Green Pest Control for Ants

Green Pest Management and Environmental Sustainability

There are many pest control companies that say they provide green pest control for ants and other pests. Entomologists speak of a well-defined term in the industry called Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Any self-respecting pest control company will say they use IPM. Our understanding of pest management and its’ role in our environmental sustainability is evolving. Let us make this easy to understand.

Childhood example of IPM

Did you know that our children practice green pest management of ants all the time? They didn’t need a definition because they intuitively understood it.

As a child, when you watched the ants pouring out of the pavement crack, you were effectively inspecting for ants.

You decided there were too many ants pouring out of the crack and getting into your sandbox where you played. So you decided it was time to stop on the ants. You methodically stepped on as many ants as you found.

It wasn’t enough for the ants to stop coming into the sandbox, so you got a hose and washed the ants away.

You became frustrated when you saw the next day that only more ants were coming out of the hole. Your mother suggested that together you would place boiling water down the ant hole. You did that and you seemed to have some relief from the ants for a while.

You watched and checked for the ants every day. All seemed well until one day the ants came swarming back, a real army of ants. You followed the trail until you found a dead spider. The ants were all over it. So you removed the spider. You could have stamped on the ants or used more boiling water, but you decided getting rid of the spider was enough that day.

The following day, most all the ants were gone. Only occasionally did you see one or two ants leave their hole to scout around. That day you decided to just let it be and wait for another day in the fight against nuisance ants.

You were practicing green pest management of ants at every step of the way. You used a combination of natural, physical and organic methods to stop the ants. You naturally realized that a truce with the ants was good enough.

Adult Examples of do-it-yourself Green Control for Ants

Ants were getting into your kitchen and so you decided on an immediate course of action and some follow up steps:

You left the RAID on the shelf. Good move! Instead, you took a paper towel and water to wipe down the ants.

You used a sanitizer to remove any contamination or odors (pheromones) that the ants carried into the kitchen.

You looked outside and discovered the ants were crawling up a bush and coming through the window. So you did three things:

1) You cut the bush so the ants wouldn’t get up to the window so easily.
2) You shut the window and screen.
3) You noticed that the window was not aligned properly and the caulk was cracked. So you asked a handiman to fix the window and seal it properly with fresh caulk.

You heard that ants would never cross “Chinese Chalk,” so you found a place to buy it and went about marking off the base of your house to keep the ants away. Bad move! While this might appear to be a green method for killing ants; it’s quite the opposite. This product contains pyrethroids. Given its’ appearance, it is often used with bare hands and has been known to contain lead compounds in the packaging. Chinese chaulk is actually illegal in the U.S.

Well, later you noticed that the Chinese chalk washed away. Worse yet, your back was hurting from bending down to lay down the chaulk.

The Search for a Pest Control Company

You decided it was time to call a pest control company and scheduled an appointment with the first available company. The guy who came out had you sign their agreement. He may have listened to your complaints. He then said, “Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.??? So he told you to go inside while he power-sprayed the exterior.

Afterward, it smelled really heavy of pesticides. It worried you and then you noticed that he got the pesticide on your kitchen table, where a window had been left open. You realized it wasn’t smart to leave the window open, but he was the professional! You called the company with your complaint, but decided these were not the right people.

Discovering Certified Green Pest Control

You shopped around for green pest control, organic pest control and even natural pest control. As you were reading, you found a few companies advertising that they had a green certification. You called one of these companies out.

The pest control technician that came out spent an unusually long time just listening to your concerns. He took the time to share his thoughts with you on some of the positive things you were doing and some things that were counter-productive. Before any thought of treating, he significantly inspected inside and outside the house.

The pest control technician made some suggestions. He asked that we cut additional trees and shrubs away from the house. He even suggested that we change some of the plants and trees with high sap and dews that attract ants. He offered green landscape pest services to further manage the ants in the garden.

Inside the house, this green certified pest control technician mentioned that the teenagers need to be cleaner in their rooms and avoid tracking food around the house. He gave specific instructions on how to wrap the garbage and felt strongly that we take it out every day, consistently.

Oh, the pest control technician did use pesticides, but he reviewed what he would be using and indicated that it was from a select list of “low-risk” products approved by the green certification organization. You noticed that before spraying, he told you to close all windows and doors, even though he was using a hand sprayer close to the home. He actually used a power-sprayer as well, but he explained that he was using it 30-40 feet away from the house in the garden and that the product contained a combination of essential oils like rosemary and garlic.

Inside the house, he really surprised you. He listened to you when you told him that your son had asthma. He treated only with non-airborn methods, using ant gel in the kitchen and spunging the baseboards in your son’s room, where there were ants, rather than spraying the baseboards.

The pest control technician now comes monthly to inspect and treat as needed.

Green Pest Control in the Movement for Environmental Sustainability

You still find many pest control companies with a heavy focus on the extermination component of the job. We recommend that you stay away from these companies.

Pest control has evolved as a profession. It has had to evolve to keep up with our understanding of our human impacts on the environment, both our immediate environment and as factor in our fragile ecology. The best pest control companies recognize that they must be environmental stewards, aligned with environmentalists and welcoming regulators in our long term struggle for environmental sustainability.

Got ants? Call today at 1-800-986-1006 for help with an ant infestation. You’re also welcome to complete the form below and a caring Hearts Pest Management representative will contact you shortly.