Bugs are everywhere, which includes your yard, but too many bugs can lead to an infestation. Luckily, there are many ways to control pests inside and outside your home. If you want to better protect your home from bug invasions, check out these four common types of pest control methods, and choose which is best for your needs.
1. Registered Pesticide
A registered pesticide is a term for a pesticide that can legally be used in the United States. It includes over-the-counter products you can use yourself as well as professional pesticides that should only be used by skilled pest control technicians.
To become approved, a pesticide must go through the registration process, which involves a review of the ingredients, where the pesticide will be used, how often it will be used, and how it will be disposed of.
The process helps evaluate the pesticides potential risk to animal and plant life, including human life. The health risks evaluated include both short-term and long-term effects (such as cancer).The potential risk of surface and ground water contamination is also considered before the pesticide can be approved or denied.
2. Insect Growth Regulators
Insects go through different stages as they grow into adults. Most start as an egg, and when the egg hatches, larva are released. The larva then creates a cocoon around itself where it develops into an adult.
An insect growth regulator is designed to hinder the maturation process from egg to adult. Most growth regulators don't actually work on adult insects, but they work well on the egg, larva and pupa. Many eggs treated with this type of pesticide never hatch.
Larva exposed to insect growth regulators may never create a pupa, causing them to die as larva. Last, when a pupa is exposed to regulators, it may never hatch, which means it can never reproduce.
3. Repellents
Insect repellents are chemicals that keep certain pests away. You may have used them on your own body to prevent mosquito bites, but repellents can also be used to generally keep pests away from your home. For the most part, however, this may only be a temporary solution.
How well the repellent work depends on many factors, but it's best to find a repellant that has been approved by and registered with the FDA. Products approved by the FDA are more likely to work and be safe for humans.
Attractants can also be used instead of or in conjunction with repellants. Attractants are chemicals and odors that attract insects and pests. This can be used to attract pests to a far corner of your yard, where they will pose less of a risk to your home.
4. Pheromones
Pheromones are natural chemicals insects use to communicate with each other. If there is a lot of food in a particular area, insects can release pheromones that let other insects know to go there. On the other hand, if there is danger, they can use pheromones to warn other insects.
As you might guess, when you use pheromone pest control methods you can easily confuse insects into thinking there is danger close to your home and food far away from your home. The best way to use pheromones is with pheromone traps, which attract pests to a certain area.
Before you get any traps, however, you'll need to know what types of pests are common in your yard. Pheromones are not a one-size-fits-all solution. You'll need different pheromones and traps for each type of insect.
No one wants their home and yard taken over by insects, and with pest control, you don't have to let that happen. With so many pest control options, it may be best to start with some advice from pest control experts to find the best option for your home. For more information, or if you need a quote for our pest control services,
contact us
at Monterey Bay Pest Control Inc. today.