January 19, 2022 by Snupit
Pests are a regular concern for any homeowner and gardener. They can damage your house, contaminate your food, destroy your plants, disrupt your personal space, and spread dirt and disease. When a pest is seen in our house or in our garden the first thing we want to do is reach for the nearest, most toxic pesticide we can find and apply it generously to rid us and our homes of these pests.
However, the more traditional forms of pesticide control, which rely heavily on the use of powerful, synthetic and toxic chemicals, may not be all that effective in achieving your end goals and can have several dangerous drawbacks that are not worthwhile. There are eco-friendly pest control options that are more sustainable and less dangerous that you can apply in your home and garden to bring a pest outbreak under control and to keep it there.
Eco-friendly pest control involves a multipronged approach that focuses on making use of safer, green and organic options that are targeted at specific species and therefore are more effective and long-lasting.
Below is a list of five reasons why eco-friendly pest control matters and why it should be your first, and only, choice.
1. It is safer for you, your family and your pets
Traditional pest control practices rely heavily on applying harsh chemicals to large areas to kill off pests. These chemicals are extremely toxic, dangerous to use and can be detrimental to your health.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports up to 3 million cases of pesticide poisoning annually, with up to 220 000 people dying per year.
In small quantities, short term exposure to these chemicals can cause skin and eye irritation, headaches, vomiting and seizures. These chemicals can also cause fever, vomiting and respiratory failure in our beloved pets. Long term exposure to these chemicals can be even worse, causing chronic health problems like blood and nerve disorders, and other serious problems like birth defects, genetic disorders and cancer. Unfortunately, these chemicals can spread further than their intended target, especially when applied liberally or incorrectly. This makes it very hard to control who is exposed to these chemicals. Many pesticides have been banned from use in some countries in order to stop the negative health and environmental consequences of these chemicals. Eco-friendly pest control makes use of more natural products that are not as harsh and not as dangerous to you and your family. Traps, pesticides and pest repellents that are used in eco-friendly pest control are derived from natural sources and many of them are harmless to us and our pets, like essential oils, chalk or diatomaceous earth.
2. It is safer for your garden and for the environment
The direct application of a number of pesticides can have devastating effects on animals and plants that are not the pests that we are targeting. Pesticides are often treated as “cure-alls” and are overused in certain areas. Many pesticides are synthetic and do not breakdown through natural processes, allowing them to persist in the environment for days to years and spread through the air, water and soil. The combination of overuse and persistence causes a cascading catastrophe of negative environmental consequences, including harming local wildlife like birds and frogs, and killing non-target, or beneficial insects like bees, butterflies and praying mantids. These pesticides can also harm your plants due to their toxic nature. Over time, the intended target of these pesticides, like slugs or cockroaches, build up resistance, making it necessary to use more and more of these harmful chemicals to achieve the same effectiveness.
Eco-friendly pest control, on the other hand, uses chemicals that breakdown naturally in the environment. Many of these chemicals are very specific to their target, like pheromone lures for specific fruit flies, moths or cockroaches, which minimizes the indirect impacts on other species that these pesticides can cause. They are also not harmful to the plants and will not spread out past where you apply them.
3. It is more effective
The approach of eco-friendly pest control is to combine multiple steps that improve the long-term effectiveness of the control. These include implementing and maintaining good practices, monitoring for the presence of unwanted pests and the use of species-specific control methods.
Good practices encouraged in eco-friendly pest control include keeping areas clean and free of debris that might attract pests, keeping food in your pantry cupboard stored in airtight containers and keeping your garden robust. Healthy plants in a healthy and diverse garden will be far more resistant to pests, minimizing the need for pesticides in the first place. Following these good practices and judicious and correct application of eco-friendly traps, pesticides and pest repellent will work for longer than using on-the-spot application of harsh chemicals.
4. It is cheaper and more convenient in the long term
Ultimately, the use of eco-friendly pest control can work out cheaper for you in the long term, as it is more effective than traditional pesticide control and is less harmful to your health. Eco-friendly pest control also establishes a system of monitoring for pests and responding quickly to the presence of unwanted pests in your home or garden. Handling a pest outbreak in a timely manner can also help to reduce your costs over time, as implementing eco-friendly pest control will be more effective and reduce the possibility of any future pest outbreaks. Many chemical pesticides are expensive and often require multiple applications to complete the job, making the expenses rack up, while also risking your health. In addition to this, application of these pesticides can result in a strong, unpleasant smell as the product will linger in the air after application. This requires you to pre-plan to avoid contaminating your home and loved ones, and on occasion requires that you evacuate your home for a time to allow the chemicals to dispel safely. This inconvenience will not happen while using eco-friendly pest control.
5. It is more holistic and sustainable
Eco-friendly pest control is a more sustainable path to controlling pests in your home and garden because it follows green strategies and is safer for the environment and for your health. The use of eco-friendly pest control will also reduce your carbon footprint as you will be using more natural products that have fewer greenhouse gases associated with them. Because eco-friendly pest control often involves multiple avenues applied at once to control pests, including good practices, this will open your mind to a holistic point of view that will allow you to apply sustainable techniques for keeping your home and garden clean and safe.
Eco-friendly pest control is better for your home and for your garden and implementing the different pest control methods, good practices and less dangerous pesticides will help you to rid yourself of your pests while also being more sustainable and maintaining the natural balance of your local environment and the health of your community.
Filed under : Pest Control