Pest Management Professional, March 2018

Continued FroM Page 64 Youre not going to talk to my wife like that I think you should leave MJ tried her best to soothe things over Please excuse us She shot an apologetic look toward the couple Crawleys just trying to help Hes our best technical expert Alex headed toward the front door as if he intended for Crawley and MJ to follow Well if hes all you got we need to look somewhere else for help with our pest problem And you call yourself Peace of Mind Look MJ pleaded Im sorry I know youre upset I invited Mr McPherson to help me figure out what kind of bug problem you have Couldnt you at least allow him to look around He really is an outstanding entomologist Alex turned arms tight across his chest Since you invited him Ill allow it this time but to be totally honest I dont want him to ever come back The scene sent Crawley back to his childhood days when his dad would scream at him for forgetting to do his chores or not cleaning his room It was all he could do to stand there in the Higginbotham home and not run out the door Shea huffed and shot out of the room saying something about going out on the patio to clear her head Thank you Thank you so much MJ gushed Well make a quick inspection and then be on our way MJ caught up with Crawley in the dining room where the Higginbothams had displayed their samples She looked at him sympathetically You okay They didnt have to act so ugly he mumbled while looking through the pill bottles and resealable sandwich bags on the table He held a few of the samples up to the light and examined them one by one with a small hand lens I could just leave here and never come back Its not my account you know Yes I agree it was uncalled for but dont you think you were a little blunt with them These are our customers Weve got to treat them right I know I shouldnt a said it Something just flew all over me when she was saying all that But I was just tellin the truth MJ There aint no bugs can come and go in a persons rectum And these here samples are just lint debris and skin scabs This is clearly a case of DOP and you know it Im starting to see that now she said quietly looking around to make sure no one was listening but what are we going to do You gotta walk away from it MJ Otherwise its a time sink youll never get out of Ive seen this over and over Theyll just keep bringing in more samples and insist you spray the house But theyre my account Do I just quit servicing their house Theyll go to another pest control company Let em he said Were bug people not doctors These folks need to go see a dermatologist doctor This aint no bug problem Simple as that After a long minute MJ answered I guess youre right Lets go Ill tell them were going to take these samples back to the lab for closer examination and get back with them about the results On the way out to their trucks MJ stopped to face Crawley I really appreciate your help with this I knew something about this case didnt make sense but I thought since both of them had symptoms it had to be real Thats why I asked you to help Thats called a folie à deux MJ Two crazy people or two persons with some kind of shared delusion One gets it first and then somehow convinces the other one that they are also infested Happens all the time Where in the world do you get this stuff MJ raised her hands How do you know such things Crawleys eyes danced around behind his thick glasses Mmm MJ seemed relieved Like I said meet you back at the office We can look at their samples to make sure theres nothing in them then Ill call them and thatll be the end of it Ill tell them this could a medical issue and they may need to see a dermatologist If they want us to continue their general pest control services fine Otherwise they can find another pest control company She paused then smiled at him Cmon Ill buy you a drink at my Uncle Kellys pub Im not much of a drinker Doesnt matter You can get a soft drink or even milk if you like We can visit a while Itll be fun PMP Dr GoDDarD is an extension medical veterinary entomologist at Mississippi State University He is also a PMP Hall of Famer Class of 2012 He may be reached at jgoddard@ entomology msstate edu Publishers Note Crawley McPherson and all other characters in this series are products of the authors imagination or used fictitiously All names places locations and incidents are entirely fictional and any similarity to places or people living or dead is purely coincidental 66 March 2018 Pest Management Professional mypmp net