Pest Control: 5 Ways to Tell You Are In Over Your Head

There are many pest control jobs that you can handle yourself with home remedies or products you buy over-the-counter. However, there are some pests, such as bed bugs, wood-destroying pests, and disease-bearing insects, that you’re generally better off leaving to a pest control professional. Additionally, it’s always a good idea to call in a professional for out-of-control infestations. It’s not always easy to know when the situation has gotten out of hand, though. Here are some warning signs that you need to call a professional pest control service.
1. You’re overwhelmed by their numbers.
While you may be able to handle pests in small numbers, it can be a different story when they number in the hundreds or more. If you find your basement or crawl space is teeming with creepy-crawlies, you probably Pest Removal Near Me have an extreme case that’s too big to handle on your own. Ants, termites, roaches, or other mass-reproducing insects can create a situation where you need to call a professional pest control expert.
Besides the nasty experience of battling such a large pest population, here’s the best reason to call in a professional exterminator: Taking on a job that’s too big will end up costing you more in time, energy and money for chemicals and supplies than the cost of having a professional do it.
2. You can’t get to the nest.
Some insects, such as termites, ants, and cockroaches, tend to form nests in hard-to-reach places. These nests can be in the foundation and sub-foundation, between walls, behind ceilings, under floors, inside stairs, and in other hidden areas of your home.
Sudden weather changes, such as a shift from hot to cold, or dry to wet, will often drive insects from their original nesting spot into your home as they search for more favorable conditions. This is when not taking care of a subterranean infestation can really come back to bite you. You can avoid this scenario by calling a pest control professional who has the right tools to get to get to the source before it becomes a major problem.
3. The pest infestation poses a health risk.
Infestations can range from a nuisance to a health hazard, depending on the pest in question. Rats, mice, and fleas can carry Predatory Insects For Garden diseases. These pests can not only contaminate your food, but also threaten the health of you, your pet, or your child.
Sometimes you may face a more immediate threat, such as poisonous spiders, bees, wasps, or aggressive ants. Infestations of poisonous spiders, such as the black widow or hobo spider, should be dealt with by a pest control service. If you deal with these hazards yourself, you run the risk of serious injury if you’re bitten. Having such dangerous pests around poses a risk to loved ones, especially to those with allergies to bee stings and spider bites. Call in a professional pest control service whenever a pest could threaten your health.
4. You’re not sure what pest you’re dealing with.
A key part of pest control is knowing exactly which insect is the culprit. Feeding and nesting behaviors can vary among species. Even different subspecies can require different strategies. Ants are one example of this; although the different types can be hard for the homeowner to distinguish, different types of ants often require different treatment plans.
Sometimes, you may not even see the pest. If you find damage but aren’t sure what kind of pest has caused it, a professional should be able to figure it out and take care of the problem.
5. You’re losing the fight.
If you’ve already attempted some do-it-yourself pest control and haven’t cured the problem, it’s probably time to get some help. Most of us don’t have the kind of time required to fully commit to pest control; we have other obligations like a full-time job and care of the family to keep us busy. If you end up spending more than half your day or weekend dealing with a pest problem, it’s probably time to let a professional deal with it.
Extermination service professionals usually offer weekly or bi-weekly checkups. This way, rather than trying to quickly fix it in one go and hope for the best, you can prevent future pest infestations from happening altogether. A good pest control provider will not only fix a current pest problem, but will take steps to prevent future pest infestations.