How to Prepare For a Pest Control Treatment

CleanStart Property Services offers a variety of services for very difficult spaces and situations. We often find traces of pests present while clearing out a space. It is for this reason that we offer pest control and cleaning services, along with our junk removal department. One call for all of your property clean out needs. 

If you are only interested in our pest control services (without junk removal and cleaning) it is important to prep your space so that the pest control treatment is as efficient as possible. Our friends at Ortex wrote a fantastic article outlining how to prepare your space for pest control. You can find the full article here: https://ortexpest.com/pest-control-tips/things-you-should-do-before-your-next-pest-control-treatment/

Getting pest control treatment isn’t as simple as calling your local pest control specialist and standing back to let them solve your problem. Preparing for a pest control treatment is necessary to ensure that your pest control professional can treat every area affected by the infestation. Whether you’re dealing with a severe case of bed bugs in your bedroom or a few ants in your kitchen, you need to be ready.

While a specialist will help you with pests, you’ll also need to do your part. There are several things you should do before your next pest control treatment. Here are the steps we recommend our customers take:

1. Keep Your Home and Yard Clean and Neat

When your pest control specialist comes to your house, they need to access every area of the home where pests may be hiding. Dusting, vacuuming, and keeping your home tidy will make it significantly easier for your pest specialist to move around and perform the necessary treatments. Picking up children’s and pet’s toys and removing debris will prevent pest control specialists from missing any hiding insects, as well.

Ensuring your yard is well maintained is important, too. Ensure your grass is mowed and trim any shrubs and hedges to allow access close to your house. Be sure to leave clean openings at entryways to the underside of your porch or around exterior basement doors.

Cleaning your home and yard well before your pest control treatment will also prevent the infestation from getting out of control while you wait for your specialist to arrive.

2. Take Care of Specific Preventative Cleaning and Maintenance Issues

In addition to completing general cleaning tasks around your home and yard, you’ll benefit from deeper cleaning and general maintenance to ensure bugs are reached and killed during the treatment process.

Preventative cleaning is especially useful in helping facilitate indoor pest control in bedrooms and other living areas in the home. The tasks this deep cleaning should include depend on the type of infestation. For example, if you have bed bugs or fleas, you should wash bedding and other linens in extremely hot water before receiving your pest control treatment.

With destructive pests like termites, rodents, and beetles, you’ll need to find damaged areas in and around the home and seal off holes where they can squeeze through to begin preventing any further infestations while you wait for your pest control service.

Sealing off holes prevents pests from fleeing during the treatment process and prevents others from coming back later. Repairing these areas also gives your specialist a good idea of where to leave bait or apply treatment to be most effective. Pests will return to the previous entry point and eat any food left there.

3. Remove Paper Goods and Other Attractors

Bugs love hiding in paper and cardboard. Boxes are an easy place to miss insects that are hiding. Disposing of indoor trash and all household paper goods increases the likelihood that your pest control treatment will kill hidden insects the first time around.

Food is also a significant reason why insects and other pests stay inside your home. If you are receiving fumigation treatment, you’ll need to remove food from the house if you don’t plan to store it in protective bags. You should also remove any food sitting out exposed to air and store food in cupboards and your refrigerator properly.

4. Remove Yourself, Pets, and Loved Ones From the Premises If Necessary

Depending on the type of pest treatment you are getting, you may need to remove your pets, yourself, and your family from your home. While this is always the case when it comes to termite tenting, this rule applies to pets more frequently than humans. If your pest treatment professional is treating the home’s exterior, you should keep your pet indoors and vice versa to prevent accidental poisoning.

Humans will more often than not be safe to stay during treatments such as outdoor spraying or pest trapping. All the same, you should exercise caution and give your home time to air out properly, as advised by your pest control professional. If you have pre-existing respiratory issues, it may be wise to vacate the premises during liquid or aerosol-based pest treatment for your safety.