bug solutions type private industry pest control founded providence rhode island headquarters providence rhode island website http www.bigbluebug.com big blue bug solutions is an extermination business located in providence rhode island that services southeastern new england . 1 2 the company is best known for its mascot nibbles woodaway also known as the big blue bug a giant blue termite that stands atop its office next to i 95 in providence . 3 the company provides pest control services to both residential and commercial properties and is known for using ecologically safe pet friendly products and has been recognized for promoting the use of integrated pest management in schools to protect student safety . 4 it is also known for aiding providence during the city s rat epidemic 5 and was an early adopter of converting trucks to run on natural gas . 6 big blue bug solutions also sponsors numerous little league baseball teams throughout rhode island . originally named new england pest control the company changed its name to big blue bug solutions in 2012 highlighting its famous mascot . 7 historically having an insect infestation was considered shameful and pest control companies generally advertised that their exterminators would arrive in unmarked vehicles so as to ensure that neighbors would not realize that a residence had a pest problem . big blue bug solutions was one of the first companies by some accounts the outright first to mark all of its vehicles and attempt to remove the stigma from having a pest problem . today nearly all exterminators use marked rather than unmarked vehicles . due to the celebrity of the big blue bug and the building s location at a high traffic portion of the highway near thurbers avenue curve many organizations request to have their banners hung in front of the bug . big blue bug solutions will let non profit organizations hang their banners on a first come first served basis generally groups need to file a request at least two years in advance . some of the many organizations that have placed banners in front of the bug include make a wish foundation special olympics american heart association and girl scouts of the usa . notable employees edit tony dejesus began his career at new england pest control twenty nine years ago as a service technician and subsequently worked his way up to his current position of service manager . 1 8 he is a nationally recognized expert in the field of structural pest management . 1 9 dejesus has been a keynote presenter at numerous pest control conferences throughout the united states and conducts his own training program for the rhode island department of health and division of agriculture . every saturday morning at 7am dejesus hosts the new england pest control show on news talk 630 wpro during which he answers listener questions about pest control although the show occasionally delves into other topics such as baseball . dejesus is a renowned expert on the new york yankees . 1 clarence cornell and darryll clarence was the official handler of darryll a dog trained to detect termites and other insects . the pair were covered by a wide variety of media outlets and were noted for their perfect record of pest detection . 10 11 upon turning 8 darryll retired to live as clarence s pet . 10 notes edit rhode island portal a b c d new england pest control web page 1 . url accessed on june 24 2007 barbara carton metamorphosis wall street journal july 20 2000 at a1 . rhode island exterminator gets a boost from iconic mascot the big blue bug wall street journal may 24 2001 at b4 . john j. monahan schools opt for safe pest control worcester telegram & gazette december 16 1996 at b1 . gregory smith battle against rats to escalate providence journal bulletin november 28 2003 . new technology gassing up for the future pest control technology volume 66 issue 10 october 7 1998 at 80 . http www.bigbluebug.com about us robert higgins east providence man bug eyed over exterminator career providence journal bulletin january 8 2001 . edward ortiz bedbugs really do bite and they re making a big comeback providence journal bulletin january 5 2004 . a b kimberly shearin termite sniffing dog detects pests by smell and hearing houston chronicle nov. 24 1988 at g1 . pooches perform jobs that no one else can worcester telegram & gazette february 26 1989 at b8 . external links edit new england pest control home page 41 48 25.6 n 71 24 20.8 w 41.807111 n 71.405778 w 41.807111 ; 71.405778 coordinates 41 48 25.6 n 71 24 20.8 w 41.807111 n 71.405778 w 41.807111 ; 71.405778 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title big blue bug solutions & oldid 739575850 categories novelty buildings in rhode islandrhode island culturelandmarks in rhode islandcompanies based in providence rhode islandpest controlhidden categories coordinates not on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 15 september 2016 at 14 34 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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