DIY Pest Control VS. Pest Control Professionals
Insect infestations can be very uncomfortable and can get out of control very quickly since they can multiply quite rapidly. They begin to take over your living space and some people can even develop psychological problems from this.
Insect infestations can be very uncomfortable and can get out of control very quickly since they can multiply quite rapidly. They begin to take over your living space and some people can even develop psychological problems from this.
Why should I pay a professional pest control company when I can save myself the money and do this myself?
The internet will tell me what to do… But not everything on the internet is sound advice. Try these remedies for pest problems… coffee grinds, banana peels, vinegar, essential oils, boric acid with sugar, try onions they are sure to keep spiders away!
After that fails you will see many running to their local hardware store looking at a shelf of many products to choose from, which one will do the trick? Oh, there’s the fake wasp nest, that’s sure to do the trick so no other wasps try to set up a colony again in my backyard.
I don’t need to hire a professional, this can of spray will do the trick.
They leave the store armed to go to battle to win the war against insects except sometimes it is a battle they cannot win. Very few can resolve this problem themselves. At best they knock down some numbers but as the pests multiple those numbers increase over time. At times this can be an ongoing saga for the homeowner.
I can just spray where I see the ants that will take care of them once and for all! Except you need to find where the ants are nesting and that isn’t easily done. Boric acid has been a remedy forever that will work except for one little thing, there is a science to this. If you mix too high a concentration the ant will die and never make it back to the nest to feed the colony the poison.
Ants are very particular as to what they will accept, and it is dependent upon what stage the colony is at and what they are currently needing. When they require protein, they will not touch a sugar bait or when they require sugar they will not touch protein. It can get tricky when they are already getting their food source from the aphids on your plants which is a honey dew producing insect that ants love to eat.
Not so simple to spray just here and there.
Let’s talk about ants for a moment. Ants are social insects that live within a colony and in the colony they all have a job to do. Not all of them are leaving the colony. The ants you see around are the forgers looking for food to bring back to the colony. That is their job within this social structure. If you just kill those ants that won’t do the trick. Why not? Because the Queen’s job is to do nothing, but lay eggs and she will continue to lay eggs and the colony will continue to grow and grow. Killing the ants where you see them will only slow down the colony therefore it becomes an ongoing control saga unless you find the ant nests and eliminate them. That takes expertise.
Pest Control Specialists at JAPCO are trained and licensed technicians that must learn all aspects of pest control to be successful. They must study pest behaviors, chemical applications, safety measures to have the know how to solve pest problems. They cannot just grab a can of chemical and spray here and there. A licensed pest control technician will know the safe and proper dosages of these chemicals to apply and when and where to apply them. Pest control has really changed over the years. A licensed pest control professional goes through vigorous training to become certified exterminators. The days of grabbing a pesticide and just spraying around are gone. It is a government licensed examination that they must have to be certified in the pest control industry.
JAPCO practices Integrated Pest Management which is a decision-making process for managing pests in an effective, economical and environmentally sound way. There are key components to this practice through prevention, identification, monitoring, action threshold values, management options, and evaluation. These practices cannot be learned by staring at shelves filled with various pesticides wondering which one you should choose.
Mis-identification
Quite often the homeowner will mis-identify what pest they have which will lead to getting the wrong pesticide, applying it in the wrong area leading to the frustration of not being able to solve their pest problem. Professionals have the know how to know what pest they are dealing with and how to treat accordingly.
How many times have we picked up a newspaper or read an article on line discussing a pest control tragedy. Too many…. If you pay close attention you will find that most of the harm comes from the Homeowner buying a product that they know little about and applying it not in accordance to label instructions. We’re not here to give you scare tactics but we are here to inform you. It is horrible when you hear those stories of harm coming to a child because a pesticide was improperly applied.
There are pest control applications that can be successful for the homeowner. There are also times when this is extremely problematic and unachievable.
If a Homeowner can visibly see a wasp nest, then grabbing a can of wasp killer from a hardware store can solve the problem. But, if you can’t see the nest it is advisable to contact a professional who has the know how to get to the colony. Let’s face it, no one wants to be bitten by nasty yellow jacket wasps! They let out a signal of danger to their buddies that you are an enemy and they come after you in full force.
Let’s discuss the Bed Bug.
At JAPCO we are constantly updating ourselves to the newest control methods. We attend regular conferences in North America to learn about the latest developments from the key note speakers that are scientists. They are going out into the field applying various chemicals and applications and testing for results. Every year the top problematic insect is the bed bug. Our industry is battling to win the war against bed bugs. If this is problematic for us at times you can imagine how problematic it would be for the untrained homeowner. What typically happens when the homeowner applies pesticides all over to combat this problem is they end up repelling the insect and instead of them being localized in one or two areas they spread them all over the house. Trained professionals know what to do to contain this to combat the problem.
Psychological problems having pests
Sometimes it is better to hire a professional to give you peace of mind. That is something that you can’t always put a price tag on. Having Bed Bugs can be very traumatic for the homeowner. When they go to sleep at night the fear that a bed bug will be biting them keep many people awake. Hiring a pest professional can give them the peace of mind knowing the problem has been effectively dealt with by a pro.
Let’s talk about the Expense of it all.
Going to your local hardware store is going to be less expensive than hiring a professional Pest Control Company or is it…….
You go, and you buy a couple of cans of pesticide and you still have the problem, so you go and buy more, this can get expensive. On top of that the labor of trying to figure out how to combat the problem can be time consuming. When you are unable to solve the problem and must hire a professional after the fact you have costed yourself more money in the long run. What can be worst is that the insect has had time to lay eggs and reproduce and their numbers keep increasing and increasing.
The German Cockroach is the common cockroach that we deal with the most and they will lay between 30-40 eggs per egg capsule. In a very short period you can have hundreds of cockroaches running around. Not to mention the health considerations with having some pests in your home. The German cockroach is transmitters of various diseases they carry e coli and salmonella on their bodies which is responsible for food poisoning that can make you very sick.
Read the Label
If you decide to take on the task of doing the job yourself READ, THE LABEL. We cannot stress this important fact enough. You must read the label. Applying any pesticide has the potential of causing harm to people, pets, and the environment. Every label must state how to apply the pesticide and where. Take the time to make sure you read the label and understand the instructions for use.
All chemicals come with risk. It is not our intention to scare you into not doing a treatment yourself and to only use a professional pest control company. We want you to understand all the risks, and to follow all the directions on the label. The label will tell you how to and where to apply the pesticide – not how to eliminate any of the pests listed on the label. This takes an integrated action plan taking into consideration all aspects of an IPM methodology.
Damage to your home
Some do it yourself products can cause damage to your home. Some pesticides can cause staining to your siding or to your floors and walls, and you may be unable to get the stain off. And after all that, guess what? You still have bugs. These are things to consider when buying a pesticide that you are unsure of and applying this to areas of your home or yard.
I would like to tell you about an incident that was called into our office. A homeowner applied an oil-based pesticide that was for outside use only and applied this inside their home to their carpet areas. This pesticide was soaked into the carpet and they could not get the smell out it was so strong; the real problem was they had a small baby. They had to have the carpet removed from their home, they had to stay out of their home until it was safe to come back. This is when situations can be extremely costly to the homeowner. And of course, after all that initial cost they had to end up hiring a professional pest control company in the end to solve their pest problems.
Selling your home and pest control problems
Having pest problems can hinder the sale of your home. The buyer in most cases will expect that you will hire or have hired a professional pest control operator to eliminate any pest problems. Telling them that you took care of the problem in most cases will not suffice. If you have a problem with the carpenter ant (which does structural damage to a home) you most definitely will need to show due diligence with paper work that you hired a professional to eliminate the problem.
There can also be problems with not disclosing past pest infestations or current ones. Have you disclosed that you have had pest problems? Do you have the proper documentation from a professional showing that you handled this problem? We have seen cases where this has gone into litigation because the buyer had extreme allergies and it was not disclosed that the home had prior pest problems.
Let’s talk about liability
Do you really want to be responsible for putting a rodenticide outside your home that could cause secondary poisoning to the neighbor’s dog or other animals? Pest control professionals have tamper resistant stations to ensure they are maintaining safety always. Treating a pest control problem requires the careful, precise application of a product, otherwise it can be dangerous.
To sum this up know what insects you are capable of treating, read the label and instructions very carefully for the application. And then you are capable of solving some pest problems. The difficult problems should be left to the professionals who have the expertise and training to know how to eliminate your problem.
Whichever option you choose, you must first consider the pros and cons of both: professional pest control and do it yourself pest control.
I can do this myself
If the problem is a small problem, you can probably tackle this yourself with an over the counter product. This can be a cost-effective alternative to hiring a professional.
Hire a Professional Pest Control Company
For larger problems or problems, you continuously cannot solve it’s time to bring the big guns in. Hire a professional. This will save you Money and time in the long run. Hiring a professional will give, you peace of mind. They are trained to know how to combat your problem keeping you, your family, pets, and the environment safe.
Some do it yourself jobs can be better left to the professionals! Lastly, remember that Do it yourself pest control may not always be cheaper than using a professional pest control service in the long run.