In order to completely understand our clients’ to ensure we write good, quality content marketing for them, we have to understand what their business is all about. So Joanna Maplethorpe, Content Marketing Editor here at DBS, headed off for a day with a pest controller from a national pest control company to appreciate how they work in order to share their knowledge of the pest control industry: Joanna says… I look after a national pest control company’s content marketing requirements, so I decided that in order to write relevant content for them I needed to see and understand what they did and how they have become one of the largest pest control companies in the UK. I accompanied Jeff on his rounds for a day, an RSPH Level 2 qualified pest controller who looks after the east coast region of Lincolnshire, and he gave me the lowdown on the variety of work that they deal with on a day to day basis. The first couple of jobs we attended were residential properties: suspicious
mouse activity and a wasp nest. Jeff talked me through the process of dealing with potential mouse infestations which involved identifying where the mice were hanging out (image right shows mouse footprints in the poison left the week before), treating the problem with poison and then revisiting the site a week later, taking further action if necessary. The second job, a wasp nest in a loft, blew me away a little as it was winter but there appeared to be one hibernating queen wasp in residence, so it was Jeff’s job to nip it in the bud before the warmer weather approached and the nest would become home to many more wasps. Dock rats The next job was Grimsby docks (image right). Here we saw a rat infestation
on numerous floors of an unused building next door to an active fish factory. The rats were being drawn out by the surrounding food sources, Jeff had already been here the week before to ascertain the size of the problem, so on this visit we were going to be laying the bait. I was amazed by the number of entry points these fish-loving rats were using but as Jeff pointed out, you can usually tell where these are by the black, oily rat trails, the chewed holes and the smell (which was horrific!). The remaining jobs for the day saw suspected rats taking refuge under a home owner’s decking, another residence suspected mice in the roof – we discovered a wasp nest instead. We visited a lady whose lawn was plagued by moles so set some traps there, Jeff would return the following week to follow up, and the final job was at a commercial property where rats were feeding on employees’ lunch. Discoveries What I discovered following this day out was that, in order to understand what our clients do, sometimes we need to offer a hands on service and get stuck in there with them. This day out gave me enough information to write a feature about rats and prevention, as well as a light hearted piece about the day I spent with a pest controller and how I wouldn’t want to do what they manage to do every day with such professionalism! Read more about our content marketing services here