Congratulations to our own Jeremy Clark, general manager of Dugas Pest Control!
He has been named to the board of directors of the National Pest Management Association. Jeremy will serve a two-year term as board member at large of this 7,000-member organization formed in 1933 to support the pest management industry’s commitment to the protection of the public health, food and property.
Clark is also president-elect of the Louisiana Pest Management Association. His mother, Laura Simpson, president of Dugas Pest Control, also served on the board of NPMA and was its president in 2005.
Laura Simpson, President of Dugas Pest Control, was presented with the Paul Adams Award of Excellence at the annual banquet of the Louisiana Pest Management Association held in late January. This award, which has only been given to thirteen people since its creation in 1983, is the highest honor the Association can bestow upon a member.
“Laura has done so much for our industry both in Louisiana and nationally through the National Pest Management Association,” said Jeff Porter, Executive Director of LPMA. “She has served the local, state and national organizations with skill and leadership for many years and is a well-deserving honoree.”
Simpson has been the president and primary license holder of Dugas Pest Control since 1996, succeeding her father, Doug MacPherson who purchased the company in 1973. She has been active in the pest control industry for over 35 years, serving as President of both the Louisiana Pest Management Association and the National Pest Management Association.
Dugas Pest Control, a Quality Pro Certified and family-owned company, has been serving South Louisiana for more than 50 years.
We are pleased to announce that Daniel Hill has been named Branch Manager for Dugas Pest Control’s New Orleans and Northshore operations, serving St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Orleans and Jefferson parishes.
An award-winning pest management professional, Daniel was nationally recognized as the “most passionate technician” in 2014 by the National Pest Management Association (NPMA). He was also the recipient of a Copesan Technology Committee scholarship.
Daniel served on the board of directors for the Greater Baton Rouge Pest Control Association and is part of the National Pest Management Association’s Executive Leadership Program (ELP)designed to find and grow future industry leaders. He serves as the Vice State Policy Affairs Representative for Louisiana for the 2018-19 term.
While participating in the ELP, he has met with members of Congress in Washington D.C. to discuss issues that affect the industry with industry leaders from Louisiana.
Beyond work, Daniel has many interests. He is an avid videographer. A classical pianist, Daniel has been playing for 23 years and makes all kinds of music in his home studio Watch the Video!.
Daniel loves spending time with my wife of 8 years, Callie and their two children (Emmy 4, Elijah 6 months) and is very involved with his church.
She’s one of our pest control technicians and she’s been with us for almost 4 years now.
It might seem unusual that we have a woman working as a technician in our industry, but the pest control world offers wonderful opportunities for people with all sorts of interests.
You see, Debbie has always loved nature, animals, and the outdoors. In fact, she started out working at Audubon Zoo at just 18 years old!
After many years of working as a zookeeper, curator, and educator, she moved on to another career with animals: managing an animal shelter.
Even though both of these jobs had serious challenges and tough situations, Debbie has always loved helping, learning about animals and educating people.
Then one day as she was considering a career change, her interest in the natural world led her to us in what most people refer to as the pest control business!
It was an amazing coincidence – Debbie wanted to work outdoors and manage her own schedule, and our job post was the first thing she saw. She applied at Dugas, and the rest is history…
Know Your Enemy
It seems like an unusual career change, but a love of learning about science and nature makes Debbie a great pest control technician.
“I’m not the annihilator,” she says, “but I know that pests can get out of control, especially with our climate and terrain. All the standing water this year is a perfect example.”
By learning how to identify bugs, knowing their habits, and staying aware of the dangers they present, Debbie has quickly become one of our top pest control technicians. Once she performs an inspection, she has the knowledge and expertise to determine the best way to solve your pest problem.
She loves the challenge!
Knowing the difference between similar-looking pests and their habits helps Debbie create a customized plan to keep your home pest-free as well as safe from the diseases they can carry. She even collects some insects to show to other technicians!
So even though it seems like a former zookeeper and animal lover with 3 dogs (and maybe a foster or two), 3 miniature horses, a Cockatoo, and a Macaw might not be what you expect in your pest control technician, Debbie’s interest in nature and knowledge about animals and bugs inspire her to solve pest problems for her customers each and every day.
Next time you see Debbie in one of our vehicles headed to a job, give her a wave! We promise she’ll smile right back 🙂
Bed bugs can be a serious problem, especially in densely populated areas (such as large cities) as well as buildings such as theaters, hotels, apartment and other housing complexes where people are in close proximity to each other.
Housing apartments and complexes (condos, federal housing, nursing homes, etc.) present a particular set of problems because of the shared walls between rooms. Bed bugs can easily migrate from room to room, making containment difficult without sealing up an entire wing for treatment.
So if you live in one of these larger buildings, or happen to own or manage one, you should be aware of the HUD (Housing and Urban Development) guidelines for dealing with bed bug infestations, and they adjust these guidelines to meet the current conditions of infestations.
Below are the following guidelines for how HUD plans to keep bed bugs out of homes:
– Inspecting infested areas and the spaces around these areas
– After a trip, checking for signs of infestation on clothes and luggage
– When secondhand items are purchased, they should be inspected thoroughly before they are brought into the home
– If an infestation is suspected, the pest should be properly identified
– All pest infestations should be recorded with the date and location
– Clutter should be kept clean to minimize bed bug hiding spots
– Eliminating bed bug habitats
– All pest infestations should be cleaned appropriately
– Pesticides should be used according to their label instructions
– Following up with pesticide treatments and inspections
There are also some differences across public housing, so it’s important for tenants to be familiar with the responsibilities of the owner. For example, The Office of Public and Indian Housing says that tenants who report a bed bug problem should be contacted within 24 hours of the report and will receive information about the control and prevention of bed bugs. If an infestation is confirmed, treatment will start within 5 days, and treatment will be covered.
For tenants that reside in apartments or condominiums, it’s important they review their contract to be familiar with the details of bed bug infestations, such as whether the tenant or landlord is responsible for the treatments.
With Section 8 homes however, the contract is less detailed, and measures for bed bug infestations must be discussed with the owner.
As Hurricane Isaac slammed into the Louisiana coast as a Category 1 storm at the end of August, we were reminded just how unpredictable life can be. Isaac left behind plenty of rainfall, adding to the existing problem of pests, mosquitoes and West Nile.
West Nile: Already a High Threat
As you may already know, West Nile has reached a peak this year, with hundreds of confirmed cases in the southern states alone. Residents have been encouraged to take preventative measures that include avoiding the hours of dusk and dawn, wearing insect repellent on the skin and clothing and dumping out standing water.
With the rainfall from Isaac, standing water has become an even greater problem. Puddles and ponds of murky water have been left in some of the most unlikely places, and while residents may notice standing water in flower pots, gutters and wheelbarrows, there are many other places that are getting missed. These murky waters are the perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes and could therefore increase the threat of West Nile, especially as we’re still in the height of the season.
Cleanup Efforts after Isaac
So far this year, there have been 145 cases of West Nile and nine deaths reported in the state of Louisiana. With the high number of mosquitoes, high threat of West Nile and plenty of rainfall from Isaac, there is the potential for swarms of mosquitoes thanks to new breeding areas.
Fortunately, proactive measures from volunteer crews and rescuers to improve flood protection and clean up after Isaac have been effective. Still, there are many areas where standing water sits undetected. As always, health officials remind residents to be proactive by dumping out standing water and being on the outlook for potential mosquito breeding grounds. Some of the larger parishes have professional spray treatments as well to help cut down on these pesky insects. For those who want added protection on their property, a mosquito misting system could prove beneficial, especially after such a rain-heavy storm like Isaac.
The team at Dugas Pest Control is really excited about heading to New Orleans in a couple of weeks. We are closing the office on Thursday, Oct 20 so that we can ALL attend the largest gathering of pest management professionals in the world!
PESTWORLD 2011 is the National Pest Management Association’s annual exhibition and convention. We are so lucky to have it in our own backyard this year!
Our president, Laura Simpson is the president-elect of NPMA so we will get to see her in action as well. We will visit the exhibit hall to see tons of vendors and products specific to the pest industry as well as attend educational sessions on all kinds of topics.
Of course the purpose of this adventure is to further the education and knowledge of our team so that we can continue to give YOU the best service as well as the latest cutting edge technology and products.
Congratulations to our own Jeremy Clark, general manager of Dugas Pest Control!
We are pleased to announce that Daniel Hill has been named Branch Manager for Dugas Pest Control’s New Orleans and Northshore operations, serving St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Orleans and Jefferson parishes.
Bed bugs can be a serious problem, especially in densely populated areas (such as large cities) as well as buildings such as theaters, hotels, apartment and other housing complexes where people are in close proximity to each other.