The Eco Friendly Approach

It used to be that pesticides and harsh chemicals were the only option for both making your lawn look beautiful and keeping the pests away from your house.  As we learn more about side effects of these old chemicals, such as DDT, we realize that we need something healthier.  We want something that not only works; we want something that is better for our health and our environment.  And this means, that lawn care companies are providing more eco-friendly alternatives and offering better solutions in order to meet the needs of their customers.

One thing that eco friendly professionals do is take a careful evaluation of your yard and perimeter.  The technician will pay close attention to areas around the foundation, will search for evidence of fire ants or termites and will walk around the perimeter of your house.  Instead of simply spraying tons of chemicals all over your yard, a service technician will use very specific products and only apply to target areas based upon the makeup of your lawn and the pest issue noticed, thereby reducing the amount and types of pesticides that are used.

Good technicians will also give plenty of advice regarding things you can do to help prevent any pest control problems.  This includes pointing out areas that might need to be cleaned up, issues that might need to be addressed and potential food and water sources.  Sometimes something as simple as moving the rainwater spout so that water will not pool in one location is enough to help deter pests.

Technicians will also keep the yard, trees and bushes well trimmed and maintained.  Older trees with sections that are dying or decaying will attract more insects, such as ants, grubs and other bugs. By making sure you have healthy trees and bushes, he is really helping you keep all kinds of bugs away from your back yard.

You may also get some great information about home remedies for smaller pest control issues, such as using a bowl of beer to capture and drown slugs.  Other home remedies include using diatomaceous earth, which kills crawling insects safely.

In many cases, pest control companies may offer natural, organic or non-toxic pest control solutions. These could include pesticides made from plant extracts, which are called botanicals or bio-pheromone solutions that entice pests onto traps by giving off a “sexy” bug smell. They often partner these pest control solutions as part of their lawn care solutions, giving you a double benefit from one treatment.