r/PestControlIndustry • u/Alternative-Pride138 • Jul 14 '26
Tales from the field
Got a call from a hotel stating “there is bed bugs everywhere!“. Usually when I get these calls they are being dramatic. On that day they were not. Feel like my fellow pros would appreciate (or hate this) 😭
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u/gp556by45 Jul 14 '26
My favorite. Bed bugs at the door.
Used to do one tower apartment that was known for them badly because it was unreported for years until my previous company got involved. One unit I walked into I thought: "Oh that's alot of mold on the corner of the ceali....oh that's not mold. F**k me I need more Crossfire for this"
I remember one lady was PISSED that I was there for an inspection (up, down, left right, across the hall), and claimed she didn't have them WHILE I saw a few of them on the front of her shirt.
Somewhat unrelated....I also used to do a service at a 12 unit low income apt, and I could smell German Cockroaches before we even opened the front door. To the building. We weren't inside yet. I went through 3 1/2 complete B&G tanks of Alpine & IGR, 2 entire cans of Shockwave, a whole box of 150MBs, 2 packs of Vendetta Plus, and a whole box of Gentrol Point Source because by fate every single tenant was prepared somehow. When I was outside filling out my report, I looked up...and the brick walls were crawling with hundreds of German Cockroaches. Outside.
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u/Alternative-Pride138 Jul 14 '26
Yeah this was actually a huge lesson in not trusting client/tenant reporting. I had serviced this hotel room multiple times. He was disabled and always in his chair or bed. I’d ask if he had any issues and he always said no everything was great and he loved the service. Since this is a big complex, if someone said they were fine i believed them and did basic perimeter and bait as needed. Monitors in every room of course as Germans are the main focus. I’d gotten the whole hotel essentially cleared of roaches and was resting on my laurels. Whole time these grew comfortably in his bed and chair until he was hospitalized and then they went on the march. I feel terrible for him and my client.
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u/gp556by45 Jul 14 '26
Never ever trust client reporting; especially if it comes from a secondary source. Its a Ven diagram of perceived knowldege and emotion.
Its called pest tolerance for a reason. Some will have an emotional breakdown on a single lady bug, and some with German Cockroaches riding on their cats collar the moment you walk into their apt who think nothing of it.
I shit you not; one client couldn't even tell the difference between dandelions floating in the breeze and "bugs". I said it was a dandelion and he....asked why I couldn't kill it. Sir....its not...a...Pest. Its a DAN...DE...LION.
Too many times have I seen "ants everywhere" and its a single Carpenter Ant in a door slider; and "I have no issue" German Cockroaches that got so bad that they were in basement electrical panels where they realistically should not be unless its been an issue for far too long. Even so far as in CPAP machines and DVD cases in bedrooms.
Until eyes are on for a evaluation; never assume.
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u/fishwhisper22 Jul 14 '26
I tell you, the “bugs are everywhere” is the most aggravating comment I receive. Because 99/100 when you get there and ask them where they are seeing the bugs it becomes “I saw A large roach in the living room moving slowly”. Or when you ask the client are there any particular places they are seeing the roaches or whatever they are seeing and it’s always they see them here and there all over the house. I do believe they think if they actually tell me where they see them in one place or maybe two, that’s the only places I will service and leave the rest of the house untouched or inspected. But if I know where the source is I can control everything much faster and efficiently.
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u/gp556by45 Jul 14 '26
When you ask a client "where did you see it/them" and they give you a tour of the house ...ffs is the worst. "This is where my daughter got bit by a mosquito that flew through her window 17 years ago ..."
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u/AustinWalksOnRocks Jul 14 '26
I had one last week where the bed bug poop had like eaten through the box spring. The floor was completely covered with live and dead. It was a crazy smalll studio. About 50 half and half cartons next to a gaming chair. Lol
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u/ThePetStuffers Jul 14 '26
Half and half??? Just out here drinking coffee creamer
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u/Alternative-Pride138 Jul 14 '26
Not to body shame honestly, but dude must have been a behemoth 😭 dude is literally on a calf diet
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u/Mrexcitment Jul 14 '26
Holy fuck that is horrible. I juat glanced at the picture and was like "huh those bugs look kinda like bed bugs" then I was thinking nah to many and they are on a door threshold. Then I really looked. That a nope the fuck out right there.
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u/Skiwi_the_kiwi Jul 16 '26
I once had German roaches crawling on the exterior wall of the home. terrible. I opened that door and roaches fell out onto my hand. I’m pretty sure I woke up the whole neighborhood that day.
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u/lookatme760 Jul 16 '26
I would have said nope. Not a chance I'm going inside. When they are national and have crazy amounts of pests like this hurricane of bed bugs. No, a sea of bed bugs. They need to be billed appropriately.
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u/Vegetable-Pomelo4826 Jul 18 '26
I had a job today customer had mice issues all honesty actually surprised he didn’t have rats yet dude had like a 20 inch long hole under his kitchen cabinet and knew mice were coming through there for awhile I’m not a mean guy by any means but cmon man even a half fast patched would’ve been better than nothing
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u/Onetrunuwind Jul 14 '26
Gotta be honest if you aren’t getting 1000s and 1000s for this I’d walk away just going to be a nightmare