Is There a Boom Or Bust Coming For Natural Pest Control
The planet is definitely going green. "Green" is the color of environmental stress, the impetus that pushes cutting edge technology, the buzzword of the conscious. Pest Control Sandy for the natural environment and man's impact on it's bringing a slew of new services to promote , and pest control is no exception. Environmentally-friendly pest control services are growing in popularity, particularly in the industrial sector. Even eco-savvy residential individuals are asking about natural alternatives to pesticides that are traditional, but their ardor often cools when confronted with the 10 percent to 20% cost differential and more extended treatment intervals, some times a couple weeks.
The raising of America's environmental consciousness, in conjunction with increasingly stringent federal regulations regulating traditional chemical pesticides, seems to be altering the pest control industry's focus to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques. Of 378 pest control businesses surveyed in 2008 by Pest Control Technology magazine, two thirds said that they offered IPM professional services of some sort.
Rather than jelqing pest sites with a noxious cocktail of powerful insecticides designed to kill, IPM focuses on environmentally-friendly prevention techniques designed to keep pests out. While non - or - no-toxicity services and products might also be utilised to encourage pests to pack their bags, elimination and control efforts focus on finding and eliminating the source of infestation: entry points, attractants, harborage and food.
Particularly popular with schools and assisted living facilities charged with protecting the fitness of the world's youngest and oldest citizens, people at greatest risk from hazardous chemicals, IPM is grabbing the attention of hotels, office buildings, apartment complexes and other commercial sectors, in addition to eco-conscious residential customers. Founded in equivalent parts by environmental concerns and health hazard fears, interest in IPM is attracting a host of brand new environmentally-friendly pest management services and products -- both high- and lowtech -- to advertise.
"possibly the best product out there's just a door sweep," confided Tom Green, president of the Integrated Pest Management Institute of North America, a non profit company that prides green exterminating organizations. In an Associated Press interview published on MSNBC online last April, Green explained,"A mouse can squeeze through a gap the size of a pencil diameter. Therefore, in case you've secured a quarter-inch gap under your door, as much as a mouse is more concerned, there's no door there at all." Cock Roaches can slither through a one eighth inch crevice.
IPM is"an improved approach to pest control to the wellness of the house, the surroundings and the family," explained Cindy Mannes, spokeswoman for the National Pest Management Association, the 6.3 billion pest control industry's own trade association, at exactly the same Associated Press story. However, because IPM is a relatively recent addition to this pest control arsenal, Mannes cautioned that there is little industry consensus on the definition of green services.
In Order to create industry standards for IPM services and suppliers, the Integrated Pest Management Institute of United States produced the Green Shield Certified (GSC) program. Pinpointing pest control services and products and companies that eschew conventional pesticides in favor of environmentally-friendly control methods, GSC is endorsed by the EPA, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and HUD. IPM favors mechanical, physical and cultural techniques to control pests, but might use bio-pesticides produced from naturally-occurring materials such as animals, bacteria, plants and certain minerals.
Some are ultra hightech just like the quick freeze Cryonite process for eliminating bed bugs. Others, like trained dogs that sniff out bed pests, look unnaturally low tech, but apply innovative techniques to achieve success. Utilizing those very same approaches to show dogs to sniff out termites and bed bugs is considered cutting-edge.
Yet another new pest control procedure is birthcontrol. When San Francisco was jeopardized by mosquitoes carrying potentially life threatening West Nile Virus, bicycle messengers were hired to cruise the town and shed packets of biological insecticide into the city's 20,000 storm drains. Akind of contraception for mosquitoes, the new method was considered safer compared to aerial spraying with the chemical pyrethrum, the typical mosquito abatement procedure, as demonstrated by a recent report published on the National Public Radio site.
Naturallythere are efforts underway to build a better mouse trap. The advanced Track & Trap system attracts mice or rats to your food channel dusted with powder. visit this page leave a blacklight-visible trail that allows pest control pros to secure entry paths. Coming soon, night watch uses pheromone research to lure and trap bed bugs. In Englanda sonic device designed to repel squirrels and rats is being analyzed, as well as the aptly named Rat Zapper is supposed to supply a lethal shock using only two AA batteries.
Alongside this influx of fresh environmentally-friendly products rides a posse of regulations. Even the EPA's 2004 banning of the chemical diazinon for household usage a couple of years ago removed a potent ant-killer from the homeowner's pest control toolbox. Similarly, 2008 EPA regulations forbidding the selling of small amounts of effective rodenticides, unless sold inside an enclosed trap, has stripped rodent-killing chemicals from the shelves of both hardware and home improvement stores, limiting the homeowner's ability to protect his property and family from these disease-carrying insects.
Acting for people well, the authorities pesticide-control activities are specially geared toward protecting kids. According to a May 20, 2008 report CNN on the web, a report conducted by the American Association of Poison Control Centers signaled that rat poison was in charge of nearly 60,000 poisonings between 2001 and 2003, 250 of these resulting in serious injuries or death. National Wildlife Service analyzing in California found rodenticide deposit in most creature tested.
Consumers are embracing the idea of pest control and environmentally friendly, cutting-edge pest management products and techniques. Availability and government regulations are increasingly limiting consumers' self-treatment possibilities, forcing them to show into pest control businesses to get rest from pest invasions. While it's established a viable solution for industrial clients, few residential clients seem willing to pay high costs for newer, more labor-intensive green pest control services and products and fewer are prepared to wait for the extra week or two it could take these items to do the job. It is taking leadership efforts on the part of pest control companies to teach consumers from the long-term benefits of green and natural pest control treatments.
Although the cold, hard fact is that if people have a pest problem, they are interested gone and they need it gone now! If rats or mice are in their property destroying their property and threatening their family disease, if termites or carpenter ants are eating their home equity, even in case roaches are threatening their kitchen or if they're sharing their bed with bed bugs, consumer interest in ecological friendliness plummets. When people call a pest control firm, the bottom line is that they need the pests dead! Now! Pest control firms are standing facing the wave of consumer requirement for immediate eradication by enhancing their green and natural pest control product offers. These brand new organic products take the responsible long-term approach to pest control; one which protects our environment, kids, and our personal wellness. Some times it's alone moving against the wave of popular demand, but true leadership, in the pest control industry, means embracing these fresh natural technologies even when they aren't popular with all the user - nonetheless.
