People take pride in their homes. Naturally, they will want organic pest control products. Why spray something dangerous when there are non-toxic pesticides?
Well, technically, there is no such thing as a non-toxic pesticide. All pesticides have some level of toxicity. Otherwise, it wouldn’t kill the pest. Some organic pest control products appear to be non-toxic. Sadly, they do not do much to control pests.
On top of that, be wary of the term natural. Under federal labeling laws, that word means nothing. While we all want natural pest solutions, do not buy something because it says so on the package. Instead, choose certified organic pest control products. Another option is choosing from products accepted in LEED-certified green buildings. The National Pest Management Association also has GreenPro-certified services that some exterminators offer. Both are great resources if you want to go green at your home!
We apply pesticides daily. So, we choose the most effective products with the lowest risk. Here are some of our favorites!
Top 5 Natural Pest Control Products
5. Intice 10 Perimeter Bait
Active Ingredient: 10% Boric Acid
Intice 10 is a granular bait that controls many crawling insects, including roaches, ants, crickets, earwigs, silverfish, millipedes, potato bugs, mole crickets, snails, and slugs.
We use this to treat ants outside. It is invaluable for locating ant nests and developing treatable ant trails. We recommend the Whiz hand spreader to apply this product. It can also be spread by hand or with the manufacturer’s shaker jug.
Ants pick it up within minutes. Trails develop leading back to the nest. Control these ants by using faster-acting bait on the trail. Or follow the trail back to the nest. Then, drench the nests with low-risk or organic liquid sprays.
People also use this product to control American roaches outside. It also works well as a scatter bait for slugs and crickets. Intice 10 kills bugs slowly. As a result, it is best applied early in the season. This way, reproduction rates won’t exceed the bait’s ability to kill.
Rockwell Labs creates many low-risk products with mineral-based active ingredients. As a result, many of their products are suitable for green service pest control programs. They list this as a Tier 3 pesticide. Tier 3 pesticides pose the lowest risk to health, the environment, and off-target organisms that contact the product.
4. EcoVenger (Otherwise known as Eco Raider)
Active Ingredients: Natural Geraniol Oil, Cedarwood Oil, and other GRAS ( Generally Recognized as Safe) inert ingredients.
EcoVenger is a practical, low-risk pest control product against bed bugs, mosquitoes, and ants. They have a line of products for each specific pest. They market to both retail and professionals.
We love this product for controlling bed bugs. Its natural ingredients compete with the effectiveness of most synthetic bed bug killers. Unlike synthetic pesticides, you can apply EcoVenger to sheets and blankets. Additionally, people do not have to vacate their homes during the treatment. We use this for bed bug treatments when the occupant is pregnant or if an infant is residing within.
The odor of the product lingers for a few days. Use caution if you are sensitive to smells or have allergies/ respiratory issues. Once, I brought a bed bug home. I did a lot of steaming and vacuuming, along with applying EcoRaider. The bites stopped. But my spouse complained of her lip swelling up and difficulty breathing for a couple of nights.
All ingredients are of minimum risk to people and pets while complying with FDA GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) standards.
3. Dr. Schultze Bug Block Spray/Stick
Active Ingredients: All Organic Eucalyptus, Cedarwood, Rosemary, Citronella, Lemon Grass, Lemon, Tea Tree, Peppermint, Catnip, Cinnamon, Garlic, Plantain and Echinacea Essential Oils, Neem Oil, Unbleached Beeswax, and Organic Menthol.
Dr. Schultze’s Bug Block Stick is for topical use. It will keep bugs from biting or crawling on you. Once, my family was sitting on a sidewalk to watch fireworks. There were ants all over. We drew a line around us with the stick. Ants did not cross the barrier. It saved us. The spray repels mosquitos, ticks, flies, gnats, bees, and wasps. Spray it into the air, on most plants and furniture, and directly onto clothing.
Dr. Schultze is known for providing the highest-quality herbal products on the market. His bug products are no different. It has garlic, making it more effective than natural mosquito and tick repellents without it. While garlic helps, it does leave you smelling garlicky. It’s not a deal breaker but worth mentioning if you apply it topically.
It contains the MAXIMUM concentration of plant essential oils for potency and effectiveness. Plant essential oils are considered safe biopesticides by the Environmental Protection Agency.
It is organic, natural, and safe for children, pets, and plants.
2. Cimexa Dust
Active Ingredient: Silicon Dioxide as Amorphous Silica
Effective against bed bugs, fleas, ticks, roaches, ants, silverfish, and spiders.
This natural pest control product also became famous for its ability to control bed bugs. Cimexa desiccates insects by quickly absorbing their water and oils. You can apply this dust with a duster or paintbrush to bed bug harborage sites. Unlike most pesticides, Cimexa works through a mechanical action instead of being a nerve toxin. It destroys the bed bugs’ waxy cuticle- even in pesticide-resistant strains.
One secret is to mix Cimexa with water to make a spray. We love this for treating basements for fleas, spiders, or centipedes. We use it as an alternative to our regular sprays when an occupant is pregnant or an infant occupies the home.
Beware, it can leave a chalky residue once it dries. Be careful not to inhale the dust. It will suck the oil and water out of your sinuses too!
Use a duster to inject it into the crevices where pests hide. If it remains dry, the dust will make those crevices inhabitable for years! Learning how to use dust is essential if you want to do organic pest control in your home.
Cimexa is also a Tier-3 product made by Rockwell Labs. Its mineral-based active ingredient is suitable for green service pest control programs.
Other Green Pest Solutions
Sadly, essential oils and mineral-based products won’t fix every pest issue. What is the next best thing when organic products fail to provide adequate control?
Baits
Organic sprays are not the most effective choice against ants and cockroaches. They tend to have a repellent effect on them. Its like a home remedy that doesn’t turn out well. On top of that, spraying essential oils inside can be irritating. A better option is to use bait stations. By containing bait in a tamper-resistant station, you reduce your risks. GreenPro Certified pest control programs accept bait station use.
Comparably, the active ingredients in bait are extremely dilute compared to sprays. Moreover, baits have a wider variety of active ingredients than store-bought sprays. Using baits with different modes of action is a brilliant way to control pests in the long term. Like the mineral-based active ingredients, you throw something at the pests they are not used to or have had time to adapt to.
Insect Growth Regulators
Insect growth regulators are another option for green pest control services. They target the growth hormones of insects. Mammals do not have these hormones. As a result, the toxicity for IGR is low.
Use IGR to control pantry moths, fleas, termites, fruit flies, cockroaches, and more. Insects grow by shedding their exoskeleton (molt). IGR either forces the juveniles to molt or prevents them from molting.
When used alone, you are only affecting future generations. IGR acts slowly without a knockdown effect. In most cases, you mix IGR with a product that kills the adults. Few retail products include insect growth regulators.
Alpine/ Dinotefuran
The safety of synthetic pesticides is a debated topic. Manufacturers spend millions researching products before they go on the market. Much of that money goes into safety, health, and the product’s environmental impact. If you apply pesticides according to the label, they are “generally considered safe.”
Household chemicals, like paint and pesticides, have precautionary labels. Look at your household chemicals. You will see a caution, warning, or danger label stuck to the container. Some synthetic pesticides are so low risk that they do not have a precautionary label. Crossfire, for bed bugs, is one example.
Another designation is EPA Reduced Risk Pesticides. These products pose less risk to human health and the environment than conventional alternatives.
BASF is the world’s leading manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients such as ibuprofen and omega-3 fatty acids. They also produce pesticides. One line of products is Alpine. The active ingredient is Dinotefuran. Alpine WSG is our favorite product to use against cockroaches. Mix it with an IGR for some magic.
Most exterminators turn to Alpine Water Soluble Granules to treat ants inside. It kills ants slowly. As a result, the product transfers to the ants that never leave the nest.
BASF also makes Alpine Fly bait. Sometimes, a raccoon dies within a structure. Soon after, hoards of flies fill the home. They seek light and gather around windows. Put a line of Alpine fly bait on the windows, and the flies will start dropping. Some products are a saving grace if you do pest control for a living. Alpine Fly Bait is one product we always have on hand.
Tips for Using Natural Pest Control Products
Performing organic pest control includes learning the pest’s life cycle and environmental needs. Organic pest control goes well beyond using the best natural bug spray. You must manipulate the pest’s environment at critical stages. We encourage you to “know your enemy.” Educate yourself or hire a pest control professional to perform services.
The Problem With Essential Oil Sprays
The odor can be too much. And the cost can be high when having to reapply products at frequent intervals. We recommend using organic sprays as contact sprays. Spray them directly on bugs. Do not spray surfaces, and expect bugs to die by walking across the dried spray. Use organic products as a well-timed/ strategic application. And use it as a compliment to non-chemical control options.
For example, you are controlling spiders on your front porch. You will want to keep your porch lights off or use yellow bug light bulbs. Making your porch dark reduces the amount of flying insects that spiders feed upon. Doing so will naturally reduce the spider population. Then, use organic and natural pest control products to touch up the surviving spiders.
Dusting With Natural Pest Control Products
One thing that good organic pest control companies do is apply dust. Dusting is the backbone of their service. The Exacticide Duster gets long-lasting dust into potential harborage sites. Inject natural dust under your siding, into window and door frames, behind cabinets, behind electric outlets, under baseboards, and any undisturbed crevice.
Suppose you have enough pest pressure to apply natural pest control products regularly. In that case, a good dusting should be your starting point. A professional best performs this type of application.
There are many types of organic dust to choose from. Cimexa, EcoVia WD, Nibor D, and Maggies Farm are a few. If you need help controlling pests organically, feel free to reach out. We also provide GreenPro Certified services in Cleveland, Ohio.
