the THRILL OF THE KILL March 9, Travis Grant

Ex-exterminator, Comedian Larry Izzo welcomes young comic Travis Grant, and the two discuss a variety of behind the scenes comedy topics, and swap shop talk.

You may learn something you didn't know about laser in the penis-hole surgery as well!

TOK - SKINNER - ANC PEST MANAGEMENT

EX-exterminator, Comedian Larry Izzo operated his own pest control company for 38 years and killed every type of insect and rodent you can imagine. But believe it or not, there are some useful methods and effective techniques which he didn't use, one of those being bed bug dogs.

James Skinner of ANC Pest Management joins the show today to explain how these incredible dogs are trained, how they work in the home and what their owners have to do to keep them motivated to sniff out bed bugs.

Larry's got a couple of crazy stories of the dreaded biting bed bugs himself as well as a whopper of a tale about a woman who had a very, VERY personal infestation which Larry would've rather not known about.

THRILL OF THE KILL MARCH 2 LARRY BEYAH

YOU LIKE COMEDY, RIGHT?

YOU LIKE CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS?

YOU LIKE IT A LITTLE ON THE DIRTY SIDE?

YOU ENJOY HONEST SHARING AND REAL TALK ABOUT THE WORLD OF STAND-UP?

EX-EXTERMINATOR, COMEDIAN LARRY IZZO AND NYC CLUB COMIC LARRY BEYAH HAVE GOT YOU COVERED. PERIOD.

How do you manage pests without pesticides, baits or traps? 

Host, Ex-exterminator and Comedian, Larry Izzo, welcomes back George Hadoulis (All-County Pest Control) who explains some of the important virtues of IPM (Integrated Pest Management). During Larry’s 38 years as a pest control specialist, he was one of the earliest adaptors to IPM, while his guest provides an update on what’s happening now. 

“Theoretically, you could call it a ‘built-em-out’ mentality,” Hadoulis explains.

“With a good effort of building ‘em out in terms of exclusion work - filling holes, making sure that you mitigate all gaps, cracks and crevices - that’s one of the most important things when you take over a facility. That’s one of your first objectives, is to seal it up as tight as you can.” 

While a good pest control technician is a godsend to anyone who has unwanted bugs or rodents in their home (and really, is there any other kind) and has an equally important role in restaurants, grocery stores and delis, Larry’s guest works in the food production plants where the food that ends up on America’s dinner tables is prepared and packaged to be shipped and sold to the public. 

Between the high standards of inspectors, both state and federal, and the knowhow and commitment to the job of pest control professionals like George Hadloulis, you might take from this episode that the U.S. is a pretty okay place when it comes to the quality of cleanliness and safety we can expect from our food. 

“Things are really, really regulated, and everything that we do is documented. Everything that goes on in the facility in terms of sanitation and maintenance is documented, so that when the third party comes in to audit, they open up our books and they can see every single service, exactly what took place.” 

The Thrill of the Kill podcast is your ONLY reliable (and entertaining) source of information on how mankind is winning the war on bugs, rats and foodborne illness. Now some of the food carts and certain restaurants… well, don’t worry, there’s a few horror stories in here, too, just for balance. 

EX-exterminator, Comedian Larry Izzo has a great conversation with veteran comedian, actor, improv piano player and professor of standup, Rick Crom.

This episode of the Thrill of the Kill can serve as Comedy 101 for newbies OR a sort of masterclass for comedians who know the basics well, but have never heard them imparted in quite this way.

THRILL OF THE KILL FEB 21

Entomologist and exterminator Kitty Lee returns to explain about spider beetles and shed light on various other interesting bug questions and facts and also to reassure everyone who may require the services of a qualified pest control professional that pesticides, when used properly, are not only harmless to people, they are essential in battling back the kind of filth and disease that drags down humanity with illness like The Black Plague.

These serious problems are, unbelievably but unmistakably, gaining a foothold in cities, notably in California.

Ex-exterminator, Comedian Larry Izzo gets to the heart of the matter in this episode as we discover how important it is to kill.

TOK - FEB 17 - RICHIE SCOTTI

Morgan Freeman, Sylvester Stallone and Sammy Davis Jr., to name a few, make surprise guest appearances on this episode of The Thrill of the Kill, hosted, of course, by Ex-exterminator, Comedian Larry Izzo.

The man behind the many voices is Richie Scotti, a comedian, DJ and all-around entertainer with an incredible vocal talent which gives him the ability to contort his voice, cadence and delivery to seemingly "become" anyone he wishes.

Larry's conversation with Rich captures some of the most exciting and hilarious points on a thrilling ride in show business that began in Queens when, at 23, Scotti decided not to follow his dad in the printing business and drove off with some other adventurous friends, settling in a little city of 250,000 called Las Vegas.

When Rich walked into Paul Anka's Jubilation and discovered that the club's DJ had just been fired for doing cocaine, he stepped in immediately and, in an instant, found himself spinning records at the hottest club at that time on the strip.

Whether it's convincing the Sugar Hill Gang to pass him the mic during their engagement at Caesar's Palace, or posing as Stallone to call the famed actor's dentist -- so convincingly, by the way, that the Stallone's newly baked caps were sent to Scotti -- you can count on Richie Scotti to tell it with verve and panache, and you can count on Larry to make the most of an interview with one of the incredible talents of comedy and show biz.

TOK - FEB 14 - VICTOR BONAVITA

The camaraderie that exists between guys who've spent many years doing the same highly specialized job (like pest control, for instance) can turn a lot of private jokes into public ones, and that's part of what makes this show so funny and interesting.

Each week, the Ex-exterminator, Comedian Larry Izzo interviews a pest control specialist and they swap stories about fighting back the bugs and rodents that continually creep into our homes, restaurants, schools, hospitals and basically everywhere they're not wanted.

On this episode, Victor Bonavita from Battle A Bug Pest Control, talks about some of their weird and hilarious situations he's come across, and he also reveals some of the business managment practices and exterminating techniques which have kept this second-generation killer profitably killing for many years.

TOK - FEB. 10 - EMILIA FREE - THE BUG STOPS HERE

After 25 years in business on Long Island, you would think that no one would doubt the killing ability of Emilia Free or her pest control company, The Bug Stops Here. But If anyone does, her many loyal customers "bug" to differ. (that's right!)

Ex-exterminator, Comedian Larry Izzo always finds the top guys (and the occasional gal) to talk about their experiences in business and pest control, and Emilia fits the bill.

Being a woman in a male-dominated industry actually is a net plus, as she knows how to calm certain new customers who may be encountering an unexpected intrusion of the insect or rodent variety. Her gender, however, isn't what defines her.

Her professionalism, high level of customer service and genuine care and concern for people set her apart in a field not necessarily regarded as a "people" business. Emilia has that rare ability to understand the personal needs and problems of her customers and to make it her business to efficiently and professionally solve those problems.

Yes, that generally involves killing everything in the customer's home or business that can be legally killed without a hunting license. But Emilia has played 911 operator, therapist and motivational speaker to many of her clients, and in this way, continues to make the world a better place by really helping people as well as reliably and safely killing bugs and rodents.

Larry's interview with Emilia Free will make you laugh.

TOK - FEB. 7 - URBANTARZAN

You might've seen URBAN TARZAN (the official spelling on his license is one-word, all caps, "URBANTARZAN") on his eponymously titled show on Spike TV. BUT, even if you haven't, you've almost definitely seen his work.

Every time you see a movie or tv show with an animal, from a cockroach to a grisly - and that animal isn't crawling where it's not supposed to or eating a production assistant - that animal was prevented from wreaking havoc on the set by an animal wrangler. Some might say it's a strange way to make a living, but without animal wranglers like URBANTARZAN, Sigourney Weaver would've likely been beaten to death by gorillas, and Sarah Jessica Parker might've gotten a bug on her.

URBANTARZAN has worked on hundreds of Hollywood productions, and here he tells Larry some of the weird and funny stuff that happened on the set as he wrangled a gigantic hissing cockroach who made a cameo in Sex and the City; hoisted Hugh Jackman onto a camel backstage at the Tony awards; working with "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin on Conan O'Brien, and more crazy tails (see what I did there?) of alligators, tigers and rats.

Ex-exterminator, Comedian Larry Izzo shares our fascination with this Bronx-born-and-raised professional Apeman, and of course has a couple of rat-tails (did it again!) of his own to share. Small warning, TARZAN is fond of the "f-word." So fond, in fact, that after a minute or two, you won't even notice it's there.

Great show with these two New Yorkers who've both controlled creatures of the wild professionally, but in very different ways.