[Quick Hits]

Ever taken your work home with you? — September 2010
 

1. Dominick Malvestuto, Arsenal Pest Solutions, Las Vegas, Nev.
Have you ever picked up any unwanted visitors (German roaches, bed bugs, etc.). I’ve picked up a few small ants a couple of times but that’s about it.

2. Jeff Ledford, Eco-Pest, Sun Valley, Idaho Years ago, an occasional German roach or flea.

3. Rick Coyle, FEMA, Berryville, Va.

I did a clean out on a bad German roach infestation in the a.m. I went down the road and pulled under a shade tree to eat my lunch. A roach fell into my sandwich. From that point on I made it a practice to do German roach clean-outs as the last service of the day.
 

4. Paul Westby, Brown Exterminating, Lakeland, Fla.

Once when I did the classic nasty roach clean-out, you know, where it sounds like it’s raining but then you realize the sound is roaches falling off the ceiling, I noticed a few dead ones in my pant’s cuffs much later in the evening.

5. Todd Boich, On Target Pest Solutions, Williamstown, N.J.
Brought fleas home about 15 years ago. On another note, I caught a few oriental roaches on a glueboard one time, folded it over and smashed them. BIG mistake! Their guts splattered right into my mouth! Lesson learned.

6. Jerry Schappert, The Bug Doctor, Ocala, Fla.
I’m really surprised this isn’t commonplace. I get little things hitchhiking on me all the time. Roaches, fleas, scorpions, swarmer termites. The wife loves it. She makes me undress in the garage. Still have romance after 25 years! Neighbors don’t like it though—ha.

7. Zeb Armstrong, Armstrong Pest Control, Clover, S.C.

Yes, roaches will hitch a ride on you. I was in a checkout line at a grocery store and a customer behind me said a roach was on my back. Just as Jerry stated, I de-robe before going into the house. The neighbors don’t have anything to look at.

8. Joseph Wilson, All Pro Pest Control, Santa Clarita, Calif.

I took bed bugs home about two years ago. I had just begun treating a homeless shelter, and I was naive to think that I would never bring such (pests) home with me. I must have brushed up against an infested bedsheet or something with my boots. (I used to take my boots off and leave them near my bed at night.) So they were invading my bed and actually biting me in my boots. Before I became aware of the issue they had spread to my bed. I freaked out, to say the least, and I treated very thoroughly everything in our room! They went away for a week or so and they came back. I threw out our box spring and bought a new one, I also installed a mattress encasement. I have not had another issue for two years!

9. Craig Gregoire, Blue Ridge Termite & Pest Services, Hendersonville, N.C.
I just had this thought cross my mind today. I’ve recently had a rash of really bad roach and flea jobs. Today it was bed bugs and fleas...and I took my clothes off in the laundry room and put them right into the washer. Last thing I want is bed bugs. They’re hard enough to kill for other people.

10. James Butler, U.S. Army Public Health Command-North, Baltimore, Md.

Two services that I will shower and immediately wash my clothes when I get home: Bed bugs and fleas.

10 Tory Kaiser, Academy Pest Control, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
I have always been very careful when it comes to taking home roaches and bed bugs from work. But I did bring a European bald-faced hornet back in my van one time after eradicating its nest. It flew up my coveralls which made me completely forget about the road and I ended up in the ditch and hitting a tree. Maybe the hornet was a hired contract killer or perhaps poetic justice for the hornet.