He’s the ‘termite’-inator

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

Harry Otterson is more than a former U.S. Army platoon sergeant, former Philadelphia cop and longtime pest-control professional.
The 75-year-old Rhawnhurst resident also is an "idea man."
Otterson — who’s known familiarly as Harry O’ — holds a U.S. patent for building the proverbial "better mousetrap," literally, and has explored a variety of commercial ventures over the years.
"My mind is going all the time. I’m an inventor and a light manufacturer," he said.
Otterson has a strong feeling that his latest project will turn out a winner. It combines his vast knowledge of a certain loathsome insect with his marketing savvy. And, he says, it meets a glaring consumer need.
The Homeowner’s Termite Detector Kit is a relatively simple do-it-yourself preventive tool that, the creator claims, can help homeowners avoid major repairs to their properties down the line.
He’s marketing the kits for $29.95 through his business, Harry O’ Pest Control, and will soon be doing it via the Web site www.TermitesByOwner.com
The kit includes a "how to" video produced by Otterson, who next year will celebrate his 40th year in the extermination business. Separately, he’s also offering another video instructing homeowners how to treat termite infestation once it’s detected, including use of mild over-the-counter chemicals.
"I tell people, ‘When they swarm, don’t panic,’" Otterson said. "The first thing (people) do is call a (pest control) company and they sign right up with them. What you should do is take your time, vacuum (the bugs) up and call around for a couple of estimates."
Unfortunately, the exterminator explained, many folks don’t even think about termites until they see the tiny creatures swarm by the hundreds or thousands in or around a cool, damp area of the home. By that time, however, damage is already done.
The trick is to find out about the bugs before they invade the structure of the home.
"The Homeowner’s Termite Detector Kit is to alert the homeowner that they have termites foraging around the house," Otterson said. "Once they get in and cause damage, now you’re hurting."
The kit includes a set of two dozen small wooden blocks, some corrugated cardboard, some adhesive and the DVD. The video and instruction sheet demonstrate how to imbed the blocks and cardboard into the ground around the home, placing them at likely termite entry points.
By inspecting the blocks routinely, a user should be able to determine if termites are present. The bugs resemble grains of white rice and eat their way along the grain of the wood, Otterson explained. They are plain to see with the naked eye if you know where to look.
"People don’t know how to inspect, they don’t know where to look," the exterminator said. "(In the videos), I tell you how to go all around the house and where to probe."
In the natural world, termites serve a valuable role, recycling dead wood into soil. But they don’t distinguish between an old log and the frame of a home.
They commonly invade a home around a chimney, steps, an outdoor spigot, an air conditioning unit, a patio or a basement window. They often start out close to the ground because that’s where the moisture is.
Once into the wood, they continue tunneling, with the workers eating through the wood and bringing food back to the queen termite, while the soldiers fight off their natural enemy, ants. The feeding continues year-round.
The queen essentially is an "egg-laying machine," Otterson said. She also determines the role that each individual will play in the colony.
Eventually, the population gets too big to sustain the colony. The "reproducers" in the colony will grow wings and fly out of the colony. The workers literally block up the entrances to the colony, so the winged bugs don’t return. Most of the flying bugs die, but a few will end up mating and starting a new colony somewhere else.
"Early spring, that’s when people see flying termites, the swarms," Otterson said. "Once you see a swarm, that means you’ve had termites for three years.
"People say, ‘Ahh, I swept them up and they’re gone,’ but they were going to die anyway. They’re not the problem."
The creator feels that folks who buy the kit and video can save money and can get personal satisfaction out of handling a problem around the house on their own. That’s how they did things in his day.
"We were self-reliant," Otterson said. "We didn’t throw things away, we fixed things. We liked to have tools around us and we’d say, ‘Ahh, I can fix that.’" ••
For more information about the Homeowner’s Termite Detector Kit or a free pest control consultation of any kind, call Harry O’ at 215-543-0533.
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com