How a love of animals led to a career in pest control

Meet Debbie!

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 🙂