If you've never had a pest control company treat your home and yard before, you might wonder what to expect. The company should provide you with all the information you need when it comes to how to prepare your home and what safety precautions you may need to follow. The procedures may be different for different types of insects and for treating infestations rather than just having routine preventative treatments. Here are some things to expect.
Prepare Your House
If you have an infestation of roaches in your kitchen, you may need to clear out your cabinets so the exterminator can spray inside the cabinets and not bother your food. You may be instructed to seal all your food so the spray doesn't contact it, and that might be as simple as putting food in plastic garbage bags for protection.
You may also need to clear things off the floor and protect toys and pet items. The less clutter you have, the better the exterminator can reach areas in your home where bugs are likely to be hiding.
Leave Your Home
When you have routine treatments and no current infestation, the pest control company may just treat the outside of your house to keep bugs from getting in. If the inside of your house needs to be treated too, you might need to leave your home for a few hours while the treatments are applied and until the spray has dried.
Pest treatments are safe and non-toxic, so you don't have to worry about your kids and pets being on the floor once the spray has dried.
Implement Pest Control Measures
While regular pest control treatments kill current infestations and prevent future infestations, you probably shouldn't rely on pest treatments alone to keep your home free of bugs. Instead, your exterminator may recommend an integrated approach that includes scheduled visits from the pest control company and making changes to your home so your house is less attractive to insects.
While there may always be a few insects wandering through your house, you can make your home less inviting by keeping your house dry and free from clutter. Try to keep food covered and crumbs cleaned up so ants and roaches aren't lured inside by food odors.
You might also need to work on your yard so it isn't a haven for bugs, especially in the area around your house. This might include keeping the grass trimmed and cutting back tree branches so the area next to your house gets as much sun as possible.
Another important component of pest control is to block entry to your house. The exterminator may offer advice and help with sealing entry points so insects and rodents can't get inside and make themselves at home.
To learn more, contact a pest control company.
When you come upon an ant in your home, what do you do? Maybe you kill that one ant and then set some traps to catch any others that come with it. Perhaps you spray some insecticides along the baseboards or in other places where ants tend to congregate. Sometimes these measures might take care of the problem, but other times they don't. If ants continue to be an issue, you'll need to call a pest control company. The same goes if you are dealing with roaches, mice, or some other pest. Learn more about pest control and what these companies do as you explore this website.