Organic Pest Control
Living in Texas means that you’ll have not one, but many encounters with bugs, from scorpions to those big old nasty Waterbugs! What’s one to do, especially if you’re a bit squeamish like me? How do you control the bug population and make it known to those unwanted pests that they are NOT welcome in your home?
We recently have had a bunch of Waterbugs in our house and those things freak me out. I trapped one a couple of weeks ago and eventually killed it after about a half an hour of getting a battle plan ready. Those things can fly and they’re one of the fastest insects around. Holy cow… just writing about them gives me the shivers! Are they coming in looking for water since it’s been so dry this summer? Whatever the reason, they need to go. We found out that boric acid does the trick and is relatively harmless to kids and pets- which I have plenty of at my house. Just sprinkle it under cabinets, around the washer and dryer, anywhere that there is an opening for them to enter. They walk in it, clean themselves with their creepy legs and then keel over and die.
I had a conversation with another Austinite whose neighbors are having problems with rats. Yes, rats! It’s apparently another common thing here in Austin! This rodent and pest talk got us wondering what we can do to treat our homes organically to keep these critters out. With kids playing in the yard and with their ability to crawl around in spaces that adults wouldn’t fit, it’s important to make sure the chemicals we’re using aren’t harmful to the human and animal species. We’re wondering…..What do you use for pest control? Are there organic pest companies out there that you can recommend and why? Any tricks that you can share with a bunch of squeamish mamas?
September 17th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
We love to hear about others who are doing their best to live pesticide free. My husband and I have always believed that pesticides were very dangerous to people and pests, so in 1997 we took all of the money we had saved in our business and personal accounts and we developed a device that keeps pests from living and nesting in any building that has working electricity.
To date we have sold 3,000,000 units and have had 99% consumer satisfaction! If you do not already use our product; please visit http://www.pestoffense.com to see what our product can do to help you live pesticide free inside your home.
PEST OFFense® is the only US University Tested Pesticide Free indoor pest control system for your home, business, school, etc. PEST OFFense® is a plug in unit that uses the existing wiring in your building to prevent pests from living and nesting within your walls. The result is pest free living without the use of harmful pesticides where you live and work. Money Back Guarantee and 1 year Warranty. One unit covers one level of an average size home. Includes a built in night light!
Uses pennies a day in electricity.
September 21st, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Hearts Pest Management runs an organic service in San Diego for insects and we have been very successful. There are also many methods of stopping insect and rodent entry, including rats. But the device used by pestoffense, I believe, is without merit. Probably 99% satisfaction simply means that 99% of the devices are not sent back. That does not mean that 99% work! I have needed to decontaminate many homes that had these devices. The homeowners just let the problem get worse while thinking that these electronic repellents actually did their job. Rats are very clever and will learn to ignore them. It certainly isn’t going to reduce the rat population and will allow more to live and reproduce. At Hearts, we are using manual rat traps inside homes, followed by exclusion and cleanout of contaminated areas.
Hope this helps.
Gerry