Spontaneity has its place, but for most human endeavors, the key to success is having a plan. When it comes to protecting your home from damaging and disease-bearing pests, the most effective approach is to devise a comprehensive pest control plan based on the principles of integrated pest management (IPM):
- Effective and environmentally friendly pest control combines complete information about the pests, including their life cycles and behavior, with the most appropriate pest control methods for the situation.
- The goal of IPM is to apply the optimal pest control measures safely and economically to eliminate existing infestations and prevent future pest-related woes.
- Rather than choosing a single pest control technique, IPM borrows approaches from many different evaluations, decisions, and controls.
IPM is at the heart of Nozzle Nolen’s 365 Complete Home Protection package that provides year-round protection for your South Florida home. The plan includes quarterly visits by the company’s trained and certified pest control technicians as well as a response within 24 to 48 hours should the invaders come back for a return engagement.
Step-by-Step Approach to Devising a Comprehensive Pest Control Plan
South Florida homeowners know the benefits of anticipating problems and maneuvering around them. Pest control usually doesn’t become a concern until you encounter your first signs of an infestation. By the time you discover it, the problem has probably had plenty of time to take root in your residence.
A successful pest control strategy has four primary components, each of which builds on the next:
Step One: Set Action Thresholds
An action threshold is the point where the number of pests creates a problem, whether by being a health hazard, a damage risk, or merely an unsightly nuisance. Ants, bees, wasps, and other insects are part of the environment. The same can be said for rodents, raccoons, and other mammals that occasionally create problems for South Florida homeowners. The goal of IPM is to keep contact with potential pests below the acceptable-risk threshold.
Step Two: Monitor and Identify the Pests
Before you can devise a pest control strategy, you have to know which pests you’re dealing with and the scope of the problems they’re creating. Then, a comprehensive pest control plan has to be tailored to eliminate the pest without affecting beneficial or harmless plants and organisms. The goal is to use pesticides only when needed and carefully monitor their use to prevent harmful environmental impacts.
Step Three: Implement Your Prevention Plan
Once your home has been cleared of any active pest infestations, the focus shifts to pest prevention. The goal is to identify areas and conditions in and around your house that could be inviting to pests. Potential actions include keeping a clear space around your home and patching any cracks in the walls or foundation. Watch for potential signs of an infestation, such as the dust-like droppings of termites or the tiny white eggs left by bed bugs.
Step Four: Control the Pests that Can’t Be Eliminated
Many pests that can’t be eliminated from your living space, such as mosquitos, can have their impact limited by a comprehensive pest control plan. The key is to balance the risks entailed in the methods that will be applied to control them with the reward of keeping pest populations in check. Striking this balance requires the training and experience of the pest control professionals at Nozzle Nolen.
The Benefits to South Florida Homeowners of 365 Complete’s IPM Focus
Your pest maintenance plan’s primary goal is to keep your home pest-free, but many of the ways homeowners benefit from pest control are less obvious. For example, one under-the-radar benefit of following a comprehensive pest control plan is the record the program creates of all your pest control activities, including what was applied, when, and where.
These are some other less-obvious rewards of a comprehensive pest control plan, which include:
- The plan reduces the amount of pesticides used in and around your home over the long haul.
- It lessens the chances of family members being exposed to biting insects that sometimes spread diseases.
- It minimizes the effect of allergies that are triggered by exposure to various pests.
- By identifying cracks and holes in your home’s walls and foundation, it helps to cut your heating and cooling bills. Similarly, the plan spots areas where moisture can collect, so you avoid many moisture-related problems in addition to making your home less inviting to Subterranean termites and other pests that are attracted to wet spaces.
Nozzle Nolen is the only locally owned and operated pest control company that is Green Shield certified and whose technicians are all Quality Pro Certified by the National Pest Management Association (NPMA). Our custom treatment plans take into consideration how your pest control needs change with each South Florida season:
- Termite and carpenter ant swarmers in the spring and early summer.
- Mosquitos ramping up in midsummer.
- Rodents looking for shelter as temperatures cool in autumn.
The first step in protecting your home from pests the safe and economical way is by signing up for a free evaluation from one of Nozzle Nolen’s pest control professionals. The longer you wait, the longer potential pest risks go undetected in and around your home.
Getting Started With Nozzle Nolen
Nozzle Nolen has provided expert pest control services to South Florida residents for more than seven decades. If you are facing an active infestation or would like more information on a comprehensive pest control plan, give us a call at 800.226.68536 or Contact Us. We look forward to serving you.
