Fire Your Exterminator and Save Money
If you are considering doing your own pest control, the first thing you will need to determine is what kind of chemicals you will need and where you can buy them. Most large cities have one or more companies that will sell pesticides to individual homeowners. If you live in a small town, or simply prefer doing your shopping on the web, there a many places on-line that will sell chemicals direct to the homeowner. Of these, I have come to like Bugsaway.com for their ease of navigation and helpful index of pests. When you choose your pest, you are taken to a page that tells you what chemicals are suggested for controlling the pest and how best to treat for them.
In my area, we have a problem with scorpions. Treating my house for these pests is simple. Bugsaway suggests that Suspend SC be sprayed around all doors, windows, and other entry points into the home. They also recommend that a six foot wide barrier be sprayed on the ground around the perimeter of the home, as well as 3 feet up the exterior walls of the house. One pint of Suspend SC sells for about $60.00, but it makes 22 gallons of finished solution, enough for several treatments of all but the largest of homes.
The kind people at Bugsaway also say that you should dust the weep holes in your foundation with Delta Dust to prevent the scorpions from entering the home between the exterior and interior walls of the home. Delta Dust is slow to break down and will last several months in the outdoor environment. One pound of Delta Dust sells for $20.00 and will last a very long time.
The good news about both Suspend SC and Delta Dust is that they are not only effective on scorpions. The Suspend SC also controls spiders, fleas, ticks, ants, and other creepy crawlies. The Delta Dust is also deadly to ants, bees, roaches, and fleas.
For those of you in the South, you have probably had to battle fire ants for some time. They are a never-ending problem in my yard. Bugsaway suggests two methods for killing fire ants. The first is a bait, Maxforce Granular Fire Ant Bait. The second is a direct kill solution comprised of cypermethrin and water. The two together should do a great job of killing the mounds that already dot your yard, and then keeping new mounds from reappearing.
The last thing you will need to do your own pest control is a sprayer. They can be purchased at your local hardware store of you can order them from Bugsaway.
For less than $125.00 in initial startup costs, you can fire your exterminator and do the job yourself. If you are spending an average of $45.00 a month on pest control, you will have recouped your investment and be saving money in just three months.
