The Problem with DIY Pest Control

If you’ve ever dealt with a pest problem, you know firsthand what a trying experience it can be. Of course, when pests begin to infest your home, you want them taken care of right away. But you can’t rush to get the job done, and you can’t cut corners, either. Tempting as it might be to try and save some money, amateur pest control rarely goes as planned. Keep reading to learn more about the problem with DIY pest control from our professionals at Hopper Termite & Pest.

5 Reasons You Want to Avoid DIY Pest Control

1. You Might Use the Wrong Products: For less severe pest problems, such as periodic appearances of houseflies, fruit flies, or mosquitoes, you can usually find an over-the-counter bug spray to help get rid of the problem. There are also traps you can buy to kill rodents, and some nests can even be taken out with hot water and vinegar. However, for any jobs requiring serious trapping, baiting, or pesticides, you do not want to trust store-bought items. At Hopper Termite & Pest, the products we used are specifically designed for pest control, with the understanding that they will be used by professionals. Remember, while you might be able to use a trap to get rid of one mouse, the same is not true for a whole rodent infestation. And when it comes to something like termites, there are products you can buy to help prevent a problem, but once you’ve got one, you should not trust anything you can buy at a store. Plus, even when it comes to buying products at the store, you must also consider that—
2. Using Chemicals on Your Own Is Dangerous: Many insecticides contain toxins that are harmful not only to pests, but also to people and their pets. At Hopper Termite & Pest, we have made a point to use the safest products possible, so no one in your home is at risk of being exposed to hazardous chemicals. However, when you’re using over-the-counter products, you are not guaranteed the same level of safety or efficiency. Many of these products are very hard to apply correctly if you don’t know what you are doing, and let’s also not forget that you can end up damaging your paint, siding, wallpaper, lawn, and other parts of your property if you do not use pest-killing chemicals properly. Bottom line: the risks for your family and home are far greater when you do DIY pest control. And speaking of risks…
3. There Can be Risks to the Environment: Again, it’s important to stress that at Hopper, we use products that are designed to be as safe as possible for all who come in contact with them. In addition to your household, we also include the surrounding environment in that equation. When you buy products from the store, there is a greater chance they will have a negative impact on plants, birds, and other animals that surround your property. Even an insect like bees, which can be dangerous if you’re dealing with an infestation, don’t deserve to be harmed in non-bee-related pest control, as they are extremely important for the environment. It’s true that while green pest control is fairly new, it’s also becoming the norm, and at Hopper, we are proud to help lead the way in this regard. Using store-bought chemicals, meanwhile, is generally bad for the environment, and should be avoided whenever possible.
4. DIY Might be More Expensive: The main reason, for many, to attempt pest control on their own is to save money. Yet the fact of the matter is that by the time you actually spend enough getting rid of your pest problem, you could be looking at a cost that is just as or even more expensive than hiring a professional. For instance, if you use the wrong kind of treatment and have to apply certain chemicals again, it can take twice as long and be twice as expensive as if you had just called an exterminator in the first place. And as mentioned above, you can also incur significant damage to your home in DIY pest control, which you may then have to pay to repair. Trust us, you might think it’s more cost-effective to just do everything on your own, but in the long run, it’s usually easier and cheaper to call someone whose job it is to get rid of pests.
5. You Might Not Get the Whole Job Done: At the end of the day, even if you somehow find all the right chemicals or traps for getting rid of your pest problem, and you’re able to do it without spending a crazy amount of money, you still run the risk of underestimating the problem and having to go through the whole thing again. This is not only a waste of money, as we’ve established, it also means you have to live with pests for longer than necessary. Consider, do you really want to spend a year battling a cockroach infestation when a professional could get the job done ASAP? After all, they say when you see one roach, there are a hundred more living in the walls; the point is that you may think the job is getting done, when all your doing is putting a band-aid on a gaping wound. At Hopper Termite & Pest, we get the job done fast and done correctly. We strive to eliminate your pest problem as soon as possible, and if things get worse between scheduled visits, we will do everything in our power to make the situation right.