5 Reasons Why You Should Not Do It Yourself With Pest Control

While you might think that with all of the pest control solutions that are available online and over the counter at your local big box home improvement stores, do-it-yourself pest control might seem like the most affordable and reasonable solution to dealing with ants, roaches, termites, rodents, mosquitoes, bees, wasps, bedbugs, silverfish, and other common household pests. However, depending on your pest issue, do-it-yourself pest control can prove challenging, due to several factors.

The fact is that most homeowners aren’t trained to treat pest infestations, starting with identifying pests and knowing exactly what type of application and how much will eliminate the species of pests they’re concerned about. Breaking it down, this month we discuss five reasons why you should not do it yourself with pest control.

1. Pest identification may not be as easy as you think

In South Florida, pests love the mild temps and tropical climate as much as the throngs of people who flock here to visit and who call the Sunshine State home. Common pests in this paradise include a multitude of different species and types of pests that want to move into your home. Some of the variety of different pest species include:

Ants—Most are nuisance ants, such as ghost ants, white-footed ants, acrobat ants, Argentine ants, and others, but some can cause damage to your home, and pose health threats, including:

• Crazy ants
• Carpenter ants
• Native fire ants
• Imported fire ants

Termites—The most destructive pest in South Florida, termites consist of a variety of species of subterranean, dry wood, damp wood, and hybrid termites including:

• Eastern Subterranean Termite
• Cuban Subterranean Termite
• Formosan Subterranean Termites
• Asian Subterranean Termites
• West Indian Subterranean Termites
• Florida Drywood Termite
• West Indian Drywood Termite
• Western Drywood Termite
• Conehead  Termites

Treatments for one type of ant or termite species vary vastly from treatments for other ants and termites. Correctly identifying pest species is time-consuming and determining treatment for your particular pest can raise other issues about do-it-yourself pest control.

2. Pest control products can endanger your home and loved ones

First of all, consider that you are exposing yourself and your loved ones to dangerous chemicals that require special handling. Pest control professionals wear protective gear, such as face shields, gloves, and boots when they perform treatments, to keep them safe. Over-the-counter treatments may only damage pest populations and excessive use can cause health problems in sensitive humans. Additionally, in the case of a DIY rodent reduction plan, do you really want to get involved with removing rodent carcasses from hard-to-access spaces in wall voids or risk getting bitten by a rodent you encounter when placing traps? Also, while do-it-yourself pest control products have evolved to target specific pests and claim to be safe for humans, some can prove deadly to some pets, such as cats and fish. The wrong treatment can also do more harm than good.

3. Using the wrong product or treatment can make your pest issue worse

In some cases, when pesticides are used improperly, these chemicals may prove strong enough to drive pests away from the immediate area but not strong enough to kill them. Instead of reducing the pest population you’re trying to treat, you could inadvertently spread infestations into other areas of your home. Unfortunately, this happens all too often with a pest that’s already challenging to control: bed bugs. These blood-thirsty pests are as good at moving around and starting new colonies, as they are at hitchhiking into your home. Without pre-treatment instructions for bed bug treatment from a trusted professional, victims of bed bug infestations may not realize that bed bug infestations should be contained to the infestation area, because they can easily spread to other parts of your home. Pros suggest not sleeping in a different room than where the infestation originated before the affected area is treated. Also, the guesswork involved in finding the right treatment for many pests leads to spending more money than you planned to eliminate your pest issue.

4. DIY pest control can cost more than hiring a pro

In the long run, purchasing ineffective pest control products can cost more than you save by hiring a professional pest control company. Most persistent pest infestations require the skills of a trained and certified pest control approach to eliminate pests. For example, you might be able to kill the ants that are foraging in your kitchen, but these are only the ants that are looking for food to take back to their colonies that live in nests in your yard. Trained pest control professionals can locate ant nests in your yard and strategically place baits that ants will take back to their colonies, effectively eliminating the entire colony. Additionally, most DIY pest control products aren’t concentrated enough to eliminate most persistent pest infestations, such as roaches and termites. Professional pest control companies, such as Petri Pest Control Services, are licensed to properly handle dangerous materials, and trained to treat specific pest infestations, in a timely fashion.

5. Quality of Life

Don’t you have better things to do than worry about pests in your free time? Does your busy life lend itself to researching pest issues and reading up on all of the latest innovations in pest control technology? The precious time allotted to most people to enjoy family and friends should be spent doing just that, especially in the summer, when plans call for vacation time, travel, pool parties, and backyard BBQs! Trust your pest control concerns with trained professionals! Time is of the essence with some pest issues, and professional pest control companies can get your pest issue under control quickly, and offer you a program that prevents pests from entering your home in the future.

Petri Pest Control Services, Inc. has been serving South Florida for 65 years. With locations in Pompano and Boynton Beach, Petri wants to be your go-to local source for affordable and reliable pest control solutions in Palm Beach and Broward Counties! It’s summer! Go play and leave the pest control solutions to us!