Pesticide Safety
Where I live, in eastern, northern, southeastern Pennsylvania (you figure it out), nights are beginning to chill. I've noticed this for two reasons. First, the temperature is dipping below 50. Second, insects have begun finding their way inside the house. We capture most of the little buggers and release them but sooner or later someone reaches for a pesticide. We've already dealt with fleas on my son's cat who recently moved home with him.
Now, let's understand something. Pesticide is a general term for more specific chemicals that eliminate pests. You're more accurate if you say insecticide, fungicide, rodenticide and herbicide. Well, unwanted plants are pests aren't they?
The first rule of pesticide safety is "clean up first." If you can clean up an area that invites pests, maybe you can solve your problem. Get rid of food sources and hiding places. Keep foods (including those for pets and wild birds) in plastic and glass containers if necessary.
Besides getting rid of food sources, block entryways to your house. Caulk cracks and holes. Apply expanding foam insulation to seal large cracks and openings in semifinished areas of the house. Buy or make face plates for places where pipes and wiring come in through walls. In my garage, I keep a great number of fabric-like things in plastic tubs to keep mice from nesting in them.
Outside, clean up rotting vegetation alongside the house to discourage insects, rodents, mold and in some places, snakes. As far as I am concerned, a skunk is a pest too.
The second rule of pesticide safety is "use mechanical devices." Some people import insect helpers such as praying mantises and ladybugs for outside pest work but these won't help in the house. Nor will purple martin and wren houses. Inside, sticky insect traps and mechanical mouse traps are a good line of defense. For mice, you also can use a cat or a large pet snake. Just kidding about the snake.
When all else fails and you must resort to pesticides, accept the fact that if they can kill pests they can't be too good for you. The first rule of using pesticides is "read the label." All legal pesticides in the United States carry an approval label from the Environmental Protection Agency. If the product isn't approved, you shouldn't have it in the first place. If a label tells you a pesticide is "restricted," don't use it unless you have been properly trained and certified. Training and certification wouldn't be required if experts didn't think the pesticide was more than just a little toxic. How much can it hurt to err on the side of caution?
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