They need to teach you this stuff in school: So this is the story that by far gets the most laughs, and is by far the most embarrassing for me. When I was still very green, I had a very residential route. Meaning I had very few commercial accounts. One of the few that I had was a funeral home in Midwestern ohio. The first time I serviced, the director told me that I only had to go into prep room if they were having a problem.(prep room meaning the room they prepare the body for burial) Things were going along ok till 3 months down the road. I walked in, greeted the assistant, and asked if they had any problems. To my surprise, she said they were having a big ant problem, one of the areas was in the prep room. I asked her if I needed to be escorted or if it was ok to go in. She said that everyone was covered up so things should be ok. Yeah right. For those of you who don't know, let me paint a picture. In the middle of the room is a giant drain (don't ask what for) under a metal table where they put on makeup, clothes etc. Surrounding the area are cabinets and a what looks like a water pump in back of the table. I strapped up my boot straps and started to search for the ants. Just my luck, I found them right next to the head of the table, which as promised, there was a gentleman who was covered with a sheet. My head was literally 4 or 5 inches from this gentlemans shoulder. It is very quiet and I am baiting for ants for 45 sec or so when I hear, UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I quite literally jumped 6 feet in the air. Now for those of you who don't know, I am 6ft tall and weigh approx. 275 lbs, and I was RUNNING and SCREAMING down the hall of this funeral home like a 10 yr old girl. I almost put a hole in the wall I was moving so fast. Mind you, there were funerals taking place that day, and I couldn't have cared less. I got back to the office and stammered out something about the dead coming back to life and zombies going to eat my brains. The director, laughing the whole time, calmly explained to me that sometimes, when we expire, the body gasses can build up over time. If they come out over the vocal chords, they can moan or even speak. I told him that was great, but it doesn't change the fact that I needed new shorts. I called my boss and told him I was going home for the day, no matter what he said. You learn something new every day eh? Until we meet again.

Room 306: The internet is a dangerous place, especially in the insect world. Do me a favor, minimize this post, go to google, and type in bedbugs. How many hits did you get? 5 Years ago, that number would have been dramatically different, far less. This is the insect epidemic of our day. Pharoah had frogs and locusts, we have bedbugs. It only began a few years ago when international travel started to get more and more accessable to the general public. It began in New York, and has spread like a brush fire. Chicago and the surrounding areas are number 1 this year in bedbug cities across the nation. Lets start with a few common questions about this nasty little bloodsucker. 1. Do they spread disease? No. There is no legitimate study that shows that if a bedbug bites someone with a bloodborne pathogen, then bites you, it will spread to you. 2. How do I get them? Many ways. I have personally fought these guys in hotels, movie theatres, homes, apartments, hospitals, public transport, planes, retail stores, multi family housing. Best advice I can give is, watch what you buy. Garage sales? Dangerous! Trash day pickup? Never! 3. Are they impossible to get rid of? No. Difficult, but not impossible. Not something you want to try on your own. You WILL make it worse. 4. Do they fly? No. They don't even have wings. 5. What do they eat, and what are they attracted to? They eat blood, and prefer human. They are attracted to the CO2 we expel. 6. Can you do anything to prevent them? This is a scary answer, No we cannot. There is nothing, NOTHING, that anyone can do, to keep bedbugs out of your property. This is a reactionary service, not a proactive approach. 7. What do they look like? The look a lot like a tick. Roughly the size and shape of an appleseed. 8. Do they really live in the bed? Yes, and the boxsprings, and the nightstand and the carpet etc etc etc 9. If I get them, do I have to get a new bed? Maybe. You can encase the mattress and boxsprings though. 10. Is it expensive? Yes, one of the most costly problems to have. So what do you do? A few tips: 1. Educate yourself, know what to look for signs of the problem, if you travel a lot, check your hotel room before every time you stay. 2. Pack light. The less stuff they have to hide in, the better. 3. Deep Woods off. The DEET product in off keeps bedbugs away for up to 8 hours per application. 4. If you suspect you have a problem, call someone. There aint no shame in that game. Don't be a hero, we know what we are doing. The best example is room 306. We have in our business what we call "mystery biters" These are folks who are absolutely convinced that they have some kind of insect biting them, and cannot be convinced otherwise. She was no different. She was convinced she had a bedbug problem, and they called me in. I met the property manager, who warned me of the little issue they were having. I assured her with some convincing that I could handle whatever it was. The maintenance man and I went to her room and that is when it got interesting. She answered the door in a robe, That's it. I asked her if now was a good time or if we needed to return, she assured me now was perfect. I went in, and performed my inspection, talking to her the whole time and letting her know that I am not a doctor so I cannot diagnose her bites.(truth tell, your doctor cant tell you either) Finding no bedbugs or sign of bedbugs, the lady of the house tried to show me pictures of the bites she had, the only problem was they were on her breast. Did I mention this young lady was probably 85 years old? Trying to keep my composure, I told her that wasn't going to help me, So then OFF CAME THE ROBE!!!! I did not see this happen, but the maintenance man says he is scarred for life. Over the next 14 days, we made 15 trips out to her place, including bringing our bedbug sniffing dog in to assure her that she doesn't have a problem. To this day she still insists she has them. Talking to her son over this time, she had gone on the net, read all the horror stories and had convinced herself that it was happening to her. Morale of the story? Misinformation is More dangerous than not being informed at all. Below are some pictures that should help you out.

The Start of it All: For many years I struggled to find what I wanted to do with my life, I have been everything from a Singer, Plumber, Restaurant Manager. None of these seemed to fit. Then an opportunity came to me via a friend, it was an observation day with a exterminator as they were called in those days. We worked for 13 hours that day, and I swore I would never go back. That was 10 years ago now. My name is Chris Abele, and I am a professional Pest Control Operator. First off, let me say a little about me. I was born on July 4 1978 to goodly parents, who showed me a lot of love and caring all throughout my upbringing. Being the Son of Diane Ferree and Jerry Abele was not all sugar bumps and cocktails. My parents divorced when I was 8 years old, an all too common practice nowadays. I stayed with my mom but went and visited my Dad on every other weekend and whenever I wanted to see him. I believe I got my care for children from my mother and my work ethic from my father. I went to a Catholic School (GO CAVS) and graduated from Lehman High School with 63 of the best classmates a guy could have. I was an odd kid however, and some of my worst memories are from those days, although things always tended to work out in the end. Maybe we will touch on that later in time. I attended college and did get my associates in General Studies with a weight on BM, and went to work....... Straight to McDonalds. I had worked there since I was 14 and it just seemed a logical progression at the time to continue on there. I took a managers job in Bellefontaine Oh, and promptly met my first wife, Dawn. (We definitely will touch on this later) After 6 years as a manager, I started looking for different work, and along came my current employer. Skip a few years,( I don't want to spoil the stories) to today. I am now married to my Second wife Dawn,(IKR?) and am the proud step father of Braeden and Katie, and Father to Kristyn. Let me tell you, of all the jobs i have held, Being a Father is by far the most rewarding. OK, a little bit about this blog: First some rules. 1. I wont mention anyone by name, it could get embarrassing and I don't want legal issues. 2. I will be telling stories on most posts, these are all true stories that either happened to me, or someone I know. 3. If you recognize yourself, its not intended to shame or embarrass, only to educate. 4. If you have a question, Please Ask! I will get to you. 5. I would welcome other opinions and stories so please comment when necessary, although I insist that it is clean. And so it will go! I am hoping to post something every other day or so, but as things progress along that may change. I will always take requests for tips of the day or something that you would like to see. Please get ahold of me, or friend me on facebook.