This October, We Set the Pest Control Talk Aside

If you have ever called us about ants in the kitchen or a wasp nest over the garage, you know what we usually talk about. Bugs. This month, we want to talk about something that matters a lot more.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. At Superior Spray, it is also personal. A member of our community, McKenzie, is going through a hard season, and we want to help.

Why we are doing this

We have been taking care of Polk County homes since 2003. Over that many years, the people you serve stop being customers and start being neighbors. When a neighbor needs help, you do not wait for a better time or a better topic.

That is why you will see a banner at the top of our homepage this month: "October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Help us support McKenzie's fight." It links to a GoFundMe called "Prayers and Support for McKenzie's Surgery." We put it there because we would rather use our website to help someone than to sell you something.

A different kind of Pest Detectives episode

Our podcast, The Pest Detectives, is usually about the pests that make Florida homeowners crazy. This month, Kevin Blanks set that aside and pulled up a chair with two women from our community, with Sean Ethridge in the room too.

One of them is Shari, a breast cancer survivor. The other is McKenzie. The episode is called "Two Stories, One Message: Get Checked," and it runs about 26 minutes. It is two real conversations from people who were willing to sit down and share their stories.

Here is what you will hear:

• What those first days after a diagnosis feel like
• The kind of support that helps, and the kind that does not
• Why routine screening and self-checks matter at any age
• How insurance and deductibles can get in the way of care
• One piece of advice from each guest for anyone listening

If you only take one thing from it, make it the message in the title. Get checked, and be your own advocate. We are a pest control company, not doctors, so please talk with your own doctor about what screening is right for you. But we can tell you this much from sitting at that table: it is easier to make the appointment today than to wish you had made it last year.

How you can help McKenzie

There are two simple ways to help, and neither takes long.

1. Share the episode. Send it to a sister, a friend, a coworker, or a mom you have been meaning to check in on. The right person hearing it at the right time is worth more than you might think.
2. Support McKenzie's fund. If you are able, give what you can to her GoFundMe. If giving is not possible right now, sharing the link and keeping her in your thoughts still means a great deal.

A note from our family to yours

Superior Spray is a family-minded company. Kevin started it in 2003, and today our team looks after homes in Lakeland, Winter Haven and the rest of Polk County. Tobey, our mascot dog and the face of the Superior Spray family, would tell you the job is simple: look after the people and the places they love.

Most of the time, that means keeping the bugs outside where they belong. This month, it also means looking out for each other.

Thank you for being part of this community. We are grateful for every one of you.

Listen, watch and give

• Listen to "Two Stories, One Message: Get Checked" on Spotify
• Support McKenzie on GoFundMe

Need help with pests at home? We are always here: request service.