Does anyone here do their own pest control?

[Muse]

One of those bug bomb or fumigator cans
http://www.amazon.com/Spectracide-67...1035032&sr=8-3

I've only used them in my garage and my storage shed, mostly to kill all the spiders. I would only use the fumigators in my living areas as a last resort.

My biggest pest fear is cockroaches. They send a shiver up my spine. Every now and then I think I see one and it turns out to be something else. I've been in a few apartments that were infested, but it's been decades. Honestly, don't think I've seen one in 20 years.

To get rid of roaches the best product I have found is bait that uses Fipronil . Fipronil is one of those things that doesn't kill roaches instantly. They eat it , go back to the nest then die and the other roaches eat them spreading the poison. Has worked for me on some of the worst infestations you can imagine. Bought a rental that had roaches covering the doors, literally hundreds on one closet door. 2 weeks with this stuff in the place and not even one roach remained.

Awesome!

 

[Muse]

Ants are really interesting critters. All you need to control them is to block the scent trails or prevent them from being able to lay a scent trail. A fun experiment with ants, put an ant on a sheet of paper and let it walk around it for a minute or so , then take a bar of soap and using one of the corners draw a circle around the ant, watch as it walks to the soap line, turns around and walks to the next soap line, and will do this over and over till it finds a new path.

Strong smelling items like liquid from garlic, onions, peppers, keep out ants because they can't lay a scent trail for the workers to follow.

This is a really good post. I deduced the scent laying characteristics of ants a long time ago. When I see ants in my house one of the first things I do is sponge off their trails to confuse them. I have had problems with them in two places, the downstairs bathroom and the kitchen. Been a while in the kitchen, but seems like every year they send scouts into the bathroom through the window, which is a swing out. I sprinkled some cayenne pepper on the window sill, it seems to be deterring further scouts from coming in. The specks of cayenne are persistent, they're still there after more than a year.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yes, much better to handle and spread man made cancer causing chemicals, most that are so strong that only a licensed pest exterminator can purchase and use. Does that not tell you something? Try reading the chemical containers of the pesticides. Must use gloves, must use a respirator mask.

Do you need those when pumping gasoline or changing your oil? Nope. It appears that your brain has already decayed with poison. Yes, keep using the chemicals and then wonder why you got cancer.

Actually most of the chemicals today are fairly tame. See this MSDS of what I use for example:

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/msds/cyonara_msds.pdf

It is very effective stuff. Would not surprise me if lot of pest controls actually use it. In fact I've never seen a pest control guy wear a mask.

Some precautions need to be followed of course, but it's much safer to use these than gas and other petrol based stuff.

 

[Muse]

Actually most of the chemicals today are fairly tame.

I figure when it comes to chemicals the less the better. They used to think that DDT wasn't a big problem. They found out otherwise. There are certainly a lot of other examples. Plus, even if they do test a chemical they don't know about how it interacts with other things in nature to produce a worse problem, that's something that's close to impossible to determine until bad news develops. If I can find a non-chemical way to deal with a pest problem I'm much happier about things. I have chemicals, some of which have been banned subsequent to my buying them. I have bottles of pesticides I haven't opened in many years. I may never use them again.

 

[Muse]

I have a current problem. I posted here explaining how I got all the critters out from under the house before boarding up the entrances. One of the boards came off a few weeks ago and I have guest(s). I put sifted dirt over the entrance and see footprints. I put a dish with a rag and ammonia inside the entrance but that isn't deterring my guest(s). I have to figure out how to ensure there's no beasts under there before I secure the entrance again. Any ideas? It's a crawl space. I could get in there with a flashlight, but something could still be hiding in there. I think I better act soon before there's a litter.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Where I live usually ants try to invade every spring, little tiny ones, and then bigger ones in the fall. I put ant block down around the perimiteer of the house once every year, and then I supplement it with liquid ant baits near the doors.

I use hornet and wasp killer when they build their little nests on my house.

I use mosquito fogger in my back yard before parties/gatherings

Racoons like to get into the garbage, so I put some cinderblocks around the garbage cans to keep them from tipping over...