We have created an environment that makes homeowners feel that the only way to truly feel accomplished is to attempt all projects on your own first. The only problem with this is that we end up paying twice as much as we would have when we end up having to hire the professional to come in a clean up the messes we have made trying to fix our issues in the first place. One arena this could not be truer for is in the area of pest removal.
There are several reasons that pest removal and bug control should not be done by homeowners but instead left to the professionals. The most important reason is the fact that quality best control professionals use a system in removing, eliminating and preventing pest that allow pest removal to be done in an environmentally, pet friendly way called Integrated Pest Management or IPM for short.
Control tactics is the last step in IPM and the most important. It states that there are three methods available to use in controlling, eliminating and preventing pests. They should be applied to any situation in the following manner: cultural, biological and lastly chemically. Without professional experience in IPM techniques and terminology it is easy to get lost.
Cultural control can be explained as steps taken to control pests not using chemical or biological methods. In cultural control an eco-friendly method is applied to begin with. For outdoor pests this may be something as simple as planting peppermint plants to help reduce and eliminate an overwhelming mosquito population in your yard. If you have a flea infestation in your home the cultural control technique would be sanitation. If would mean consistent cleaning and vacuuming of carpets, drapes and such as well as washing bedding and the flea breading grounds within your home. It would also consist of regular checks and baths for pets.
Next we will take into consideration the biological control methods. These are ways to control pest that use things in nature that do not have toxicity to humans, the environment or domesticated animals. The biological method for flea control is using a flea predator such as a nematode to come in and eat the fleas and their larvae. Another biological method would be with the use of a flea spray. The spray acts as a predator and detours the fleas from getting comfy. With IPM, a combination of methods can be used to combat an infestation. You may use both cultural and biological to remove the fleas from your home. You can sanitize while also using a flea spray to deter the bugs from making your home theirs as well. When you use a combination of methods you are decreasing the chance of needing chemical control in excess while decreasing the pest population.
Chemical controls in IPM consist of using the most environmentally friendly methods first to control, eliminate and prevent pests. Many chemical products are now environmentally friendly and pet safe to use. Options using citrus and lavender and other plant based products in a chemical combination are used over harsh chemicals that leave an imprint on our environment.
When hiring a pest control provider look for a local exterminator that employs IPM techniques over one that does not. The last thing you, your family or pets need is to be subject to the intense effects of harsh pesticides and chemicals in your home.