Facilities Management & Pest Control: Building a Family Service Business | Kylie & Stephen Wright - Pest Perspectives

Hello and welcome to Pest Perspectives episode 28 again, because last week's was cancelled due to Clive having technical issues. So we will do the bee removal podcast at some point when we get it rescheduled this week. I've got on podcast. It's probably came round quite quick for a lot of people because they asked them a few numbers in advance and a lot of them going well, that came around a little bit fast. I kind of get that a lot, but I have on Kylie and Stephen Wright from Wright Environmental.

How are you? How are you both doing? Good. Thanks. Sean, how are you doing? I'm OK. Cheers. You're good, Stephen. Yeah, all goodbye. All good. Oh good. This side of the case, this is a strange set up, so we'll go with it. You're just not a you're not a social media. No, not Tom. Kind of person. Sorry. You're lucky you got him on today, Sean, for this. And well then and on time as well. A lot of people tell you that you got me on time as well, which is? Yeah. That's good. That is. It's some people social media is for and some people it's not.

I just have a big gob on social media. I'm known it is, but so let's start off at the beginning. So whatever order you want to go in, how did you both get into pest management in the first place? We'll start with you because it started with you. Yeah, so I started what, 17 years ago? We rent to kill. So I started off with him. I was there as a technician same time as server sofa was over there. Oh yeah, it's technical guru side of things. I was a foot technician in London, so I was dealing with, you know, as you can imagine, everything from, you know, cockroaches, mice, bed bugs.

I just loved it, loved every element of of the job. I I enjoyed the fact that nothing was the same. Do you know what I mean by that? Everything's different it. Is it is it's I'm I'm I'm a baby in the industry compared to you. Then 2020 I entered Oh. Really. Yeah, I'm new compared to you revenue. Fair play, no? That's that's. I, I didn't, I don't know, I just kind of fell into, I fell into it. I was, I left school, did an apprenticeship as a, as a sparky, did that, then kind of come away from that because that bored me putting up, you know, doing a plug socket or a light switch, nothing changes.

It's the same cables behind it that you're terminating. All the time it is, yeah. And then went into a bit of bar work, which I enjoyed. If I'm honest with you, if it paid better, I'd probably still be doing it now because I love the conversations with people. And a friend of mine worked for Rent to Kill at the time and said come and give it a go. And I haven't looked back since. So yeah, did did that, was with them for a few years, went into sales over there as you do promotion as some people call it, sidesteps as some others call it whatever you want to put it down as I enjoyed it.

Yeah, that's. Good then. Then, yeah. So I did that for a few years, went to Ecolab. Ecolab. Yeah. Went over to Ecolab as an accounting executive, was one of their top salespeople over there for a number of years before deciding to kind of do it ourselves, Don't we really? Yeah. I wasn't in the industry before I married into the industry. That's what that's what I was waiting for you to say. I thought that's what you're going to say because it's true it. Is true, but I wouldn't say this when I met Steve I was a florist so completely different to anything that we do now and I don't think the industry gets enough credit for just how fascinating it actually is.

I'll can I honestly say that when you first started to try and get me involved, I was like, no, absolutely not. I'm not working with anything like that. But now I'm the first person I want to know what's going on. I want to, I want to see how we get on top of it. I love it. I love the industry. I just don't think it gets the recognition that it actually deserves for how interesting it actually even is. Yeah. Million percent. Yeah, it's, it's unfortunate that I, I didn't know pest control was a thing when I was even at school.

I like literally my dad started doing pest control and I and I like I used to do it a couple of years before boss test seasons. I used to do it within, you know, years before I started. And eventually he says, do you want to, it was basically I was furloughed from COVID. Well, I worked in a factory, terrible place. I should have left a long time ago. And he says, do you want to come and work for me? And I was worried because I wasn't sure whether there's going to be enough work and all that. But it worked out all right.

It did. And that's how I got into it because of my dad, because his mate told him pest control is quite good. So he he did, he built it up as a side job, you know, he had a full time job and he did it as a part time job and built it up over the over time. And that's how I got into it. But I wish I'd known about it when I was younger. I didn't know it was a thing, I think. It's not, is it? And I think that's one. It's still not known. It's not. No, it's not. And I think that's one of the discussions that we've been having quite a lot recently, isn't it?

Yeah, Just how we could sort of put content out there to actually entice people into the industry because I don't feel like, yeah, if you go to college, you can, you know, you can train pretty much everything. I trained as a florist in college and electrician, plumber, you know, all of these types of trade. But pest control is just not on that radar. I think it should be offered. Yeah, 1,000,000%. I mean when we, when we, when I talk about the industry, I talk about trade. It's a, it's a, it's a well known thing.

When I introduce myself and I start talking about myself, I go right, I'm a sparky by trade, but the reality is I haven't touched a fuse board or a plug socket in 20 plus years.

For me of what we've always spoken about, it's I want to I want to help the industry become, you know, something to be. It's when you say it like that, it's because you're proud of it. You've gone to college, you've done those qualifications and I think, you know, this is an industry you should be proud of. It's something that, you know, it's a really close knit community. You know what I mean by that? You can say that to somebody on here today and you say it's somebody else in a month's time. They all know it.

You might be from a different part of the the UK, but you'll all know that person and it's very close knit in that sense. And it's, it is an industry to be proud of. And it should be something that is told or, you know, given the ability to be told. Yeah, the opportunity. Should be there 100%. It definitely does. I mean, I think if they, if they tackled it for more of a public health, it's public health feel that we might get, it might get represented better, but it it doesn't seem to be, it's not an option at college where they go, oh, I want to be.

Well, my son does because obviously, you know, he's 10, but he wants to be in the business when he's older. But that's only because of me and my dad. That'll be 3 generations if he ended up joining within the business. But that's only because of me, not because of anything they've taught him at school. This, it needs to be that. I don't know, the trade bodies are are currently trying to get schools talking about it. But it's not, it's not exactly easy. It's not because a lot of them, they want computer jobs.

A lot of them want computer jobs. It's hard. I mean, I think, I think MPTA is having conversation with with RSPH about it, but I don't know what they're doing. There is conversations being had about schools. There is, but it's not an easy one because it's there's also a lot of the problem with schools is, correct me if I'm wrong, it'd probably change now, but I believe schools are teaching, which is a good thing, but they're teaching kids to work for someone else and not to think, oh, I can set up my own business, I could do this myself.

And they should do more of that as well. They should. You're probably asking the two worst people on their opinions of schooling systems because I mean, we homeschool our, our, our free, Yeah, homeschool them. I'm not a big fan of the education system in any way shape or. Fault, but that's I can tell clearly. Yeah, that's probably a completely different conversation altogether too, but. It's it's not for. It's not for any. I think the education system really does work for, works with certain people.

But then I also feel like people that think outside of, not outside of a box because I don't want to put them people inside of a box. That's not what I meant by that. But me and Steve were both probably on a spectrum who were diagnosed quite later on in life. And I feel like the school didn't present the opportunities in which our brain engaged with. Basically, Yeah. You are wrong. Yeah, I feel like with the schools, I feel like what's missing and I think if they're talking about going and doing talks with the schools, it needs to have enthusiastic, passionate people.

I think you can go into any environment and it could be anything. And if you're passionate about it, that sparks an interest. That's what needs to happen. The conversations need to be lively and passionate and coming from people in the industry that actually love the job role. Because it's not, it's not boring. It's it's very interesting to be a part of this industry. I'm glad I'm married into it. Yeah, so am I. That's nice. It's like, did you hear the Beauties and Briefes episode of young lad Faria Moore?

The. One that's done, the MPTA has got a scheme where under under 30, I think it is five candidates are put put through their RSPH Level 2 award in pest management, that's it. And, and PTA and Syngenta Global, they fund it and there's interviews and stuff, but loads more reply and it's the most passionate people or the ones they feels fitted. But he went on the beauties and beasties. And I tell you what, that young lad is very passionate. He's he's very passionate. He's took his dad's business over basically he's he's got, he's got it.

It's. What sparks the passion when you're talking about from that point of view, it doesn't matter what you. Listen to it. You'll see what I mean is it's honestly I, I was buzzing off it. I thought, wow, it's nice to hear younger people, younger people because I'm not old, but I'm 40. But he's at the younger, very younger end. You know, he gets going, Oh, I'm, I'm not, I'm a few years off 30. I was like, come on, man, It has. I mean, I, I heard, I don't know how true it is, but I heard a statistic that the industry itself is only made-up of 5% females.

That just, that blows my mind Like that it's, it's predominantly sort of men that are in the industry. So it's quite nice to see that I've met a lot of women in the industry that absolutely love it and enjoy it. I think it is, I think it's a brilliant industry to be a part of. I think if you get into it, it's a good thing. Oh it's I try and get more females on the podcast. I asked you as well. It's not always easy. Not everyone wants to go on a podcast, you see, because once you're out there, you're out there and it can be quite scary.

It can. But I am trying to get more female within females on the podcast within the industry because I believe that although they are a small part of the industry, I believe that over hopefully over time, there will be more and more women coming in because you don't always have to be. You don't always have to be a technician. You can be, there's loads of roles within pest control. There is you can be a field field biology, be all sorts, but you can equally be technicians. But you are right. Some of them, some of the most technically gifted that I've met in the industry, are women.

Yes, we are role models. So yes, some of them have, and I've always said that. 100%. You know, Ecolab, there was, you know, I worked for an amazing woman, Elaine Quinn. She was she was amazing with with what she did and the things that she taught me over there. And I had our team was male, female and, and the the women, they, they, they gave it to the men massively. And I, I think as well, I don't know if you all agree with this. Obviously as a company, we're not just pests, we're, we're the construction side of the business and you know, damp and disrepair.

And that industry is a completely different industry to be in. It's very male dominated in the central, you know, it's old school and whatever else. I think with the pest control side of it, the females I've met, I don't feel like that is the case. I feel like no one, no one looks sort of down the point in any way. I think everyone's just what's the word I'm trying to look for, Like just very respectful. I feel like anyone I've ever met are just very respectful people, which has been the best thing about it I think.

Yeah, I know. It's it's good to hear. Obviously I don't, it's just me and my dad. I don't work with any other techni. I've never worked for a big firm either. So I wouldn't, I wouldn't know. And I don't have that. Yeah, exactly.

I always hear you say a lot of everyone I've always met, I'll go, you know, I've worked for this company, I've worked for that company, I've had that experience. And as you said, everyone sort of like really sort of knows each other or knows of someone. And I, I hadn't had that experience because obviously everything I've ever learnt, yeah, probably give you a big head, but it's what I'm saying. Yeah, I mean, the one thing I don't because you always hear people moaning about the Nationals, but one thing I do hear about rent to kill, it's their training.

It's amazing. That's the one thing to get praised for. I've always said it and it's, I'll be honest with you, social media is, is listen, it's not a bit of me and I. I. Groups and things like that and the amount of times you see it like the people slating the likes of friend to kill and things like that. Listen everyone's own story is their own but the reality none of us would be in this industry today if it wasn't for rent to kill in the 1st place. And the training that they that they gave when I was there and what they still give today is probably improved I should imagine hopefully.

But it was second to none. You couldn't fault them. And the same for Ecolab as well. So listen, we all know that everybody has their flaws, especially the big companies. But ultimately you can't knock that. You can't knock the trainer that you get from them well. Yeah, I mean, they can charge the high fees they Canon and get it. Yeah, if you can get it, you can get it. The money. It's if someone's willing to pay it, if that's what I'm happy with. Yeah, it is. It's but yeah. So with what what may was there like a moment where you thought I'm going to start my own business at what was what was was there a moment when it sparked it or, you know, I've had enough, I want to go on my own?

Or was it something that spurred it on? How long we got? We'll try and condense it down. I think I think what started it because, as Steve said, when he worked over at the big companies, he was, you know, one of the top salesman and it was just a conversation one day and it and it was just along the lines of, you know, if you can earn this money for the big companies, why can't we just start this off and start doing this for ourselves? You know, people buy into you as a person. You know, you go in and you sell something.

It's because they like who you are and what you present. And I think you were so you're so good with people and so genuine. It just made sense for us to I've, I always worked for myself anyway. I was a florist on my own floristry business and it just, we just wanted the flexibility, didn't we, around our lifestyles. We have five children, so we wanted to be able to be, you know, work from home, be more present and not miss out on their lives. So it just it fitted into a. Yeah, I mean the, the nitty gritty part of it is that, so we went through some like everyone does, went through some bad times and things like that.

And we were on our arse at one point and it was we had this, we had the the ability to sell the technical side of things. I'd come away from the the bigger companies so. That isn't, that is a massive factor because although we get taught pest control and on all courses, even if you go to a big company, if you get taught how to sell, I've never been taught how to like properly sell to people. I'm still learning to this day. Whereas you've got all that training from the bigger companies. That's another benefit.

If you start yourself, do normal pest control courses, they don't teach you how to sell. It's just the pest control. But I said to you, wasn't it, I did say this. I said I was going to look at potentially setting up an Academy at some point to, I don't know, some sort of training thing. But The thing is, is you don't need to be like, like these American sales people, you know, like go out hard sales or whatever. People present you with a problem and you come at them with a solution and that's it.

There's no, there's no, I can't stand the sales. It's not, it's. Not a forceful site. It's not like that. And I think that like what you say, like the industry in itself presents enough problems. The pets are all there and I feel like, you know, what we offer is a solution to that problem. So it's not, you know, and it's just, it's been, it's been organic, hasn't it? When we started then did we think we would be where we are now? No, I don't even think we anticipated it growing to the scale that it has, but a lot of hard work.

We've got an amazing team around us and I just think that we're just, we stand by our morals and our values. I think when it comes to, I think if you take away the side of the bigger industry that we don't want is that we're personable. So, you know, a lot of companies, when they start getting to, like, big scales, you can't get in contact with the managing director. It's, you know, everyone else at all. Yeah, don't. Say that Curt's watching. And we, we try, we, we still visit sites, don't we? We still keep in contact with our clients that we, I feel like we, and we sort of like make sure that that's a thing with everyone that works for us.

And that's really important to us, isn't it? Yeah, it is. I think the bigger the, the bigger, the more, the more work that we've had come in and the bigger that we've got the yeah has become harder to, you know, return those phone calls. Sorry Kurt to pick the phone calls. Up. Sorry, Kurt. It's been really hard to sort of keep up with that. Sorry, Kurt, but it's one of those where I I hate letting people down. So like genuinely, it's still, if it affects me even today, like if I can't get in touch with someone, I'll call someone back.

Sorry, Kurt. It's it's one of those where it does affect me because we don't want to be like that. We want to be reachable. We've got to be contactable. We want to go out. I mean, we still go out and see clients. You know, as much as we have got such a good team around us, we've got. We've got, we've got clients still to this day that have been with us since day one. Yeah, our. Retention's amazing. Yeah, that is magic for. Us it is and they're still there and they'll still call up and you know, every once in a while it's nice to go down and see how they're getting on with their technician now, whoever that is in within the company, it's still nice to go down.

It's very nostalgic. I went down to a site about 3 weeks ago. I hadn't been there in five years, something like that, and it was just weird to see how much it had changed. But the requirement for us being there was still exactly the same. They still had the same, you know, it's just, it's nice to sort of go back. It's really, I can't explain it. It's a really weird, surreal feeling. It's a proud moment for us, I think.

That's good, that is. So how many technicians do you actually have? Because oh God, are they? Are they actually? Whole of the UK now so. Are they actually employed by you as well or do you sub sub some people they're. Direct employed with us but then we are lucky to lean on some really good subcontractors as well. Speaking about Kurt Graham there over at Propest Manchester and Becky obviously is Good Wife. So like they're amazing they help support us as well. We've got you know Paul is a Paul Dumaskier technician really good guy again up up up north.

So we are, we are fortunate because The thing is, is that unless us smaller size companies support each other in that sense, we, we, we really don't face any chance at breaking the, you know, like in the Premiership, they've got like the top 6 clubs. Yeah, For me it's, it's the top top six say companies in the UK or whatever. If we, I, I, my ambition is to get us to be, you know, I want to be at the top. I want right environmental services to be one of the the first names that you look for when it comes to pest control or environmental services as a whole.

Good. And in all. Good goal. Yeah, and listen, it's a big goal, but. And to not and to not have as a company because you want the brand, you want the name, but to have us because we actually do a really good job and we actually care about what we do. Yeah, million percent so. Because you're all over the country, obviously, and you are very, very busy. How do you, like I said, how do you check the quality of the work that's being done on sites? Do you have people that go and look or to keep the brand?

I'm not saying that kind of thing, obviously, because you're not just in a local area, you're like all over. So do you have people that check stuff every so often to make sure? Yeah. So we have, we have obviously operations managers in place. We have QA that take place regularly and ourselves we'll we'll spot check sites as well, won't we? We're also supported by, you know, like so Pelsis are, I mean, we do a lot of work with, you know, bigger companies and you've got, they've got a really good technical team.

You've got people like John Stewart over there, Sophie. They'll go out and do cheques for us. They'll go out and do visits and you know, they're, they're not shy to come to us and tell us that we're doing something wrong because we don't get everything right. So do you know what I mean? Well. If you were to say you did, you're lying. Everyone, everyone makes mistakes. I. Understand that, yeah. And. Everyone's human. They are exactly. And so we're, we're lucky in that sense. We have got a good support network around us and we've got a we've got a really good team around us.

Yeah, definitely, 100%. Come on then, give us a give us a clue that how many technicians you've got roughly. I can't even put AI, can't even put a figure on it. I don't know how many we have. That's the question we'll have to come back to you on. I prefer. Probably just under, I reckon. Probably just under. You're bigger than I thought you were. Wow. Cheers. But I think again, on the technician side of it, that's that's definitely another conversation again, I think for another day because it's actually a very hard industry to get technicians in.

This is why this is what I've heard from people on podcasts that talk about I think Hugh from Guardian Pest Control was saying on the beauties and beasties. He interviewed over 60 people and they found one in the end, one guy and it's. We found 60 people from in the first place. A lot. It was something like that, but a lot of them weren't qualified. They were just deploying. They weren't the right people. It was something like that, Sean. If I'm honest with you, so I prefer, I prefer in house training, I prefer taking somebody on because if I'm honest with you, I've found it so much easier to train somebody from scratch.

And take. Through the process I try and implement the same sort of training that I had when I was at Rented Kill.

I found it so much easier to train somebody from scratch than it is to try and untrain somebody from bad habits. If that makes. Sense yeah, no, you're. Right. And then when we talk about, listen, when we talk about as an industry, you know, the lack of in terms of the lack of, you know, pest controllers qualified, the lack of, you know, or the limited female technicians in the industry and the lack of young people coming into the industry as a whole. I mean, we've just taken on a 17 year old technician, foot technician in London training and she's been phenomenal.

She's come in so, so eager to learn. Definitely. She's doing very, very well. I think there was something like just under 3000 qualified techs in the whole entire UK and they predict that in the next 10 years half of them will be retired because they're crazy 3. 1000. Yeah, there's not qualified I. Thought it was more like 10,000. Is it free? Yeah. And they and they predict that within 10 years, half of them will be retired. So this. Is the this is like doomsday? Like, yeah. It is because that's like that's that was.

I'm sure that was published on the on the BBC website. I might be. Wrong. I think it was 5. I think it was five years. Half the industry will be retarded, but the BCA said that. Itself though, isn't it to think that because it's been such a close knit of pest controllers in industry for such a long period of time, I feel like it's only now starting to like really like evolve and change and become current. So it is a hard industry to employ. I would, I would imagine it is. I've never employed anyone.

So I'm only going off what you both tell me because you know that that you've got that experience you have. Maybe one day I'll get to that level. Maybe. Don't do it, Sean. Don't do it. Yeah, but I've got no hair now. You've still got hair. This I'm just about keeping hold of it as a minute right as well. But it's, I would say that staff is it's the hardest part of running, running a business, it's the hardest part. You obviously have to offer like thing like, you know, to keep good, good staff. Do you have to offer like incentives or fun things?

You a lot of these companies in these, you know, corporate offices, they all do fun things to keep their staff happy. Do you do things like that? Incentives to keep your you're motivated to to keep you Could you could you could technicians or I do things like that. I No, I don't think we do. I. Think OK, I think what we. Created is a healthy environment in which people want to stay working for us. That's been the key, isn't it? You can, you can offer someone a bonus, you know, every quarter and you offer them all incentives in the world.

But if they don't enjoy coming in day-to-day, then what's the point in getting to that point? I think with us, I think with we're, we're a very close team and I feel like everyone has so much respect for each other and we really do try and create a healthy environment to work in. Like we're not into micromanaging and you know, like an intense environment. It's, I enjoy going to work and I think, yeah, it helps. And I think we, we try and create an environment in which all of our staff enjoy going to work.

So and, and looking for that feedback as well. If we're going wrong somewhere, you know, we're very open to that. If you're not happy, we would rather know. Let's have a conversation. Just keep that conversation flow going and. We do like a nice, nice big Christmas party as well, Sean. Yeah, yeah, no, we do. Listen, we in an ideal world, I mean when I when I was at with the other companies, I just said about a minute ago the incentives were were great. I've been able to see Rome, Vienna, Paris, I've been able to see loads of places because of, you know, that sort of thing for other's sake.

And I'd love to be able to get into a position where we are able to breathe a little bit and maybe do a little bit more of it, if I'm honest, because I think that, you know, to, you know, to a good team. I mean, look, we touch base with everyone. We speak to everyone on a daily basis. We try to anyway as much as possible. Sorry Kurt, but we we are. Oh OK, comment in the chat, we know you're watching. Come on, comment in. We try and speak to everyone on a daily basis and you know, everyone's happy like we're I. Don't know.

Yeah. Hopefully, yeah, this is where they'll come into the comments now and say no, miserable, but it is what it is. We, you know, we try like that's and that's that's it really. We try.

Someone's just commented Nikki, you know this person. Or summer BBQ or. Nick why you got to do me like that, man. Nick's Nick's My other love outside. It'd change the date Nick to a different date if it doesn't work for us. Nick's I mean, listen, when we talk about teaming and wider team, Nick is, Nick is phenomenal. So Nick is, we have our offices and Nick, Nick owns and runs that, that, that that office block there and he's part of the team as well. And, and he helps us run. Do you know what I mean?

He does help us. It's. Just it's community. I think it's it's still a little thing. I mean, I won't I won't give Nick too much of a big head, but you know, like I I I post about this on LinkedIn the other day, you know, I'd gone into the office and I wasn't having a particularly good morning. And it was I'm quite an upbeat person and Nick me that straight away and, you know, didn't have to, you know, good morning. And he went and made me a cup of coffee, put it on my desk and he was, I hope, you know, that makes you feel a little bit better.

And it's just little, I think it's. Just little thing. And he's never done that for me. Sean never done that for me at all. Never. So we have, we have crazy good people. We have good people around. Us. We do.

Oh, dear, Lee. So yeah, no, it's. Listen, when you talk about how big we are and things like that, it's we, we are as big as we are, but actually we we feel not bigger. Do you know what I mean? But that we have so many people with. Yeah. Because I honestly didn't realise how you were all over the UKI knew you'd work with Kurt as well, but I didn't, I didn't realise it was you were. Here's a question. So you just started off a pest control first? Yeah. How did you get from there to be into sanitary to clearances, to water test all of that?

Did you, did it evolve over time? Is that kind of how you did it slowly? Because I have ADHD and I will say yes to pretty much anything. OK, if someone rings you up, yeah, we can do that. I'll make it work. Pretty much there is a running joke in the office. If somebody phones up and asks for a haircut, I will go, yeah, no problem. I'll, I'll pick up a pair of scissors and start trying to cut hair. But I, I, I genuinely, I kind of looked at things that had synergies with what we do pest control, you know, dampen mould, having, you know, you know, book lice, that sort of thing.

Everything that comes about as a, as a result of having mould issues and things like that. It's a natural interlink, interlink between the two, you know, Leptos talking about water treatments and things like that, making sure that we, that's another thing we were asked from clients, Is it something we do? And yes, it is. We put the people through the training and, you know, do the relevant training, keep them, keep them up skilled, that type of thing. And. It's it's for for pest firms. I don't. I mean apart from the the big, big boys, I don't think many more to me immediately that's a small I don't.

Know. I have no idea. I think we were. I don't think many of them do like water treatment. It's very different if you ask me. Yeah, Yeah, it's, it's. I think, I think a lot of that with regards to water treatment, a lot of our work, we do a lot of work with local authorities. So we go in and out and do a lot of block treatments and a lot of them need to be tested on a on a regular basis that water tanks need to be tested. We're there. Why not let us test it at the same time to kill two birds with one stone?

Pardon the pun, but it was, you know. Clever. You know it. Was one of the biggest things as well, like especially with the construction side, so many times we would hear, you know, electricians gone in to fix electrics or plumbers gone into the, you know, boiler work, etcetera. And there's a pesticoo and they will not touch it. If there's, I don't know, an environmental cleaner needs to take place, they will not touch it until that is done. And I feel like by offering all of the services, it made it so much easier to be able to just tackle that one problem in one go rather than having to pause everything to get on top of a pest issue, which you know, sometimes can take a length of time.

We're already in there. We're all trained to do the relevant aspects of that job in one hit. So it just it, it hopped no, I'm down, didn't it? Yeah. You know, I think back to jobs that I've done in the past where the fire service have needed to go in and I won't go into the insurance and outs and why they were going into this property. But they needed to try and find someone and they go in because there were rats on site and they had to put a window through and a pest controller to go in first. And oh wow, OK, that's that one back about 10/10/12 years ago now.

And we were just, we've as we've gone up, as we've grown this, we kind of wanted to be a one stop shop for that kind of scenario. Do you know what I mean? I've got sharks who can do that. I've got an environmental clean. I've got a holder who can do that. But at the same time, I've got bed bugs and rats who can deal with. We can. So let us do. And then it gave us a better the, it gave us a greater ability to deal with a scenario on site. You know what it's like with with with pest control, a lot of it's environmental, you know what's going on.

Yeah. You know, how can we get the redenticide or the insecticide baits for argument's sake into this cockroach or into this this brown rat for argument's sake? And if you've got a property that's hoarded or, you know, environmentally dirty, your recommendations are to, you know, get a clean done, get it, get the cluttered, get it decluttered. Whereas we've got the ability, if we've got the client contact details and things like that, to be able to have that conversation and say this is what you need to do and give them the complete package from the outset.

I'll tell you one thing. You are. It's a very good upside. It is because you can say we are a passenger, but we can offer the whole package. Oh yeah. I'll be honest, I don't think there's money that can say that. Yeah. I, I, yeah, I mean, listen, it is a, it's a nice position to be in, isn't it? And I think The thing is as well, we're not just going, OK, you know, we've got some needles here, we'll get some, you know, get get any random person in everyone shops and you know, we've done the correct training.

You know, everyone's had that training to be able to go in and deal with whatever situation they're thrown into. No one's phased in any. I think pest is the centre hub of what we do. I think pest is very much the heart of what we do. And, and no one that works for us is phased by Pest because they've all had training, whether that's, you know, like a cleaner or it doesn't matter, whoever, they're not fazed by it. And I think that's really important as well because the amount of times you come up against someone and go, no, I'm not going in there.

I'm not touching that because they're not, you know, it's not their field. They're not qualified in it. Like we don't, we don't shy away from it. Everyone just gets stuck straight in. Didn't they? Yeah. I think, I think we've, we've got a bit of a rule as well. It's ask somebody to go in and do something that works for us that I wouldn't do myself. Do you know what I mean? That is exactly what Carl Robinson was saying from H&F and Bird Environment. Cole, good guy. Yeah, and he actually said that that's what his dad drilled into him.

That's what he drills into his ex, he said. That's what he brought up. It's important. It's important. You can't. You can't expect something from somebody that you you know to go and do something you wouldn't do. You wouldn't have, you wouldn't have the understanding of it as well. And I think that the respect's not there. I think sometimes so often, especially, you know, I, I was a property valuer for a very long time. You come into an industry where someone's telling you what to do and telling you to go do it.

That's never done it before. You don't have that. I feel like when you've done it and you can say that you've done it, you have an understanding of what it is that they're actually coming up again. So then you can go, OK, talk to me. What have you got going on there and actually relate to to it because you do understand it from a, from a like a service level that makes it, it makes it makes all the difference 100%. No, it does. It does sound that way. It does. There's always customers. There's customers that still tell you what to do.

They don't know what to do, but they still tell you they've got to put it there, there and there. Yeah. Million percent education, Sean, that's all. Yeah, just education. It's a lot of customers need educating, but you've got to, you can't. You can't have word it right, obviously. Do you get a lot of people where your you or your staff have to deal with delusional parasitosis? Do you ever get any cases where it's hard, isn't it, to tell them it's there's nothing there? You can't, Yeah. It's, it's a difficult one, delusional parasitosis.

We have to make sure that we've done everything right in the 1st place. So have you definitely ruled out every, you know, possible pests that could be causing it? That is it every environmental Have you looked at what they're using? Have they changed it bloody? I don't know what they use to wash it. I don't do much. It can be that. It can be that. Sometimes it can. Irritations, yeah, things like that. But I think I've had a, I've had, I think in my time about two or three occasions. And a lot of times you just have to listen.

You can't treat anyway. A lot of the time I'm lucky. I think I'm fortunate in the sense of when I have had it, I've had direct contact with their relatives or their next of kin. So it was to have that conversation with that person than it was to maybe have that conversation. I wouldn't want to have that conversation with the person who actually was suffering from it because that, yeah, might be, it's a it's. A very it's a very delicate subject. Yeah, it has. To be handled with care. Yeah, definitely.

Yeah, we did it once where we just charged, you know, just for the visit because we came out and we couldn't find anything and he kept saying to us, you can see it crawling all over my face currently. I was like, no, she rang us up calling the charlatans. Ask her. I said we're not. We just charged you a cheap service fee to come out and if we were charlatans we would have charged you the full amount. And some some people do it, but they spray water around. Yeah, yeah. We don't we don't do that. But that was a few years ago.

It hasn't happened since. But it is a hard one to know what to do because we said to to to a daughter. It's hard. It is. It is, I think for that sort of thing that as I say, the times I've had it and come across it. It's having those honest conversations with, you know, hopefully their next of kin or their relations, that type of thing to, to bring them into it and say, look, explain the process. You know what it's like. You've got to explain from, you know, Step 1 all the way through to whenever it's this is what I've done.

This is what I've looked for. This is what exactly insect monitors, you know, flea traps, if you want to put flea traps down, if you suspect some biting you that type of thing. And, you know, if they really want to see action, then you can maybe look at a non-toxic, you know, monitoring system in the meantime. Then when you've got, you know, you can see that there's definitely nothing there, then that's when you can have a conversation. And it's never nice. But I mean, we, we dealt with one four years ago, I think it was council property or council block with a private tenant in there.

And you know, this, this lady was adamant that she had an issue in there. And despite us going back in and doing inspections, putting insect monitors down, that type of thing and doing full inspections, it was nothing there. And another company went in about a week later and did the treatment for the sake of treatment. And, you know, she was exposed to chemicals she didn't need to be exposed to at the end of the day, so. There's nothing. There are people out there that will do that all Some of them will just spray water.

Yeah. Very well. Unfortunately, that does not help the situation, does it? No, of course you've reinforced it. You start treating with with products and you start, you know, those people are the reasons that we're going to start losing products. We're going to start losing you know, HSE and looking at the, you know, identicized at the minute the SGS I've. Seen that? Yeah. I haven't replied to it yet, but I will. Yeah, I. Mean what's your? Point on. Wow, on that side of it with the HSA. Scott have a good think about it to be honest, because you've got to be careful what you wish for as well.

You have so a degree because it's like there isn't many alternatives to anti anticoagulants. There's there's that cilantro and the other one Harmony X and that's am I, am I wrong? Is that it? No, that's, that's pretty much it obviously other than your physical break backs and you know. Yeah. Global to now non existent you know. Yeah. I mean, it's basically asking you what what the alternatives are. But they know what the alternatives are. So why are they asking us? I don't understand. I just want you to say it.

They do. So they'd have to make them products for everything. Then they'd have to make that a new norm. I mean, then maybe someone can educate us on that bit then, because I was looking at that and I was, I was looking at filling it in and it's, you know, what's the alternatives for this? What would you do in this situation? And it's it almost feels like they're kind of pushing you into a corner to give them the answers so that when they take it away, they can go. Well, you told us you knew how to deal with this out.

So once you'd lost it. Yeah. It's. I did click through and I clicked out of it. I was like, I didn't think like this one, you know, because the alternatives that are literally what's left. So I think the products would have to be relabeled too. In that sense, they would. But I think stop selling it to the general public and let the people that are fully trained and and lessons if you like, actually handle products in the first place. I'll tell you that is right, but I should tell you something now.

Never going to happen. No, of course it's not. HSA have actually said it. They said they do not want to the the the reason they said was because because I listened to the crew podcast when they had the the new chair on beatties and B sticks and he actually said cruise mandate. Cruise mandate is for professionals, gamekeepers, farmers and whatnot. And they said to HSE back point out blank told them we are not banning products for the general market because we want people who can't afford pest control to be able to try of methods themselves.

And that that was their reasoning. So I can't see it happening, but who knows? But that's but that's what they said that they're not interested in taking the products off the market. That's what you tell on that podcast, that that was information they got given.

What can you do? Who knows, who knows, it probably cost somebody a lot of money somewhere to to you know, there's a lot of lost sales for them. I should imagine if you remove all of that from the market from for the general public to lose and listen, we're kind of as a result kind of feeling the repercussions of that a little bit. You know, people misusing glue balls because they were readily available at the 99 P store just down the road on the corner leaving it, you know, I just. I actually, I've never actually used them, but we've we had them and I only ever used them in extreme circumstances to prove to a customer there was nothing in your attic.

This is before the ban, obviously. I never ever got anything on them. I never, I never used them, but I understand probably in London you got an outbreak in the kitchen. They'll be amazing. They would, they were, they were. I've never done them. Yeah, they were a great bit. They were a great tool to have last result obviously. Yeah, I could never. I never want a tool to be removed, but it's not been removed. But it really hasn't it. So it's a block really. Yeah, it is. And what do you replace it with?

You know, like what? What have they given us as a replacement for it? I I don't know. I'm asking this. It's rhetorical. Really. I don't. No, no, there is. There isn't really anything right. You do was nest in your company do was nest. So you're not into that or? We do, we do treat was nest. But we've had a relatively quiet year this year, haven't we? Yeah, it's not the predominant amount of work that we we, we cover, but we do do them. Everyone's trying to do them. We've done a few, but it's not, it's not, it's not been a.

No, it's not been. A huge management put it this way, the last time I treated the worst nest I was able to use Ficam D at the time, so that's going back sometime. I can't, I mean, it's only last year. Come on. Was it like Cam D was was was only was only stuck off the market in January, January this year. Oh. Wow, fair play. Well, it was a lot longer than last year that I. Treated. Put it that way. Only because I don't like them. I've never. Treated them. I don't. I've done over 400 nest this year.

Wow. Wow, that's. Interesting. Yeah, yeah, not bad. What? Was the biggest one. I think there's a lot of nest to go back. It's weird because you know how they always say that what's nest start off in like April, May? I don't think it's true. Some do, some don't. I've treated. I've treated nest recently, we have hit the nest and now it's worked probably 15/20/20 round the hole. So I think some are starting at different times of year as well. But I would say the biggest was probably 500 or more and that was like heck, it's straight away.

I haven't failed yet actually this year. It's always, it's always well, no, there was one. There was one actually, I had to go back to there was, but so far I haven't. I don't, I'll be honest, I don't count. It may have been 300. I shouldn't really count the number, but I don't. It just just feels like a lot to me. It does. It does some. Some people though, some people just make it. Make a business out of treat loss lists. Oh, don't. Get they'll, they'll focus on it. They'll they'll do the season, they'll finish, they'll go and enjoy their their winter and everything like that and they'll they'll get ready to go again.

I know a couple of people like it that just treat what's nests and stop. Don't do anything else. So listen, they've got to be doing what they call. Yeah, they call them. Go on. I'm joking, people. I'm joking, but what's it called? Yeah, Jason Mcphee's watching and he's put, I think Harman, excellent. Cilantro hasn't been tested enough in a real situation. It's all right testing it on farms, on large rodent infestations, but what about in a domestic situation? Are pets about? So I think, I think.

It's the point I listen, you can it's, it's really as much as we talk about pest control when and things being used in different situations, scenarios. We, we cover the UK. So we, we go from dealing with, you know, your commercial properties in, in London to residential properties in, you know, in the middle of nowhere. And they're two different ball games. They're two different together and cilantro. I have used cilantro. I've got a bucket in the stalls. I haven't yet used it. Have you not? I need to give it a go.

I do. It's I've used it in in what your man was just asking there and I didn't find much success with it. I didn't find much, I didn't find it very successful in any And that's when it first came to market. And that's not me. Listen, I might have been using it wrong at the time. It's going back a few years now. But you know, I followed the instructions on the label, put down what I needed to put down, and I didn't really find any. But I didn't find any benefit from it personally. But that's my own personal experience with it and I don't know, everyone's different.

I suppose every scenario is different as well, or every situation you go into. But yeah, they use it a lot on farms, a lot on. Farms, they do. Really successfully as well. That's what I hear often, Pride on a farm. I haven't really got any farms. I've got 1. Problem. Be interested. Be interesting to hear from somebody who actually uses it on a regular basis. There are a lot of people claim it's amazing and then it, yeah, I've seen a lot of people say it works amazingly and they use it a lot. And but some people say the opposite, like like you, obviously.

But yeah, I think. There's always a lot of people you normally get the product they like and they stick with it if they can. If it works, they keep using it. They do, but it depends what situation you mean as to what you what you can use. Yeah, exactly. It does. Really. It's knowing what product to use in a certain situation. We've just done our Level 3 in pest management award. You know, we haven't passed yet. We've just done the initial part of the training. Oh, OK. With Jon Stewart was the trainer over there.

Awesome. Technically, like awesome. I learned a lot. We did. We learnt a lot. I mean, it's been 15 years. I passed my Level 2 in 2010. Level 3 is a proper step up though, isn't it? It really is. Yeah, listen, the the reports are I'm looking forward to, but it's, it's more, it's more about the environment. It's making you more aware and consciously aware of, you know, the impact that we're having as an industry on the environment and, and you know, what we can do to alleviate the risks of us. Yeah, haven't having a bad impact just for the choices.

You know, you said just there like somebody will pick a product that they're used to using and they'll just use it and they'll use it and use it. And actually, when was the last time if you if you're doing that, when was the last time you stopped? And when actually I'm not getting any results here, I'm just feeding the problem more. Oh, I, I, I've had to do that where you change, change it up and then it has worked. Because if it don't work, there's no point. Keep going. There's nothing's happened.

If it's happened, there's no problem. Yeah, I've had to change it up and then it's worked. Sometimes I find the grain the grain form of the same one work just the same, but they don't want the block, they want the grain version. More palatable, isn't it? You know it depends on. I think sometimes having conversations as well, like when you're on sites that you've been at for a while and you're not sort of getting anywhere, it's having, you can never know enough. I think what I've taken from Level 3 is that you just this you, you just learn and learn and learn and there's just so much that you can take in that you didn't know or just see in it a different way.

And Level 3 was definitely a. It was definitely a level up from. Level 2. We took a lot from it didn't. We yeah, I loved it. It was. It's well worth doing. Maybe one day I will, but the the the new Level 3 come in. But you would be ranked up to level 4. Yeah. Because the new Level 3 is just level 2. Really. Oh, really? That's what it sounds like to me. It's yeah, the new Level 3 is, they're trying to get the new standard to be everyone that has Level 3, but it's not the one you're doing, not that that will be level 4, level 4, level 5.

So I have a question on that then, Sean, what what's Level 1?

I'll be honest, we. All talk about We all talk about level 2, Level 2 award and things like. That all I all I did for my qualifications I did during the lockdown. I've done hill germs, basic rodent and insect control and I don't know what level that's classed as. Is that level 1? I don't know what it is. I don't. And then a few years later I did my level, my actual better say it RSPH level 2IN awarding pest management because it gets confused. But then also you've got this RSPH level 2 in safe, safe identicides, which causes a lot of the problems.

That's why they want Level 3. I do. I'm not entirely sure of of how it's going to work, but they're working it all out. But I do know that the one you're doing under the new framework would be redeemed at level 4A Fair play. Oh, it's. All right. There. Yeah, it's all right. I don't know whether they'll they'll have an upgrade pass to just do it, but I believe that's it Sounds like level 2 is basically Level 3. It does because it's because over industries, apparently electricians, etcetera, their main qualifications are more like Level 3.

They are, but they do the job. And ours are level 2.

But I'm not an expert, but that's what I believe it to be. Please tell me if I tell me if I'm wrong after you probably will anyway. It'll be interesting to know though. I mean it's. I'm not on the committees or anything, nothing to do with it. Loads of people are sorting that out. They are. We've just joined that. I mean, did you say he was meant to have Clive Stewart on the other day? I. Was. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So Clive's part on that, we're on the special interest group, the Be Wise committee for the big yeah, clives on there really clued up so.

It is. Logging on to that when you when you jump on with him. Eventually it was because he had no the Internet was terrible where he was. He wasn't he was meant to be at home, but when he he got there was a delay in traffic and when he got to the site, when he saw where the out. It was a trap trap programme where you trap him out and then you take. Him away. Yeah, he said the bees were already out. It's too late. So we had to go back at night. So that's what happened. He had no Internet. No, it really was really cleared up.

You'll enjoy. That when you're around. With him so passionate about bees. Yeah, you are. Everyone is, everyone is there. A little bee there. Oh, nice. But there. Yeah, but everyone is, but the vast majority, the general public don't know differently. What's for the bee? Oh, no, we've got no end of calls. We don't got got got a wasp swarm at the house. No, you've got a bee swarm. And and being in the pest control industry, you're almost looked upon like you don't actually want to help when it comes to bees, but that's you couldn't it couldn't be any far removed from have our viewpoint on.

We don't, we don't do bees. We just recommend that we've got a guy called Elliot and we we pass the work on to him. He's done all the, he's done his courses for Clive. He has, but like when they go, I've got a wasp nest. Where is it? It's in the chimney. You've got bees. You've got bees. Oh, yeah. I've only found it once where it wasn't within the crack of a chimney at the bottom end and it was actually a wasp nest. It wasn't bees. Yeah, very rare. It's a tiny chimney and it was a wasp nest. But it was at the crack of.

It wasn't really in the chimney. It was a wasp nest that but that was it. It was, but they're. Crazy. But they're but yeah, so so with have you got any advice to people that wanted to start a pest control business or stay a look in in pest control? If you've got a neat voice for people that were wanting to maybe take the jump in start themselves or any kind of advice, don't do it my. Advice on it would be yeah, I think you're pretty similar, but you'll have your say as well on it. I think my advice to anybody that starts up their own business, whether it's pest control or any business, is expect that it will get hard, but having that willpower to go through it anyway, You know, I feel like you, we call it growing pains, don't we?

Like you feel like you get to a point where you you have to you're growing. So it gets uncomfortable, it gets uncomfortable. I think it's having the. Resilience. Yeah, that's the word I was looking for, the resilience. Keep going. To if. If you're going to go for it, go for it. Don't start if you've not got the mentality that you're going to go all in to begin with. You know, like, as in keep going. That's my advice. Yeah, keep going. It's good advice. I think I think with us in particular, because we obviously are a couple, you know, married, I think.

Yeah, just. I don't know why I'm highlighting that Everyone knows what. No, I think for us, like when Steve has them moments where he's like, oh, just, you know, I don't know if I've got this in me anymore. I'm like, yes, we have, let's go. And then if I have it, then you're that, you know, we have that shrimp. Any trouble really, don't we? Support, support and and do you know what? Like, yes, we're lucky. We are a couple and married. You know, I spoke about Kurt and Becky. Sure, but your logo at the bottom married.

Married. Yeah, I know. Tell me about it. But, you know, they're, you know, Kurt, Becky, they have each other to support on the things like that. But even if you are not a couple are married, you know, like, and you're going for it like lean on other people. Lean on somebody like yourself, Sean, lean on people like us. Becky kept like because you can't do it alone. You can't do it like it would be, listen, you can't you can't say that you wouldn't be able to like somebody out there might be able to do it.

But at the end of the day, you're going to get better and you're going to get through it a lot better if you lean on people. Now, whether that's just for an ER to. Shoot off or vent off a little bit of frustration at times. Or, you know, like, run ideas past people, speak, talk to people. That's what I do. I speak to a lot of people that are so low off. I think I speak to loads of people that you'll laugh. I've obviously never met you to hopefully do one day. Yeah, a lot. A lot of people that like Jason McPhee in the chat, I speak to him regular, speak to Kurt regular.

Yeah, I speak to Andrew. I speak to loads of people that I've not met many of them, but a lot of them work by themselves. Yeah, I work with my dad. So I'm kind of lucky in that sense. But with with my, with a lot of people, they're, they're one man companies or work by themselves and they are lonely. So we do vent. We do, we talk about stuff and it does help. It does it does it. Should and, and I think it's listen, even if you work for the bigger company. So Sean, you're out as a technician, you've got your state of service, you go out, you do your contracts, you do your routines, you do your job work, but you're on your own.

And it's always nice to be able to lean on your mates, your friends, your family, you know, to sort of get you through because it's, it is a lonely job at times. You're out on your own, you know. So having conversations with people and being open minded as well when it comes, when you're talking about growing as a company, like nobody knows everything there is to know about. Nobody here knows everything there is to know about pest control. And anybody that says they do is a liar, says, you know, similar to what you said earlier, but be open minded, don't be narrow minded and think right, this is the way I'm going to do it.

And that's it. Like be open minded, have conversations and actually take the advice and utilise it on site, utilise that information and, you know, trying to. Yeah. How many times have we had conversations recently when I was on the training, I was speaking with John Stewart and he come out with some things and literally come away implemented that with some of the guys on some of their sites they're having issues with and we've had different results a week later, you know? Excellent. Yeah, it's not.

It's not being shy as well. I think with us, we've tried to like, like drum it in as well, you know, with all of the technicians and the management side of it. That is, if you're on site and you're working with something that you, what they necessarily see, like a technician that's on site and it's one of their sites continuously is being able to pick up the phone and say, right, I'm here, but I'm banging my head up against the brick wall right now because I'm not like, you know, I'm not too sure.

I'm not, I'm not getting on top of this problem. I, I need a little bit of support on that. Then having that. So we, you know, we can send a management team out or we can go in and have a look at it and go, OK, show us what you're seeing because someone might just see something, it's different. You know, it could just be one thing because when you're looking at something continuously over and over and over again, sometimes you do what's that word I'm looking for? Like almost like brain block. Don't you like, how am I going to get what we're going to do next?

So I think it's important. Tunnel vision, you get very tunnel vision, You'll go into sight, you know, the areas you need to check, where you should check and things like that. Technician, I was guilty of it as well you know and the thing I love about what we do now is is like we do get called into the problematic sites, you know places that are having issues and I love getting my teeth sunk into those ones. I love going and ripping up flooring and taking off taking you know I love it love getting involved in that sort of thing.

Root cause analysis, having a look at why the problem's there in the 1st place. And a lot of it's complex, you know, commercial properties within a big shopping centre for other than the sake, you know, and love getting my teeth sunk into that sort of thing. And that's, that's generally why I love the industry. You know, it's different. It keeps your mind busy as somebody who's on the, on the spectrum, like for me, it's, it's brilliant. I'm sitting there getting twitchy. I mean, I mean, I'll be honest, I'm not, you know, but I've never been clever at school.

But I was never alive. I would say now in in pest control, I'm very good at learning stuff. I am at school. I was, I put it this way, I didn't do really any GCSEs because I didn't think I'd passed in little certificates. But you probably you probably label that a name now if you were in a school, but it wasn't like that. But then but I would because I obviously I did my level 2 twice. I passed my rodents. I failed the Part 2 and Part 3, not by much. It went went again the second time and I passed.

I passed it all then, but they got me. That time was cockroaches. You know why go on. Up till a couple of weeks ago, I've never done cockroaches ever. No way. You don't get them in my area at all and I don't. I we're doing a cockroach job in my town now. I can't tell you why they're there. I don't know. We don't have them. It was fun. It was, it was fun. It was. It was fun. It was fun to do it. Yeah, it was. But I now know based off the course how to do them. Yeah. Before that I've never done cockroaches.

That's more we don't go into Leicester, DC or I'm out in Oakham, Rutland and that's more of a city thing. We don't really deal with in the main city because we won't be able to compete with the prices there because because there's so many companies in Leicester we wouldn't be worth us doing. Yeah, so if ever you want to deal with some cockroaches, let me know. We'll arrange a day out. You can come down and and spend the day with one of our. Guys, rain, rain on me. I've heard of them. I've heard of that.

My my American. I've got there's an American podcast listening to and a friend with Jenny and she and she does cockroaches and she couldn't get over the fact I don't do them regularly. He says they are going to send you a video next time. I'm doing the job with them raining all over me. You don't get over it. But but yeah, you'll. Have to somebody get a video you'll have to send that across so we can see that as well because we we were talking to was it today yesterday was talking about cockroaches dealing with them.

We actually quite enjoy dealing with with them weirdly because they're, you know. I have a least favourite pet and not a pet, a least favourite pest that I'd avoid. I just I can pretty much work with everything pest related, but I'm just not a lover of rats. I'm not don't. Often see them though to be fair. Not a lover of rats? Listen, I'll do whatever I need to do when I'm out and you know my professional hats on and I'm in that environment. But rats are just not my favourite thing, although I had a pet rat when I was a child.

What's your favourite Peston? What's your favourite Peston? I love bed bugs. Bed bugs, bed bugs and. Cockroaches, I think, fascinate me the most. You bring them home with you. No, never. Touchwood. Touchwood. Yeah, Never. My favourite, probably. Probably my children, to be fair. I think my least favourite actually, I don't like rats, but I think my least favourite is fleas. I'm not a lover of fleas either, They just yeah. I love bed bugs. I love a bed bug case. I love just yeah. All right.

Yeah, probably bed bugs and yeah, probably bed bugs for me too. Mice. Yeah, listen, I just enjoy it. It's different. It's it's different. Yeah, definitely. What about you then? My.

Favourite sports? Yeah, you.

See enough of them. Yeah, I know. Yeah, pretty. It's gone quite quiet, but on on Monday with these six wast nests did. You really? Yeah, not done any since. I've not done any any nests since though. How? Much do you charge for wast nests then, Sean? How much do you think I charge? I have no idea. I have no idea, but I hear it's a big topic for debate in a minute, isn't it? Too cheap, Too expensive. £100 was fat, fair play. We put it up. We we, we had it at £80 plus VAT for years, so it's due an increase so we did it.

Because. You might you potentially need to return if it fails, there's more chance of failing now because of a different product, but there. But that's what we do. But there was a beauties and Beasties podcast if you want to watch it. They were on about that. That's the old topic. That was oh. Really. Yeah, there was a whole, it was on must nest prices, but it didn't manage to get somebody on. That was at the real low end, unfortunately. They appeared in the chat but they wouldn't come on. They wouldn't, They wouldn't.

So if you need to think, you need to go on Facebook and look at the chat at the same time. Yeah, you lost me. At Facebook you get. What you get, what you pay for at the end of the day, if you want a decent service, then people will pay, you know, the right price. And I think I think you're about right with it. I think it's it's fair fall, fall it. In yeah, I mean, I mean, I know there's big companies that charge because we, we do a Golf Club and I don't do the Golf Club, a big national does it, but we do their lost nest in the summer.

Yeah, we do because they charge about £400 a nest and we don't. Wow. It is what it is for them, isn't? It but obviously obviously for commercial that was a domestic price. We charge a little bit more for commercial. Commercial we do more so only a little bit more but we do but we have tried to get this Golf Club off off we have tried to get this Golf Club and the laugh the actual blokes that you know pay for them also say lovers they think we're great. We haven't managed to convince the probably higher ups to get us in.

Yeah, they haven't. But one day we'll get there. Give us. Give us, listen, give us a shout, drop us a message and I'll see if I can help you out with that. Like from from your point of view, because I know you were saying before about the South side of it. It's probably just about trying to identify, you know, why. What is it that you need to sort of, you know, what do you need to say to them to and who you need to speak to and who you need to speak to getting in front of the right person. It is great.

Yeah. But I've heard, I've heard a certain company where if you tell them you're leaving, you've got a better deal. They sent out a sales Rep and they basically do do what you want and then they stay with them. Yeah, that as well. Termination Termination team so. That's what I've heard. Yeah, listen, I'll be honest with you mate, but if customers, if we've ever had a customer turn around and say that they want to leave, you know, for me, that opens the door for a conversation. You know, why, what's what's happened?

Because we must have got something wrong. If you want to leave, we must have something wrong. You know, what is it? A lot of the times somebody complaining and wanting to leave for me is is a, is another opportunity to get in there in front of in front of them and say, you know, we must be missing something If you want to leave us. You know, I can stomach if it is based on price, because you know, like somebody else has come in and they want to do this and it's based on price and I can't in any way than than fair enough.

But if it's because of an issue or, you know, we're, we're not, you know, there's a problem that you need help with, then we, we can help you with it. You know, we can, we can deal with that. So I always look at a, a complaint or a termination thing as a, as an opportunity to go in and look at getting another Sal, you know, like up and you know, what is it? You know what are we doing wrong? Yeah, 100%. Even as a person, in anything that you sort of buy into as a as a person, I would much rather work with somebody that is willing to fix a problem or acknowledge that the problem needs to be fixed and help you with that.

Then someone that's just not interested at all and doesn't, you know, doesn't care, I think. Because sometimes you've got to let people you know, rectify a situation. And if, if you can, sometimes the person, the client isn't willing to let you, they're just like, I want to know. That's it. But but a lot of times you can rectify it. You can. Yeah, 100 percent, 100%. And if you've built up that relationship with them, then they should let you. To be fair, they should. They will normally work with you to.

Yeah, it should be. It should be a working relationship. If you've got, if you've got a good working relationship with your customers and your clients, then you're you're halfway there. Yeah, million percent. You know, somebody has to pick up the phone and saying, Kylie, you know, what is going on over here, I need help. And me going, OK, talk to me, what's happening? And, you know, it's better than someone not being able to reach you or not being, you know, not getting the answers they want to the frustrations they're experiencing.

So it's good. Yeah. Yeah. We try our best. Yeah. Well, you're doing a good job so far from what I can see. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. It's a lot. I think not seeing any advance in my area yet. Listen, never unmarks. Don't worry about that, Sean. Never marks. Oh, no, no. It's it's one of those where. Yeah, no. No, generally I'll be unmarked. Really unmarked. Oh, so you go for that discreet route? Yeah, 1,000,000% I think. I mean our, I mean our van's got a big wasp on it, you see. You've got a what?

Sorry. A big what cartoon? Have have you ever seen my logo on the on my LinkedIn? Yeah, well, there's a big cartoon wasp on the van as. You see, I love that we we had. Batted in, the big rat on the line. Graphics, we had all of the graphics on on our, on our vehicles before now we, you know, we a lot of our clients don't want, want the advertisement there, you know. The obviousness of what it is that you're coming. For especially if you're dealing with residential, have you got, you know, I was speaking to somebody the other day and they were saying that one of the big companies had, you know, the technician on site in his van and surveyor met up with him in his van, bought a new technician with him and then someone else came to pick something up.

So he ended up with three or four vehicles outside this one residential property and the owner sitting there going, you know, well, nice and discreet guys, nice and discreet. So it works, you know, it works both ways. You know, we miss out on the advertisement, I suppose, because getting the name out there. But we've, we've never really been like that. We it's been word of mouth and it's organic. It's a cheaper van wise. You start to get wrapped, do you? No, exactly. Cuts that out as well. It does and.

Most of them they don't clean either, so it's we, don't they. Bless them, yeah. But, but no, it's I, I, I did once recently, I did a job and there was. You're not allowed to tell anyone what you're doing, are you? Yeah. She just said, oh, I think it's, she says, oh, I think it's irresponsible. You're not telling me. I just said it's nothing for you to. I was doing a flea job. I just said it's nothing for you to worry about. I need to get my house. It wasn't connected. It's like literally like 2 doors down.

I said it's not. Yeah, I know. I said I can't tell you it's not allowed to, but I'm telling you now. It's nothing to worry about. And then in the end she was like, OK, I said, but I said it's nothing to worry about. It's not rats. If you think that's what all right. I was worried it was rats. It's not rats. But I said I can't tell you. I said I'm not allowed to. Did you ask her if she had a problem with rats or anything at? All I didn't ask her, but I told the class. Oh, she's always asking you.

Well, no, absolutely. But I don't like, I don't like saying it. Sometimes it's just on a wasp nest. Yeah, even though it's not true. Yeah, most people talk about that, but I generally try not to text. I try not to say anything. Yeah, just yeah, I suppose it closes conversation down as Carly just said there it's see I look at that and I go or have a conversation with with. And your van, your vans wouldn't know because they wouldn't know you're a pest control. No, exactly. Nobody would ask. You could be a builder for all they know.

Or a plumber. Exactly. It can have the opposite effect because you could go into a property that's, you know, it could be a block of flats, could be anything that's got a rodent issue, say, and someone sees you then and they've got a pest control problem. They've got you there and then, haven't they? They can go, Oh, you know, we've had that before. We're going you. Oh, we need, I need you to come and have a look at. I went and did a property once and another lady, Scottish lady come out and she had an issue and her property and asked me to take a look at it whilst I was there and then because she knew that I was pest control.

So that's nice. It has it's yeah, it. Was a nice one, wasn't it, that one. Yeah, about that, yeah. I've been slacked down before. Yeah, no it. Is good. You do, you do wasp, I said yeah, big wasp on the van. You know what best for it. Two years ago though, it was. But yeah, we do do Wasps. And people do, they do take the numbers down as well. Like we've had it ourselves everywhere and we've needed something at home or whatever else, you know, you see someone's got a vehicle and it's got the logo on it.

It's easy to just take it nowadays with your smartphones. It's easy to just take a boat quickly, isn't it? I'm going to ring them later. You know, it definitely has its, IT has its pros and it's cons, I think. Yeah, million percent vehicles, again, each to their own. You know it works for some people, it doesn't work for others, and you just got to find what works for you at the end of. The day we had a smart car, didn't we? It was logoed up for you. It was like. Didn't have air con. It was like.

A greenhouse during the summer you had to drive along both windows. Wide open, but probably open. At the same time all over it. Pests right all over it at the time, that was such a good car to. Drive and the amount of people that would say, oh, we see your Smart car there all day, We see your Smart car there all day. It was conference because. It sounds it stands out, isn't it? Because it obviously it was wrapped completely. But yeah, but now we're all, we're all discreet now, aren't we? Yeah, just white bands.

Nothing like in the states. You've ever been to the States, John saying saying the pest controls over there. They have to have pick up trucks, don't they as well? Don't know what Yeah. So they they have some, they wrap them. Yeah. Huge, huge, huge things going like, I mean, we, we was in New York a few, few years back. And do you remember the cockroach? Giant cockroach on the roof, like a big, huge model of it. Just Yeah, just you could see it. No. What was the name of It's like exterminator. No, sorry, I said it wrong.

They're all called exterminators, don't they? Yeah, they are Pest exterminator. I'm pretty sure it's like. It's different over there. It's different like how pest control works over there, because if someone, if someone says they've got ants, you can just just spray. You can do what you like. Yeah. Whereas here you've got a proof it's actually a problem. One actually cares. Like over here, we always feel like we're everyone's pest. But in some states, so if you're in, you're in California and now you this proper in certain states, like you can't just do that because over there there's, there's fines.

You can incur fines and be taken to court. They're using the wrong chemicals. Yeah, it's quite serious in like California and the states of New York and stuff. If you've, if you've used the wrong chemical, there's been a mistake. They actually have people that can pull you over in your van to check your van and check what work you've done, like the pest control, police as such, and you could end up with fines. It doesn't happen very often, but you can. It's what officers that do it, not police officers.

But you won't get it in. It's licenced over there. You say it's licenced. You can lose a licence do. You think it should be over here? No, I don't. Everyone says yes, but you got to be careful what you wish for in a way. Yeah. It's like when, when, if it if it was to happen, you'd have to have all the products removed from the domestic market. I reckon then it'd be worth it. But a lot of people for licencing, I'm not, I'm not because I do know. Although yeah, it may, it may be better in some way, it may shoot you in the foot as well because companies won't be able to afford to do it.

As such a smaller like 1-2 people companies who probably struggle with it because they have to do their entity to pest control, very different. Some of them you have to get so many qualifications to even do the job. It's they can't just lie here. They can't set a firm up. But in the UK you can go and do your basic rodenticide course and you could go and advertise the next day when you got it. But in America it's so different. You've got to be in business, you've got to get your business licence, you've got to get all this done.

The other qualifications and the licences. It's not as simple in America it's not, but they do, they do spray when they haven't got problems, exterior sprays, it all depending on what, what state you live in. You can tell I've speaking to a lot of Americans. You see, I'm not an expert on it, but they do tell me. They have told me on the podcast before, but it's but they can't get over the fact when I tell them I can't spray outside for ants or any any kind of things around the exterior building.

But you can't say no. We have to read the label. We use the correct products. We can't just spray. And they were like, oh, we can, you can, but we can't.

I don't really see ants as a problem unless they're in someone's house because they're not technically a pest. We're, we're, we're in their place, aren't we? We're in there. Bless them. Yeah, no, but it's, it's, it's interesting how pest control from around the world is different. Some countries don't care about health and safety whatsoever. They don't. Probably. You're probably more Africa, countries like that, they're very different over there. It's probably education and what products cost and stuff.

And you've got like some parts of America where you can do what you like and other parts where you can you have to do. But you can always follow the label, shouldn't you? Just saying that some states are super strict. Yeah, but I don't know. I don't know whether that's a bad thing, to be fair, you know, I don't know whether it's a bad thing. I don't think so, no. I would say going back to that subject earlier on around what you give as advice to somebody that's going to start prepare to have no social life for a long period of time.

Yeah. Yeah, because you work 24/7, 7 days a week, you are always working. Yeah, it doesn't stop.

Yeah, it's worth it. We love the industry that we're in and we're creating the life that we want in the in the interim. So we can't really thought it and we're still together, still married, so can't be happy. Yeah, I would thought my message, my message to work in the business. Eventually, when I finally take over properly to a degree I would.

People say, how do you, how are you married? How do you have five children? How do you work together as well every single day of the week. And I think you've just got a, you've got a really. Like five children you do very well then within the company and five children I've only got, we've got 211 on the beach. We have but five. Well done. Yeah, three of them are homeschooled as well. So it is never, ever a dull moment, is it? It's just constant. Go, go, go. We've got TV's installed in every room now, Sean.

What's the toilet? Yeah, exactly, exactly. It's it's listen it yeah, I wouldn't change it. I wouldn't change it. Yes, it's hard, yes, it's hard, but you just got to keep going are. You are you planning to in the future, would you like your kids to take over the business or are you looking to like exit? I don't think they. Can give us a chart choice. If I'm honest with you, I think they're already planning our exit, already planning our exit in the business as we speak. No. SO the second from oldest has already been told that he's going to be level 2 trained, getting through all of his qualifications because he he's the one that's in between not knowing what he wants to do.

The older one wants to be an architect. This one wants to be a dancer, and Harrison, bless him, hasn't got a clue what he wants to do. So I said that's fine. You know, we're going to bring you into the industry. If you're saying it, you're saying it great, because I think I think it's amazing. But if you don't, it goes on something else that's different. But they'll always have something behind them to be involved in. I would personally, I'd love nothing more than for them to be involved in the family business.

Yeah, same. It would be good. It will because I know a lot of a lot of firms at the minute are selling. They are a lot of them. They are, as we say, I've seen it. I'm not, I'm not a fan of the people selling the businesses, but that's me. But if they're happy to do it and it's up to them, it's, there's been a lot of businesses though sold recently we've. Got no plans to sell our business. Which makes it better for people like you and I, Sean, because the, the more businesses that are sold into these bigger franchise, bigger, bigger corps, the, the more competition, the less competition there is for, for, for us.

You know what I mean? They're all. A lot of them are keeping them separate though, aren't they? They're like the group owns it, but they're keeping them under the same brands they had before and not merging them as well. I've noticed they've stopped doing it. They were just gobbling them up and now a lot of them are keeping them by themselves. Like you've got the pest control partnership where they acquire the company, but the people that are running the company before still run the company and they leave them alone.

That's the way if there's any help they want and then leave them to their own devices just to run the term. Mad isn't. It we're not, we're on admission. Yeah. We're on admission. We're not I. Bet you I bet you have emails every day asking if you want to send it. We have emails too and I don't think you just don't reply. Did you say your dad set set it up? Was it your dad that started? It how long? How long was he in it? My dad started up pest control and he's he. He wasn't actually working in pest control he just literally his mate said pest control is a good job to have.

So the best probably over 10 years ago. Oh, fair. Play but. It was a side job to start with alongside his normal job until he built it up a bit and then then he took it to his full time job and he then he asked me if I wanted to start and I'd only just become very social media and LinkedIn, etcetera. In the last two years. All that I was, I didn't didn't go on Facebook groups or anything. I was very because it all used to be negative, but a lot of people now are a lot more positive on groups. Not everyone but a lot.

I've had to tell people of course you're on a pest control training group. Help the person, don't laugh at them 100%. It's a big thing for us. I think what I love about LinkedIn the most is that it is it cuts out all of that, that you know that like you say that negative stuff that you would see on Facebook and your instagrams and faces like that. And you know, it's very business focused as well. LinkedIn but like when I see people, you know, exposing other companies for their wrongdoings on sites and, you know, not putting this right and that right.

You're about the ones that promote their business, but they show you crappy boxes. Yeah, without the logo. I don't like that. Yeah, we're not. We're. Not it makes the whole industry look bad, but they think it's great. It really does. And I think you're, you're, you're so right. You know, I was the other day where someone had put something up in it and it wasn't, it wasn't correct. That bait being secured in this, yeah, no. Yeah, and it and I, I sort of, I didn't want to, but I did sort of write an oppose and it was just a little nervous to say like, you know, hey, Hun, have a look at this.

Like, you know, it wasn't I don't like it when people actually attack people on posts and really and show their wrongdoings to, you know, make themselves look better. I don't think that's the. I don't think that should be done, to be honest. But sometimes with these old boxes and that right, this is what people ain't getting. You don't know if that client's telling you the 100% truth. He might have not paid the bill in six months and that's why they've not come back. And you're in a state and you don't know.

They could say, oh, well, we pay all this money and then don't turn up. You haven't got the full story. But some people just believe them. You should believe the client, but sometimes you haven't got all the information. But they might, They might have, you know, said we don't want you anymore and not have pest control in a year, a year or so. But all the boxes are there Milky, you know, cobwebs everywhere. But they're saying, Oh no, the pest control just don't just doesn't turn up. There is context that people couldn't believe always 100% believe it because it happens.

It does. Yeah, 1,000,000%. I agree, I agree 100%. It's just not. I just don't think it's right to try and knock someone else down to bring yourself up. I just don't think that's the way. I don't think that's a done thing. I haven't seen it so much recently on LinkedIn but I there was a point where there was loads of it happening. It was quite annoying. Unless I'm just not saying their posts. Maybe it's that, I don't know. Because I think sometimes if you get fixated on a post, you start to create a bit of an algorithm for you.

See more post content like that. I don't tend to find something like that, so I don't really see much of it. I think that's the reason, isn't it? Because, you know, it's a little bit tricky, the Internet. I don't get to go on it much.

Steve's not a big, he's not a big social media person. No, no, I'm, I'm on everything. I'm on TikTok. Come on. I do all the gym stuff now, all that's on there. You're doing well with that, though initial I've. Seen 8-9 stone that I think. Congratulations. Actually, I'm actually like a brand influencer for Wake World, so I get a lot of free supplements and stuff like that. Oh nice.

Well. I got I got an article put in the MPTA newsletter. It's about basically linking health and fitness and mobility to pest control, doing our jobs better. And because I broke my knee twice, that's why I lost all this weight. And both have been pest control. Both actually not one of them was on a job. We fell in the garden, Lucky my dad was there. And the second time I broke, I broke. I broke my knee again at the bottom of my garden. So it can't happen again. So that's what made me switch in my brain.

April 2024 went to the gym after the surgery when I could and I've never looked back since that. I love training. It's like a bit of an addiction going going going to the gym. Don't get me wrong in now I am quite I'm one of the you know, the weight wise. I'm you know, for lifting weight. I'm I'm on dead lift him. I'm on the bigger side of the gym now. But but because I'm careful though, when I do it, but I do I do really enjoy it. But yeah, I've got an article put it. I don't know if you've seen it, I did the MPJ news player the other.

Day. Actually, I did. Say I'm going to try and get see if I can get an article or something put in there that's a mag, See if they're out something about me in there. It might help. I'm not APT, but it might hit someone that ate APT or you know, mega mega fit to explain why they did it and why it helps the job because it it really helps. It does. I'm still not where I want to be, but I'm I'm progressing. I am. Yeah. It's not easy to flip that mindset. It's not easy. But my mindset changed everything.

It changed the way I thought about pest control. It changed everything. My outlook on life, Everything changed with that. I haven't haven't changed since. Good. For you. But yeah, it's, it's been good. It has. You look like a guy who deadlifts. Yeah. You're joking. You are joking. Years ago maybe I've got. Listen I I sweat just looking at a set of stairs. Yeah. Yeah, no, it's not. I used to enjoy it, but it's that's that's probably one of the hardest things about growing any sort of business, whether it's having.

A time, yeah, having. A time like for me it's we've got a big family, we work constantly and and it's then I'm. Going back out to work. Tonight, yeah, going back out tonight and. Oh. Yeah, yeah, another, another problematic one. I'm going to go and have a look at that. But it's, you know, having the time before we jump in on to this, having some time with the kids after we finish work, having some time with the kiddies, getting them tucked up into bed. I'm actually surprised if not I've made an appearance if I'm honest with you mate.

Yeah. They've done really well, bless them, but it's, it's finding that balance. I you hear it all the time, work life balance, but it's, it's more complicated than that, isn't it? I do, I do have one actually. But if our business, the plan is, but it's new rebrand and everything, I'm hoping to get the business bigger. That's such another more work rolling. So I do, I do pick my kids up from school generally most of the time. But if the business gets where I want it to be, it may not be able to as much.

Yeah, it's, it's difficult. I mean, we, I mean, you said, what's it you said to Flo this morning? You know, if my boss lets me, I'll come home and, you know, finish early and I'll come and see you and you'll say, oh, wait a minute, I am the boss. I will come up with early and I will come and sit down with you. We didn't get that. We didn't get home early. We finished later because it was another busy day. And you know, so yeah, it's that's the most difficult part of it. That's the most difficult part.

Of. It yeah, time. Definitely. But it's been a good conversation, I think. Hey, is there anything else you wanted to mention? Do you know if you covered what you wanted to say or? You were covered in, didn't we? But often tangents left, right and centre, so I apologise. I don't mind it. Our people don't mind it. It's a bit of it's all, it's all fun. It is. It's a it's a good conversation. But yeah, thanks. Thanks for agreeing to come on. No, thank you for. Having us, I think it's, I think it's been really good.

I think a lot of people will enjoy it. They will, yeah, I reckon. Yeah. I usually do so a lot of people listen. There's like 4 people watching now but most of the views and downloads come after, a couple like days after and stuff. But it does do quite well. It's growing. It's growing. Afterwards is it? It will be. I will, I will. I will put it up on Apple. Spotify it is. Yeah. It will be on Apple podcast as well. That is not the dominant platform for me anymore. It's Spotify, yeah. Because Apple years ago used to be the Apple podcast was the de facto podcast app.

Yeah. But now, since Spotify put loads of money into video podcasting and paying, paying all these top influencers and all podcasters, statistically, it's now Spotify that are #1 In terms of podcasts, some sites say it's to Apple, but we look into a lot of the stats. It's Spotify podcast. They invested a lot into video. They backed on video, you see? Yeah. Do you get you got an iPhone do do the podcast play videos on there. Do you know what I? You. You wouldn't know, would you? No, I wouldn't. I wouldn't ask me to write an e-mail or put something together, a word or something like that.

365 I'm fine on it. But when it goes social, I just don't do it. I just don't, unfortunately. Oh, but it looks a bit. You don't need to. You're growing your business. You're doing well without social. Yeah. You do a little bit on socials, don't you? You do. Yeah, I post quite a bit of content on. Kylie does on LinkedIn. Yeah, Kylie does and. Of course, try and keep up with me then. Yeah, just yeah, I don't. I tried. I'll say what I'm saying. Let's put a little post on there or you know what I've been doing that day.

But you, you're not a huge you're too busy. Yeah, yeah. This I probably should be a little bit more vocal on there. You know, there are things that are going on in the industry that I don't agree with and there are. Things you don't need to, you don't need to, you don't need to say what you want, but you've got to, you've always got to be prepared. Be prepared for some kind of negative because obviously I had a post that exploded on LinkedIn when I told people my opinion on companies shouldn't really be put in on their pest control brand accounts and socials dead animals and that got a lot of traction.

Was it? Was it positive? A lot of mostly good, but a lot of people said that you should be able to put whatever you want up. No, but if, but if I put that on my all my socials, I'm telling you now I live in Brookland. I would lose a lot of work. They wouldn't if I put that all I get sick already off some people or you know, put my mole posts up. But I don't post moles. Actually, they're not moles. I'm always nice. I reply, I reply, but calling this is great. It's one guy. It's one guy I do well on next door app and he always tells me how beneficial Wasps are and they are.

I agree with him, but I always put thank you. It's always appreciated and great to hear from you. Because when he moans, the traction on the post skyrockets. I always thank him. I do I. Do I'm I'm not personally for it. I think it's very distasteful to put it up. No one needs to see it. We know what we do. We know we know what we remove. We don't need. I don't think anyone needs to see that. I don't think I don't you just you just I don't think it's needed it. Needed in any. Way I've I've never liked it personally.

And I never I. Think when you don't post it, no one's none the wires up. I think when you don't post it, you open it up to exactly that. You're either going to get negative or you're going to get positive. I just think if it's not there in the first instance, then it can't. It can't 'cause anything. It must have, but you know, people must have more to talk about and be able to show than a dead rodent. Yeah, I don't. It's not a thing, not a thing, not a thing I do really. I, I, my missus makes these graphics on she's not, I just tell her what to do and she does it on canvas.

And I've put a lot of them up and they, they do all right. And boss nest when I've, when I've, when I've got a big boss nest, I do videos like that sometimes, but it's usually just them going in and out the hole before I before I do the nest. But they, they do all right. But I mean, it's more interesting. I think if I'm on TikTok, I'll always, you know, go for like a bee hive, remove a bee hive removal. And I find things like that fascinating to watch. They do well. Yeah, exactly how what they doing and it's so I think it's therapeutic to actually watch things like that.

Be careful Tiktok doomscroll 3 hours later, yes. You know it. Yeah, it is addictive. It can be, yes. But anyway, it's been a great chat to have you both on. Thank you for having us. All right, thanks for coming on. It's been great. Everyone's happy now They've had a podcast, they had a week off last week because it went wrong. But this this week we've had a great podcast. But so one minute 40, so British Pest register, when I do it, there will be 1.5 CPD points available for this podcast. Once I work, I'll go back through and work out the learning points.

And you can also do it on the Bpcas registered. That's the registered CPD diary, self register basis prompt. If anyone wants them, just DM me and I'll send you the all all my codes. You're only allowed to apply for six codes for basis prompt and they've given me 10 for this year. Yeah, 10, but you can only use 6. Yeah, a bit weird. I got approved by basis. I didn't think I was going to because I've not got a degree in something, but I did. So it just shows me that they do. They did accept my podcast.

I didn't think they would, but I've done well to get to get accepted. I did. It was abused and basically started me off short and said you want to become a CPD provider on the British pest registered because that's his scheme and it rolls. And then I asked the BPCA because I didn't realise how their system works. He goes, Oh no, just tell people to register your points and tell them to put into it what they learned and they can get points straight away. So I didn't know because I'm not, I'm MPTA member, works different obviously and a board member as well.

So that's interesting. That is learning all that, yeah. I need to know, I've got quite a lot of super new points this year. Yeah, you have pressure. I've got 46 at the minute. Same as me. Stop. That's how many. Oh yeah, 46. 46.1 I think or something. But I've got, I've got, Have you got this book? No.

Veritas, Veritas Veritas. It's a crossword book. Hold on them. Hold on a minute. I'll just turn off my virtual screen. Hold on a minute. Right there we go right that's that 12 lbs and you get crosswords and this book here is 12 CPD points we're. Going to get that. Yeah, 100%. That is, but they're on the back release. Another 1 ended this year apparently. That's 12 CPD points. You know, you asked if we do anything fun with any of our team, like they're going and them this week, Yeah. Oh no, you're being dated saying we want a copy of that book.

Yeah, there you go, curtesy Shoppler. You're welcome. I think a referral link. Yeah, let's put it in, put it in there. But yeah, but anyway, very. Much thank. You. Yeah. Thanks for coming on. And I'll speak to you soon, but I'll let you get on me a night. But because you're not finished yet, you're going back out. You are. You are so right. Thanks. Thanks for coming on. No. Thank you for having us, Sean. Hi, thanks for coming on and I'll speak to everyone soon. But thanks partly. And Steve, you're welcome.

Mate. All right then. Thank you. See you later. Cheers. Bye bye.

Tonight's Episode