You hear a lot about how ‘Do It Yourself’ pest control is an effective way to save money and avoid hiring an exterminator. While DIY can have legitimate benefits in handling small-scale infestations while at the same time saving money, attempting to perform large-scale exterminations on your own can be extremely dangerous. Online extermination techniques are wildly inconsistent and on top of that sometimes involve creating a dangerous blend of household chemicals that can be extremely harmful to you and your family.
In the end, methods shared on social media or online can often fail to protect your home in the long term and that is the danger of DIY. While professional exterminators can cost more, the services they provide can ensure your home is fully protected and that any infestation is completely eradicated.
What is DIY?
‘Do it yourself’ extermination is exactly what it sounds like. The practice of handling small-scale bug infestations is nothing new, and with the advent of social media and online groups centered around sharing information, many people have been taking matters into their own hands when dealing with pest control.
While some of the methods shared are legitimate examples of pest control techniques, such as comparing store-bought sprays and traps or discussing which baits work best in wasp and hornet traps, some of the groups have become a breeding ground for tactics that are wildly inconsistent and potentially dangerous. Despite having the best intentions, any technique you see that involves an all-natural or ‘homemade’ pesticide is often ineffective or temporary. In extreme situations, those could even be harmful to those family members and pets within the home.
Where ‘Do It Yourself’ Fails.
People sharing DIY pest control techniques have the best intentions and oftentimes are just looking to share information on what has worked for them in the past. Most are looking to help you save money and are trying to help the environment by not using chemical pesticides. While these ideals are heartwarming, insects and rodents don’t care about whether or not your methods to remove them from your home benefit the environment, and unfortunately, a lot of times, the lack of potent chemicals often has little to no impact on the infestation.
The average homeowner is not a qualified pest control expert and hasn’t been properly trained to find the root cause of an infestation and apply the proper pest control solutions. Most DIY extermination ‘experts’ will only consider their homemade solutions and store-bought pesticides to be effective on the pests they can see, but what about the pests you don’t? When it comes to pest control, exterminating the pests you can see is rarely the true problem. It is the ones you don’t that are often the root of the issue. If the source of the problem is not found and dealt with properly then the infestation worsens, and by the time you realize you missed a portion of the original population you’re dealing with a problem twice as big as the first one.
How Dangerous Could it Be?
DIY pest control on the highest end of the spectrum means the mishandling of chemicals that can be incredibly dangerous for your family, your property, and your health. The labels on pesticides you find in a home improvement store have been reviewed by the EPA and independent oversight boards. These groups carefully review and handle the experiments to ensure the safe use of these chemicals, providing clear and specific instructions for safe use. They are made to handle specific types of pests and are mixed and bottled within certain parameters. Homemade pesticides have all the oversight of a bread recipe you could find on Google, and some combinations of chemicals that have gained traction among DIY exterminators can be extremely harmful to pets and children.
Contact General Pest Control to Handle Your Pest Extermination
The DIY solutions currently available to the average homeowner can be ineffective, inconsistent, and dangerous. When dealing with invasive pests, don’t try to handle the problem yourself and risk allowing a larger infestation to take root in your home. Seek the qualified services of a professional exterminator, like those of General Pest Control. We’ve been taking care of what bugs you since 1978, and we have the professional-grade tools and trained service providers to do the job right. If you believe your home has been infested with bugs, rodents, or anything else that might be giving you trouble, don’t trust your home and your family’s safety to an online home remedy. Contact your local GPC office to set up a consultation, and allow the professionals to handle any and every pest control concern you have.