FAQ’s /Links

General Pest Control

Can I do my own pest control?
In many cases, yes, but only if you are willing to invest enough time, energy and money to identify the pest, learn its environmental and food preferences and then select the appropriate method to solve that pest problem. Simply spraying pesticides requires little talent; professional pest management involves much more. Considering the risks of treating for pests like bees and wasps, the destructive potential of termites or the illusiveness of bedbugs, pest management is best left to professionals.
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The technician told me some things I need to do – what am I paying for?
You’re paying for the technician’s knowledge and service. Every home has a pest problem from time to time. Some problems can be solved by you with simple prevention measures such as:

Repairing screens and installing door sweeps
Discarding debris and cleaning food and water spills/seepage
Sealing cracks and crevices where pests can enter

Eliminating food, water and a place for pests to hide are parts of an "integrated pest management" (IPM) strategy. IPM is a method that uses a variety of strategies including: exclusion, sanitation, biological control, careful monitoring, and if appropriate, the application of pesticides. Part of his/her job is to advise you of improvements you can make around the house to help make it less hospitable to pests. Whether you take that advice is up to you, but good pest management often requires cooperation between you and your technician.
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If I want ongoing, periodic service, what should the service consist of?
After controlling any existing infestations, most of your service technician’s time should be spent inspecting for pests, not standing and chatting nor applying pesticides where there are no pests. When the technician’s inspection discovers evidence of a pest problem, he/she should determine the best methods to use and then apply those methods.
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What frequency of service is best?
That depends on your situation and the type of pest involved. Some pests can be controlled by a single service. Others may take months, or even longer. Once your pest problems are eliminated, you may opt to retain periodic service, but that service should focus on inspection and spot treatment of pests if and where they are discovered, rather than routine pesticide application.
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How much should pest control service cost?
The best way to determine this is to compare estimates from several companies. It can be unwise to hire the company offering the lowest price because there are many other factors to consider. In addition, each of us is unique in our tolerance of pests, pesticides, and prices. Again, the more information you gather, the easier it will be to decide if the price is right.
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Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

What is IPM?
IPM is Integrated Pest Management, the basic premise of pest control. The goal of IPM is to control pests by using the best control methods after carefully considering each method’s safety, effectiveness, cost, and effect on non-target organisms and the environment. While IPM’s goal is not to eliminate the use of pesticides, it can often reduce the amount of product that is used.
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Shouldn’t all the baseboards in my home or business be sprayed?
No. This stereotypical and antiquated view of pest control used to be a standard practice of pest control technicians but it is generally ineffective and needlessly exposes people and pets to pesticides. A pest might live behind baseboards, rarely inside them, and never on them. If pesticides are to be applied, they should be applied to the cracks, crevices and voids where pests spend most of their time.
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Are pesticides always necessary to control pests?
No! There are many pests that can, and should, be managed quite successfully without pesticides. Many others can be managed by using only pesticides with less toxic active ingredients and formulations such as baits, dusts, and microencapsulate pesticides that present less risk of human exposure. For additional information on IPM, pests and structural pest control, click on the following link: http://ipm.ncsu.edu
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Pesticide Safety

Are pesticides safe? What about pregnant women, children and infants?
No chemical substance is absolutely safe. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registers all pesticides, after assessing that a pesticide product features a tolerable risk when used according to label directions. To use any pesticide in a manner inconsistently with the pesticide’s label is a punishable violation of federal law. Generally speaking, it is the misuse of pesticides that is hazardous, not their use. Risks associated with pesticide exposure may be greater for pregnant women, children and infants, and the EPA takes this into account when registering pesticides. If you have concerns about these risks, have your physician review the labels of pesticides that will be used in your home. Raleigh rodent control company

In addition to chemically-formulated pesticides, many natural and environmentally-friendly products have entered the market over the last ten years and are identified as part of a “green” product platform. Although many of these newer products are effective in controlling or repelling pests, they tend to be effective for a shorter period. To achieve the same level of pest management effectiveness with these green products, they may need to be applied more often.
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Who do I call if someone is accidentally exposed to pesticides?
First call the Poison Control Center in your area (800-222-1222 in North Carolina). It’s best to have the name of the pesticide so you can inform the Poison Control Center, emergency medical technicians, and your physician. If you do not know the name of the pesticide, the technician or their company should be able to tell you and/or you can check the service reports they gave you after each treatment – always save these reports!
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Bedbug Management

I have heard a lot about bedbugs in the news. How do you manage hard-to-find or hard-to-eliminate pests like these?
We field calls from apartment communities, property managers, businesses and homeowners daily. The process for handling bedbug concerns still follows the IPM (Integrated Pest Management) protocol. We start with inspection and have, in addition to our trained inspectors, also made arrangements to use a bedbug sniffing dog where appropriate. If we confirm the presence of bedbugs, our containment and preventative methodologies are employed and the best treatment option is selected which sometimes includes the elimination of mattresses, box springs, chairs and couches, possible chemical application or even steam or heat treatment.
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Termite Treatment

Which is best for termites: baits or liquid treatments?
That depends on the structure, and on you. Both baits and liquid treatments will protect structures from termites. Some baits work better than others, just as some liquid termiticides work better than others. Unlike liquid treatments, baits must be checked periodically. Liquid treatments can be more invasive, however, and may require floors and walls to be accessed and drilled so that termiticide can be applied to the soil below.
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Are all termite control guarantees the same?
Pest control companies generally recommend that consumers pay an annual fee after a structure is treated for termites. Essentially, this fee continues the terms of the original contract and can be thought of as “termite insurance” that usually obligates the company to retreat the structure if termites reappear, and in some cases to repair subsequent termite damage at no charge to the customer. Annual inspection of the structure, performed by qualified pest control personnel, is also recommended.
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How long do liquid termiticides last?
Again, it depends on the product, soil conditions, and the quality of application. To obtain EPA registration, today’s liquid termiticides are required to protect the structure for at least five years. Some can last much longer.
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