Taking the sting out of a painful job hazard

Pete Schopen with technician (and half-bee-suit mannequin) Justin Gutierrez. PHOTO: SCHOPEN PEST SOLUTIONS

In 1987, throughout my first summer season of pest management, I got down to deal with my first-ever bald-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) nest. My 18-year-old self could be treating sans private protecting gear (PPE), as a result of my dad, Pete Sr., didn’t consider in carrying it. He was a paratrooper within the U.S. Military, so he was old-school and hard-core.

I loaded up my 40-foot ladder, bulb duster and 1-foot copper extension, and jumped in my truck. As I used to be driving out of the car parking zone, Dad gave me some recommendation: “Stick the extension in the primary gap on the nest, give the bulb duster a agency squeeze, after which get the heck out of there.”

He added, “Don’t admire your handiwork. Simply go away.”

As I approached the shopper’s barn, I may see the nest on the peak. It was over 30 toes up
and big. However I used to be younger and dumb, and with Dad’s recommendation echoing in my head, I started to climb the ladder.

Once I reached the nest, a few hornets greeted me by buzzing my head. In any other case, my ascent was fairly uneventful. I shook my bulb duster, having fun with the acquainted rattle inside (I at all times put two pennies in my bulb duster to sift the powder). I jabbed the foot-long extension into the hornet nest and let it rip!

Pete Schopen, proprietor
and founder, Schopen Pest Options

Regardless of Dad’s warning about not admiring my handiwork, I attempted wanting contained in the nest as a result of nothing was taking place. So, I blasted it once more. As I pulled out my duster, the nest began to vibrate. It was nearly like watching a cartoon as they began flying out of the nest, most of them grey from the mud. I used to be mesmerized — and that was my downfall.
The primary sting on my arm woke me up out of the trance. The second sting made me conscious that I used to be an entire idiot and in serious trouble.

Fortunately, I noticed I used to be 30 toes up within the air, and slowly began to climb again down the ladder. Two stings later, I mentioned an equal of “neglect this” and did a fireman slide down the ladder (wrapped my toes across the ladder’s body and slid). It gave the impression of hail falling on my baseball cap, there have been so many hornets dive-bombing me.

I hit the bottom laborious, rolled to my proper aspect and sprinted to the truck on two sprained ankles. Even in my truck, the hornets had been bouncing off of my windshield.

LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE

I commemorate that day by internet hosting the annual “Schopen Pest Options Wasp Lifeless Pool.” The Lifeless Pool is to advertise security, and to have some enjoyable with my employees. Individually, we decide the primary individual we predict will get stung that summer season. Throughout our April Finish-of-the-Month Coaching assembly, I hand out sheets with each worker’s title on the listing. I give odds on who I feel will get stung first. Techs, billing folks, gross sales employees, customer support representatives (CSRs), managers are all on the listing. I’m on there, too. Whether or not folks get stung on the job or at house issues not. The one factor that’s essential is who will get stung first.

The foundations are easy. A couple of individual can decide the identical unfortunate particular person, however you can’t decide your self. Regardless of the odds are for the one who will get stung first is the money worth of the reward card that I’ll current to the winner(s) at our subsequent firm assembly.

For instance, my spouse, Tami, is 100-1 odds. Sure, even the Queen is truthful recreation. If she will get stung earlier than everybody else, everybody who picked her title will get a $100 reward card.

In contrast, Bradley’s odds are 20-1. That’s as a result of he’s a brand new technician, and I anticipate him to get stung this summer season. The payoff for him is simply $20, however then again, the prospect of him getting nailed first is fairly excessive.

Imagine it or not, it is a nice strategy to promote carrying PPE. Not one of the techs desires to get stung, however typically they get in a rush and don’t placed on their bee fits. As a result of no person desires to be the primary summertime sufferer, although, they’re excellent about placing on their gear.

EXTRA PRECAUTIONS TO CONSIDER

Bee fits aren’t the one strategy to keep protected on the job, after all:

• Lay off the cologne or fragrance. There are conflicting research on whether or not it is a actual menace, however why announce your presence?
• Put on chemical-resistant gloves. If you’re nonetheless utilizing mud for yellowjacket jobs, they will odor the product and can observe the path again to your palms.
• Some PPE is best than none. A half-bee swimsuit is simply the highest, with a really comfy masks and hoodie. I nonetheless advise carrying thick gloves. However even a face defend, gloves and coveralls can do the trick.

If in case you have any questions on our Wasp Lifeless Pool, be at liberty to name me or shoot me an e mail. Keep in mind, it’s for enjoyable. No playing is going down, as a result of I’m choosing the percentages and handing out the prizes. E-mail me at pete@schopenpest.com together with your craziest stinging insect story. I’d love to listen to from you.

Schopen’s Open E book

Begin-up: Schopen Pest Options Inc.
Headquarters: McHenry, Ailing.
Founder: Peter F. Schopen Jr.
Begin-up date: April 11, 2006
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 41 (38 full-time, 3 trainees)
2006 REVENUE: $97,235
2007 REVENUE: $172,495
2008 REVENUE: $203,732
2009 REVENUE: $243,427
2010 REVENUE: $325,960
2011 REVENUE: $425,847
2012 REVENUE: $489,887
2013 REVENUE:$572,772
2014 REVENUE: $687,326
2015 REVENUE: $858,180
2016 REVENUE: $1,079,068
2017 REVENUE: $1,478,600
2018 REVENUE: $1,877,496
2019 REVENUE: $2,095,118
2020 REVENUE: $2,398,367
2021 REVENUE: $3,295,259
2022 REVENUE TO-DATE: $1,014,179*
APRIL REVENUE: $270,437**
2022 GOAL: $4,119,344
*Up 21% from 2021.
**Down 2.5% from April 2021. Nevertheless, we had a report April in 2021 and a chilly, wet April in 2022.
We had been rescheduling shoppers day-after-day.