Backyard Season Is Back - How to Actually Enjoy Your Outdoor Space This Spring with Blake Mahieu

Sterling RE Group (00:00.27)
Hi, welcome to another episode of Real Talk with Sterling Real Estate Group. And today we're joined by Blake Mayhew of Upstate Bug Busters, a local business right here in the 518. And Blake, you've been getting a lot of attention. You've been a lot of local news stations over the course of the last couple of weeks, right? Yeah, well, first off, thank you guys for having me. It's great to be here. We've been getting some good news coverage on Channel 10, Channel 13, and Channel 6.

timing was was next to perfect right now you're here now you're here on real talk this is the cherry on top yeah I love it so Blake obviously you specialize in all-natural tick mosquito small insects for homeowners and outdoor spaces without using harsh chemicals so with that for people who may not be familiar with upstate bug busters what made you start the company and why focus on the natural treatments

So it's kind of a funny story. I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit since a young age. So I started cutting grass for people when I was 11. My mom and dad were like, listen, get out of the house and go learn the value of the dollar. So started cutting grass when I was 11. And then I was at a boating event on Sac and Daga actually with my dad. And one of our boating friends approached me and he was like, hey, you know, I know that you're mowing lawns. And I was 17 at the time, so still in high school. And he's like, I have an all natural tick and mosquito control company in Northern New Jersey, but I also have a business that we sell the product to other companies.

across the US. If you ever want to get into it, let me know. So I'm like, I'm 17 and I'm starstruck. I'm like, what is this guy talking about? You know, I never thought I would go into, you know, a pest control industry, just cutting grass. never know. Right, exactly. So I was like, let me give it some thought and sat back and was like, well, I don't want to go away to college. I can always start it, you know, and try to pitch it to my mowing customers and see where it goes.

The landscaping industry, especially in the 518, is super saturated and you really have to separate yourself and get into more of the hardscape construction where you can make a lot of money. I was like, well, it's a niche service. It's needed, obviously, especially being here in upstate. So I sat back and talked to him and he's like, I'll take you under my wing. And, know, I don't want any equity in your company. I don't want any money for my time. The trade off would be as you would just buy product from me. So like when, when is an opportunity like that ever going to present 17 years old. Yeah, 17. So going into my senior year. So.

Sterling RE Group (02:17.103)
took a leap of faith. talked to my parents and was like, let's, let's try it. You know, you, you never know until you try. Right. Exactly. So if you fail, you fail. At least you tried. You can put your head on a pillow at night knowing that you tried. So started it when I was 17 and, um, had all the intentions to go to college because per my parents request and stay at Hudson Valley and I had too much work. was about a year ago, a year ago, April 10th, I had to drop out of school because I had just had too much work.

Wow. So just been swinging for the fences ever since and you with it being all natural, it's super important. And I love the fact that I can give back and help people. That's the biggest thing is like being in business for yourself. One, everybody goes into business. And I think with the mindset of we need to make as much money as we can. And to me, it's more about providing a high quality service to our customers and making a difference in someone's life. And, you know, doing that in an all natural way is huge because obviously you don't want to expose anyone to the risk of harsh chemicals. I have to say I'm

Super impressed like and you know you walked in I didn't realize because I really hadn't met you I was like how young you are Yeah, and I love that you started at 11 your parents instilled good work ethic in you And I don't want to ask how old you are, but I'm sure 20 years old there you Wow I was insane mid 20s, but wow and look at you I just I see a huge huge future Thank you. have a great work ethic and a great mentality of wanting to give back and help people

So thank you for that. You don't see that a lot nowadays. Thank you. You're going to go far. I appreciate it. to go far. I love it. So let's be honest. Ticks and mosquitoes are a big issue around here, but it's not just the annoyance of the mosquitoes and the ticks. Can you remind our listeners what are the risks if you get bit, right? Mosquito ticks a whole bit like Lyme disease and anything else people should be aware of. Cause I know there's other illnesses that you can get from these.

Sure, sure. Yeah. I mean, that's a great topic to talk on. Obviously Lyme disease is the most common one and most known in the area. But there's also lot more research coming out now that like they're carrying anaplasmosis, Rocky Mountain fever, all different disease that you could get from it's a tick-borne illness. One of them is actually translating into people becoming, excuse me, allergic to red meat. Really? Yeah. So it's just, it just came out now. You want to just

Sterling RE Group (04:38.7)
I always say you want to just be aware of the risks that are at stake because like you said, there's so many of them around here being an upstate. So Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, Rocky Mountain fever are really the most three, the top three that are the most common probably. And then, but you look at it too, like for a red meat allergy, especially when the summertime comes, everybody's out grilling, having burgers or making steaks or something. last thing you want to do is then.

who doesn't want to a burger or a steak during the summertime? know. on, when the weather's nice, you can't go wrong with that. can't go wrong. I'm out there grilling in the middle of winter during a snowstorm. I'm like, I want a really good steak. Exactly, exactly. So those are the most common diseases that you can see from ticks. You can get malaria from the mosquitoes. So it's also taking care of your health, using a service like that we provide here at Upstate Bugweiser, which is prevention. And a lot of people don't know they have Lyme disease. Right. I have several friends who have Lyme disease.

And, you know, my one girlfriend, it took almost a year for the doctors to figure out what it was. And then it created a secondary illness that you did not mention. and once they got that under control, that was like a six month regimen and heavy, heavy antibiotics. Take a root of that second one. It was, it was actually, she was, she was scared. I had another friend who had a pick line in that every day had to be hooked up.

to an IV. Wow. That's how bad the Lyme disease was. So it's it's no joke. No, not at all. I'll be honest with you. I've met more people this year, customers that have now signed up with us that say that they have Lyme or their dog has Lyme or their husband or significant other has Lyme. And I was like starstruck. Yeah. Because, know, this is going in my third season of business. So you're meeting a ton of people.

I knew that Lyme was a problem, but I didn't know in all honesty that it was this bad and how many people had it like you alluded to earlier, just that it's so common in people and you want to, it's scary. is. Like you said, six months of treatment on super heavy antibiotics. One, you want to get rid of the Lyme because you don't know what the long-term effects of that could be, but you also don't want to be pumping your body with antibiotics forever too because medicine is there for specific purposes to solve the problem, but you don't want to be on it long-term if you can it.

Sterling RE Group (06:51.534)
Yeah, and then your dogs your kids, right? Exactly. Um, so you definitely need to be safe with that Especially the dogs and kids because there's the dogs especially are so close to the grass, right? And then the kids rolling around. I mean, let's let's be real Yeah, yeah, kids go out and play. You don't know you're rolling around the grass picking up the balls. Exactly. Have fun. Kids do some adults do it too. Yeah depending right? So a lot of people let's talk about the chemicals, right? So that's why you get into the all-natural a lot of people are concerned about chemicals, especially

kids and pets. Can you break down the difference between traditional pest control and your all natural treatment that you do with upstate bugbusters? Absolutely. So when you're using like a traditional pesticide to control the ticks and mosquitoes, it's going to act as a kill on contact and then a repellent. It's going to last for 60 days. And there's a lot less of it that has to be applied to get the same results. So you see a lot of companies that they're going to use pesticides. They're going to just use a backpack mister and only miss the perimeter of the property because it's so potent.

It's so strong, therefore you don't have to apply as much. obviously the second hand to that is you're putting chemicals on your yard and there's a huge, huge, huge risk that you're taking. When you're using all natural remedies like we use here at Upstate Bug Busters, it acts the exact same way as a pesticide would in the sense of it killing the tick and mosquito on contact because the essential oils that we use will suffocate directly through the exoskeleton when we're doing the treatment. Once it dries, it's going to act as a repellent for 30 days instead of 60 days.

but you're going to get the exact same results as if using pesticides just when applied more frequently. And then the real separator of when using all natural remedies of what we use here is the way that we apply it. So still some companies will just use the backpack foggers while using an all natural solution and only spray the plants and then the wood line. Okay. But I always explain to folks, it's not like there's an invisible fence for the ticks and mosquitoes that they can't walk across. So when we come, we're going to spray all the areas that they may live with this natural solution.

So the entire lawn of a customer's property is going to get treated. The plants, the mulch beds, retaining walls, up and down the trees, the bottom sides, the leaves of the trees. you spray all of that? Everything. And then additionally, 15 to 20 feet into the woods that may surround the house as well. So I say we cross our T's and dot our I's six days to Sunday. I look at it like this. When a customer is going to go and one, put their trust in a company, and two, spend their hard earned dollars with us, you want to make sure that they're getting the best results possible.

Sterling RE Group (09:16.367)
And that's how you achieve the best results when using an all natural solution as opposed to pesticides. And it seems to be working well. Are you getting a lot of referrals from people that so you said your third season, right? So are you are you seeing where current customers are now referring other clients to you? So 100 % they're seeing the value in it. Yeah, absolutely. And when I was in business, a referral comes in, it's so much easier to communicate with that customer because you almost have a sense of trust that's built.

Right between you and the person that's calling in because they heard about you from someone who they have a relationship with right when you're Doing like a cold outreach or reaching out to someone who may be on the fence or doesn't really know who you are It's a lot harder to kind of I won't say warm them up to you to where they're not like all right What's this guy trying to sell me on when they have that little bit of confidence between you? It's all the better and just makes for an easier transition and into onboarding them with us and just makes the whole process easier and more seamless

Seems like you're going to be pretty busy here. Yeah, it's been a great start to the season. Yeah, and we're just in the beginning. Yeah, week two and it's been great. That's good. been going nonstop. Yeah, I love it. No problem. I love it. I love it. That's a good problem to have. Yeah, really good problem to have. So obviously, you know, we're going into summer, graduation parties, holidays are coming up. People will say, I'll just spray a week before. Does that actually work or does it work against them?

Regardless if I'm having a party or not, but I want to wait to get further in to the summer. Is that good or should this be happening now? So it really all depends on what you're looking to have done. So if you're if you're someone that uses your yard for the entire year, you know, call it April now through October to when the weather gets cold, get treatment throughout the season. If you're someone that travels a lot, you know, doesn't really use your yard, but you're having, you know, a Memorial Day party, Fourth of July party, graduation, what have you. It's not, you know, a bad idea to have

have a company like us come in and spray. One time, I don't recommend it just because the applications will build on themselves. And then if we have weather that comes through, it's just not going to work as well. So what we do is we structure two treatments. We'll do one to one to two weeks before the event. Okay. And then one directly the week of as close to the event date as possible. Obviously, if they have stuff that's coming in to get set up or food being catered, we'll just coordinate, you know, the logistics of that when we can come and do the treatment.

Sterling RE Group (11:41.507)
and then they'll be all set for the function or the party, whatever they're having at the property. Okay. So you mentioned weather. I want to touch base on that. So if you did a treatment and it's going to rain the next day, is that going to affect the treatment or does it have to have like no rain for a couple of days? So that's a really great question, first of all, because it's probably one the most common questions that we get. If it goes and we do with the treatment and it rains the next day, you're going to be totally fine.

Okay, if there's even a light drizzle going on when we're doing the treatment, the guys are super good in the field. They know just apply it a little bit heavier and you're not going to see any problems. If we get a torrential downpour that comes through and we get two and a half inches of rain in one day, unfortunately, no matter what you're using, whether you're using chemicals or not, it's going to wash it away. And we always tell customers if that is the case, you give us a call. We'll come back and respray for free without a problem. okay. But that's only like the day of treatment if you get a heavy downpour. Right. Exactly.

Okay, but if you had already sprayed and five or six days have gone by and we get heavy rain, then it's fine. Yeah, it's going to be totally fine. And then even if it rains later that night, you're going to be okay. Like I know the last couple nights here, it's been raining at night. The people who got service that day, they're, they're in the clear. want a good probably two to four hours of it for it to dry. And I monitor the weather like crazy. My guys do they're looking when they're driving, especially if it's cloudy or there's a slight chance of rain.

Just because the last thing we want to do is one, you know, go out and spray and then it wash away. So they'll make the call even if they're in the field or all being communication with them, you know, the saying goes, keep your eye on the sky just to watch everything to make sure that we make the best decision for our customers. All right. Now, this, when you say one, the two treatments, is that for if I'm getting ready to host a party or is that just for anybody? That's going to be if you're getting ready to host the party. But when we come for a typical season with our customers,

The treatments will happen once per month from April through October. So there's a total of seven per season. Okay. Say a customer calls in June, we'll treat June to October calls in August, August to October. We'll just fit them in from whenever they start to whenever we're going to end. What about after October? So, I mean, sometimes the weather is still kind of warm and there are still ticks out there. So what do you do if there's no snow on the ground or not even a frost will kill?

Sterling RE Group (13:54.479)
tick. So what do you do like those November and December months before snowfall? Normally, if the customer calls and wants us to come in November, as long as the trucks are still in service, we'll come and spray but normally we'll cut it off in October because if you look at say we come on October 31st, they're gonna have coverage from October 31st then to the end of November. Okay, so because it lasts a month, right? Um, but like I said, if someone calls, we've gotten calls last year, I remember I kept one of the trucks still

you the pumps and all the fluids in and everything, because I got a call and I had to go out in November to go do a treatment or two. So that's not a problem. Usually we'll all of our, you know, customers that are in an hour route and an hour season will stop after October. But if a customer calls or something, says, Hey, can you come back again and respray for us one more time? That's, that's not a problem at all. Absolutely. And that's a really good point that you had. I'm glad that you mentioned that because people always say to us like, you guys are out here and like,

beanies and you got, big winter gloves on. looks like we're ready to go to an RFO. Why are you out here spraying? What people don't realize is as you get to the colder months, right before the winter hits, the ticks are moving around like crazy. Right. So their peak seasons, like right now, they'll taper off a little bit, but not by much when you get into the warmer months, like June, July, August, September hits and they're off to the races again, because they're starting to lay their eggs before the wintertime comes. This will also control the eggs that they lay on the property. So it just makes the situation that much better for them when you start back up in April.

That's interesting. thought ticks were higher in the hotter months. that's interesting. Yeah, because the sun can die from too much heat. So if they're out in the lawn and then they're just baking in the sun, it'll kill them. The sun will kill them. That's when the mosquitoes really come in and take over once those really warm months that June through August. But the ticks are still roaming around. They'll find those cool shaded areas even into the tree trunks. And then if there's any brush that borders the property or is alongside the property.

into the woods where it still can stay semi cool, you know, relatively speaking, they're not going to die, they're going to keep going. Another follow up question. So people that have lawn treatments using chemicals, how do you if they're just like doing the grass seed spraying, you know, fertilizer and all that? Do they have to let you know that they're using that like you're not putting down your all natural treatment on the same day or a couple days?

Sterling RE Group (16:11.864)
It's not going to affect any growth of the grass. So even if the fertilizing company came and treated on a Wednesday, we can come either later that Wednesday if the customer wants or if they say, hey, can you wait till the next day? That's totally fine. We'll wait till the next day. But it's not going to interfere with any growth of the grass or any fertilizer that's being applied. You need to get to all natural fertilizer and different things. It's part of your business. I know I should. And one stop shop. Exactly. We're just going to call you one stop shop. Take care of it.

Do you have like a mosquito tick all natural repellent that people can spray on themselves or on their dogs if they're going for a walk? Like, you know, we take our dog down to State Park. My husband works outside a lot. Do you have any anything like that? I don't. Not yet. Not yet. I have to look into it. There you go. You want equity? 50 percent. We'll go out of business together. I got enough on my plate.

But you never know. You never know. You have such an opportunity for expansion. know, when you're so young and you're definitely a go getter. So again, say super impressed. Thank you. Super impressed. So let's go back to a couple. What are the biggest mistakes you see that homeowners make when trying to handle ticks, mosquitoes on their own? That's a good question. Like, they try to do their own all natural? Not even that. I think it's just how

well-manicured, keep your lawn. Keep the grass cut short, remove as much stuff, junk, toys as you can, keep your lawn open. And if you're going to, you know, whether it's kids' toys or something, keep them in just in a neat pile. Don't have things scattered throughout the yard. Clean up the leaves. Just make sure that you can get as much stuff and areas that the ticks or mosquitoes could live and breed out of there.

remove standing water. Like I tell my guys to like the mosquitoes can breed in literally a bottle cap worth of water. That's all they need. So if we're walking a property beforehand, just seen where we have to go and spray. And if I see something like a little kid's pool or something with standing water, dump it out. Or if there's, you know, one of their toys or something, or a bucket like a sand bucket, dump the water out of it. Some people will stick like the leaves into like a five gallon pail and keep it on the side of the house. Water will collect in there, dump it out. I was at a customer's house last weekend.

Sterling RE Group (18:29.009)
And there was a five gallon bucket from the bottom all the way to the top full of water. Dump it out. Okay. Because that's just going to be a breeding ground. Right. the mosquitoes, especially keep the gutters clean. Yes. Get rid of the leaves because the leaves just hold so much water. So that's just going to be a, again, for especially for the mosquitoes breeding ground for them. And in regard for the ticks, just get rid of a lot of the leaves as well. Yeah.

and then keep the grass cut short, well-manicured lawn, and then you pair it with a service like what we provide, you're gonna be off to the races for a tick mosquito-free property. So what about when, now I know you said standing water, people have ponds, right? But they have the fountains and stuff that keeps the water moving. Is that okay? Yeah, that's fine. If you can the water moving, right, and pools that, especially because the pools have either chlorine or salt, and it's not gonna be as much of a problem as if there's just,

poor drainage on the property and there's just a big section of standing water. That's not going to be a problem at all for the customer. What do you tell people that live near a retention pond? They're worried about the mosquitoes. How do you... We can't spray into the retention pond. One, because it's not the customer's property. If a customer has a pond on their property and they're like, spray into it, we'll spray into it, but we try not to.

retention pond, I'll explain to the customer, listen, since it's a retention pond, we're going to treat your property to its entirety as we can, you know, go as if we're going to treat any other property, minus spraying into the pond and do what we can because I just make sure that the communication is clear and just say, listen, it might not work. You might not see all the mosquitoes gone, right, because the pond is still there. And you know, they can just

breed away with the standing water being good to know because you know we there's a lot of that yeah around here different you know areas of new construction and some people get concerned you know the retention ponds for sure that are like leach fields too it can be tough but just do the treatment to 120 percent as best we can within reason of treating all the areas that are necessary to be treated okay good to know good information so anything else that we might have missed or something you want to mention

Sterling RE Group (20:44.846)
I would just say, just think think ahead. You know, don't don't hesitate to even call if you have questions. Just do your research and make sure that you even if you're not going to use a service, like I said, keeping that well manicured lawn if you want to DIY do it yourself kind of thing. Before you call a service provider, keep a well manicured lawn because that's going to be the biggest thing. I mean, we touched on that, but I can't stress that enough to people like I put put it out in weekly email blast to our customer base.

Just keep the lawn clean and clear. So you're also communicating on a weekly basis or with your clients at different things they can do. Weekly blog post. Nice. Yeah. So what's the one takeaway you want listeners to leave with today, especially when heading in to mosquito and ticks season? Be proactive, not reactive. OK, I say that a them to the punch. Beat the ticks and mosquitoes to the punch. Call before the problem really gets bad. That's the biggest thing is you.

People will say, don't have ticks or mosquitoes in my yard. I will bet dollars to donuts that you do and you just have no idea. Just be proactive, not reactive, because you want to address the situation before it's really, really, really bad. And when we start early in April, before they really start to ramp up, the ticks and mosquitoes came out way earlier than normal this year. You're already getting ahead of the game. So when the summer hits and they get really, really bad, you're that much further ahead than your neighbors, your friends.

brag to your friends and family. Listen, I get my yard treated. You don't. Right? Come over to my house for the party because I don't have ticks or That's where usually the parties happen are at my house. But I will tell you when we wrap up here, you'll be coming to my house. So we're gonna get that taken care of right away. All right. Well, Blake, thank you so much for joining us. And I think we're gonna have you back towards the end of the season. Again, I think that will be great.

So that that wraps up another session with Real Talk at Sterling Real Estate Group. Blake, do you want to tell our listeners how they can get a hold of you, your website? Absolutely. You can check us out online at www.upstatebugbusters.com and then our social media pages, Facebook and Instagram is just Upstate Bugbusters. Post daily there, always putting out good content of either the guys in the field or just value add stuff that homeowners can take away of.

Sterling RE Group (23:05.169)
talking about the DIY things and you know why all natural works better and reach out to us if you guys have any questions too. I'd always love to talk to people and answer any questions. you're not shy. No, I'm a people person. like to talk. shy. So typical phone calls me will go anywhere from like 10 to 15 minutes because I'll just get out of random tangent with someone about the weather, what's going on. So yeah, always enjoy talking to people. That's good. This is about relationships. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Great. We will make sure that we have Blake's information embedded into the show notes for you.

And again, thank you for listening in to Real Talk with Sterling Real Estate Group.