I used to be an exterminator for Orkin.  You are right there is a lot you can do on your own and save a lot of money.  Many of our customers were really just wasting their money for us to tear down cobwebs and keep a few spiders at bay.  A few of our customers who had roaches and who were very poor needed our services the most yet it was difficult for them to keep us due to their very low income.  It's kind of unfair the ones who need exterminators the most are often the ones who can least afford them.

As for glue traps.  They are cheap and easy, but they are quite cruel.  There are live traps now that you can catch them and release them in the woods.  This is good because they can better serve as food for other animals in the woods rather than in your garbage can on some sticky board or spring trap.  Also be very careful about bait block poisons.  Many animals consume if they can find them.  My own dog nearly died, but I made her vomit in time shortly after she ate some.  It happened when she was a puppy at a storage garage when I had my back turned.  So I'm not too fond of those poisons either.   I guess you can see why I got out of that field of work.  I could do the job but my heart just wasn't in it.  Killing things is not something I enjoy.  As for the roaches that was ok because I really helped make some homes much more sanitary and healthier for some very desperate people.

Great blog, except that I disagree with using an eggshell finish.  Flat paint is the easiest to touch up.  You can't patch eggshell without seeing the patch job.

B

Amen!! And they are just like cows. You feed them, clean them, and pick up all of the s#!* after the tenants move out. But where else can you get milk, cheese, and steak paid for by someone else?

Really good stuff Dewain as usual! I miss that picture of you. You look like a guitar player from and old band I was in. He was a riot!

A. It is a stipulation in the lease, that the tenant signs, to notify the management immediately if the smokes go off, and that they are not to tamper with the devices or they are liable for damages.

B. I've got to blog on the "move-out" box we have in the garage. Yup, keep that paint consistent! I asked our local Home Depot what was the most common color he sold. Turns out it is the color WE BUY!!! Fact, coincidence, or do we repaint units that often?

C. King of all carpet cleaners!! We bought a professional clean years ago and it has brought back some nasty carpets. Of course we've replaced a lot of them too. We recently switched over to sticky rug tiles as a cost effective alternative. No results to report yet here.

D. Vermin! I agree. We keep flea bombs, d-con, RAID, glue strips in stock. It's not that we have all of these problems. We just want to show that we are quick to respond. We had one call one, and I followed the guy around to see what he did. After seeing it once, I get the idea.

E. What is it with tenants and light bulbs anyway? If they DO work, most of the times they take them with them

F. Luan is your friend. Cement board for tiles. Always good stuff. enjoyed the posting Dewain.

- b