This month’s lesson: When faced with a problem, think outside the box, research solutions, and never give up till you solve it.
By Maverick Castaneda, House Manager McDonald
Our wonderful Arizona weather–don’t we love it?! Most of the time, but not when it reaches triple digits. And not when it is 114 degrees with high humidity. When it gets that bad all you want to do is stay indoors with the air conditioning on. Especially when this type of weather can bring insects like mosquitoes, gnats and many other pests.
That is the challenge our McDonald house was having recently. One of our residents there, who at the time was bedbound, was experiencing more than her share of gnats in her room. We were very concerned about this situation because of her specific health conditions. The manager and staff immediately went into problem-solving mode. They checked the room for food, snacks, or fruit that may have been left out. Nothing. They checked whether it could be her colostomy bag or possibly the smell of her urine due to the fact she is a diabetic. Not that either.
The manager contacted several pest control companies to see if they could do something or suggest alternatives. They could do nothing for two reasons: 1) The pesticide they use for this condition requires evacuation for 72 hours, which was impossible, and 2) according to the department of health that pesticide could not be used because of residents using oxygen tanks.
Now what? Not wanting to give up, and frustrated that the resident was going through this, the manager continued to do research. She contacted more pest control companies and other people she knew who might have some answers. Still nothing. She didn’t stop there. She went to Home Depot and talked with one of the experts there. They suggested a specific product that contained baking soda, apple cider, with another type of solution. Then, the salesperson explained, you put the product inside fake plastic apples, and place the apples around the room.
Guess what!! It worked! A miracle! The gnats were gone. We learned that no matter what, we have to think outside the box, research solutions, and never give up till you solve the problem you are facing. Our residents deserve nothing less.
