zone, and either confirm they're in that area or not.
While placing snap traps, there's a lot of things that can go wrong, and sometimes that means you second-guess yourself if the placement was right, or if you used the right bait, and I feel like with the Goodnature Trap, you know for sure that it's working, and brings peace of mind not just to the customer but to the company as well, to know that, is my technician placing this stuff in the right area? Does this customer have really the good nature of being upset as they are? Or are we doing everything right and there's just something that we're not thinking about?
So, it takes a lot of the guesswork out of it, which I really enjoy.
Automatic Trap: Well, it seems to certainly be successful for you. Word on the street is that you caught close up to 40 mice in one night with the Goodnature Trap. Can you take us through that night, kind of describe how that happened?
AB: It was actually my first experience using the trap! In Northwest Reno, there's a lot of new neighborhoods, like I said, being built upon the hillsides.
The crawl spaces are pretty unique. You go into a crawl space that's on the bottom floor, and it can sometimes be eight to 12 feet high. Then it'll sort of taper off to the contour of the hillside, to where the end of the crawl space, towards the front of the house, is maybe closer to a normal crawl space, you know, two to three feet high.
We had identified two main entry points in this house, one in the garage on the west side of the house, of them coming in by the water heater. But then one on the other side of the house as well, by the air conditioning unit. Both of those entry points led straight to the crawl space, and they were backed up to the hillside where there was no development behind them. They were exposed to the rest of the mountains that are behind them, so obviously, that population was already high to begin with.
They had been in there for quite a while. Even during the inspection, we could see them running on top of the stem walls and taking insulation out and building little nests with it. So, we put the bait that comes with the traps that you guys provide, and we started trailing that from outside all the way to the inside.
There was a stem wall perfectly dividing that tall spot of the crawl space into the front of it, and we placed a trap on either end, screwed it straight into the stem wall, led that bait all the way up to it, and put in the CO2 and let it do its thing.
I went back the other night and it was just crazy, because we had also set up sticky traps and snap traps, and you know, we caught some on those as well, so I mean, it was a free-for-all that night. I think it was actually two days later, it might have been two days later, but yeah, we went out that next night or the next night after that.
It was just a big pile underneath these trap! And then some on those sticky traps and snap traps. So, I mean, it made it for easy collection as well, so it was dual purpose convenience for us. It was easy to catch them and it was easy to find them, they didn't crawl off and die somewhere without rodenticide like they usually do.
Automatic Trap: What does your team like best about using the trap?
AB: I think a lot of what they like is a lot that we enjoy on the business side of things. It's always to know that you're using the latest and greatest. Instead of using a snap trap any customer could get at a store, we're using specialty equipment, and when using that with rodent knowledge, we have what makes the control of pests a lot more successful.
A lot more fun. When you're getting consistent information and can give better information, it just goes all the way down the chain. It just makes work a lot more stress-free. You know, a lot less troublesome for us.
Automatic Trap: Yeah, that's basically all my questions for today. I want to thank you for joining me and discussing a little bit about Natura PC, the Reno-Sparks area, challenges that you face, and some of the success you've had with the Goodnature A24 Automatic Trap. Lastly, we want to know, what's next for Natura PC?
AB: That's a great question. It's onwards and upwards, really. We're going to try to see market trends and stay ahead of those, and offer a good service to our customer base and to obviously our employees, give them the latest tools and equipment to be successful.
Automatic Trap: Excellent. Well, thanks for joining us. I really appreciate it.
AB: Yeah. Thanks for having me.
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