- Do I really need to use a pesticide? Maybe, maybe not. Find out how they’re getting in and where they’re finding food and water. Maybe the house just needs a good old fashioned chore day. A through cleaning of all infested rooms, even those that seem to be pest free, is a good start. Use soap and water on all washable surfaces, and vacuum.

- Is it safe for children? Well, what does the label say? Do not breathe spay mist? Keep pets and children away from treated areas? In case of skin or eye contact flush with plenty of water? Do not enter the bombed area for 24 to 48 hours? Call poison control immediately? Can cause death or serious injury? Are these things you really want to be spraying where you eat and sleep?

- Should I spray where the pests are getting in? Sprays are only effective for a limited time on surfaces. Make sure you’re not leaving doors open unnecessarily and that screens are in tact. Caulk, grout and seal all their entrances and exits. Use chemicals sparingly!

- Is it safe for pets? Probably not! They may lick treated areas. They may track the insecticide thorough your home onto your dining room table or into your bed!

- What is an organophosphate? Simply, they interfere with pests natural body functions. Unfortunately, YOU are also an organic organism! These chemicals have been used as weapons in wars.

- What is a carbamate? This is actually nerve agent! It interferes with the pest’s (and your) nervous system. Again, something used as a weapon of war.

- Should I wear gloves when I handle pesticides? Yes! And choose a glove rated against the chemical you’re using. Your skin absorbs fluids and can access your blood stream.

- Should I wear a mask when I am applying pesticides? Yes! And choose a mask rated against what you’re spraying. Hardware stores usually carry face masks and can help.

- What if I feel sick, strange, tired, etc… after using an insecticide? Get professional help immediately! Don’t hesitate to call 911! Paramedics are trained to handle these cases.

- What if I can’t get rid of the infestation after all of this? You may need a professional exterminator. They know. There are some exterminators who use much safer interventions then others. Choose wisely.

Most pesticides are very dangerous because the object is to kill something and deter others. Some of the chemicals actually had military use! There are better solutions out there, such as cleaning your home and sealing cracks. Start simple and don’t hesitate to call in the experts.

 CHORES- Do a regular housecleaning. This will alert you to their presence right away. If you see one, take care of it quickly. Always keep the dishes done and empty all the trash on a regular basis. Wash ALL garbage cans and waste baskets regularly especially in the children’s rooms. Don’t let unwashed dishes accumulate in other rooms in the house especially coffee and soda cups. Keep laundry piles from sitting around for a long time. Clean and organize your closet regularly. This will make you and your family feel better, too!

 EATING- Try to eat in designated areas of your house. Don’t walk around eating unless your trying to leave your new friends snacks! Don’t let the kids bring food to their rooms. If you don’t give them anything to eat or drink, they aren’t attracted.

 SUGAR- Don’t place sugar containers out in the open. Keep sugar in a sealed container preferably in the refrigerator. Clean up all sugary spills immediately and completely. Ants and sugar go together like peas and carrots!

 TRAILS & MOUNDS- Look at the outside of your home and on the ground around it. Crush or flood the mounds. They hate this. Make sure it’s not a dangerous breed of ant first! Wash the ant trails on exterior walls with soap and water. Keep trees and shrubs from touching the house. You can potentially stop an invasion before it happens.

 HOLES & CRACKS- They have to get in somehow! Seal all the potential or active passageways in your home. Caulk, grout, and glue work great. Check to make sure door and window seals are intact. Keep the fireplace flu shut when not in use. Make sure all chimney vents are appropriately screened or protected. If they can’t get in, they can’t get in!

Most ant invasions are preventable. Usually, if they don’t have anything to eat or drink, they don’t come. These are just some tips that can keep your home a more enjoyable, safer, more energy efficient place to live.

1. Keeping House- Do those regular cleanings of your home. This will alert you to their presence right away. Always do dishes and put them away. Empty the trash on a regular basis. Clean all your trash cans and waste baskets especially in the children’s rooms. Clean up alleys and anywhere else trash accumulates on the property. Don’t let used dishes accumulate around the house. Especially if they were used for sweets like soda and coffee. Keep up with that laundry. Don’t allow grungy clothes to sit around. Organize your closets and dressers. This will make you and your family feel better, too!

2. Table manners- Eat at the dining room or kitchen table. Clean the table and floor around the after meals. Don’t walk around and eat unless your purpose is to feed the new unwanted guests! Absolutely no eating or drinking in bedrooms. Take away the food supply and they will look elsewhere.

3. Sugar- This is a big one! Keep the sugar in a sealable bin and keep it in the fridge. Immediately pick up all sugar spills completely and thoroughly. This is probably the most important one of all.

4. Entryways- Roaches squeeze under doors, around pipes, under walls, and any other way they can find. Seal all suspected passageways in your house. You can use, glue, caulk, or steel wool. Maybe even putting trim up that won’t leave a space between the floor and wall. Check to make sure door and window seals don’t leave gaps. Check the fireplace flu. Is it shut? Make sure your chimneys and other vents are appropriately screened and protected.

These are some things that will make your home a lot less attractive to roaches. They don’t like it when there’s nothing to drink or eat. It’s useless, and dangerous, to use sprays and bombs if the problem that brought you the roaches still exists.

Here are some simple ways to keep pests away from your home without spraying those harsh, unsafe toxic chemicals. These are just a few safe, simple, all natural suggestions to help get rid of and maybe prevent potential infestations.

1) Clean house- There really isn’t a better way to say “NO VACANCY” to a pest then this. Regularly dust and vacuum. Clean out the refrigerator. Store sugar in the fridge! Wash counter tops, cupboards, walls, and floors. Do the dishes and take out the trash. Never let dishes gather in the sink or around the house. Wash trash cans and waste baskets. Bag all trash and tie it shut. Clean behind the stove, refrigerator, washer, dryer, and any other major appliances. Wash the windows and clean around the sills. Do the laundry and organize the closet. Clean that basement and attic, too! Doing these things will usually alert you of a pests presence, or a trail. If you don’t give them anywhere to live, or anything to eat or drink, they will go elsewhere or they may not even show up!

2) Seal passageways- They can’t come in if they can’t get in! Check your home for anywhere uninvited guests may enter. Make sure your door seals aren’t broken or worn out. If they are, repair or replace them. Do the same for all your window seals. Look for cracks in the foundation, floors, walls, and ceilings. These are easily repaired with some caulk, grout, or maybe some new molding. You may need a contractor if the foundation is bad! Look at where pipes pass through walls. Is there a space in between?

3) Outside- Have a look around the exterior of your home. Are there ant mounds? Are there nests? Are there trails? Are there trees touching your home? Are the neighbors complaining about pests? Is there garbage lying around? Is there a hole, or crack in the exterior of your home? If you can remedy any of this yourself safely, go ahead. Otherwise, consult with a professional.

I hope some of these common sense ways help you naturally control the pests in your home without using harsh, toxic chemicals. There are also exterminators who use safe, organic ways to control pest problems. And, following these tips will provide you with a much safer, happier, more enjoyable home.

1) How much is this going to cost? This is the most important question. Most legitimate companies will offer a free consultation. They will clearly describe costs, plans, expected outcomes, and what you need to do. Read the contract!

2) Are you licensed and insured? Don’t even bother with those who are not. They can do more harm than good. And, they will leave you with no way of recovering damages. In most states, the exterminator will be required to be licensed.

3) Do they have references? Most legitimate businessmen have references and will be more than happy to provide you with them.

4) I saw an ad. Is that the best one? Not necessarily. The best may not run expensive ad campaigns. Ask apartment complex property managers. They definitely know!

5) Do they really have this stuff no one else has? This is probably not true. The Environmental Protection agency has a list of all approved organic and inorganic chemicals used to get rid of pests.

6) What do I do with a high pressure sales person? Just say NO! Yes, it may come off rude. They will keep asking questions that require a “yes” or for you to come up with some sort of payment right now. Don’t sign anything you don’t understand or want! Don’t say yes, even if they ask you if you breathe air or eat food! Getting you to say “yes” is a big sales strategy. Keep saying NO! Hang up the phone! Involve the police if they still won’t leave. The last one usually works. This is sales psychology. They are required to go the extra mile to make the sale. The higher the sales pressure, usually means an illegitimate deal. If the thought crosses your mind that you’ll do what they say just to get rid of them, you’re in a high pressure sale!

These are just a few tips to help you select the best exterminator for your money. You’re now armed with some knowledge that will keep you more safe and secure while selecting and hiring an exterminator.

To Control Pests Naturally

Here are some basic tactics and strategies you can use to create landscape that can resist pests on its own, thereby reducing your need for pesticides.

Try to use INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT (IPM) to control pests. “With IPM, the focus is on preventing pest problems through healthy gardening practices and avoiding the use of chemicals when they are not really needed”

Many pesticides are very toxic to our water supplies. Less-toxic chemicals include boric acid, diatomaceous earth (DE), soaps, and botanical oils.

Utilize local plant life
Seek out plants that adapt well to your conditions. If you have clay soil in a hot area, you need to plant a tree that is adapted to clay soil in a hot area. Insects do recognize imbalance. They know the plant is suffering or is otherwise off balance, and they attack.

Encourage biodiversity
Cultivating only one type of plant species, not only makes gardens more vulnerable to diseases, but also makes them more susceptible to attacks from insects.
As a consequence, “We feel like there are a lot of pests out there because we’re planting things in a way that encourages pests.

To prevent your landscape from succumbing to a multitude of pests, layer your gardens with trees, shrubs, vines, perennials and annuals. Utilize plants with diverse leaf textures, different heights. You should also strive to have pollen and nectar available throughout the season by planting flowers that peak at different times.

Another way to strengthen your lawn is by being proactive about choosing the right grass for your growing conditions. Plant clover, which is a naturally-occurring nitrogen fixer that is also drought resistant.

Reduce Lawn Space
Here’s a disconcerting fact: Three times as much pesticide is used on lawn per acre than on agricultural crops. The greater the lawn, the more pesticides you will need to use. Steer your clients away from large lawns by positioning smaller ones as more environmentally-and economically-friendly.

For example, many of your customers may not know that watering lawns utilizes between 30 percent and 60 percent of urban water resources.

Introduce Beneficial Bugs
Creating a bio-diverse habitat is the first step to an environmentally friendly landscape, but you should also consider buying ‘useful’ insects and introducing them to a garden as a way to jump-start the pest fighting process.

Lacewings, for example, can stay in one place, breeding for generations and gobbling aphids, mites and other pests.  Ladybugs on the other hand have wanderlust in their genetic code and may fly away before too long. However, ladybugs can help battle an immediate problem, such as an aphid infestation.

Pesticide Free Lawns
Creating a garden that has little to no reliance on pesticides for pest control isn’t going to be easy-and in some cases may not be possible. If you are committed to creating an environmentally friendly landscape, understand that it can take up to two years to wean a garden from heavy chemical use, but the eventual benefits usually outweigh the cost.

After you’ve done this for a while you just get this wonderful garden where you’re not doing the work of controlling pests anymore. You have all these little garden allies doing it for you.

And when you need to utilize a professional pest control service, call Lady Bug – Eco Friendly Pest Control. Our products are National Organic Program Compliant made with Thyme oil, guava fruit, clove oil, chrysanthemums and other natural and botanical substances.