How Does Pest Control Affect the Environment?
Not all pest control treatment methods and applications are created equal. There are many options of products and treatment application methods available and can vary widely in efficacy and cost.
To learn about the best option for achieving lasting pest control and minimize or remove adverse environmental effects, please see What is the most environmentally friendly pest control application?
When getting comparative bids from different pest control companies, take into consideration the products and application methods attached to each company’s proposal to determine which is offering the quality, value, safety and environmental responsibility you want to have in your home’s pest application.
Not all pest control treatment methods and applications are created equal.
There are many options of products and treatment application methods available and can vary widely in efficacy and cost.
To learn about the best option for achieving lasting pest control and minimize or remove adverse environmental effects, please see What is the most environmentally friendly pest control application?
When getting comparative bids from different pest control companies, take into consideration the products and application methods attached to each company’s proposal to determine which is offering the quality, value, safety and environmental responsibility you want to have in your home’s pest application.
Exterior pest control treatment method applications most commonly fall in the categories of pinpoint spraying, power spraying, and granules.
Of these categories, the two that pose the most adverse risk to the environment are granules and power spraying.
Granules
Pest control granules are small, solid, pieces of product that are distributed by hand over a lawn or service treatment area. The presence of the granules themselves does not achieve pest control. In order for them to be activated, they have to be mixed with water in order for the active ingredient to be released into the soil and reach the pests it is intended to control.
Pro’s of using pest control granules include the fact that it is easy to cover a large surface area using granules as they can be distributed manually over the area where coverage is, and because of the ease of application, these applications can be fairly inexpensive.
Con’s are that in an area like California where rain is infrequent, realistically, you would have to rely on your sprinklers to activate the product and unless the granules were distributed to perfectly match your sprinklers coverage area, there is a chance that some granules are never broken down and remain on your lawn where a small pet or child may come in contact with them. Another weakness of using pest control granules is runoff. When sprinklers soak the granules in place, some of the solution will soak to the soil and reach intended pests, but some will become runoff and can potentially end in sewers.
Power Spraying
Pest control power spraying is done typically using a large rig in the back of your pest technicians truck that looks something like this image. Inside the container, pest control products are mixed with water to a dilution ratio determined by the label of the product being used. Typically, a technician will mix a large amount of solution at their office or warehouse enough to last several stops.
Once at the service location, the technician will spray the solution right from the rig to the area for pest control treatment. The rig produces enough pressure so the technician applies the product with a hose as if he or she were watering the service coverage areas.
Power spraying has major pros. Because of the ability to apply mass amounts of product and cover a wide area, this is an almost surefire way to get product anywhere and everywhere on the desired service area.
Depending on the capacity of the rig, it is very easy for the technician to apply the product and hardly has to walk a few feet from their vehicle and cover a very large area of treatment.
Because of the bulk nature of application and ease of application, this is typically the cheapest option for pest control application in a large surface area.
With those big pros come some enormous cons. Power spraying is always excessive.
It is extremely unlikely that the pest infestation in a standard California home needs to be bathed with pest control products.
In other words, it is way overkill. A major problem with this excessive type of application is large amounts of runoff it creates.
In reality, your home only needs a small percentage of what what the rig expellsand the rest is not needed.
So ask yourself a beautiful and clean ocean for all or a couple bucks savings… your call “merica”.
When considering different options for treatment methods, keep in mind the pros and cons that each option introduces to your home, family, and the environment. A good pest control program should be customized to your home’s individual needs.
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