We receive inquiries frequently from larger properties looking for mosquito control.   Often, the challenge for these homeowners and neighborhoods is that they are surrounded by woods on at least one side of the property and there in no control applied to the wooded area. In these areas,  the municipalities and other government services that are typically available to help with mosquitoes are not comprehensive enough to cover the area the property owner needs.

If your property needs a sign like this, it's time to contact Pioneer.

To treat these areas effectively, often the mosquito control needs to go deeper into the woods to provide mosquito treatment for wooded areas . Other effective treatment can be to treat with an ATV that has a mosquito fogging rig attached to it, similar to the one featured in the video below.

For larger properties, Pioneer works with the homeowner to devise an on-going plan to treat the areas and reduce the population. If you have acreage, and a mosquito problem, you might want to “blaze a trail” to your phone and give us a call . We’ll come take a look and work with you to get the problem under control.

Thursday evening the Social Media Club of St Louis (SMCSTL) put on a “State of Twitter in St Louis” event at the fantastic Hatch Global Research facility in Maplewood. The keynote presentation was delivered by Jason Fiehler, President of Infuz, which powers the STLtweets.com site.  STLtweets is a twitter mashup which amalgamates St Louis related Twitter personalities and the tweets they put out. The STLtweets concept is a great idea, and is flawlessly executed by the Infuz team.

In an effort to gain a better understanding of how St. Louis tweets, STLtweets conducted a survey of Twitter users, the results of which they shared at last night’s event.  The results of this survey and the work that STLtweets is doing is truly fascinating.  The presentation, as delivered by Fiehler and his associate Marc Brooks, was very well done. This information will surely be of keen interest to any marketer or casual observer wishing to understand the St. Louis twitter community more clearly.

We recorded the presentation so that we could attempt to watch it again and glean more insight from it. As a service to the community, we have shared the video below.

STLTWEETS-SMCSTL PRESENTATION from PioneerSTL on Vimeo.

As a small business, we truly believe in the connecting power of social media.  We intend to use it more aggressively in the future for better relationship building with our customers and the community at large.  Please forgive the quality of the video production.  You will quickly discover by watching the video that our talents are in pest control, not in video production

Please follow us for earth shattering information on Pest Control in St. Louis and other riveting and entertaining information…

We just wanted to give a quick shout out to Russ Henneberry’s blog.  Russ is a small business leader and advisor in St. Louis and performs a valuable service by sharing good guidance online about how small businesses like ours can use social media.  We appreciate the resources that local St. Louis bloggers and business people like Russ  make available to keep us informed.

Plus, his post today features a picture of one of our favorite things… a dead fly.

We track as many St. Louis bloggers as we can in an effort to try to stay informed of what is happening locally.  One great resource to find local bloggers, is Greg Bussman’s St. Louis Social Media & Tech Report blogroll. Greg does a great job on this site keeping up with people locally and reporting on what is happening in the social media world in St. Louis. While we rarely have time to participate in any of the events, it is good to know that there is a vibrant social media community in St. Louis.

According to reports by the St. Louis County Health Department and the StlToday.com,  mosquitoes carrying West Nile Virus have been discovered in Webster Groves.

In response to this report, Pioneer will provide priority service to our customers in Webster Groves calling for mosquito control.  Please call 314.822.1191 if your property needs to be mosquito treatment right away.  Our Trailblazer Mosquito Fogging service is designed for immediate mosquito reduction.

As stated in the story, no human cases have been reported.  We are happy to do out part to try to keep it that way.

Take caution when West Nile has been reported.

This morning, in the sweltering heat, we were performing a MistAway Mosquito Misting System install in Creve Couer.  During the installation, we discovered that we needed a tool that we did not have with us.  So, a trip to the hardware store was necessary.  Well, we had no idea how hard it is to find a hardware store in Creve Couer! I was on the west side of town and didn’t know where the closest one was.  Google maps initially took me to a place that did not exist.  So, I tried again.

Thankfully, I ended up finding Beyer’s Lumber & Hardware (which I guess technically is in Olivette).  Never having been there, even though it was almost a 9 mile drive, I was so pleasantly surprised at my experience. I walked in and was immediately helped by a guy who was both friendly and knowledgeable.  Like a good hardware store experience should be, I was in and out of the store in less than five minutes (pretty sure that has never happened at the big box stores).

My experience at Beyer’s was a great reminder of how awesome small businesses around St. Louis are.  I’ll definitely be back to Beyer’s when I need something in the future.

As a habit, we try to support other independent small businesses when we can.  Like Beyer’s, we encourage you to do the same.

KMOX.com (the mighty MOX) does a good public service here by providing the public a way to find out where the St. Louis County Mosquito Control trucks are going to be operating. This way, if people want to check in and stay indoors while the trucks come through and spray, they can.

BTW – Michael Calhoun (KMOX Field Reporter) has got to be one of the hardest working reporters around. This guy is seemingly everywhere for KMOX. Tip – If you live in St. Louis and use Twitter, it would be worth your while to follow both KMOX News and Michael Calhoun.

This recent story by KMOV news features St. Louis County Mosquito Control trucks fogging in neighborhoods.  According to this report, the County deploys five trucks and rotates these trucks around the area. This is probably the most comprehensive report available on the approach the County takes on fighting the mosquito population.

One thing that  people should realize though, is that while the County’s fogging efforts are helpful, the materials they are spraying are only being sprayed in the streets.  This approach is  unlikely to make the difference where it matters most, a homeowners back yard.  That is why, for a lot of homeowners, it makes sense to bring in a mosquito control professional to provide a customized mosquito control program.

St Louis’s leading mosquito control company is particpating in the observance of  this year’s 14th Annual National Mosquito Control Awareness Week ( June 20-26, 2010 ).  This week was established  and is promoted by the American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA).  National Mosquito Control Awareness week aims to teach the public the importance of protecting against the dangers of mosquitoes.

Mosquito control plays an important role in being able to enjoy healthy outdoor time.  St. Louis’s mosquito population is particularly high this year due to the incredible amounts of recent rain  and ground saturation.  These conditions create ideal environments for mosquito populations to increase, which introduces many health dangers to people and pets.

We are urge you to not take any chances regarding the the mosquito popluation in your area. We offer solutions to mosquito problems. Taking proactive measures to reduce the risks and annoyances of mosquitoes and other flying insects can increase the quality of your outdoor living.  Pioneer will be happy to come inspect  your property and provide suggestions on how you can control the mosquito population around your property and in your neighborhood.

At Pioneer, we are proud to have grown up in Kirkwood.  We have an appreciation for the history of our town and the things that make it a special place to live. One of Kirkwood’s greatest assets is our city parks and the staff of people who run the park facilities and programs.  Having lived here all of our lives, we have many happy memories of Kirkwood Park, including:

- Fourth of July fireworks
- Elementary school soccer leagues (and the trophy ceremony in the theater)
- Dad’s softball games ( HC Barcus Realty vs. Kirkwood Bakery used to have a heck of a rivalry)
- The Greentreee Festival
- Public skating sessions at the outdoor ice rink
- Running through the fountain at the playground

So, when we recently had a chance to sponsor an activity in the park, which happened to have a subtle tie-in to our business, we thought it would be a good investment.  So, on June 11, 2010 The Kirkwood Parks and Recreation Department presented “Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel ” in the Lion’s Amphitheater (Presented by Pioneer Pest Management and Mosquito Misting).  This movie selection seemed like a good fit for us strategically, since we do chipmunk removal and other  humane wildlife removal in Kirkwood and surrounding areas.  It turned out to be a nice night, and everyone seemed to have a good time.  For our part, we got our name in front of the people in Kirkwood and on the sign in front of the park  (which was a big thrill).

We hope one day that other Kirkwood kids will look back on their youth and remember going to the park to see this movie.  Perhaps they will add it to thier own list of fond memories in Kirkwood Park.

If you live in or around Kirkwood, MO, please make plans to attend “Taste This Kirkwood” (a great write up of the event can be found here )

We will be helping the Kirkwood Historical Society prepare for it’s upcoming “Taste This Kirkwood” event on Sunday, June 6 at Mudd’s Grove. For our part, we will be donating our Trailblazer Mosquito Misting services to the Mudd’s Grove property in advance of this event so attendees can enjoy the outdoors. It should be a wonderful event. Below is more information about “Taste This Kirkwood” we received in an e-mail from Joe Godi, a longtime Kirkwood leader…

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