Pesticides are generally considered safe since we apply them according to the Label. Do your part of keeping the area vacant for any liquid pesticides to dry/ dust to settle out of the air.
Most pesticide safety questions come from scheduling services for ants. During the spray season most ant infestations only need an exterior treatment. Interior pesticide application is rarely required. If it is, then we make every attempt to keep the application to cracks and crevices. That way, there is minimal risk of exposure to occupants.
Popular flea medication share the same active ingredients as top ant control sprays. With these medications, you apply it to your pet’s skin monthly. It is also at a higher concentration for spot-on flea medication, than we use for ant control. Pets do not live long enough to develop “chronic” toxicity from the flea medication. On the contrary, we remind customers to keep their pets out of the treatment area until the spray has dried. By doing so, you will reduce risk of “acute” toxicity.
Our most used ant spray has a Meta Active effect. Which differentiates between target insects and non-target organisms. The target insect ingests the pesticide. Then, its own enzymes turn it into a molecule with pesticidal properties. While toxic to other pests, it is low risk around humans and pets.
The granular bait that we use to locate ants outside is a borate. Like boric acid, it is an organic pest control product. We apply gel baits with a syringe to areas of ant activity. These products have a very dilute quantity of pesticide in them. It would likely have no effect on a pet if they licked a bit of it.
In our opinion, the products utilized in our cockroach protocol are very low risk. We dust cracks and crevices, bait cabinets, spot spray hotspots, and place sticky traps. Additionally, you can add HEPA vacuuming to provide extra control without the chemicals. We dust the voids between the cabinets and in electric outlets. We need the home vacated for dust applications. Generally, we use borate dust which is organic. While we apply it to crevices, some of it may go airborne. Hence the need to vacate the home.
Like ant gel bait, roach bait carries a very dilute amount of pesticide. And we make every attempt to place it in areas inaccessible to children and pets.
For any liquid applications, we mix two products. The main spray that we use is an EPA Reduced Risk Product. That pesticide mixes in with an insect growth regulator. This IGR targets the growth hormones of insects. Since we do not have these hormones, it poses minimal health risk to people and pets. IGRs are often used in organic pest control as an alternative to the regular bug sprays.
Cockroach treatments occur inside sensitive areas of kitchens and bathrooms. The products are low in toxicity compared to many other pesticides though. And the way we apply them, minimizes exposure to occupants. Do your part by following our preparation guidelines. And vacate the home for approximately three hours during the initial service.
Our general use pesticide that we use for spiders is micro-encapsulated. This formulation puts a polymer coating around the spray particles. This is like microscopic water balloons. The result of the polymer coating reduces the ability to absorb it through your skin. It also makes it last longer. Micro-encapsulated products generally have lower toxicity than products without this coating. We use it because it lasts a long time and has one of the highest LD50 (low toxicity) of general use pesticides.