Is DIY Pest Control Effective?
by pest expert Matthew Hess, 06/23/2024
We all know that the purpose of DIY is usually about saving money, and when it comes to many projects, the average person can handle them perfectly. For instance, Painting the walls in your home, hanging blinds, or installing a new T.V. But what about those tougher jobs like plumbing, HVAC, or electricity? There are just some things that should be left to professionals, even when it’s possible for you to do them. When dealing with pesticides, it’s crucial to understand how to properly mix, store, and apply, in addition to understanding when, where, how, and why to use them.
Skill and Experience
Almost anyone capable of moving their arms can spray insecticides, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe. The key difference lies in having the necessary training, skill, experience, and knowledge, which separates an average person from a pest control technician. This disparity determines whether the application is carried out safely and correctly or if it’s potentially misused and unsafe.
Pest control technicians spend over 8 hours each day identifying pests, pest harborages, conducive conditions, and entry points. They need to identify the type of pest, its source, why it’s there, and how to eliminate it. This requires a level of expertise that the average person doesn’t possess. While you can buy various over-the-counter insecticides that claim to be effective, without knowing how, when, and where to use them, they’re essentially useless. Is it possible to succeed on your own? Yes, but the odds of success are probably less than 20%. Instead of taking your chances with such an uncertain undertaking, it’s better to contact a professional pest control company like Four Seasons Pest Solutions.
Isn’t DIY Pest Control Cheaper?
Advertisements, videos, and over-the-counter insecticide manufacturers may lead you to believe that DIY pest control is cheaper, but what happens when it doesn’t work? More than 90% of customers who attempt DIY pest control report failure. Whether it’s bed bugs, spiders, rodents, or stinging insects, the failure rate remains the same. In the long run, DIY pest control could end up costing more. Think of it as a “middleman” approach – it might work and save you some money, but chances are, you’ll end up hiring a professional anyway. Save yourself the trouble and skip DIY pest control altogether!
Is DIY Pest Control Safe?
The simple answer is no. Although over-the-counter DIY products may be approved for home use, this approval is for their proper use. Overuse or misuse could be seriously harmful to you, your loved ones, your pets, and the environment (especially foggers). No insecticide claiming to be 100% safe, will be effective for eliminating pest infestations (few claim to be 100% safe). Every pesticide has a label that directs the user to proper and safe use and application methods. That label should be carefully read and followed, especially by DIYers without experience using pesticides. Home-use pesticides are the most misused pesticides in the world. This makes the risks of using them high and an otherwise safe product potentially dangerous. If you are not willing to read and follow label instructions, it is best to leave pest control to an experienced professional who will.
DIY pest control is not without its many disadvantages. Whether it’s the possibility of getting snapped by a trap or the potential of
contaminating yourself or others with pesticides, the dangers are real, the risk is high, and there are much safer alternatives.
But DIY Pest Control Is More Convenient, Right?
Not exactly, although the ads for DIY pest control products want you to believe that they are more convenient. However, this just isn’t true in most cases. You’re already busy with work, family, important household and lawn chores, and daily life. You have dinner to make, a lawn to mow, dishes and laundry to clean, vehicles to maintain, and honestly, more than you can do alone already. Adding one more chore to the list because an ad tells you it’s “convenient” doesn’t make it so. You know what’s convenient? Having a pest control company like Four Seasons Pest Solutions who show up, do your pest control, automatically charge your card, email you an invoice, and you don’t have to lift a finger. If DIY can get more convenient than that, the sky isn’t blue, the grass isn’t green, and you don’t know convenience!
This is precisely how “convenient” DIY pest control is for most people.
Conclusion
Not only can DIY pest control require more skill and experience than the average homeowner has, it can also end up costing more in the long run, potentially dangerous, less effective and inconvenient. Unless you’re dealing with a very minor infestation that wouldn’t require pest control in the first place, DIY pest control will likely disappoint you. Especially if you’re dealing with termites, bed bugs, spiders, roaches, fleas, rodents, ants, wasps, bees, and several other difficult pests. Not only do DIY treatments on these pests often fail, but failed treatments can potentially cause pesticide resistance, making it even more difficult to achieve control.
Besides being more experienced, safer, more convenient, and more effective, hiring a professional exterminator also means you get the knowledge and care of a professional. We not only seek to eliminate pests, but often can determine why they are there, where they are coming from, and how to stop them at the source. That makes pest control much more valuable.
If you’re experiencing problems in your home or place of business, you may be enticed by ads that claim “up to 12 Month Control” and similar gimmicky phrases. The truth is that “up to 12 Month Control” is a phrase meant to trick the average consumer. Even some of the best professional-grade products on the market can only boast 90-day control. Don’t be swindled out of your hard-earned money by gimmicks, tricks, and ads designed to lure you into purchasing insecticides that will likely leave you hiring a professional in the end. Just give Four Seasons Pest Solutions a call and cut the middleman out!
