Thursday, July 24, 1997

Pest control: a changing industry

By BOB BRUCE / Abilene Reporter-News

Vic Valentine says if he had known pest control "was going to be this hard, I probably wouldn't have done it."

But from the grin and twinkle in his eye, you know he's kidding.

In a more serious tone of voice, the president of The Bug Doctor says he enjoys competition and probably wouldn't change a thing, given a second chance.

The 10-year-old business has done well.

"It's been great. We're averaging about 36 percent growth a month," Vic said.

The Bug Doctor, 1234 S. 2nd, has added offices in Brownwood and San Angelo and is considering expansion to Midland-Odessa and Lubbock.

"We're already serving Midland and Odessa - we just don't have offices there," Vic said.

The local business grew from two people, Vic and his brother, Mike, working out of their apartment in July 1987. It had been their father's, AAA Exterminating, started in 1963 in Snyder.

Today the Bug Doctor has 27 employees and an annual payroll of nearly $500,000.

Mike has retained an interest in the business but is now ranching in Borden County. A third brother, Marc, is vice president for operations.

The area offices are operated by two managing partners, Russell Taylor in Brownwood and Mike Wyatt in San Angelo.

What's the leading pest in this area?

"It was termites. Right now we're doing a lot of spiders and fire ants," Vic said.

A lot of homeowners are calling, asking if they have Brown Recluse spiders, he said. Africanized bees also have been spotted in Baird.

Statewide, the biggest problem seems to be termites, said Vic, who served from 1989-96 on the state board of the Texas Pest Control Association.

Pest control work today is more than application of insecticide, Vic emphasized.

"The industry itself has changed dramatically. We're out of the baseboard jockey days. We're in the people business," he said. "In the future we will be environmental technicians - that's where it's going in the next 10 years. We're protecting food, people and property."

Baiting, trapping and disruption of life cycles are other methods of insect control, Vic said.

There's a greater sense of professionalism, too, he said.

Vic said college friends at the University of North Texas laughed when he said he was going to be in "the bug business. I did, too, a little bit. We had to change our image, produce a better image."

He offered some tips for homeowners on controlling insects.

-- Avoid creating insect havens such dumping cut grass behind the backyard fence.

-- Keep leaves raked and cleaned up. They provide insect shelters, too.

-- Avoid stacking firewood at the side of the house. Also, keep the wood off the ground.

-- Don't grow ivy at the side of the house. It looks pretty but "it's the worst thing you can do. You're going to have pests."

Vic, 36, has a marketing degree from UNT, while Marc is a graduate of Abilene Christian University.

The Bug Doctor received the Small Business Salute from the Abilene Chamber of Commerce in 1990. In 1993, Vic was named the chamber's Small Business Person of the Year while in 1994 he was honored as Small Business Person of the Year in the Lubbock District of the Small Business Administration.

Vic says he likes competiton, likes creating and likes overcoming obstacles which he calls "opportunities."

He's an optimist, too.

"The pessimist may always be right but the optimist has a better time on the trip," he said.