Creating a pest-free, toxin-free home

With springtime here, everything is coming alive again — grass is growing, flowers are blooming and bugs are hatching. How can you keep insects from your invading living spaces, while being kind to them and the environment and keeping your home toxin-free? Dealing with pest problems can be difficult, but resorting to dangerous chemicals can prove to be not only toxic to pests and the environment but to pets and children as well. Choosing non-toxic environmentally-friendly pest control products is a safe, effective option. Long-term solutions that reduce pesticide use and future pest invasions are a better answer. By carefully inspecting and sealing gaps in your home’s exterior, pest problems can be reduced by 65 percent, says Pointe Pest Control owner Jacob Borg. “I think there’s a real misconception about what we do,” says Borg, who owns branches in Spokane Valley, Coeur d’Alene and the Tri-Cities. “Our intention isn’t to go to someone’s house and just obliterate pests with a spray of chemicals. If a pest control job is done correctly —through inspection, monitoring, and properly identifying the root of the problem—only a small amount of product is typically needed in very targeted locations, minimizing its environmental impact. ” Borg offers an organic product line with zero environmental impact called EcoSmart. He said these insecticide products have 15 years of scientific research and patents behind them, and consist of granules, dusts and sprays with active ingredients like rosemary oil, wintergreen oil and nitrogen to keep pests at bay. “The organic line is a really good product,” says Borg. “The cost will be a bit more in the form of a couple more applications as it breaks down quicker with the elements, but it’s effective” says Borg. The other products Borg uses are traditional chemicals regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, which “ensures they will not have unreasonable, adverse effects on humans, the environment or non-target species.” However, the EPA shares on its web site that there are potential risks to humans, animals or environment if the product is misused in quantity and/or location, which reinforces Borg’s statement that calling a professional in who knows what they’re doing is an earth-friendly approach in itself. Borg’s employees are trained weekly on topics like pest biology, safe treatment methods, and the latest non-chemical approaches to solving pest problems, so they know exactly how much of a product to use and where to use it. As with Pointe’s pro-active three-pronged approach of inspection, monitoring and properly identifying the root cause, otherwise known as Integrated Pest Management, the homeowner will probably learn a few ways to keep pests away naturally in the future. “I may take down spider webs, and tell clients to do the same, then advise trimming all vegetation back to within 6 inches of their home, and possibly recommend that a contractor be called if there are structural problems proving to be conducive to pest invasion,” says Borg. Raymond VanderLouw, owner of Enviro Pro Pest Solution in Spokane, uses IPM as well and says it, in addition to chemical regulation, has made the pest control industry smarter and more efficient. “The industry as a whole has moved towards IPM which is a kinder, gentler approach,” says VanderLouw. “You have to walk backwards through the problem to find a permanent solution…ask questions like what are they eating? Where are they nesting? How can the environment be changed so this doesn’t happen in the future?” A big pest problem nationwide over the past year has been bedbugs. Why the infestation? “I believe the problem is stemming from increased travel,” says Vanderlouw. “Bedbugs tend to be attracted to transient populations, so if you stay at a hotel, move from an apartment building, when you move or come home, you have a big chance of bringing them with you.” Vanderlouw advises that if purchasing used furniture, to be sure to first check the item thoroughly — the company has a video online that helps identify bugs. When traveling, he suggests reducing exposure by using the luggage rack in your hotel room instead of the flor, and always wash all your clothes in hot water when you return. In-home treatment for the unwelcome critters may include the need for spray and/or heating the area to 125-plus degrees, the bed bugs’ thermal death point that kills not only them, but their eggs too. For other pest problems, it can be as simple as eliminating where the bugs are coming in, or if need be, spraying minimally in specific, targeted areas. A big believer in organic products, Vanderlouw offers an organic line called EcoExempt as well as a lower-impact line of products called Mother Earth. He also offers a traditional “hot” line of chemicals, stating that sometimes the situation calls for it, and that if you’ve targeted a specific insect and/or area, the product used is not going to be significant. However, above all, Vanderlouw also stresses the importance of homeowner education in sustaining a pest-free residence. “Keeping an 18-inch perimeter around your home free of vegetation, laying down a weed barrier like rock, keeping trees trimmed back from your roof — are all things homeowners should maintain in order to keep pests from invading,” says Vanderlouw. “Pests need food, water and shelter, and if you can eliminate two or even one of those things you’re going to get rid of the problem.”