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Bed bugs are good for business in Burr Ridge
David Shangle, owner of Shangle Technical Services, demonstrates the use of roach bait gel under a sink in his home. | Rob Hart~Sun-Times Media
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NAME: Shangle Technical Services/Dalsh Consulting
SPECIALTY: creative pest management solutions for homes and businesses
LOCATION: Burr Ridge, serving the entire Chicago area
CONTACT: (630) 209-3226, dshangle@shangletechnicalservices.com, dalsh.com
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Updated: October 22, 2012 1:53AM
BURR RIDGE — David Shangle of Burr Ridge is a hunter. But guns and bows are no match for his prey.
A certified entomologist, Shangle spends his days finding and eliminating bugs and other unwanted creatures from peoples’ homes and businesses.
“I’ve got one of the coolest jobs,” said Shangle, owner of Shangle Technical Services and Dalsh Consulting.
He has worked in pest control for 38 years and went out on his own in 2001.
Shangle has the tools and knowledge to tackle all sorts of unwanted critters, but most of his days are spent fighting a creature that just a few years ago was heard of only in a nursery rhyme.
“Don’t let the bedbugs bite,” is now something that Shangle said everyone needs to worry about.
Beds are the most noted spot for these tiny blood-sucking bugs to set up shop, but they aren’t the only place where bedbugs are found.
The little brown bugs feed on human blood, and tend to find homes that are close to a food source. That, Shangle said, includes any surface where a person tends to stay in one place for an hour or more.
“Avatar was a 3 ½-hour movie. I’m just saying,” Shangle said.
Bugs are carried from one place to another on peoples clothing and luggage. That’s why hotels, dormitories and apartment buildings are most susceptible. But no one is immune, Shangle said.
While there is no sure-fire way to keep the bugs away, Shangle said eliminating clutter, changing bedding weekly, and investing in a mattress encasement are all good steps to take.
“Bugs are neat,” said Shangle, who holds a degree in biological science.
But he didn’t always feel this way. Shangle said he was drawn to the bug business as a way to get over a phobia.
“I’ve always had a debilitating fear of spiders,” he said.
He still doesn’t particularly like the eight-legged creatures, but he has grown to appreciate them, along with all sorts of other flying and crawling critters.
Shangle, who spends most of his days fighting bugs in multi-family buildings in Chicago, said every day is a challenge.
“That’s what is fun about it,” he said.
Shangle said he likes knowing that at the end of every day, he’s made someone’s life just a little bit better by making it a little less buggy.
