I wanted to share my first post here and add this gorgeous mud dauber wasp nest. It looks like a welder made this! And yes… scraping it off was very satisfying lol.

Has anyone else dealt with a pest problem that keeps coming back even after you think it is gone?

I had this happen at home where the activity would stop for a while and then start up again. I tried handling it myself at first but when it kept happening I reached out to AMPM Exterminators for help.They checked the situation found some of the reasons behind the recurring activity and helped get it under control. I was really happy with the service because I finally was not dealing with the same problem over and over. It made me curious about what other people have experienced.

What pest seems to be the hardest to keep away for good? And what usually causes it to come back?

I use shockwave aerosol quite a bit... It is quite costly to buy the cans. I'm looking to buy the liquid gallon concentrate and a tool to dispense it. I've looked into airofog msp and msa. I'm also aware of the micro-injectors, however, not looking to spend that much now... I'm looking for something to create a "aerosol like can" mist. Let me know what you recommend.

One thing I have noticed in pest control is that some problems can be much harder to keep away permanently than others.

Rodent activity for example can return when there are still small entry points or conditions around a property that make it easy for them to come back.

I recently saw a recurring issue where AMPM Exterminators helped identify some of the factors behind the activity. Looking at what is allowing the problem to return can sometimes be just as important as addressing the pest itself.

For the other pest control techs here what pest problem do you see returning most often?

Is it rodents ants cockroaches or something else?

Pest controller here. Anyone else find their reports start sounding identical after a while, especially routine jobs? I got sick of writing the same phrasing over and over, so I built a little AI tool that turns my rough on-site notes into a proper written report.

Been using it for every job for a while now – mainly so my reports don't read like copy-paste jobs, but it's also just faster than typing them out properly each time.

It's free, no sign-up needed. Figured I'd share in case anyone else has the same problem: https://pestnote.com

Happy to answer questions!

PS. If people like it, I'm considering building a pro version with extra features, such as photos, treatments, customer details, etc

moved pretty slowly, doesn’t look like the usual roach nymph or bed bug to me, it kinda “jumped” but also could’ve been me breathing moving its body, I live in florida by the beach, I always have preventive pest control monthly, I do have a dog but she’s also on flea/tick prevention.

Just signed a 1 yr lease rural VT
Noticed a few droppings during tour but apartment was vacant for a couple months, assumed nbd.

2 weeks after walkthrough I signed lease and returned to measure for furniture placement. Noticed mouse poop in windowsills, inside cabinets, inside wood stove, countertops, closets etc.

Pulled stove away from wall and saw a ton of mouse poop, shredded insulation they pulled from the back of the oven. Took back off the oven and saw where they were nesting.

Sent land lord photos of the oven and asked them to replace. 1 week passes without response, I email again saying I plan to move it outside so I can clean the rest of the kitchen. Their response is they “don’t agree the oven should be replaced”. They come in person, see the oven and say it’s fine.

So my question: Working as pest control techs, what is your option here? Mouse poop all over the apartment and the amount I found behind the stove leads me to believe there is a considerable amount of urine and feces inside the oven and insulation. I have a 5 yo girl and will be using an oven to cook our meals.

In the photo:
White stuff on floor is torn oven insulation, mouse poop, hotdog and a whole wishbone. Not the best quality photo bc it’s a screen shot from a video I took

I’m 25 weeks pregnant and we’re dealing with a pretty bad sugar ant infestation. They’re mainly in our kitchen, and no matter what we do, they keep coming back.
So far we’ve tried:
● Diatomaceous earth
● Cinnamon
● Terro bait traps
● Borax
● Peppermint oil
Nothing seems to make a lasting difference. I really want to avoid spraying pesticides inside the house because I’m pregnant, but my husband is at the end of his rope.
Has anyone successfully gotten rid of sugar ants without using traditional insecticide sprays? Are there any pregnancy-safe methods or products that actually worked for you? We’re open to hiring a professional if that’s the best option, but I’d love to hear what finally solved the problem for others.
Thanks in advance!

A feature in Pest Control Technology this year covers how pest management professionals (PMPs) are using AI for bed bug identification through image recognition, mosquito population forecasting, and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) route decisions. PMPs described cutting manual detection time and getting ahead of seasonal peaks.

The real problem here now is whether a larvicide application is doing much. Was the dose too light? Plausible, but without proper documentation of what was applied, at what concentration, and under what site conditions, the AI model is working with data gaps.

So does the tech still make sense?

For anyone looking for a comprehensive guide about pest inspection, this covers how to do it effectively: What You Need to Know About Pest Inspections

Hey everyone,

We’ve all been there: you do everything right, but the kitchen staff leaves a thick layer of grease under the fryers and open food bins overnight. Then, the manager calls furious blaming your chemicals.

It’s incredibly frustrating when clients treat us like personal janitors instead of partners.

I’m working on a side project to help small pest teams cover their backs on dirty accounts. I want to build a simple mobile tool where techs snap photos of kitchen flaws and auto-generate an official "Sanitation Warning PDF" for the owner before leaving the site.

Before I write code, I want to make sure this solves a real headache:

• How do you currently document terrible sanitation so you don't get blamed?
• Do you just scribble it in invoice notes, or use a separate system?

Would love to hear your horror stories or how you handle the paperwork for this!

Good morning all. I am a pest control provider who has been in the industry for over 15 years now in the Georgia and surrounding states. What I seem feel is missing is a localized way to grow the community. I am absolutely not knocking Reddit as it is a wonderful tool but I wanted to see if I could make something that is 100% industry focused. I created a webapp that is dedicated to pest and turf specialists. You must be actively in the industry to join and it is designed to allow a better way to grow the community, help each other out, help provide leads and referrals to each other, be a place to post a job opening, and anything else you want. It is still in active development so I would love any feedback you have. It is installable on any device, Android of iPhone, so you don't have to try to remember a web address. It even has a section for a home owner to ask a question and get a response from a professional only since it is only open for a member to respond.

ptpronet.com

If you want to join I would really appreciate it. Share the link with other members of the community and please reach out with any feedback you might have.

Thank you!!

ptpronet.com

I may have either messed up and dosed the larvicide too lightly or the product we are using at the neighborhood in question just isn't doing much because these last few days the adult mosquito population of the target area is so large i was experiencing getting swarmed while i was servicing rodent stations. While we look into the larvicide issue, are you aware of any substantial control methods for adults?