Is Pest Control Safe for Kids and Pets?

You may be wondering if our Pest Control services will be safe for your children and fur friends, and we’re here to assure you; that yes, they are. In most cases having a professional come into your home to treat your unwanted pests is safer than most DIY methods you find on the internet or over the counter pesticides you find at your local hardware and grocery stores.

We at Affordable Pest Control ensure that all chemicals used are approved for use within Australia, as well as ensuring that they are registered for use within childcare centres, nursing homes and hospitals.

DIY Pest Control

Home-remedies

While DIY and natural Pest control methods are often seen as safe pest control methods and less invasive, these methods still pose a risk to young children and animals; methods such as DE (diatomaceous earth), bleach, vinegar and essential oils while seemingly safer than a chemical, they all contain compounds that can cause harm to your lungs; especially in those with weak and/or compromised lungs.

Over-the-Counter pesticides

Over the counter options while more convenient and assessable to the general public are less effective and usually more harmful than professional pesticides. The main reason for this is the inexperience of the person administering the DIY pest control; unfortunately, DIYers are usually under the impression that more is best; using more than the recommended amount of a bug bomb, or aerosol spray, just puts more residual chemicals around your home creating an unsafe environment for you and your family.

For example, using a store-purchased insecticide to treat termites found in your home or gardens will not kill the whole colony. to eradicate and termite nest you need to target the queen and she is usually somewhere safe and hard to get to. Termites are a shy pest and once disturbed will retreat and re-appear in another location; so it may seem that you have treated the termites and they’re gone; but in reality, they’ve more than likely going to pop up a little further away and sometimes in a more concealed hard to notice location, causing more damage to your property.

Professional Pest Control

Professional Pesticides

Professional Pest Control is the best and safe pest control method, and by using a professional company you are ensuring that you are choosing a child and pet safe pest control method.

At Affordable Pest control we use water-based, low-odour, non-staining, non-solvent and non-phytotoxicity (not harmful to plants) chemicals that when correctly applied by a professional can eradicate pests with a single treatment and remain as a barrier for months; sometimes only requiring a re-spray every 12months depending on the environment and location of the premises being treated.

Integrated Pest management options (IPM)

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is the combination of multiple Pest control methods put together which ultimately aims to reduce the need/use of pesticides.

Webbing spiders for example are a very common and unwanted urban pest, a particularly bad infestation may require a targeted/spot chemical-based treatment initially to get on top of the spider population and then the implementation of environmental methods (brushing away webs as they appear) to maintain a minimal spider population.

Methods of Pest Control

Physical; physical barriers can be put in place to control larger pests and animals that may enter your home, for example filling cracks and holes in walls and roofs will reduce entry points for rodents, possums or birds; which ultimately reduces the chances of having these pests make your home a home. Other examples of physical barriers are fly screens, traps, and even storing dry goods in sealed air-tight containers.

Physical barriers essentially make it hard for pests to infiltrate your home.

Environmental; also known as cultural methods of pest control are methods of pest control that make your home undesirable to pests. For example, cleaning and sanitisation of surfaces will reduce foods sources and dust/mould build-up; and controlling the temperature and reducing humidity levels will reduce moisture and moulds and, in turn, will minimise the possibility of pests that use these as food sources.

For example; booklice (Psocoptera) are small insects usually found in stored books and papers; while these are harmless to people and animals their food sources are not; these pests thrive in humid areas and feed on microscopic moulds. It’s the moulds and moist environments that can become a nuisance to humans and can cause allergic reactions and skin irritations.

Biological; a very well known use of biological pest control was the introduction of the Cane Toad to QLD in 1935, these pests were introduced to help control and reduce the numbers of cane beetles on sugarcane farms; while they succeeded in their original intended use; they have since become an invasive and destructive species that is wreaking havoc on native Australian wildlife.

Although the above-mentioned example is a bad example of a biological Pest Control method; a helpful and smaller-scale example is the introduction of ladybirds (also called lady beetles or ladybugs) to your vegetable garden to control aphid numbers.

Chemical; the most common and well-known method of pest control is the use of chemicals; while chemicals have a bad reputation within the general community, the chemicals used by Affordable Pest control are safe for your kids and pets; as they have low mammalian toxicity and are almost non-hazardous to mammals.

The use of chemicals to treat unwanted pests around your house is exactly what it sounds like, a professional and licensed technician will mix a chemical concentrate with water and then using a motorised sprayer; spray your home and in some cases surrounding gardens with the mixture to kill the unwanted pests; like spiders, large cockroaches, wasps and other creepy crawlies.

Ultimately a professional method is kid safe pest control. It can be customised to suit your needs; at Affordable Pest Control, our main goal and focus is the safety, of you, your children, your pets and our technicians. We ensure all chemicals chosen are safe and approved for use within your home. Our technicians follow all labels and guidelines set for the chemical company and the law.

Our technicians are more than happy to answer any questions you may have on the day, and our office team are available to answer all questions both before and after your service. Below are some of the most common questions we get in regards to the safety of our services.