RESCUE! BugBlog

WHY-vangelists share their photos

I caught five yellowjacket queens and one blackjacket queen over the weekend in my W*H*Y Trap. Unfortunately, I can't show you this catch because I forgot to take a photo of it -- it was time to rebait the trap and I was eager to do so to catch the paper wasps I saw flying around.

Thankfully, we have some early WHY-vangelists who have done a better job of documenting what their W*H*Y Trap has caught so far this spring. Take a look...

Pat Pfeifer in Plummer, Idaho had a good early catch of wasps in the top chamber of his W*H*Y Trap (note the bodies that had already sunk to the bottom of the water):

 

This photo shows a trap in Canada -- Creston, BC to be exact. The catch is from late April/early May:

 

Here are some photos showing the top and the bottom of the W*H*Y Trap in Greenacres, Washington:

 

 

Our favorite is still from Stamford, TX -- this shows a catch made back in February!

 

Keep those W*H*Y Trap photos coming, folks!

Wasp weather... and we're catching them!

If the Northwest could string together more than two 70+ degree days in a row, we'd all be very happy. But this week, those two warm spring days were enough to capture a bunch of paper wasp (and some yellowjacket) queens in the WHY Trap. The photos and video below were taken on president Rod Schneidmiller's property.

 

 

Last night, three days after those photos and video were taken, it snowed. Many of the wasps were still alive today, and they huddled together for warmth near the top of the trap:

W*H*Y: The Buzz is getting out!

Today's edition of our local paper, the Spokesman-Review, includes a story about our new W*H*Y Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets.

Here's an excerpt:

"Snow on the ground means nothing at Sterling International, the Spokane Valley company that’s buzzing around the clock making traps targeting the stinging bugs of spring and summer.

Sterling, which has been in business more than 25 years, has just released a product six years in the making, a three-in-one plastic trap it calls the WHY.

As in wasps, hornets and yellowjackets."

Click here to read the full article.

All hands on deck

One phrase you'll never hear at Sterling International: "That's not my job." No one here is above doing any task, because we're all invested in the success of our company.

Today was a perfect example. In order to produce enough W*H*Y Traps to meet a truckload shipment to Wal-Mart, everyone from the office -- the President, his wife, the Vice Presidents, our General Counsel, Marketing, Customer Service and R&D -- worked the assembly line today. Our blistering pace produced 6 pallets' worth (3,360 traps) in four hours.

Below L-R: General Counsel Bob Loomis, VP of Sales Jim Oxley, Gigi Schneidmiller and President Rod Schneidmiller set the pace at the beginning of the line.

 

Below: Personnel from Marketing, Customer Service, R&D and Operations load attractant into the traps, attach lids, and enclose the traps in the cardboard packaging before they're boxed up.

   

This isn't the first time we've been "all hands on deck". It's happened various times in our 27-year history.

One of the examples our President likes to cite took place in the late 1980s. He explains: "Sterling got a call from L&L Nursery Supply, a major distributor of our products. They had a regional account out of Portland, OR called Bi-Mart that was carrying another brand of yellowjacket trap, but that manufacturer was done shipping product for the year.

"It was early afternoon on a Thursday. We were told that if we could get yellowjacket traps to them by Friday, they would buy our product. However, we didn't have the product made up, and the day's deadline for shipping had passed. We pledged to do what we could.

"We had the office staff and everyone else out there assembling traps, and we held off the truck until 7 p.m. I personally loaded up the trailer. Thankfully, Spokane to Portland was one day service, so L&L was able to get product into the Bi-Mart stores on Friday.

"And Bi-Mart has been a customer of ours ever since."

First W*H*Y Traps shipped today!

Perhaps you noticed that I goofed and posted the W*H*Y Wednesday post on Tuesday. But I was just too excited, because our first W*H*Y Trap shipment went out today!

These traps -- all 3200 of them -- are destined for Wal-Mart stores in Florida. Ironically, the Yellow Freight truck was running late after being stuck in the snow. But at 4 p.m., we loaded 6 pallets onto the truck and sent it on its way to warmer climes.

Here's a photo of (L-R) yours truly, Paul Crooks (Industrial Engineer) and Alyssa Ando (Marketing Coordinator) in front of the shipment:

 

And here are some scenes from earlier today as the assembly line rolled out the W*H*Y Traps:

 

 

 

 

If you're in Florida, these will be coming to a store near you... and many more will be shipped out to other states next week!

Sterling gets an early Christmas present

Hot off the presses -- or in this case, the injection molding machine -- we have our first complete, non-prototype, finished W*H*Y Trap!

President Rod Schneidmiller holds this early Christmas present by our company tree in the front lobby.

 

Here's a closer look:

 

I can't tell you how excited we are to have a finished product. These photos don't do it justice -- the parts have such a high-quality look and feel. Everyone in the office was positively giddy to see and hold the trap. Next week we hope to be running the parts, assembling the traps with their attractant and packaging, and shipping displays.

Parts is Parts

And parts are good, when we're talking about parts that make up our highly anticipated new product! We're getting close to having all the parts ready to assemble the W*H*Y Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets. Our Engineering Department is tweaking things like the clarity of the tube, the finish of the top and bottom caps, and the fit of the assembled parts. It's all looking very good, and I should be able to post some photos of the parts in the next few days.

In the meantime, enjoy this blast-from-the-past commercial which talks about some less appealing parts...

WHY-vangelist in Texas inundated with paper wasps

Brenda in West Texas is anxious to try out the new W*H*Y Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets early next year. She just wrote to us and told us her situation:

"We live in West Texas and are inundated with paper wasps. When I walk out the front door, I take a fly swatter with me so I can fight my way off of the porch. In the summer, they dive bomb us when we are in the pool. We go through cases and cases of Wasp spray each summer. Those darn things can get inside the home through the smallest crevice and yesterday we had 25 in our living room when we returned home. Needless to say, we are very anxious to purchase a case of WHY traps and have them out in early spring so we can catch the queens."

We're glad to have Brenda as another WHY-vangelist and I'm offering her an "I know WHY" t-shirt to thank her.

How can you become a WHY-vangelist? By telling us on our web site where you are, and why you need the W*H*Y Trap. Here's the direct link: Tell us WHY.

And you can see where other WHY-vangelists are located and what they have said here.

W*H*Y Wednesday: European Paper Wasp

Today begins a new series, "W*H*Y Wednesday", where we focus on one of the 20 species of insects caught in the soon-to-be-released W*H*Y Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets. The conclusion of this series should coincide with the early availability of the W*H*Y Trap at your local retailers.

We start with a transplant from Europe that is making its mark in a growing portion of the U.S.: the European Paper Wasp, Polistes dominulus. This type of paper wasp is considered a non-native or invasive species.

The highlighted portion of this graphic shows where the European Paper Wasp can presently be found in the U.S.:

Appearance: With their yellow and black markings, European Paper Wasps are frequently mistaken for yellowjackets. As with all paper wasps, their waist is very thin, and their hind legs dangle down when they fly. European Paper Wasps are distinguished by their orange antennae.

Habits: European Paper Wasps are active during the day and rest on the nest at night. Adult paper wasps feed on sugar and nectar-like food. Larvae eat protein that is gathered and chewed by adult wasps as they prey on other insects. Colonies last one year, with new queens overwintering to make new nests the following spring.

European Paper Wasp nests: Their nest resembles an upside-down umbrella shape, and the open cells can be seen from below. Queens begin forming nests from wood and live plant fibers in the spring. Most European Paper Wasp nests are a single layer of hexagonal brood cells. These wasps prefer to nest in sheltered locations, but with much greater propensity to use manmade structures than other wasps -- structures such as eaves, decks, patio furniture, outdoor garbage containers, barbecue grills, mailboxes, birdhouses and planter pots.

Nature toward humans: It's unusual for European Paper Wasps to attack unless humans approach too close to a foraging wasp or nest. They can inflict painful stings when they do attack, and like yellowjackets, European Paper Wasps can sting multiple times. It is important to note that because of this species' tendency to nest within manmade structures, European Paper Wasps are more likely to be found in areas of human traffic, increasing the chances of accidentally disturbing a hidden nest.

Compared to other species, European Paper Wasps nest earlier in the spring, in a wider variety of nest sites, most of them sheltered. They are also more aggressive and feed on a wider variety of insects. For these reasons, the European Paper Wasp numbers are growing in the U.S. and out-competing native wasps.

The European Paper Wasp is most common in countries around the Mediterranean. It's also reportedly found in southern Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East and China.

Good news for those who have this species in their backyard: The new W*H*Y Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets will catch European Paper Wasps. 

Can't wait for ACE to discover WHY

We're excited to introduce the W*H*Y Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets to Ace Hardware and their dealers this week in St. Louis. Ace was the first national account to recognize the potential of the W*H*Y Trap last spring, and their buyers added the product to their lawn & garden lineup without hesitation.

 

Ace dealers have been hoping to see a new RESCUE! product for years, and especially one that catches paper wasps.

Stay tuned for blogging from the Ace show.

W*H*Y Trap gets its close-up

The new W*H*Y Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets makes its debut on retail shelves early next year, and we plan to support the launch with TV advertising. We have some great TV spots in the can already, but one crucial shot we were lacking was a good close-up of the W*H*Y Trap in action with live insects buzzing around inside.

Wasp, hornet and yellowjacket colonies reach their peak at the end of summer, as we've pointed out in previous postings. And so, hoping to get a good "body count" inside the trap, we waited out the summer and set aside time last week to get that crucial close-up shot with the help of North by Northwest Productions.

We started with a trap full of European Paper Wasps, Bald-faced Hornets and Yellowjackets...

But some heavy wind forced us to move inside the garage to film it in front of an open window...

Not to worry -- here's how it looked on the screen... beautiful!

Tell a friend W*H*Y

Want to tell someone you know W*H*Y? We have a series of e-postcards on our www.whyistheanswer.com web site that you can easily e-mail to a friend. You can find the postcard page here.

The postcard will show up as an e-mail from you with your own personal message, and will include a link back to the site so the recipient can learn about the W*H*Y Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets.

Here's a sampling:

 

W*H*Y Trap elements coming together

As we near our Fall trade show season, the raw materials needed to start producing the W*H*Y Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets are coming together. In the past two weeks, we've received elements of the packaging for the W*H*Y Trap, which makes the Marketing team quite happy.

Here's the cardboard "wrap" which goes around the trap. Note the diagram showing all 20 species that the trap catches and their corresponding markings. 

 

Here's the foil pouch which contains the W*H*Y attractant refills:

Here's the header card that goes on top of our floor display:

And here's the display box for our W*H*Y attractant:

I'm banking on all these elements grabbing the consumer's attention in a store environment and communicating the quality of the product. Our wonderful designers at Sigma get the credit for the striking graphics, and Spokane Packaging for the design of the cardboard wrap and displays.   

Where are the wasps? (or the hornets, or the yellowjackets)

So you've heard horror stories about giant European Hornets, or maybe you've read about red wasps and their fiery sting... but you're not sure if you have these nuisances in your neck of the woods.

It's WHY to the RESCUE! We have a new resource on our www.whyistheanswer.com web site for the WHY Trap. It's an interactive map that tells you which of the 20 species of wasps, hornets and yellowjackets are found in your area of the U.S.

Simply roll over each insect (it works better if you do it slowly) with your mouse pointer, and the U.S. map is highlighted with the "footprint" of where each insect is found. Then you can click on the insect if you want to find out more about its nesting habits, nature toward humans, etc.

You can find the map here.

True Value sees the value in WHY

Another retailer with a national presence is on board to carry the WHY Trap for Wasps, Hornets and Yellowjackets:

True Value has added the WHY Trap to their warehouses, so that the thousands of True Value dealers across the country will be able to offer it to their customers. We're looking forward to showing the product to dealers at their Fall Market in Atlanta this October! 

Two more places to find the WHY Trap

The WHY Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets continues to make waves as our RESCUE! sales force presents it to their key accounts this summer. We have two more great retailers that are on board to carry the WHY Trap in 2009:

Orchard Supply Hardware has 85 stores in Northern and Southern California. They've been carrying our RESCUE! Yellowjacket Traps and Fly Traps for years, and will add the WHY Trap to their lineup next spring.

Attic Trunk is an online retailer boasting a variety of items sold for use around the home, from computers to wind chimes. In addition to carrying all of our Fly and Yellowjacket products, they carry the RESCUE! Japanese Beetle Trap. They are so enthusiastic about the WHY Trap that they've already listed it on their web site (under the "Outdoors" section).

OSH and Attic Trunk join Ace Hardware, Home Depot, Lowe's and Wal-Mart as the retailers solidly on board to carry the WHY Trap. Look for it on their shelves in early 2009!

More places WHERE you can find WHY

Wondering WHERE, besides Ace Hardware, you'll be able to purchase the new WHY Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets from RESCUE! when we introduce it next year?

Oh, just a few small retailers, like this one:

and this one:

 

and another one you may have heard of:

Yes, Lowe's, Home Depot and Wal-Mart know WHY. All three will have the WHY Trap on their shelves next year.

New WHY Trap commercials win awards

We learned last week that the new TV spots created for the W·H·Y Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets have won two 2008 Bronze Telly Awards.

Created by Jones Advertising in Seattle and produced by North by Northwest in Spokane, the TV spots won in the "Household Packaged Goods" and "Use of Humor" categories.

The 29th Annual Telly Awards competition received over 14,000 entries from ad agencies, television & cable stations, production companies, and corporations around the world. The Bronze award is the competition's second highest honor. (The Silver Telly is the top honor, and Jones Advertising won some of those several years ago for our SMARTrap and Japanese Beetle Trap spots).

Here are the two spots. The first is called "Break Room":

The second spot for the W·H·Y Trap is called "Rumble".

Red wasps have a new enemy

Just when you think the news about our new W·H·Y Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets can't get any better, our scientists go and add two new species to the list, after some extensive testing in the mid-South this spring. And they're both red wasp species -- which anyone in the southeastern U.S. knows is a real coup. Here's our press release:

New W·H·Y Trap catches two red wasps, bringing species count to 20

Spokane, WA, June 30, 2008 -- Red wasps, a significant pest problem for residents of the southeastern United States, will finally meet their nemesis in 2009: the new W·H·Y Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets.

Scientists at Sterling International recently added two red wasp species -- Polistes carolina and Polistes perplexus -- to the long list of insects caught in the new W·H·Y Trap from RESCUE!. Their addition brings the total count of targeted wasp, hornet and yellowjacket species to 20.

When the W·H·Y Trap lands on retail shelves in spring 2009, consumers will have one answer for these stinging, nest-building, backyard-invading insects.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that a sting from a red wasp feels far more painful than stings from other species of paper wasps. Red wasps are also known for building some of the largest nests of any wasp species.

The W·H·Y Trap will catch the queens of each species in the spring before they build nests, and will capture the foraging workers throughout summer and fall. Refill attractants will be available so the trap can be used for multiple seasons.

As with other RESCUE! products, the W·H·Y Trap uses attractants rather than killing agents. Once lured inside, the insects die naturally.

Since 1982, Sterling International, Inc. has created insect traps and attractants as an alternative to sprays. Based in Spokane, Washington, the company sells its RESCUE! brand Fly Traps, Yellowjacket Traps and Japanese & Oriental Beetle Traps through home improvement centers, hardware stores and lawn & garden retailers throughout the U.S. and beyond.

END

Do you live in an area with red wasps? Have any red wasp stories you'd like to share? Feel free to add a comment.

My parents, the "WHY-vangelists"

My parents visited me over the weekend, and I armed them both with "I know WHY" t-shirts and brochures about the WHY Trap. Back home in Tucson, my mom found the perfect pair of pants in her closet to complete the ensemble: capri pants in our RESCUE! green, with a fun bee print on them to boot.

My parents have two brand spanking new Ace Hardware stores near them, which they planned to visit and WHY-vangelize by telling the owners about the WHY Trap.

And it turns out that Ace IS the place -- the first place to commit to carrying the WHY Trap and the WHY Attractant refills in its warehouses around the country in 2009! Read more in this press release.   

Coverage from the National Hardware Show

AVING Global News Network covered the debut of our W-H-Y Trap for wasps, hornets and yellowjackets last week at the National Hardware Show. Here's the link to their story and photos.

Gang members invade our WHY Trap exhibit...

...Actually, it was just us. On Day 2 of the National Hardware Show, the RESCUE! Sales & Marketing team hammed it up in "biker gang" jackets. Alyssa was a wasp, Jim was a hornet, and Jonathan and I were yellowjackets.

Here we are approaching the Convention Center...

And in the booth...

These outfits reflect the concept we used in one of our new TV commercials for the WHY Trap. Called "Rumble", the spot shows a family in their backyard about to enjoy some hamburgers from the barbecue. Suddenly, a gang of "yellowjackets" (3 guys in yellow jackets) bust through the gate to crash the picnic. They are followed by three wasp women, and three bad hornets who close in on the family, digging into the potato salad and Kool-Aid, poking the hamburgers on the barbecue and threatening to sting. The WHY Trap comes to the rescue, as mom hangs it up in a tree to draw the "gang members" away from the family's patio.

The spot was conceived by Jones Advertising of Seattle, and produced by North by Northwest in Spokane, Washington. You can see it here.

WHY Trap gets formal introduction at the National Hardware Show

We've been having a fun time telling National Hardware Show attendees about the new WHY Trap for wasps, hornets and yellowjackets. Not only are people excited about the product, but we're also getting positive comments about the overall impression of our booth -- the product packaging, displays and the backdrops. Here are some photos that show everything off:

The large sign above the booth is 8 feet long and rotates. It reads: "WHY -- The answer is here." and has one of each insect on each panel.

Here's our team on the first day, each holding a WHY trap sample.

Our California-based sales reps got the rundown on the WHY Trap from all of us.

Our company president, Rod Schneidmiller, showed Issaquah, Washington-based sales rep Mike LaLande how the WHY Trap works.

 

Our sales reps in Portland, Candie and Craig Dunn, are excited about showing the WHY Trap to their key accounts.

Stay tuned for photos from Day 2 of the Hardware Show!

The world is getting to know WHY

While we in the Sales and Marketing team were introducing the WHY Trap at the National Hardware Show yesterday, those who had a hand in its creation and launch were showing their solidarity with us by wearing their "I know WHY" t-shirts. Here is one of our field testers, Dr. Eric J. Rebek, checking a trap prototype in Oklahoma:

What is WHY? Wonder no more.

The big day is finally here! No more teasing everyone with the sly WHY references.

Ta-da! Introducing the W-H-Y Trap for wasps, hornets and yellowjackets.

 

It's our newest addition to the line of RESCUE! Pest Control Products. The W-H-Y Trap will catch 18 species of stinging pest insects, including:

• 4 species of Paper Wasps
• Bald-faced Hornets and European Hornets
• 12 species of Yellowjackets

We're so excited to bring this product to you.

For over six years, our scientists have been working diligently to "crack the code" for wasps, hornets and yellowjackets, and develop the attractants and trap design that works on all 18 species. Aside from their intensive work in the lab, they've had to spend gobs of time in the field to gather live insects from their nests -- often dressed like this:

Our Customer Service department has fielded thousands of calls from people wanting a trap for wasps and hornets in addition to yellowjackets. Now, instead of "We're working on it", they can say "We have it!"

Our Marketing and Sales departments are showing it to the movers and shakers in the home improvement industry this week at the National Hardware Show.

To get your W-H-Y fix and find out all about this product, you can go to www.whyistheanswer.com.

Stay tuned for updates from Vegas!

WHY eve... the momentum builds!

We finished setting up our booth at the National Hardware Show today at noon. The six* of us wearing our WHY shirts, plus the signage we had around the exhibit hall, attracted a lot of buzz.

The valets standing outside the hotel kept asking us "WHY?" as we walked out. The parking lot attendants at the Convention Center said, "Hey, I want to know WHY!" (I think they really wanted one of our shirts!) Walking into the Exhibit Hall, the security guards said to us, "Hey, you look like you're in some kind of gang!" Attracting that attention was really fun.

I hope our signage attracts lots of attention, too. Here's Rod, our President, flanked by Alyssa and Jonathan from Marketing. Our 23-foot banner is displayed over the escalator leading up to the second floor of the Exhibit Hall.

This 8-foot tall sign is just outside the Exhibit Hall. (The other side, that people read when leaving, says "Don't leave without discovering WHY".

Here's the group of us in our booth. I love how all the colors of our backdrops and product displays pop!

Just a few more hours until the question is answered!

*The sixth person is my husband, Paul.

We know WHY.

The Marketing Department (L-R: Jonathan, our intern; Alyssa, our marketing coordinator; and me) wore our WHY shirts today -- our last day in the office before leaving for Vegas to introduce our new product.

We also put the finishing touches on the WHY web site, www.whyistheanswer.com, which also launches on Tuesday, May 6.

I know WHY. Do you?

Polina knows WHY! Our Accounts Receivable clerk looks smashing in this WHY t-shirt. Rod, our company president, passed out these shirts today for all RESCUE! employees and their family members to wear on our big launch day for our new product: next Tuesday, May 6.

Four weeks to W-H-Y

Four weeks from today, we'll be making a big announcement about our new product, whose code name is W-H-Y.

On May 6, 2008, look for the announcement here on this blog and at www.whyistheanswer.com.

Discover W-H-Y on 5.06.08

I'm tickled green (not pink -- see previous post) to announce a forthcoming... er, announcement.

This is big: A new RESCUE! product. Our scientists have been toiling for years both in the lab and the field to create a product that's been in demand by many of our customers. It's almost ready to unveil.

Seven weeks from today, we will show you W-H-Y.

If you're not already signed up for our RESCUE! newsletter, visit www.whyistheanswer.com to be added to the list.

We reveal W-H-Y on May 6, 2008. The answer is worth waiting for!