No Exterminator Necessary

Modified from © Pests.org

If this blog is successful at achieving only one thing, let it be a widespread understanding that you almost never need a pest control service. Here is your one stop post for how to tell if you need a service, and what you can do instead.

Just Passing Through

Every household, business, and workplace will have the occasional insect or spider visiting. Arthropods are masters at finding their way through the tiniest crack, crevice, hole, or other access point, which they hope will lead them to greener pastures, not indoors. They are not out to get you and they are not a sign that you are in for more creatures like them. It is usually a one-time event. Do not panic and dial up an exterminator.

One recent scientific study found that the average home is occupied, at one point in time or another, by somewhere between 30 and 200 species of insects, arachnids, and related arthropods. Still no reason for fear. In fact, the greater the biodiversity the better. It is a sign that your home is not sterile, but running on all natural cylinders. Most insects are so small you do not even notice them anyway.

The Pest Control "Racket"

While most pest control enterprises are ethical and fair, here are some points to consider:

• The technicians that visit your location are usually not entomologists trained to properly identify pests. They are schooled almost exclusively in proper application of insecticides to insure compliance with state and federal regulations.
• It is in the best interest of a pest control company to identify as a pest any insect that concerns you, regardless of whether it is a pest.
• Most pest control companies require a contract that guarantees repeated visits to your premises. Think about that. We expect plumbers and electricians to do the job right the first time.
• When was the last time a "product" or "service" solved anything? In the case of pest species the answer is almost never. The best solution is prevention and attitude adjustment.

You DO Need a Service When....

There are some situations in which you do need professional help. Those are:

• Bed Bugs are challenging for professionals, let alone do-it-yourselfers, and you will need to find a reputable company to deal with them.
• Structural pests like termites and carpenter ants. Make sure, however, that you are not mistaking an outdoor swarm event for an indoor infestation. A termite inspection is usually a requirement for home sale and purchase. Find an unbiased agent to conduct that inspection. Request an inspection if you suspect a termite or carpenter ant infestation before employing a pest control company.
• Social bee or wasp nest in a troublesome location. Always employ a bee removal service if you find a nest in a location that impedes your day-to-day life. Otherwise, note the location of the nest so you can simply avoid it. In most regions of North America, nests of yellowjackets, paper wasps, and the European Hornet are not perpetual, nor re-used the following year. Feral honey bee hives are perennial.
• Cockroach infestations that have reached extreme population levels. It is important to note that cockroaches have only been implicated in transmission of bacteria, never proven. Prolonged exposure to dense populations of cockroaches, their shed exoskeletons and feces may trigger allergies and asthma in some people, especially children in multi-family dwellings. Insist on a pest control service that uses baits rather than sprays for a longer-lasting, near permanent effect instead of repeated visits to spray insecticides.

The Cure is Prevention

Here are some ways to reduce the potential for pest problems in your home:

• Repair worn weatherstripping on doors and repair holes in window screens (or replace them).
• Seal all cracks and crevices, including around places where pipes and electrical conduits enter or leave the home. Pack steel wool into such situations, use caulking elsewhere.
• Inspect all objects coming indoors from outside, especially plants, firewood, toys, gardening tools....Inspect new plants before you leave the nursery or store.
• Do not reach your extremities into locations you cannot see into. Be careful moving items out of long-term storage to avoid spider bites, disturbing a wasp or bee nest, etc.
• Do not leave clothing, gloves, or footwear outdoors overnight, nor in the garage or shed. It never hurts to shake out shoes and clothes anyway.
• Reduce outdoor lighting or employ motion-sensors or bulbs that are less attractive to nocturnal insects. This will also discourage spiders from stringing their webs across your front and back doors.
• Never stack firewood against the side of your home, as this will help termites and carpenter ants to become established. Reconsider wood mulch as groundcover.
• Learn tips for how to avoid bed bugs in your travels and thrift store shopping. Entomologists estimate that soon one out of every four homes will have bed bugs.

Treatment for You!

Nobody wants to hear the suggestion that maybe they are the source of a problem, but sometimes that can be the case. Please seek professional help if you have phobias of insects (entomophobia), spiders (arachnophobia), or related creatures. It will save you a great deal of money and emotional turmoil to go that route. Otherwise, visit an entomologist for a gentle "attitude adjustment." We can cite example after example of the beneficial qualities of insects and the potentially disastrous effects of continued addiction to chemical pest treatments.

Please feel free to share this post widely. I also welcome comments, even dissenting opinions, as long as they are worded in polite language. Everyone deserves to make a living, and we will always need pest control services for situations where every other alternative has been exhausted.

Why I Don't Give Pest Control Advice

Casual visitors to my blog often seek pest control advice in the comments of posts about insects or spiders they themselves have encountered. There are several reasons why I do not discuss pest control, and it is probably high time I outlined them here.

Liability

Commercial insecticide manufacturers and pest control companies ("exterminators") have entire teams of lawyers to prevent, fight, and settle litigation filed against them when customers misuse or fail to fully understand their products or services. Indeed, the public regularly misapplies over-the-counter products resulting in poisoning of family members or pets or, in the case of foggers ("bug bombs"), fail to extinguish a pilot light and set fire to their property or blow their house up. Besides the injuries and/or damage, misapplication of insecticides is a federal offense.

Meanwhile, there are also the pest control equivalents of snake oil salesmen who promise "organic" controls that are ineffective at best, or outright fraudulent at worst. Products such as ultrasonic repellent devices are known by entomologists to be useless; and "bug zappers" kill far more beneficial insects with next to no impact on mosquitoes.

As a writer who is essentially a sole proprietor volunteering factual information, there is no way I can possibly absorb the financial impact of a lawsuit should someone misinterpret pest control advice or product endorsement.

My mission is Teaching Tolerance of Arthropods

Those who follow this blog know and understand that the entire purpose of the content here is to educate the public and foster an appreciation and tolerance of insects, spiders, and other arthropods. Focusing only on the negative impacts some species sometimes have on humanity would not accomplish that goal. There is enough misinformation and media sensationalism already. It is a tide I can barely swim against. Some people I will never "convert" or even reach, but I like the idea that I can provide ammunition for others to argue the overwhelming benefits of arthropod diversity and healthy ecosystems, be they natural, agricultural, or urban or suburban.

"I got you a gig at Al's Produce and a world tour with Union Carbide"

I Do Preach Prevention

Those rare posts I devote to household and garden pests usually include tips for preventing pest issues. Pests are largely our own creation. We provide them with their favorite foods. We give them shelter. We collectively import them accidentally or intentionally from other parts of the world in commerce, including nursery stock (plants). We apply pesticides to which they develop resistance. We compromise native habitats and ecosystems through use of non-native plants in landscaping, overuse of herbicides that destroy food plants for beneficial insects, and insist on large areas of sterile lawns.

It is only by altering our own mindset, or at least our behaviors, that we can coexist with other organisms, and discourage visits by species that can cause us harm. Prevention is the act of executing those proactive, low-cost or no-cost strategies, in contrast to being reactive, at a high financial and emotional cost, when a population of insects or arachnids gets out of control.

There Are Other Sources for Pest Control Information

The smart consumer looks to unbiased sources of information for pest control, as they do when purchasing any product or service. Online, you should be consulting ".edu" websites that originate at colleges and universities. They have no stake in the stock of a company, and because they are educational institutions, they are mandated to provide information to the public. The Cooperative Extension Service has long been a leader in urban and agricultural pest management, but has fallen on hard times with funding cutbacks from the government. Still, pursue that option. There is usually an extension agent office located in whatever town serves as your county seat.

Remember the public health department is a valuable resource for control of insects that affect public health, such as mosquitoes, other biting insects, filth flies, and cockroaches. Contact them, and take them a specimen of the organism that is problematic for you.

Pest control technicians are the last people you should trust for making an accurate identification of a troublesome insect. I cut them a little slack because their first, and often only, priority is to comply with state and federal regulations in chemical pesticide application. Few technicians are properly schooled in entomology, and that is a disservice to the consumer.

#$%!* termites!

Social media outlets vary widely (and wildly) in terms of legitimate, educated advice and identification of insects and spiders. Some Facebook groups are better moderated than others.

Use the "Forum" Tab on This Page

You are certainly welcome to click on the "forum" tab at the top of this page and ask questions and upload images of your mystery "bugs." I'll do the best I can to identify your creature, and direct you to additional informative resources. Thank you.

As Seen on TV

Did you ever see the television show Verminators, which aired in the U.S. on the Discovery Channel, Monday nights at ten PM (just in time to give you the heebie-jeebies before bedtime)? Apparently, it has since been cancelled, but it chronicled the adventures of a real-life pest control company in Los Angeles, California.

Some episodes left me wondering which is more disgusting, the pests themselves, or the living habits of the clientele (with apologies to Jeff Foxworthy, you might be a redneck if the roaches in the pantry hand you a shopping list).

While the program did provide some insight into what to expect if you enlist professional help in your battle against pests, it did not always inspire confidence. In one episode I viewed, a novice technician nearly blew an apartment to kingdom come when he failed to notice a lit burner on the stove before he began spraying. Tsk, tsk. That would usually be grounds for dismissal, but the company owner was more forgiving after issuing a strong reprimand.

What do you think of this program? If you were able to stomach an installment or two, share your own review of Verminators here.