Termites Indulge Themselves in $222,000 CASH

Posted on April 22, 2011 with 3 Comments

North India police reported that termites ate 10 million rupees ($222,000) this morning, said Yahoo News. This money was sitting in a steel chest that has not been opened in months.  The bank said that termites were known to have damaged bank property in the past.

Termites are known to cause over $2 billion dollars in property damage every year, I guess that number doesn’t cover actual government currency

JP McHale Pest Management Celebrates Earth Day!

Posted on April 22, 2011 with No Comments

Here at JP McHale Pest Management we have taken many initiatives to continue to make our company more environmentally friendly. Earth Day is here! Over the last few years we have rolled out many new programs, services and products to every aspect of our business from typical office processes, to the services we perform every day in your homes.

We have laid out the many changes and improvements we have made as a company to improve out carbon footprint on this wonderful earth!

Office Programs

- JP McHale has a recycling program that recycles all plastics, metals (soda cans) as well as paper from our offices. We collected over $1750 last year, which is matched by the McHale family, personally. All of these funds are donated to local charities.

- Here at JP McHale we use many paper marketing materials to promote out products to customers, we have switched to a recycled paper called Neenah Green paper which is chlorine free and carbon neutral, which helps saves trees, water and energy.

- In the past, we were required to provide customers with a copy of every label from every product that we used on their property, the Department of Environmental Protection now allows us to provide this in digital format. We are now providing customer with CDs as well as offering all of our labels on our website. This drastically cuts down on the amount of paper we must use.

Field Programs

- Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a technique we have used for a very long time. Specifically, we use passive traps (snap traps, glue boards, etc.) as well as active traps (insect light traps [ILTs], pheromone traps) to monitor and determine the level of infestation. Only when problems reach an action threshold do we employ chemical treatment. One available treatment is insect growth regulators, which act specifically on insects and are therefore non-toxic to humans. We also employ biological control (the BMRT microbial drain cleaner), which is a living organism that feeds on organic debris in drains. The benefit of biological controls is that they are population dependent. When all the gunk in the drain is gone, the microbes wash away and are perfectly harmless. Cultural controls such as the use of mattress covers and making suggestions for improved sanitation also reduce chemical applications.

- Over the last few years we have been rolling out more environmentally friendly programs that include our Tree and Turf Organic Lawn Program, as well as utilizing the power of garlic concentrate and many different soaps to achieve the same results as other, less green materials.

-During any of our work, if we need to dispose of any metals from our customer’s homes, this is brought back to our shop, and recycled.

- All of our trucks are equipped with high mileage oil filters. Rather than having to change our trucks oil every 3,000 to 5,000 miles, we extend the oil’s usage to about 30,000 miles!

- We have begun to roll out electronic handheld devices to our termite department. This allows more accurate reporting, as well as eliminating the need for service tickets.

From our family to yours…have a great Earth Day and change something in your daily routine to further reduce your carbon footprint!

“If you don’t have stink bugs yet, you will”

Posted on April 18, 2011 with No Comments

Last week, ABC News ran a story about a man who’s house is infested by Stink Bugs.  Stink bugs are overwintering insects, and take shelter in homes during the winter months. When the weather gets warmer, the stink bugs will come out of hiding and their presence is massive. These insects tend to stay in the cracks and crevasses in your home. Most specifically in roofs and siding. Check out the ABC News report below.