Focus on Media Relations: Lights, Camera, Action!

Imagine spending a hot, humid Los Angeles evening performing intense cockroach cleanouts at one restaurant after another.

The roach-conducive conditions and often challenging environments of LA-area restaurants are everyday occurrences for Western Exterminator Senior Supervisor Fred Reece and his team, but it was an eye-opening experience for the History Channel’s television camera crew assigned to shadow Reece and Western Sales Technician Jeff Campbell for a segment on cockroach management included in the program Modern Marvels: The Exterminator (the program aired June 3).

The restaurant serviced for the TV program was filled with a medium infestation of German cockroaches in the kitchen, according to Reece. Since this particular infestation was fairly intense — consisting of a large roach population — Reece and Campbell performed a deep harborage treatment. Following the inspection, they drilled holes in wall voids and injected both a 3 percent pyrethrum and boric acid to flush out the roaches. They then followed up that procedure with a residual spray.

"It took two to two-and-a-half hours in downtown LA on a hot night," Reece recalls. "(The TV crew) used three different cameras to shoot us from various angles, including a small lipstick camera that was attached to a 7-foot pole. They were wearing the respirators right along with us."

Reece said he enjoyed his on-air appearance and the opportunity to show others what is involved in a cockroach cleanout

"Nothing was staged — we actually went through the process of a cleanout," Reece said. "In those kitchens it can get up to 100 degrees. We were all sweating and (the TV crew) were all sweating, so we took breaks and went outside to cool off. But it was a very interesting experience.

"One of the cameramen made the comment that we hear all the time: ‘I couldn’t believe that the restaurant had all the cockroaches. I will never eat here again.’" Reece continued. "I told him don’t do that – just don’t eat in the ones with the wrong service."

EXPERIENCED IN THE TRENCHES. In many respects, the cleanup performed for Modern Marvels: The Exterminator was typical of the work Reece, 60, has specialized in the last 21 years.

In 1984, Reece became one of the first technicians from Western to work in the company’s brand-new nighttime commercial division. Prior to joining Western, Reece earned a living buying and fixing up old homes and then re-selling them.

Currently, Reece’s responsibilities include overseeing six technicians in Western’s Nighttime Commercial Division. A typical workday for Reece begins at 8 p.m. and lasts until about dawn. During these hours, Reece troubleshoots any problematic accounts and assists other technicians with cleanouts, some of which can take up to eight hours.

Reece and his crew service restaurants almost exclusively, although they also handle other commercial accounts, such as supermarkets. In addition to cockroaches, other commonly encountered pests include rodents, flies and ants.

Servicing accounts at night has certain advantages, most notably not having to deal with Southern California’s notoriously horrendous traffic. However, it does have some drawbacks. "It’s hard to communicate with people why we need to service at night," he says. "In other words, explaining why we can’t have anyone in the facilities when we do the treatment."

But these and other challenges are what Reece loves about the job.

"I’ve had opportunities to move into management but I’ve chosen to stay in the field because it is more interesting to me," he says. "Being in the field challenges me every night. Just recently Los Angeles began a ‘zero tolerance’ policy. Theoretically, they can close down a store or restaurant for one cockroach or one roach dropping. It puts a lot of pressure on us but that’s what I enjoy."