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At the height of the pandemic, Jack Starry, a retired pest control professional, was running out of things to do and began searching for a podcast about the pest control industry that featured humor and relatable stories. Unable to find one, Starry decided to create and launch one himself.
Using his 26 years of industry experience - which includes time spent as a service technician, service manager, district supervisor branch manager and manager of a distributor location - Starry created "Tales from the Crawlspace."
"From my research, there is no other podcast like mine," Starry said. "We are completely unique and original. All the other pest podcasts are primarily industry knowledge, tips and tricks. 'Tales from the Crawlspace' is one-of-a-kind with its humor and relatable stories."
Starry said that "Tales from the Crawlspace" is a pest control comedy podcast, and often features stories contributed by listeners.
"It's irreverent and sometimes NSFW, but every pest pro can relate," Starry said. "It contains subjects that are akin to shop talk that all techs do about their days and experiences."
Thus far, highlights have included a "Women in Pest Control" episode and "Ask Us Anything Christmas Show" episode. Another popular episode was "An evening with Kevin," which was an interview with Kevin Wilhite, who owns "All-Over Pest Solutions" in Chicago. He shared several fun and interesting in-the-field experiences.
Brad Harvey, Starry's co-host, also brings a wealth of industry experience to the podcast. A 31-year veteran of pest management, Harvey has held several positions in the industry from technician, management, administrative and sales. He is also the creator of the "Pest Control Humor Depot" group on Facebook.
"I have done just about everything in pest control except own my own company," Harvey said. "Working with Jack on 'Tales from the Crawlspace' has been a tremendous experience. We're both looking forward to reaching more listeners and getting more input from them. They are the reason we do this."
Starry and Harvey have big plans for the future of their podcast.
"My awesome co-host and I hope to grow our listener base, especially overseas, so we can have guests from other countries talk about their experiences on the job," Starry said. "We would love to see the similarities."
Even as the podcast continues to grow, Starry and Harvey are focused on enjoying their project.
"For the record, we are NOT monetized," Starry said. "We do this for fun."
If listeners are interested in sharing their own stories on the podcast, they can register as a guest at Tales From The Crawlspace 2.0 (tftc.wtf) or email Starry directly at jack@tftc.wtf.
