How to Tell What Your Pest Control Technician is Doing

When a person finds that they have pests in their home it always a great concern. Whether from concern over disease, damage to home, or just the "creepiness" factor is is always unsettling to find that you are sharing your home with unwanted guests. In many cases a professional exterminator is the answer, but how can you tell if your exterminator is doing the best job possible? The following tips will show you some of the behaviors that you will want to look for in your pest control professional.

In days past, it was common for an exterminator to come into a home and use a compressed air sprayer to apply chemical to all the baseboards in the home. Despite the fact that this method has been proven to be highly ineffective, many people still expect this approach when it comes to controlling pests. The correct approach however follows the following steps, each of which should be performed on each visit.

The first step for control or prevention of pests is the inspection. A properly trained pest professional will first ask you if you have seen any pests since their last visit to your home, and if so where and what. After checking the areas you have concerns with, the professional will check any problem spots around your house. These areas can include, underneath sinks and appliances, voids and spaces behind frames and cabinets, around window sills that could have cracks or spaces around them, attics, basements and crawlspaces that may have exterior holes where pests may enter, along pipes and wiring, door frames, and any other place where pests may enter.

After identifying these places, a pest professional should make steps to treat these areas. This does not necessarily mean that they will use a chemical spray however. Using a steel mesh or caulk can close up holes and cracks without a chemical spray for example. When chemicals are used the sort of chemical used makes a large differance as to the effectiveness of control, for example dusts are the treatment of choice for large voids due to their ability to cover a large area in three dimensions.

When finished applying treatments to problem areas, the next step is to apply preventative treatments. These treatments are usually done to the exterior of your home, and may include, applying liquid chemical barriers around your home, removing spider webs using a dust broom, treating flower beds and other moist areas with granular products, treating heavy foilage, or caulking or plugging exterior entrance points to your home.

After all the above has been completed the last step is to finish the paperwork. On the paper work you should check that each of the above steps has been followed and that each chemical has been listed with the amount used. You should ask questions if you don't see something you expected to see or need more clarification on a particular action taken during the treatment. Your satisfaction is the goal of any professional pest control technician so if you are not satisfied you should keep asking questions until you are.

The above steps are known in the pest control community as IPM or Integrated Pest Management. This approach was the major break from the older "spray the baseboards" approach to pest control and represents careful study at the hands of chemical manufacturers and pest control companies. While it may seem very different than what you expect the results of a proper IPM treatment are much more effective and should be the basis of any pest program you acquire for the protection of your home.