Organic Options

Today it is more important than ever to be environmentally friendly or “greener” in all our activities. The pest control industry is also being driven to add alternative services to our integrated pest management (IPM) strategies. Most professional pest control companies offer organic or botanical alternatives to conventional synthetic chemicals that have been used for many years.

Baiting strategies vs. contact pesticides is gaining in popularity and effectiveness for both ants and cockroaches. Several termite bait systems have proven effective for both above and below ground applications. By treating the wood with boric acid based products instead of the soil we can avoid water table problems when doing subterranean termite work. Rodent snap traps and multiple-catch traps are still around because they work; they have replaced rodenticides as the first line of defense in certain situations and are being combined with rodenticides in a one-two punch in other scenarios. Most of the new bait stations are designed to hold snap traps as well as bait blocks. Sticky traps are valuable tools for controlling and monitoring cockroaches and crawling arthropods. Pheromone traps work well as early warning monitors for most common pests.

Example of Organic Pest Treatments

Aromatic cedar mulch in landscaping helps repel ants and other insect pests away from structures and drive them where you want. Vegetation control reduces rodent, insect, birds and other animal harborage. Keeping rain gutters clean and installing leaf guards has been proven to prevent ants and other insects from breeding in gutters. Pouring mineral oil over water sources like unused toilet bowls which will keep the bowls from drying out thus preventing American cockroaches from entering structures through sewer lines. Screening windows, doors, tree holes, weep holes or chimney cap openings all do the same thing: Keep pests out. Sealants are still the primary means of reducing cockroach and other pests from entering structures. Bird netting works on the principle of building out shelter or harborage areas – a fundamental key in green pest management. Sometimes it can be simple as changing timing of automatic light timers by one hour later and one hour earlier to significantly reduce nuisance pest such as crickets.

Now do not get me wrong, chemical companies have made monumental strides to make their chemicals low-risk and even risk free in the hands of trained professional pest control operators. Without pesticides, antibiotics and fertilizers, our lives as humans would be definitely altered in a negative way. In some cases, pesticides are an offshoot of product development for the medical profession. In other cases, pesticides are first developed for agricultural use; with urban pest management uses being a bonus. There will always be applications that will warrant the use of chemical synthetics and other pesticides.  In today’s health-conscious society, Organic Pest Control just makes sense, not only from a business’s standpoint, but also being the right thing to do for generations to come.