If you’re confronted with a household pest infestation, it can be tempting to try to deal with the problem yourself because it’s cheaper than calling in professionals.
However, misguided DIY attempts to eradicate pests can do more harm than good and in some cases be downright dangerous.
DIY pest control can put your safety at risk, compromise your health, harm your family and your pets, and damage your home, the environment, and wildlife.
Here’s what you need to know about what can happen when do-it-yourself pest control goes wrong.
Why DIY pest control can be dangerous
When pests such as rats and wasps sense a threat to their survival, they can go into attack mode to defend themselves.
And you definitely don’t want to go head-to-head with the angriest rat in the world cornered in a tight space, or with a nest of furious wasps. There’s usually only going to be one winner – and it won’t be you.
Take for example the man in a popular YouTube video who valiantly climbs a ladder to tackle a wasp nest in a tree in his garden, armed with just a flimsy plastic bag to ensnare the insects.
What could possibly go wrong? Well, he certainly came down that ladder a lot faster than he went up it. His wife, who was observing proceedings, found it hilarious as he screamed his head off while being stung.
Sometimes, though, the consequences of DIY pest control are no laughing matter, with numerous health and safety risks.
Besides the danger of serious bites or stings, another risk of amateur pest control is that it sometimes requires working at height, which is dangerous without experience and the right equipment.
Our friend in the wasp nest video was lucky he didn’t fall from the ladder as the wasps attacked him.
How DIY pest control can damage your health
Many pest control methods entail the use of chemicals. If not used properly, these substances can pose a serious health risk.
Pesticides are toxic and need to be handled with great care to avoid harming yourself, your family, your pets, and wildlife.
Common mistakes made by amateurs using chemicals for pest control include applying too much pesticide and failing to follow safety instructions.
Inhaling or coming into contact with pesticides is incredibly harmful to human health, posing risks such as cancer and liver and kidney damage. Children are particularly vulnerable because their bodies are still developing.
How DIY pest control can damage your home
Pest control methods such as caustic sprays can damage paintwork, wallpaper, and other surface materials around your home.
You might also cause structural damage to your home in trying to locate the pest problem, resulting in costly repairs.
To get an idea of the extent of damage that amateur pest control efforts can cause, consider the woman in Detroit in America who accidentally sparked a huge blaze while trying to get rid of bed bugs. The fire destroyed the 48-unit apartment complex where she lived.
How DIY pest control can damage the environment
Improper use of pesticides can result in chemicals contaminating the air and ground around your home and leaking into water supplies.
Another risk of amateur pest control is killing creatures that are good for the environment. For example, bees might seem like a pest but they help preserve biodiversity and ecological balance.
Why DIY pest control goes wrong
Common reasons that do-it-yourself pest control methods fail include:
- Having no access to professional-standard pest control products and tools.
- Lack of knowledge and understanding of pests.
- Failure to target the source of the problem.
- Using wrong amounts of pesticide.
- Underestimating the scale of an infestation.
- Putting traps in the wrong place.
- Misidentifying the pests.
Benefits of professional pest control
Amateur attempts at pest control deal with the symptom and can make the situation even worse.
Pest control professionals deal with the whole problem.
They’ve studied the behaviours of pests so they know what to look for and where to look to locate the source of an infestation, using special equipment.
Pest control specialists are trained in the most effective methods of dealing with pests with minimal damage to property. They know how to apply pesticides effectively and safely.
While at best, DIY pest control may provide a temporary solution, professionals find a long-term solution that will keep pests away for good.
You may think that all rodents and insects can be targeted by the same form of pest control. But different types of pests have different feeding, mating, breeding and nesting habits. This is why professional pest control solutions are tailored to eliminate the specific pest in question.