Is Preventative Pest Control Worth It?

Is Preventative Pest Control Worth It?

It seems like a no-brainer to schedule pest control services when you have an infestation on your hands. A bunch of ants or rodents invading your home or business? That’s a problem for pest control. But what about the times in between? If you don’t already have scheduled services, or you do and you’re wondering if it’s worth it, preventative pest control may seem like a waste of time and money. If there isn’t already a pest problem, then life is great and there’s no need to schedule unnecessary services, right? Maybe not! Let’s look at some of the largest reasons why preventative pest control is actually beneficial and could save you from a headache in the long run.

Every Season Brings New Pests

It’s easy to believe that pests only come out in the spring and summer. After all, our backyard parties and outdoor sporting events are plagued by insects of all kinds and leave us thankful when the colder weather arrives so we can finally get some peace. Because of this, preventative pest services are extremely helpful in stopping infestations from happening any time of year. Just because it’s chilly outside does not mean that every pest is gone. In fact, many of them actually overwinter, or live through the winter, in a warm place that provides shelter. Unfortunately, suburban areas offer the best kind of shelter for both humans and pests: houses! Since pests can invade your space year-round, preventative pest control is important to ensure that nothing makes its way through any spaces in your home or nests in your garden. 

Here is a list of some of the most common pests in every season. This doesn’t mean that there can’t be any crossover between seasons, plus there are more specific pests that aren’t on this list. Some common pests, like ants and rodents, are definitely year-round pests that have the desire to invade, no matter what month it is.

Spring 

• Ants
• Bees
• Carpenter ants
• Earwigs
• Flies
• Mosquitoes
• Roaches
• Spiders
• Wasps 

Summer

• Ants
• Bed bugs
• Spiders
• Termites
• Ticks
• Wasps

Fall

• Beetles
• Mice
• Roaches
• Stink bugs

Winter

• Ants
• Black widows
• Brown recluses
• Roaches
• Rodents
• Silverfish
• Stink bugs

The largest problem with these pests is when they decide that our homes are the perfect places to nest and find food in order to survive. There is nothing fun about sharing your home with a slew of annoying pests.The technician providing preventative pest control can use immediate treatment for any possible pest activity, which is how you can prevent an infestation from happening in every season. 

Technicians Disrupt the Habits of Pests

Common pests are creatures of habit, which gives pest control technicians the advantage in stopping them. Each pest has a preferred method and habitat in which to nest, mate, and eat. Therefore, by breaking up the egg-laying and nesting schedule that pests set for themselves, technicians can be sure that the next generation of pests will be far less numerous when the weather starts to warm up. Unfortunately, many types of eggs have evolved to withstand the typical pest control treatments, and some will still hatch as usual. So you might be asking, “Then why should I use preventative services if the pests will come around anyway?” Pest control is a gradual process. The treatments don’t work in seconds, as many of the products and traps will take time to clearly be effective against insects and rodents. While this can be frustrating when the pests are clearly active, the technicians know the habits of the pests and can continue to work against them until they are no longer a problem in your area. 

Another way that pest control technicians disrupt the lives of pests is by completely servicing the outside of the home. This may seem strange since the major pest problems are typically indoors, but it is important to remember that the outdoors is the last line of defense since pests naturally reside there. By providing a barrier of treatment and products, technicians cut down on the number of possible entry points and opportunities for persistent pests. When the outside is secured, the inside will be even more resistant to pests. Preventative treatments stop the invasions before they happen, so you can avoid the pest problem by having a service done quarterly just to check up on things. The technicians will also look for any sign of nests while spraying outside and take care of those as well in order to completely throw the pests off their game and motivate any surviving ones to find another place to invade.

Good Pest Control Has Specialized Solutions

Not only is every town and home unique, every pest situation is different as well. Any pest control service worth its salt will provide personalized treatments that actually take care of your pest problems. An ant invasion in the kitchen is a different situation than ants in the bathroom. There are distinct entry points, food sources, hiding spots, and potential dangers in each room. Also, the layout of the home and proximity to any wooded areas or city streets will make a difference in how the problem is handled. 

Preventative treatments are also specialized, even though there isn’t a current pest issue to base it off of. The technician still has to consider the size and layout of the yard, climate, past pest issues, amount of trees and foliage, the presence of bodies of water or forests, and popular pests in the general area. These elements are how the professionals know what to use and where to use it when performing preventative treatments. They also know to look along the fence lines, as a neighbor’s pest problem can quickly become your problem. The technician should be a clear communicator and tell you what they are doing to keep the pests away, as well as ask if there are any problem areas that you want them to focus on. This is an important part of the specialized solutions. It’s your home or business, so you should have a say in what is being done to make sure it is not infested with unwanted pests. Preventative services are not a “one-size-fits-all” activity, since there are so many factors that go into each visit. 

Pests are Active in Every Season

Since there are pests in every season of the year, it makes sense that there is a certain level of pest activity happening during each season. Spring is commonly the hatching season, where all of the eggs begin to hatch a new generation of pests to annoy us all. But it may be less common knowledge that every season sprouts a new activity for every pest, and some species even have different peak seasons than others. This is why preventative treatment is so important. It’s not enough to just spray some spots in the yard when the weather starts warming up. The different activities and species require various treatments and focuses during each visit, which is why preventative is best to ensure a pest-free home year round.

While every season has some level of nesting and infesting, there are certain activities that seem to be more prevalent in one season more than the others. Let’s briefly discuss how pests spend each season and why preventative services are need to block them from enjoying the seasons a little too close to us for our taste. 

Spring: This is a time of abundance for pests. Technicians are constantly looking for cracks or holes in a structure that would be easy access for all kinds of pests, and provide exclusion treatments to close up the holes. They also know to look for eggs, since those will be steadily hatching very soon. Habitats are still a big issue, especially with rodents and stinging insects, so the technicians will take care of those at the same time. Spring is a time of growth and birth in nature, so the pest control specialists know to search for the new pest life in addition to older nests and habitats in the yard.

Summer: Once the new life and growth of spring is over, summer arrives as the hot season that many pests need to thrive. While some insects can survive in colder weather, most species need the sun to have more energy and produce more eggs. Their internal body temperature and metabolism is very influenced by their surroundings, which means that they need to move and eat more in the hot months. With this in mind, technicians know to look for the inevitable nests and swarms in the yard to prevent them from getting inside. Pests like to escape the hot weather just like the cold, so it’s common to find pests inside the home if they’re not taken care of beforehand. Wasp nests are also a frequent summer find, so it is very helpful to have preventative services before the nest gets astronomically huge.  

Fall: While we enjoy the cooler weather and beautiful foliage, pests are working on finding their overwintering homes to brace themselves for the cold. While the pests are planning their invasions, preventative pest control eradicates them at the source before they can get too close to their goal. Some pests are still active in the winter as we will discuss, so it is necessary to make sure the house is protected against the coming hordes of pests that will try their best to make your home their own. There may not be a ton of new pest life to handle in the fall, but they are certainly still active and should be handled by a professional to be sure that they don’t take advantage of the approaching winter.

Winter: This seems like the most pest-free time of year on paper. Cold weather, snow in some regions, and dead greenery; what exactly is there for pests to enjoy? The answer is our warm homes with plenty of food, water, and shelter. Pests not only invade for the shelter, they also continue to mate through the winter so that their eggs and babies are ready for the next spring. Rodents and spiders are particularly active in the winter mating-wise, and can forage food from every corner of the home. Technicians will treat the outside as usual, but they can also look for the source of pests inside if the homeowner feels that they need that extra protection. Traps and spraying are the main defenses against overwintering pests, and will also give you a head start on a pest-free spring.

As we keep saying, it is better to pay a little more money now and receive preventative services than to wait until something bad happens and then introduce pest control services. Services are still helpful in this case, but the damage has already been done by the pests. The routine maintenance provided by preventative treatments is essential in keeping everything running smoothly and maintaining a pest-free home. 

Trained Technicians Know What to Look For

When you pay for a professional pest control service, you get what you pay for (or at least you should) in terms of expertise and training. Anyone can see a trail of ants on the patio or a massive wasps’ nest hanging on the fence. But a trained technician knows the favorite hiding spots of various pests and is not afraid to get a little dirty in looking. Since many pests can enter through tiny opening in a house, technicians know to search for these openings and close them before it’s too late. They also know the hints of a pest’s presence, like droppings, shed skin, and nests, and know what action to take depending on the size and location of the infestation. Preventative treatments are never a waste because they will show you the types of pests that visit your home as well as any beginning pest issues that would turn into money headaches later if left untreated. 

Our technicians have the training and knowledge to handle any pest infestation with the utmost care and attention. Contact us at any time to learn more about our preventative treatments and how we can help with your pest problems. We are happy to help in whatever stage of the pest control process you’re in, be it preventative or responsive treatments, so that you can enjoy a pest-free season.

Citations

This Old House Reviews Team. (n.d.). Is pest control worth it? This Old House. Available at https://www.thisoldhouse.com/pest-control/22616346/is-pest-control-worth-it (Accessed on May 4, 2022). 

Is quarterly pest control worth it or a scam? (2019, December 27). Pest Control FAQ. Retrieved May 4, 2022, from https://pestcontrolfaq.com/is-quarterly-pest-control-worth-it-or-a-scam/