American Pest Acquires Capitol Pest
10/01/2021
Fulton, MD, September 30, 2021—American Pest, the leading provider in modern, preventive pest management throughout Maryland, Washington D.C....
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American Pest is pleased to announce the addition of the newest team members to the company’s bed bug division.
First, meet Alicia Gautille, the new K-9 Handler. Gautille comes to American Pest with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science from Penn State University.
“I’m very excited to be joining the bed bug team at American Pest,” said Gautille. “I love working with dogs, and I’m looking forward to learning more about how they can be used in the pest management industry.”
The company has also signed on a new K-9 named Trakker, a six-month old male yellow Labrador Retriever. Trakker was bred by Dan Warren of Warren Retrievers in Montpelier, VA.
Krystal Rackley, K9 Handler, is eager to see Alicia and Trakker join American Pest’s Bed Bug Detection Unit.
“Trakker and Alicia are each going to be great additions to the detection unit,” said Rackley. “Alicia’s background in Service Dog training and basic obedience will be a great foundation to expand her knowledge into the scent detection field, while Trakker comes from a phenomenal breeding program with untouchable scent detection capabilities.”
The K-9 Detection team was implemented into the company’s array of bed bug services over two years ago with the introduction of Gizmo, American’s first bed bug detection dog. The team has significantly improved the efficiency and accuracy of the company’s bed bug inspections.
“Even the best human technician has only about a 30% chance of confirming the presence of bed bugs,” said David Billingsly, Director of Commercial Services. “Trakker is going to help us maintain the bar that Gizmo set at over 90% accuracy, so that we can detect even the lowest levels of infestation.”
Trakker got his name from a contest held on the American Pest Facebook page in February. He has been assigned to conduct inspections with Ms. Rackley, while Gizmo will be working with Ms. Gautille.
“We’ve accomplished a lot with our K9 Unit,” said Rackley. “Adding a second handler and dog to our fleet is only going to increase our opportunities for success.”
American Pest welcomes Ms. Gautille and Trakker to the company, and wishes them both success in their new roles.
Since 1925, American Pest has been solving pest problems in the metropolitan Washington, DC area, and takes pride in continuing its longstanding tradition of providing effective, eco-friendly pest control solutions for DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia. For more information, contact us by phone at 1-877-282-1886, or by filling out our contact form.
