I met my wife, Tami, at Elmhurst College near Chicago, Ill. While we were dating, we avoided taking
any classes together — except one philosophy class.
The Queen and I are very competitive, so we put a bet on who would do better in the class. It all came down to the final exam. She had a slight lead, but I could pull ahead if I could somehow ace the exam, and she stumbled.
Leaving nothing to chance, I, um, cheated. It was not the proudest moment of my life, but c’mon, I couldn’t let her beat me! I had written all the test answers on the inside of my jean jacket, and she caught me midway through the test. She made me stop and take the rest of it on merit. I ended up with a B- and she, naturally, got an A+.
Augie Gamelli at Gamelli’s Pest Solutions in Shelburne, Mass., has a very important test coming up. He needs his restricted-use license to grow his business. He has his general pest license, and he’s tried to pass the restricted-use test before but has come up short.
To help him pass his next test, I told him he has to study harder than he has ever studied in his life. It means reading his textbooks every night and using index cards with his wife, Katelyn. It also means no distractions and no social media! I’ve been asking him a series of questions from each chapter in the Truman’s Scientific Guide to Pest Management Operations and presented him with a slide show on chemical formulations and modes of action.
Shifting services
Augustino David Gamelli III started Gamelli’s Landscapes in 2018 and immediately saw a tie-in to pest control. He already had his pesticide license from a previous job; in 2014, he was training at a lawn care company and earned his Connecticut and Massachusetts licenses. He was in lawn care for about 18 months before switching to construction work. Later, he reversed course again and created Gamelli’s Landscapes.
Once Augie was up and running, he started offering tick and mosquito treatments as part of his landscaping business. Katelyn joined him in 2021 after a career working with kids with special needs at a local high school. The former cosmetologist works in the field two days per week for their company.
In 2023, they welcomed their daughter, Octavia, into the world and started offering pest control full-time.
“We like doing pest control because it is more profitable than landscaping,” Augie told me.
Katelyn added, “Augie loves this line of work and is much more passionate about pest control.”
They hit $216,000 in their second full year of pest control and are looking to grow. The couple, who have been married for eight years, would like to add termite work once Augie passes his test. Katelyn is even flirting with the idea of expanding into wildlife, noting, “I just think it is interesting and not a lot of people do it in our area.”
Setting new goals
The Gamellis are incredibly passionate about their business and are soaking up information from me like sponges. Topics we have already worked on include updating their service agreements, reading more about pest control, cross-selling to their clients, going green on many of their services, improving phone sales, creating pricing lists and keeping stats. They would love to hire a tech this year and add two full-time techs within three years.
Augie attended the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) 2025 Eastern Conference in January and told me he learned a lot of great information. Industry events are a great way to learn pest control, but there also are many books, smartphone apps and other materials that professionals can learn from 24/7. These include the aforementioned Truman’s Guide, as well as the Mallis Handbook, written by Pest Management Professional Hall of Famers Lee Truman (Class of 2002) and Arnold Mallis (Class of 2007), respectively. There’s also the NPMA Field Guide to Structural Pests and its mobile app edition, just to get you started.
My January 2017 “Start-up Diaries” column details a near-disaster at Schopen Pest Solutions. I know what you’re thinking: “Which disaster, Pete?” This particular event concerned my failure to earn the proper number of Illinois continuing education units (CEUs). In the Prairie State, you only need nine credit hours every three years, but I was so busy growing my business that I forgot to get my credits. My employees were working under my license, so if I lost my accreditation, everyone would have been out of a job. Yikes!
The Gamellis’ situation isn’t nearly as dire, and I’m sure Augie will pass his next test. But, in the worst-case scenario, I’ll lend Augie my old jean jacket.
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About the Author
Schopen is owner of RV There Yet Pest Consulting and my email is rvthereyetpest@gmail.com.
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