Toxins, which is a broad term for anything that is poison, work based on volume. The more toxic the substance, the less volume it takes to kill. When it comes to people, we come in all different sizes – volumes. Adults are larger, children smaller, babies tiny. It takes less of the same toxin to seriously harm a baby or a child than it does to damage an adult. This is one reason why DIY pest control products are not always the best solution. A can of pesticide is a dangerous thing. When used indoors, it is literally spraying a toxin through the air that we breathe.

Worse, is that as those toxic droplets are forced to the surface by gravity, they remain on the table surface, on the floor, on the counters. Where do your kids play? They play on the floor. Where do your pets lay? Sometimes they lay on the floor. Many toxins are absorbed through the skin and kids are notorious about putting their fingers in their mouth or touching their face – all access points in which a toxin can enter the body.

As a professional pest control company, we use pesticides and other toxins safely and responsibly. One thing we focus on is finding the safest way to handle every pest situation. This means that we also much understand the pest or pests with which we are dealing. Ants are a good example of why this is important. You can spray a DIY ant control around your house and never be completely rid of ants. This is because you are only doing in the ants the forage for food or water. You are not doing anything about the millions of ants that live in the hive. Not only that, but you have to understand the type of ant you face and what they eat. To deal with ants effectively you need both a contact pesticide and a bait. One kills the ants that roam around looking for food and water, and the second is brought back to the hive where it works on the entire population.

Also, when it comes to contact pesticides, they must be used in a way so that they do not get into your home or onto your pets. Placement is critical as many are oily or sticky and will stick to shoes or to the pads of pet feet. Once that happens, you or your pet track the pesticides into your home where everyone is exposed. Even if you spray pesticides around your baseboards, when you mop, you are often just spreading the poison around your home where it can come into contact with everyone.