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Bug Bytes
 
June
 2017

IN THIS ISSUE:
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DON'T LET BED BUGS CRASH YOUR SUMMER VACAY

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Sweet summertime is here! Bring on the summer vacations! A beach? Theme park? A lake? The mountains? A big city? Overseas? Or perhaps the middle of the sea? No matter where you go for vacation, it's always a good idea to protect yourself from any encounters with biting pests. 

When choosing a hotel for your vacation, you might pay attention to whether you're booking a one-star or a five-star hotel; however, bed bugs just don't care. Despite a hotel's best prevention tips, anyone can bring in bed bugs at any time. And for whatever reason, bed bugs tend to peak in the summer. It's important to check where you stay as well as your belongings. Here are some good places to check and tips on how to prevent bringing any of these guys home as souvenirs.  

BATHROOM: The safest place to store your luggage as soon as you enter your room is the middle of the bathroom floor. Or, better yet, right in the bathtub. Bed bugs have a reeeeallllyyy tough time with tile so they tend to avoid these areas. Grab your cell phone & use the flashlight (or a flashlight app) during your inspection. 

BED(S): This is a no-brainer, right? Pull back all the sheets and inspect the mattress seams & box springs thoroughly. You should look for pepper-like stains, blood marks and, of course, any actual bed bugs. Don't forget the headboard. 

CHAIRS, COUCHES & CURTAINS: Bed bugs like coziness. (I mean, who doesn't, right?) Look around all upholstered surfaces paying special attention to crevices and folds. 

WALL SOCKETS: Bed bugs hitchhike to other rooms through luggage, housekeeping carts and even wall sockets. For this reason, make sure your inspection includes wall sockets. (Side note: Bed bugs use wall sockets to travel one floor up and one floor down so if you do find evidence of bed bugs and continue your stay at the same hotel, request a room on a floor at least 3 floors above or below where you originally were.) 

Once you've inspected the room and all's good, you can relax and enjoy a GREAT vacation! Oh yeah -- you can also take your suitcase out of the bathtub now! :) 

Got more questions about bed bugs or how to protect yourself? Visit us here or call us anytime at 636-343-7900. 
PURDUE ADVANCED COURSE
Purdue advanced course

Every single person on Team Blue Chip -- from our owners to our office staff to our technicians to our managers -- is required to complete and pass a course on pest management from Purdue University. 

Upon completion of this course, we continue to put an emphasis on education and training by offering many more opportunities for continued education through college-level courses. Please help us celebrate one of our managers, Tony, and one of our technicians, Doug, who just passed Purdue University's Advanced Pest Management Course. 
BUGS & BREWS
Do your weekend plans include an outdoor BBQ? And quite possibly an ice cold beer? Watch out -- you're not the only one who might be after a cold brew! 

cockroaches love beer
BACKYARD GARDENS
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During the past 5 years there's been a significant shift in the number of people growing their own food -- namely vegetables. As a matter of fact, 35% of all households in America grow food either at home or in a community garden. Are you one of these people? Or at least considering joining them? There's a lot of reasons to consider planting a garden in your backyard. Lowering grocery bills, taking up a new hobby, improving your health and teaching your kids about nature top this list. All great reasons but one thing you might not consider is the impact a backyard garden may have in a possible increase in the number of pests and wildlife populations that find your tomatoes just as juicy as you do. 

No problem! You just need to take some time to educate yourself about problems that may arise and to learn some techniques that keep pests from wreaking havoc on your garden. Let's explore some of these techniques together: 

1. Make your garden unattractive. 
Yep, that's right. Make your garden as unattractive as possible to curious (and hungry!) wildlife. Clean up any nearby spilled bird feed. Seal off access to any crawl space below your deck or porch. Remove tall grasses which could be possible nesting areas. 

2. Some temporary solutions can work -- if only temporarily. 
Scent repellants such as castor oil and garlic can sometimes be temporary solutions; however, they must be monitored and reapplied quite often. 

3. Put a lid on it. Literally. 
You can create simple covers for your plants out of chicken wire that are usually effective at keeping most wildlife at bay. 

4. Plant more!
This time, plant things that wildlife typically find repulsive. Azaleas & marigolds annoy rabbits. Daffodils can repel deer. 

Even more annoying than wildlife in your garden is if the critter decides to make itself at home INSIDE your home. We have an incredible team of Wildlife Specialists who are only a phone call (636-343-7900) or click away!
REFERRAL REWARDS
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Six. That's how many exclamation points this thrilled customer used in just two sentences when writing about a pest control company. Her pest control company. And, luckily, it's already your pest control company as well! :) We take pride in being "over the top", shine with an entire team dedicated to "exemplary customer service" and love being the "best!!!" But what we also appreciate is that fact this customer told us that Blue Chip is one of the places that can be recommended to family & friends without reservation. 

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Check out the gift cards and envelopes pictured above. Can you refer someone who's in need of pest control to us as well? If so, one of these envelopes with one of this little gift cards inside may arrive in your mailbox soon as token of our appreciation. (Last month we sent out nearly 100 gift cards!) Just be sure to ask the person you refer to mention your name when they call us to schedule their first visit. After that, you can trust in the fact that Blue Chip will not only make sure your home remains pest-free...but we'll also help provide dinner! BOOM!  Now the only real question is, what's for dinner? :) 
Want more information on a specific service we offer? Looking for a quick Pest ID Guide for a bug you have found? Want to see video clips of our technicians in action? Interested in reading our latest blog entry? Want to chat with one of our service representatives online? YOU GOT IT!