you might want to try the garden clinic experts ...

you should include the vermin you got a hate on for...

where you are ...

as well as your location ... and whether they are indoor problems or outdoors ...

for many of us.. in the great white north.. its not really time to do much of anything... as ma nature is going to take care of them herself ...

which make me think.. you are in a much warmer clime... but w/o knowing.. how do we answer???

all that said.. spiders are beneficials outside ... indoors.. squish them ... i would not recommend any action in regard to those.. short of biblical plague levels ... more info please ...

good luck

ken

Depends on the area...and the pest. One thing for termites and insects, another for rodents, something else for nosy neighbors!
;)

We have termite protection which we just had done again last year. A booster treatment. I believe a treatment lasts 5 years.
It is the perimeter treatment and I swear it helps with other insects because we just don't many in the house. Or maybe we are just lucky. We are in the south. This time of year as the temps are cooling down we will start to see spiders. I am thinking of having an outside application done this year as we have had a few in the garage already. We have an oversized garage with a workshop in the back. On these nice fall evenings, hubby likes to piddle in the workshop and leave the garage door up.

I do not like to have treatment done inside the house. I have a small dog and I wonder about her (and us) being exposed to the chemicals. Of course if we have a pest problem, I'd have to reconsider.

tina

even these negative responses are helpful, thanks. And maybe I'll try the garden clinic forum -- don't think I've ever visited.

Yes, I live in a warm client--still in the 80s mostly, and it's just starting to be cooler in the evenings.

ants under my driveway . . . spiders (including black widows) in my garage.

It makes a difference where you are located. In some areas, household (as opposed to garden) pests are much more common.

If in an area where things like termites or ants or cockroaches are common, I would hope that a pest inspection was part of your closing process on your new home purchase. That being assured, again depending on where you are located, an annual inspection would be advisable. If you need routine treatment, it is seldom necessary to do so more frequently than quarterly or semi-annually. Services that push for more frequent treatment are often just trying to pad their income stream.

And I guess it dpends on what you consider 'pests'. While I'm not overly fond of spiders indoors - outside they are invaluable - I would never go to the bother or expense to have them chemically controlled.

And I'm not sure timing is all that critical. Usually inspections are done when the pests might be most prevalent.

We've always lived in the South, so I know what you mean, it's some kind of bug year round. Our last 2 houses were on slab and we had a yearly termite spray on the outside perimeter of the house, I believe it was supposed to help with spiders and ants as well.

I'm in Central Tx and we have a quarterly service. It only costs $90 each time however we only spray the outside. Our main pest is scorpions and, unfortunately, spiders get caught in the cross fire.

In PA, we don't do anything. We have stink bugs and spiders but we accept that as part of living in the woods. In our FL house on the water, we have a contract. It is $569/year and they come 6 times to regularly treat and then will come in between as often as needed if you call them. I really hate to have the sprays around (esp w/ the dogs) however, the Palmetto bugs (nice way of saying giant American cockroach) are very prevalent b/c of the climate and water and there is nothing on earth more horrifying than coming in to the kitchen for a drink in the middle of the night, turning on the light and seeing two or three of those scurrying on your counter.

We are in central AL and have them come every month. It is $480 and that includes any and all return visits. We had a problem with roaches in the distant past. When we remodeled and had all the old insulation removed and then upped the treatments that cured the problem. We are on a crawlspace and they inspect that and set rat traps at one time too as we had a neighbor who insisted on feeding birds excessive amounts of seeds. It brought rats and also tons of carpenter ants...they love organic material. We are now pest free..thank goodness. Also mulch in the South is a great attractor so one must weigh the benefits of mulch and also keep it pulled away from the foundation. c

I forgot to add termite inspections. As long as you remove all attractive places for termites you will never have them. No reason to treat...they only go where they are welcome. We had some in the distant past also. Removed the moisture problem and treated the one time and that was that. We pay for the annual inspection but never treat.

I feel so fortunate to live where we dont have a bad insect problem. Most spiders here are non-venomous (but their bites can cause reactions). We let `em come in as they prey on the undesirable bugs. I like to use natural pest control-lady bugs & spiders, and we attract birds that keep slugs and other things down. Snakes and a cat do a great job on mice (very few rats ever spotted) and the dogs keep possums and raccoons out of our yard.

We do, however struggle with ants. But DH has found most of their colonies and has poured boric acid down them, which jas helped considerably.

My first inclination would be to try natural remedies and deterrents, calling for poisons only as a last resort (or where there are palmetto bugs )

I feel so fortunate to live where we dont have a bad insect problem. Most spiders here are non-venomous (but their bites can cause reactions). We let `em come in as they prey on the undesirable bugs. I like to use natural pest control-lady bugs & spiders, and we attract birds that keep slugs and other things down. Snakes and a cat do a great job on mice (very few rats ever spotted) and the dogs keep possums and raccoons out of our yard.

We do, however struggle with ants. But DH has found most of their colonies and has poured boric acid down them, which jas helped considerably.

My first inclination would be to try natural remedies and deterrents, calling for poisons only as a last resort (or where there are palmetto bugs )

trailrunner -- $480 a year? (I certainly hope not $480 a month!) ouch

I live in the Southeast and pay $80 every three months for professionals to spray our yard and the inside of our home. We have scorpions (not too many), black widows, fire ants and roaches (way too many). Fun, huh?

The pest control company put screens around various places near the roof to deter the rats who climb up the big trees and palms near our house and try to get into the warm attic in the winter. That cost $500 and is guaranteed for a year.

We have bait traps around the yard for termites. I don't remember the cost. It is a maintenance plan and we have a bond that says the pest control company will repair the house if it is damaged by termites.

Ugh, it sounds hellish doesn't it? It's the the price we pay for living on a really lovely island.

This post was edited by deee on Fri, Oct 3, 14 at 17:05

Violet, I also live in a warm climate but subscribe only to termite inspections and baiting. I've never had to hire any other professional pest control services, nor would I want to unless absolutely necessary.

I'd not automatically assume that you should sign a contract for pest control unless you are suspicious that you have a problem. If so, anytime of the year is appropriate.

Professional pest control is often the safer option. Homeowners often don't know what to use, how to use it, harmful side effects, how to store a product safely, etc.

Others are well informed, cautious, and careful label readers.

Frankly, in most cases (not all), household ants and spiders can be dealt with without the professionals or strong pesticides applied by you.

haha..yes $480 a year !! The termite inspection is a 1x fee each year..in the $250 range. They would repair anything for free if we ever had them again..they did all repairs beautifully for free years ago .

We never have spray in the house..only the perimeter and that is once a month. He also cleans the whole outside of the house with a long broom/dust mop thing so we have no spiders etc. every month. c

Hmmm Trail, never heard that about termites. Because of where I work, we were fortunate to use a small company owned and operated by an entomologist rather than just pest control technicians. The initial treatment done when our house was built (not by this company), lasts about 5 years (they don't tell you that!). The 6th year we lived here, we saw termite swarmers. Very common here after a wet spring. Also we live in a wooded area. But the swarmers aren't the ones that do the damage. Upon inspection we had no termites or damage.We had a treatment done then - and I don't remember if that is warrantied for 5 or 10 years. It may be 10. We've lived here 17 or 18 years and just last year signed a new contract and had a treatment. The treatment is warrantied so many years AS LONG AS YOU PAY FOR A YEARLY INSPECTION (which is $125). If during that time period any damage is found, the company pays for it. It is worth it to us to have/pay for the treatment and the yearly inspection than to take a chance on termite damage. We know too many people in this area who have had extensive (expensive) damage.

Any other pest control we have done is a separate cost from the termite contract but is very reasonably priced. I believe the perimeter treatment done this time of year is $60.

RATS??!!! Something we've never had and you don't see around here much at all. Little field mice, yes occasionally (never in the house), but ohmigosh rats - I would lose it! LOL Roaches really give me the heebies too, thankfully we have never had those and for some reason not even ants. Ants don't seem to be a problem in our area.

tina

well, I found a guy (same guy we have at my office) who's coming out next week. Approximately $70 for a whole house treatment outside and inside. Seems reasonable, and will give me peace of mind. He wants to do it every two months -- I'm going to see if he'll agree to quarterly.

I don't even want to know the details. Just want crawlies to be killed.

tina here is a great link. The key as they say is to make it inhospitable. I wish our price for inspection would stay the same..they inch it up every year . They donot have to do a treatment to keep it in force but they do have to do the inspection. We had Formosan termites in the old bldgs in the downtown area but none in any of the homes in the area. As they said if your home is dry and free of attractions they will stay away.

A POX on people who put out lots of bird seed :(...rats ! Ugh..at least they are gone and so are the neighbors LOL ! c

Here is a link that might be useful: how to keep termites away

I think your neighbors must've moved next door to me, Trail. They are wonderful people but put so much bird seed out which has attracted rats. So I have rats in my yard now, which makes my Terrier go crazy. I love feeding birds too and used to do it until I saw a rat sitting in my bird feeder and that was that - I never put out seed again. But they continue.... I now put rat poison out - I hang it from the trees and it seems to help but I hate putting it out.

I think any kind of feeding animals outside is a recipe for pests. If you live on a farm; fine. If you live on a suburban tenth of an acre (as I do) -- inexcusable.

I'm frantically cleaning my baseboards this weekend in prep for the spraying next week, lol! Darn those things get dusty. I'm off to buy a box of dryer sheets for 'em.

I feed the birds and have numerous bird baths on our property. We have owls (saw a Great Horned Owl in a tree by our deck last winter-so exciting) and other raptors, so I never use poison for fear that they could catch a not-yet-dead varmint and be killed inadvertently. Song birds are losing so much habitat and food sources (not the only reason for decline, but one factor) now that I feel obligated. Our birds and bats help keep bugs under control, so I don't spray. So far, so good. When we moved in 17 years ago, my DH replaced all the baseboards, so I did put boric acid between the walls just in case. Have never seen anything other than little spiders and the occasional cricket inside. One easy and completely safe control for those crickets is to put masking tape on the floor sticky side up. I hate crickets and will probably be seeing them now that it is getting cold outside! :(

Here is a link that might be useful: Bird decline

I always fed the birds at my last house, and had no problem. We had lots of land and apparently no rats. I love feeding the birds and always had a window feeder so I could watch them and keep track of the many different birds we had. But where I live now, the houses are very close together and there are a lot of hotels/restaurants a couple of blocks away. Much more urban and my lot is tiny. I had ivy covering my fence and one night I was sleeping with my window open and I could hear them going through the ivy!! I removed all the ivy and stopped feeding the birds. I miss feeding them, but could not have rats running around. I do have a bird bath which they use daily, but no food.

Thanks Trail. It does tell how you can reduce your risk of termites, which we have done. I guess that is why we have not actually had them (along with the treatment). Hubby is cleaning gutters as I type LOL. We have the buried pipe attaching to downspouts that carries water away from the house. I think the problem here is the spring rainy season - which is when we see swarmers. I wonder if the humidity has anything to do with it?

We only use pine straw mulch and not right up against the house. Years ago, in another house, we actually had some wood mulch that had termites in it. Nasty.

We quit feeding birds because in the last two years we have started seeing a few skunks. Definitely do not want them around. We do have lots of plants that birds feed on, so I feel better about that.

I don't mind spiders but have a daughter who is arachnophobic. For a number of years, I resisted the need for pest control, thinking she would grow out of it. We now spray inside our home & the perimeter quarterly. I believe the most important treatment for spiders is in the fall? $100 each treatment.
Occasional field mice in our crawl space. We set out catch & release traps when the weather changes (cold). DH drives them to a forest preserve. Shocking, I know.
We've had squirrels & a raccoon in our attic. The raccoon left on it's own & that's when we discovered the attic fan on our front lawn. The squirrel removal was costly (9 holes in the outside soffits). We have a first floor master & didn't hear all the activity going on above the second floor.
If I saw a rat, I might have to move (rataphobia).

A professional pest inspection can be easily done by a professional home inspector near you. You just need to contact the home inspection or pest inspection expert near you to do this.