Lawton Has Entered Door-to-Door Pest Control Season

There seems to be a new season falling across Oklahoma. We should call it door-to-door pest control season, because salespeople have been making the rounds in Lawton over the last few weeks, peddling everything they can, even if the pitch changes mid-script.

Why The Pest Control Sales Pitch Sounds So Familiar

Speaking of the script, they're all using the same one verbatim, like the meat-truck steak salespeople do.

“Your neighbors are having a really bad problem with ticks and fleas. We just treated their yard. Since you’re so close, you probably have the same issue.”

Then comes the suggestive closer... “When can we spray?”

I’ve seen enough people talking about these encounters on local Facebook pages lately that apparently I’m not the only one getting a kick out of it.

Not that my neighbor’s yard can somehow serve as a diagnostic test for mine, but the fact that these salespeople don't count on most people knowing their neighbors well enough to just hop on the phone with them right then and there, putting that salesturd on the hot seat in real time.

And when you turn down the offer, they start pitching weed control.

Why Weed Control In August Is A Tough Sell

I lost it when my sales dude pitched that. My lawn is 100% weed-free front and back, but have you looked outside lately?

It’s August in Southwest Oklahoma. The vast majority of our lawns are so brown and dormant, it might as well be a really, really hot January.

If something in my yard is green right now, I’m not paying somebody to kill it, I’m protecting it. At this point, I’m emotionally invested.

Don't get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with somebody knocking on your door and offering a service. I very rarely meet people who actually like their job, and it has to be brutal to be walking around in 110-degree heat... But when the pitch starts with somebody telling you such a commonly known tall tale, I'll offer a cold bottle of water, but the wallet is staying snug in the pocket.

If the weeds have managed to survive this summer, I say we let them have this one.