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THE Game (AKA: GOOOAAAALLL!)
The FIFA World Cup is here, and the numbers being tossed around are staggering. A recent piece by food safety expert Francine Shaw highlighted a logistics nightmare: one host city expects up to 10 million visitors but only has 28 health inspectors on staff. Yep, that’s my city of Atlanta. Let that sink in. Ten million international fans. Thousands of temporary food trucks, pop-up tents, and fan zones. The Atlanta airport has new food stalls in many terminals. All being monito
Chelle Hartzer
4 days ago3 min read


Get that out of your mouth! (AKA: the cat ate what?)
My cat was playing with a cockroach the other day, just one of the woods roaches that occasionally get in. Of course, I yelled at her (lots of good that did!) and removed the dead cockroach from her mouth and threw it out. Is my precious Max in danger from sucking on a cockroach? Probably not. Cockroaches elicit a definite “ew”, a distinct “yuck”, and a pretty definitive “nope” from most people and for good reason. The conditions they are found in are nasty and disgusting. So
Chelle Hartzer
Jun 232 min read


Guests, Pests, and Bagels (AKA: Not paying rent)
I’m currently on a semi-holiday, and let me tell you: work is a whole lot better when you’re watching the Atlantic Ocean, sipping tea, and enjoying a pastry from the local bakery. (Shout out to the amazing Bagel Stop here in Florida!) But even with the salt air, I can’t help but think about the unique challenges of pest control in vacation rentals. Whether it’s a tiny one-room cottage or a massive condo complex, one thing is certain: there will be guests... and there will be
Chelle Hartzer
Apr 282 min read


Troubleshoot With Me (AKA: Lots of puzzle pieces)
One of the reasons I have the best job is that I get to troubleshoot. I get to try to put puzzles together, often without all the pieces. I tend to have a “standard” set of questions I start with to pry out additional information, and then I let my brain start working through the problem. I know that when a question gets to me, it’s likely the client has already tried all the “basic” IPM steps so it’s always exciting to start thinking about how to get creative with pest contr
Chelle Hartzer
Dec 16, 20254 min read


Getting Sick? (AKA: Bring the wine)
As sometimes happens, I have a blog post almost ready to go. Then something happens, or I see an article, or my news feed lights up. What...
Chelle Hartzer
Dec 3, 20242 min read


I Scream, You Scream (AKA: Not just in the sheets)
It’s Bed Bug Awareness Week. I’ve posted quite a bit about bed bugs and written numerous articles (here, here, and here) and if you are...
Chelle Hartzer
Jun 6, 20233 min read


How Much? (AKA: Break into the piggy bank)
I was doing some training last week and we were talking about the risk of rodents. I brought up the Family Dollar saga that hit the news...
Chelle Hartzer
Feb 21, 20236 min read


Sitting in the Seat of Power (AKA: Government pests)
I don’t think I have ever written about something like this. It is a bit niche, and many people never run across this type of account....
Chelle Hartzer
Nov 29, 20223 min read


Airing My Dirty Laundry (AKA: This sucks)
I had to run a load of laundry yesterday. I hadn’t done laundry since before I left on vacation so I had all my dirty clothes still in my...
Chelle Hartzer
Jul 26, 20223 min read
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