I hope that you have had the chance to benefit from the
experiences of the wonderful network of operators, vendors, and researchers in
our industry. Likely, over dinner or
drinks, your conversations have probably covered a lot of interesting
ground. Look around the restaurant next
time you're engaged in lively table talk over the worst roach job you have ever
seen, or the new-hires reaction to his first bed bug infested apartment
complex, and ask yourself how many other similar conversations are going on in
your average restaurant. Many
bystanders that are not in our industry don't seem to understand the excitement
and awe that many of us feel when we hear about that one job with the guy who
had roaches in his beard, or the town home with bed bugs on the kitchen
counter, or the mice who caused rust holes in the heating ductwork with their
urine, or... Well, you get the picture.
Pest control is a science and we are professional researchers, observing
on a daily basis the ever changing adaptations of our target pests, however
entertaining, and implementing corresponding adaptations of the practices and
products we employ. Professional pest
control requires observation of, and manipulation of tangible things. Mouse droppings, bird nests, termite damage,
improperly sealed crawlspace access doors, negative drainage, etc. We are good at seeing things that the
untrained eye may not see.
But what
about the things you can't see? Like
wall voids or inaccessible attics you may ask?
No, I'm talking about things being described that "are" right
in front of your face, blanketing the carpet, raining from the ceiling, maybe
even emerging from your customer's skin.
A typical encounter like this begins with a telephone call to your
office where a customer describes a small insect that is causing them some skin
irritations. Perhaps some of them sound
like common enough parasites, bed bugs, fleas, or foul mites. But just as you are narrowing down a
diagnosis, they throw you a curve ball such as "I've been fighting them
for 8 months and I have coated every surface of my home with Sevin dust",
or "I can see them emerging from the peanut butter, some are small, and
some are long like worms",
"they started by boring through the plaster in my ceilings, and now
they are boring into my skin to lay eggs." Sometimes the individual will tell you how other members of their
family don't see the pests and may even call the affected individual
"crazy". I could go on and on
about the symptoms and circumstances surrounding these experiences, but we will
have to save that for the next time we do dinner and drinks.
What I
described above is a condition called Delusory Parasitosis. If you want to delve into a more scientific
than anecdotal review of DP, I recommend a book called "The infested mind,
Why humans fear, loathe, and love insects" by Jeffrey A. Lockwood. Chapter 6, "The Terrible Trio:
Imagining insects into our lives" addresses DP, group hysteria, and
Illusory Parasitosis. Illusory
parasitosis being a related disorder, where people interpret real sensations,
such as itches and skin redness, as pest infestations that indeed do not
exist. Delusory Parasitosis is a
persistent belief, oftentimes with no evidence whatsoever that an infestation
exists, and most likely is located on or in the body of the individual
experiencing it. Confused enough?
The chapter
addresses an interesting question. If
you have a customer suffering from Delusory Parasitosis, who is most qualified
to treat this individual? Their family
practitioner? Dermatologist? Entomologist? Pest Control operator?
Psychiatrist? Good arguments
could be made that any or all of these might play a part in this individuals
treatment, but the reality is that we all wish that the other one would do it,
and are most likely just interested in distancing ourselves from the
individual.
For our
part though, let's cover some rules of engagement.
1. Never make an application without a proper specimen
identification. Doing so sends the
message that you do have the solution, you just haven't applied it in a correct
manner or volume. You will have a
customer for life.
2. Do put out glue monitors. Using detection tools even if you suspect that there are no pests
present dignifies the individual on your first visit, and in some cases may
find something that you didn't on your first inspection like springtails,
clover mites, fleas, or carpet beetles.
3. If no pests are collected, be adamant about not making an
unwarranted application. Pesticide
labels have target organisms specified on them, therefore you need to have a
target in mind before you apply. The
label is the law.
4. Sometimes
recommendations about the humidity level of the air or inquiring about any
changes in laundry detergents shows that you are concerned for their
well-being, and who knows, sometimes may make a difference.
5. At the end of the encounter the demeanor of the
individual may dictate how you part ways.
Some people will actually be receptive to the notion that what they are
"experiencing" is not something that everyone else is
experiencing. You might be sure to
point out that certain physical health problems or dietary deficiencies might
be contributing. That being said, some
people get more impatient and belligerent when you don't give them an answer
they want to hear. To those people it
is best to simply tell them that you aren't capable of helping them and part
ways.
Delusory
Parasitosis is anything but simple, and there are no silver bullets. Accepting that when engaging with a customer
who is experiencing it will make you more adaptive and hopefully helpful. Above all, remember that we are
professionals whose job it is to help people, even when the problems are more
psychological than pest related.
In late
June I had the pleasure to sit in on the Urban Pest Management Conference
planning meeting and I can tell you that we had some good exchanges on content
and even formatting of certain presentations.
I'm already looking forward to it.
Go out
there and make a great summer in pest control!
