Environmentally Conscious Pest Control

Here’s two important questions

If you want environmentally concious pest control, when you hire a pest control company ask yourself these questions.  “Am I having my problem solved with the smallest impact on my home’s environment?” or  “Am I being ‘sold’ a service to generate maximum revenue for the pest control company?”   There’s a difference. Read on to learn more. 

Pest Free living – finding a healthy balance with eco friendly pest control

If you live in Southern Maryland or Northern Virginia and are interested in low environmental impact pest control, you’ve come to the right place!

The idea of creating a “sterile-environment “ around your home devoid of any insect life is a bad idea for your family, pets and the environment.  It is certainly not environmentally concious pest control. The reality is that most insects play some beneficial role within our world, but problems can arise when the human and pest worlds merge. Keeping insects and rodents out of our living spaces where we sleep, eat, prepare and store food is a good idea. Spraying your entire property because you see one wasp land on a deck rail to collect a droplet of morning dew is a bad idea.

As long as there have been people on our planet, there have been pests that cause issues with human health, comfort and quality of life.  Today, you can find a host of products, remedies and pesticides made to solve pest problems all over the internet.  A person can easily go online and within minutes have access to an entire chemical arsenal of pesticides and rodenticides they can unleash around their home in a destructive way without understanding the consequences.

Why hire an Eco friendly pest control company?

We practice Eco friendly pest control. Remeber, just because a product is labeled to kill a specific pest does not mean it is Eco friendly or the best choice for treating your home. Understanding the chemistry behind pest control products is very important in practicing environmentally concious pest control.

There are “families” of pesticide products, and most of these are neurotoxins. Some of these pesticide products are made with nanoparticles coated with magnetic chemicals similar to plastic.  When applied with blowers, they are designed to stay in the wind, floating as long as possible, and then coat the foliage where they persist for many weeks. These are often used for mosquito control. These chemicals stick to foliage and kill/poison ANY insect that comes into contact.  It is “legal” but may not be the best approach for your home or surrounding neighbors.

Another example would be products containing the active ingredient Imidacloprid. This chemical is very popular and easily accessible. Unfortunately, Imidacloprid  is absorbed systemically  in plant tissue and persists in foliage and soil for a very long time.   Flowering plants will become toxic to beneficial pollinators like bees and butterflies as well as birds and small mammals. Certainly not a very eco friendly option if used incorrectly.

Planet friendly Pest Control professionals understand these issues  as well as the biology and ecology of our specific area. How and when pest control products are applied dramatically affects the outcome and  subsequent environmental consequences.

How many treatments do I need?

Every home and property is unique and every pest issue can have specific challenges. We have spent years defining for our clients what the minimum amount of treatment is needed to responsibly maintain a healthy, pest free environment.  We always investigate non -pesticide solutions. This distinguishes us from others who’s goal is to come out and treat your home as many times as possible.

The majority of pests that cause issues in and around the home come from the outside. We have found that we can treat the exterior a few times each year and we rarely need to treat the interior of a structure. (Exceptions would include roaches and bed bugs).