Getting rid of troublesome pests such as rodents, ants, German cockroaches, bed bugs and termites can be a tiring, repetitive exercise. The DIY pest control products available from your local hardware store promised the world but then delivered only short-term results that ultimately didn’t work, and now those rodents are back again, chewing through your cereal boxes, and the bed bugs have returned with a vengeance, biting you again whilst you sleep.
Having pests in your home and office can cause serious issues. Rodents and possums chewing through electrical can cause A LOT of damage. Electrical shorting and fire risks are not what you want to have to deal with. German cockroaches, bees, wasps and bed bugs carry their own health risks, including asthma, dermatitis, anaphylaxis and itching to name but a few. And termites, well, those subterranean ninjas can eat through a significant portion of your home or commercial property before you’re even aware that they’re there. What’s more, termite damage IS NOT covered by insurance, leaving you with a mightily expensive remedial works bill.
PESTS ARE PERSISTENT. While it may seem as though you have them under control, one-stop treatments and online solutions are simply not enough when it comes to providing lasting and effective control.
There are many reasons as to why pests like to take up residence in your home or workplace, but the simple reason is: your property is a haven! It is warm, safe from predators and has food!
Rodents and ants will feed on our leftovers, crumbs and pet food. German cockroaches will feed on literally anything, even their own dead! Bed bugs feed on us, termites feed on the wooden framing of your property and foundational stumps. Fruit flies – brought in via ripened fruit – consider leftover coffee grounds, overripe fruit, and even unwashed dishes as desirable breeding grounds, and two fruit flies can soon make thousands.
There is just so much food and opportunity in your home and workplace that there’s no wonder the pests have moved in.
Taking a trip to your local hardware store or supermarket for an off the shelf solution when the pests are beginning to get out of control can seem like a cost-effective solution. We’ve all got that aunty or neighbour who used a particular rodent product and now swears by it.
Typing the problem into Google is also bound to result in an endless list of cost-effective, environmentally friendly, home remedies that are “guaranteed” to take care of that ant problem for you. Ever heard of cinnamon based ant-repellent*?
*Whilst based in some fact, the cinnamon you use in cooking just doesn’t have the level of concentration needed to be truly effective. Sprinkling some in an area where you see ants may indeed reduce their activity in that area. Ants are, however, persistent when it comes to their pursuit of food or moisture. They will simply go elsewhere, which will likely be another area of your home. If your home has what they’re looking for, then they’re going to keep looking for ways to get to it, and a sprinkle of cinnamon here and there isn’t going to stop them.
You may have even had a professional pest controller come out to your property before to treat for ants or rodents, but now they’re back again. And whilst it’s understandable to feel as though the treatment didn’t work, doing so would be missing the bigger picture: PESTS ARE PERSISTENT.
The only effective solution to ongoing troublesome pests is to have regular pest inspections and treatments undertaken by a professional pest controller. Consulting with a professional pest control specialist, such as one of the technicians at Defender Pest Control Specialists, is key to finding a successful and efficient long-term solution that works for you and meets your expectations.
Making use of professional pest control services only once-off will not rid you of your pest problem entirely. Why?
Pests often require different solution mixes or product applications depending on what the target is. For example, whilst one product is labelled for both ant and millipede control, how the product is applied and the solution concentration needed is different for the effective control of each pest.
The same can be said for ants and spiders. One product may be labelled for the control of both ants and spiders, but ultimately, when applied, it’s better at controlling the ants than the spiders.
Being clear on what your target pest is and having a conversation with your pest control technician prior to proceeding is important to understanding how your treatment is going to work and what it is going to achieve.
Pests such as bed bugs, fleas and German cockroaches have very specific life cycles. Flea infestations consist of approximately only 5% adult fleas. The remaining 95% are a mix of 50% eggs, 35% larvae, and 10% pupae. The cycle from egg to adult can take anywhere from 2 weeks to eight months, depending upon conditions, and in favourable conditions, a female can lay between 15-20 eggs per day, up to 600 eggs in their lifetime. With the right conditions, 10 females can birth over 250,000 infants all at varying life stages (egg, larva, pupa or adult) in only 30 days!
A store-bought flea treatment product may take care of the adult population. But there’s still 50% of the population that has been unaffected by the treatment. Further treatments are then needed to catch the remaining 50% between hatching and maturation.
The same can be said of German cockroaches. They can mature to adulthood from hatchling in as little as 40 days, produce 20-40 eggs per egg casing, and have 5-8 egg casings per female. That works out as approximately 1.5 million offspring borne and descended from a single female in as little as 12 months! A single can of whatever shelf-based spray product is available from the supermarket cannot take that kind of infestation seriously.
To treat these pests effectively, it’s important to break the lifecycle, and to not only break it, but to break it at the right time with the right combination of pesticides.
Bugs and insects LOVE moisture. Just about anything will thrive and reproduce where there’s the right amount of moisture. Subterranean termites flourish in dark, moist conditions. Such conditions are often found under your property, particularly stumped property with a subfloor and poor ventilation. Throw in a leaking pipe and the conditions for termites are beyond optimal.
Moisture will keep pests coming back no matter what you do. Calling a pest control professional will help you to identify those areas with too much moisture, will help you find solutions to ensure that the moisture problem is taken care of, as well as making sure the pests are taken care of efficiently.
A pest infestation can get out of control rapidly if no early intervention steps are taken. You may be doing some spot treatments with bait and traps for rodents in your kitchen, but they’re actually living under your deck and taking food from your fruit trees now instead of from your kitchen.
Without a pest control specialist undertaking a thorough inspection of your home, it’s unlikely that you’ll get on top of all their nesting sites and entry points on your own before they’ve reproduced again.
The same can be said for fleas and German cockroaches discussed previously. They’re lifecycles are so rapid that without an effective and timed intervention, their numbers can become explosive.
A specialist pest control service technician knows what signs they’re looking for, is skilled and experienced with the life cycles and habits of many different pests and knows what products to use and under which conditions to achieve optimum results.
When pest control doesn't work, it helps to keep in mind that PESTS ARE PERSISTENT. There are really only two things within your power that you can do without any training or experience that will get rid of them and keep them at bay once and for all. These are:
You don’t have to put up with pests nor suffer through ineffective and incomplete solutions. At Defender Pest Control Specialists, our technicians not only take care of your pest problem, but educate you on the products we use, why we use them & how, and what role you play in ensuring your pest problem is taken care of for good.
Contact our friendly team on 0452 632 472 for more information about how we can help you keep your home and loved ones safe from the impact of pest infestations, and to learn more about our ongoing pest control solutions.
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