Meet Bobby Ostrop | ACE Certified Entomologist, President

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bobby Ostrop and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bobby, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I have been in pest control for over 15 years and I have worked for many pest control companies. At my most recent job, I was the Operations Manager for a company, and part of my job duties was training franchise members how to start their own pest control businesses. Realizing that I had enough of all of the “corporate politics” my wife and I decided to make the leap and work for ourselves. K and R Pest Management was formed. My wife has a background in contracts and accounting, so she does all of the back-end work, and I work on sales and implementation. It was the best decision we have made for our family. I get to do the jobs with integrity and quality control that I demand when servicing our customers.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have worked at many different pest control companies in different capacities. Each company taught me different aspects and training in the pest control industry. I have done every job from a technician to Operations Manager. During my tenure, I took advantage of training and classes that were offered at the companies I worked for. In addition, I attended Western University and obtained my ACE (Associate Certified Entomologist) certification as an Entomologist. This is very highly sought after, but hard to achieve certification and there are only about 1,500 of us in the US. I also have taught classes and consulted in various aspects of pest control, including IPM (Integrated Pest Management), OSHA, and exclusion work. At K&R we do everything from general pests to rodent and bird control, We treat ants, bees, roaches, mosquitos, rodents, bed bugs, and birds, We also use IPM (Integrated Pest Management) and LEED (Leadership, energy, and Environmental Design) practices. All of the training and years of experience that I have obtained in pest control have made me the right person and the right company to meet the needs of my customers.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take them on a mini tour of our great State. We would go to Tucson and visit Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. It is a great place to learn about the Arizona desert and the animals/wildlife it has. I would also go to the Grand Canyon to see all the wonder, especially around the holidays when you can take the Orient Express Train through the town of Williams to see Santa Claus and the North Pole. Canyon de Chelle is another trip I would plan to see and learn about the Native American culture. I would end the week with trips to Bisbee and Tombstone for some small-town culture and cowboy history,

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I was in the Maricopa County Deputy Academy when I got hurt during a training exercise. Up until then, my main job focus was fire service/paramedic/and police work. Getting hurt in the academy meant that I could no longer work in law enforcement and/or fire service. My Mother in law Gloria was working for a pest control company and she said she could get me an interview with the company and they would provide all the training. With some protest and disappointment, I went on the interview and got the job. Fifteen years later, I realized without her guidance and suggestion, I would not have been able to provide a good living for my family doing pest control. It was a blessing in disguise. I am still able to help people but in a different capacity. Even though Gloria is no longer with us, I know she is proud and happy looking down on us when we started our own business.

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