When should I use pesticides to control pests?

When it comes to pesticides used in the house. I would recommend that a homeowner only use pesticides as a last resort. When it comes to pests the best action is education. In general pests enter your house from the outside. Most insects will come from the exterior of the building. If you have mice in the house they came from the outside. Therefore your best pest control is usually achieved through good construction practices and weather-proofing. Walk around the outside of your house and look for areas where pests can enter. It may seem that those little buggers can get into the house anywhere. The important thing is to start your own inspection of your house. Start with the bigger problems and move your way to the little ones.

Let’s focus on mice for the sake of this discussion. Start with your vegetation. If you have a lot of creeping ground cover you are providing lots of harborage for mice. Just by removing the ground cover and planting vase shaped shrubs you can significantly cut down on the amount of rodents that may be around the outside of your house. Second look at where you store your garbage. Do your garbage cans have tight fitting lids? If they do not you should not store your garbage outside. Next, look at anything that may be up against the house. You should not store wood piles up against the house. This is just an invitation to nest next to the house. A house mouse will try to set a nest within ten feet of food and water if they can. A wood pile next to the back door, which probably is close to a hose bib, is just asking for trouble. A mouse next to a water source and the back door that opens on a routine basis means mice will be in the house. Look at your doors, if you see a gap at the bottom of the door it is time to weather strip the door. Not only will you keep out pests you will save energy. Finally as you walk around the house look at any areas where service lines enter the house, all too often a gas line or AC line enters the house with the hole in the house much bigger than the service line. This gap can be large enough for mice to enter. A mouse can enter an area that is very small. If you can fit a pencil or pen through a hole in the house a mouse can enter. The same thinking can apply to insects. Small gaps between elements of construction should be sealed with a high quality sealant. If you can keep out water and wind you will keep out pests.

Now when do I decide to use a pesticide? I tend to hardly ever use any type of pesticide in my own home. When pests are noticed around the house I always start with pest monitors. A pest monitor is a fancy word for a glue board. You can learn a lot with hidden placements of glue boards can tell you where more pests will be found. You can then target your use of pesticides around your home. If you are having ants invade from under a baseboard, you can treat that area with a pesticide and later seal the baseboard. Remember, if you are having a large scale pest problem in the house there probably is a structural, or sanitation problem to be corrected. If you want to apply pesticides around the house if is still better to apply them around the exterior of the house. As always when using a pesticide read the entire label before you use it.

Of course, there are pests that do not come in from the outside. Generally stored product pests, and German roaches are usually carried in to the house from other locations. Proper sanitation is the keys to getting rid of these types of pests. If you come across pests that you cannot identify, it would be a good idea to get professionals in that can identify the pest. If you have professional pest control operators come to your house they should be able to identify the pests before they apply a pesticide. Questions about pesticides used by professionals can be answered with the label and Material Safety Data Sheets. Your pest professional can supply you with copies. Also, if you use professionals they should give directions for structural and or sanitation corrections that will help solve the problem more quickly.

The decision to use pesticides is a matter of personal choice. Read and understand the label of any pesticide that is going to be used. The type of pests and application sites should be on the label. Do not apply any pesticide if you feel it is not safe, even if it is a stated application on the label. The label is the law but you still need to use common sense when applying pesticides. Finally, if you have made reasonable attempts to control pests in your house and the problem persists, it may be time to call a pest control professional.