Every day we are faced with decisions of doing improvement or repair projects on our own or hiring someone else to do it for us. We can learn how to change our own car oil, or take it to a shop. We can cut our own grass and trim or own trees, or hire a landscaper. We can fix our own hamburgers on the grill, or head over to your favorite burger joint.
The same goes for pest control. You can hire a pest professional to service your home every month or two, or you head head down to Home Depot, buy your own products and try it yourself. As a guy who works for a pest control compnay, there is nothing wrong with attempting it on your own, but simply reading the instruction label may not be enough.
Keep these tips in mind as you service your own home.
Get the corners first. On an average size home, most pest control companies may use anywhere from 5-10 galons of pest products. The perimeter of the house is literally blanketed with chemicals. The products you buy from your local home improvement store may only bring 1-2 galons. Because the product you buy from the store only brings so much solution, your application of it must be more precise and resourceful. That said, apply product to the corner of the outside wall where the wall meets the ground. Pests will push their way from your yard up to the house, entering your walls though any crevice they can find. Don’t waste product on the walking surfaces, such as the porch or the sidewalk. There is no other way they either the home than through the walls, so be sure to service there first.
Power Spray vs. Pump Can. Your local exterminator uses the batterly from his own truck to use his high-energy power spray. When pest product is applied to the exterior of your home, chemical is forced down to the bottom layers of your landscape. Whether you have vegetation or rock-desert landscaping, as in common in Arizona, product is applied deep down where many bugs live. A pump spray will not afford you the same luxury. If you have your own higher-pressured pump can, we recommend transferring chemicals from one to the other. If not, then remember to apply the spray at a slow, steady pace. Rushing to spray your home will not only leave more product on the top surface, but less of it. Take your time and let the chemicals settle down to the lower layers.
Again, as a pest control guy, there is nothing wrong with servicing your own home for bugs. Just keep in mind these simple concepts to make sure you’re getting the most out of your products.
Steve Bitter is a Marketing Manager with Bulwark Exterminating, based in Mesa, AZ. Bulwark Exterminating is an industry leader in providing high quality pest control service. Bulwark is fully operational in seven states, including eleven major cities. While Bulwark provides pest extermination for common insects such as ants, roaches, crickets and spiders, the company’s differentiating specialty is scorpion control. Bulwark uses the finest and most effective products in the world to solve common pest problems.