Pioneer at The Greentree Festival Parade This Year

We are very excited to be participating in the Greentree Festival parade this year in Kirkwood. Having grown up in Kirkwood, the Greentree is an event that is near and dear to my heart. If you live in the area, and have not attended the festival, you should really make a point of it to do so.

One of the highlights of the festival every year is the Greentree Parade. It happens on the morning of Saturday, September 19, 2009 and follows this route:

- Leaves the Essex parking lot at Kirkwood High School (10:00 AM)

- Travels down Essex to Kirkwood Road and turns right on Kirkwood Rd.

- Travels down Kirkwood Road and turns right on Argonne Ave at the Kirkwood Train Station

- Travels down Argonne and into the parking lot at Kirkwood Community Center

There is no bad spot along the parade route, but if you like to catch candy, it's always best to position yourself early in the route.

This year's festival and parade theme is "Making Music in Kirkwood". In honor of that, we will be decorating the "Pioneer Trailblazer Machine" (which is a golf cart) and rolling in the parade. If you are there, look for us along the parade route. We will be handing out very handy Pioneer fly swatters to potential new customers.

In the spirit of the theme, "Making Music in Kirkwood", we have brainstormed on what some of our favorite pest related songs might be. Here is a list:

Ants Marching - Dave Matthews Band

Old Time Rock & Mole - Bob Seger

Three Blind Mice - Author Unknown

Itsy Bitsy Spider - Carly Simon

“Fly” Away - Lenny Kravitz

Spider In My Room - BNL

Rocky Raccoon - The Beatles

Another One Bites the Dust - Queen

Here is a great video of one of our favorites (an incredible live performance!):

If you have any other suggestions, we'd love to hear from you. Otherwise, we hope to see you along the parade route.

The Skunk Whisperer and Other Cool Pest Management Operator Nicknames

One of the hallmarks of our industry is the nicknames some people use to help market their services. This dude in Tulsa has a great handle, "The Skunk Whisperer". While that is a cool nickname to be known by, the shirt he is wearing in this news coverage is even better. It reads... "I handle wild animals for a living. If I am running, keep up!".

This is a great little story and obviously, based on the comments on this page, Ned Bruha does a great job serving the Tulsa community. Some of his loyal customers have commented on the good experiences they have had with his services.

Watch this video on this page to see Ned in action, while I ponder a good nickname for myself... If you have seen good nicknames or have some thoughts for me as I ponder my nickname, feel free to leave me a comment below.

Never Underestimate Ants... They Build Colonies

We receive calls regularly for people dealing with ants in St. Louis. If you have ever wondered how smart, powerful and resourceful ants are, this short video will show you. Trust me, it is not a waste of time to watch this. It's six minutes you will not reclaim, but also six minutes that you probably will not soon forget either.

Mosquitoes carrying West Nile Virus found in St. Louis County

Breaking News: The St. Louis County Department of Health reported today that the West Nile Virus has been detected in mosquitoes in Frontenac, Lemay, Sunset Hills and Jefferson Barracks County Park, Florissant and Mehlville. At this point, no human infections have been reported. However, this is a story to take very seriously.

We predict this will become an even larger story in St. Louis with today's massive rainfall and all of the additional standing water that will be created by it. You may find this to be an ideal time to walk your property and ensure that there are no acciental areas where water is stagnating. In cases where standing water is out of your control (neighbors, etc), Pioneer Mosquito Misting can be reached at (314) 822-1191

While the county does spray in areas, their treatment often does not reach many of the backyard living spaces that people want to enjoy. Pioneer has the ability to come to your home and recommend treatment to eliminate or reduce mosquito populations and reach some of the backyard "nooks and crannies" that the county does not.

Read more here

St Louis Summer Wedding Tips - Here Is One That Should Not Be Forgotten!

Wedding planning is a serious task. Wedding planners in St. Louis have a HUGE challenge in front of them for summer weddings in town. St. Louis weather and temperature conditions can be the most unpredicatble of any spot in the universe.

If you are either a wedding planner or a do-it-yourselfer in St. Louis and are planning on having any part of your wedding outside, this article does a great job of laying out the basics for planning an approach. However, here is a piece of advice that the article misses and you will most assuredly want to consider.

Mosquito and flying insect populations are equally as unpredicatable as the weather and temperature. That is because weather is a major factor in the appearance and severity of the population. Nothing ruins a good time outdoors like a bunch of bugs. That is why Pioneer offers the Mosquito Mauler service for one-time events. We come the day of the event and pre-treat the outside wedding area for mosquitoes and other flying insects with a backpack fogger. This "ounce of prevention" is worth considering if you are planning to be outside for a wedding or reception for a summer wedding in St. Louis. Contact us today for more information.

Virus-Spreading Mosquito in Minnesota

This article in the Minneapolis-St Paul Star Tribune provides a brief profile of the Japanese rock pool mosquito (Aedes Japonicus). The Japanese rock pool mosquito has recently been spotted in Southeast Minnesota and has spread to Iowa & Missouri. These insects can transmit LaCrosse encephalitis virus (LAC) and West Nile virus to humans, which is no joke.

These creatures were brought to us from Japan, apparently traveling in tires. Nice.

If you see one of these mosquitoes hovering around you, take caution. The good news is, they are "tenative biters".

News Report With Tips for Reducing Mosquitoes

As Spring gets into full swing, the moisture brings many challenges for fighting mosquito breeding areas. This article (and video) do a nice job of providing tips on how to reduce these areas.

Rain leaving breeding grounds for mosquitoes (WVLT-TV Knoxville)

However, areas that are out of view, and out of your control, can also become breeding grounds. Often homeowners are unable to detect where these "hotspots" of mosquito breeding may be.

That's why Pioneer comes to your home and performs a site inspection as part of our treatment recommendation and estimate process. Usually when we visit we are able to make suggestions to help in the reduction of harborage areas, in addition to recommending effective treatments for eliminating mosquitoes.