PEST PROSpectives

Creating Your Pest-Free Haven in 5 Steps

• Pest Pros of Michigan

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Your outdoor living space is your sanctuary - your place for warm weather activities and enjoyment.

In this episode of PEST PROSpectives, Associate Certified Entomologist Amber Byers returns to discuss five essential strategies for creating a pest-free environment using an integrated pest management approach. We explore how professional pest control goes far beyond simply spraying chemicals, focusing instead on a comprehensive system that addresses root causes of infestations.

Reach out to Pest Pros of Michigan to evaluate your specific situation and develop a customized integrated pest management plan for your property.

Subscribe to PEST PROSpectives where you get podcasts.

Episode Resources
Pest Pros of Michigan

PEST PROSpectives is a Livemic Communications production.

Richard Piet:

I'm Richard Piet. Welcome back to PEST PROSpectives. It's our perspective from the pros. That's the point as we bring you these discussions from Pest Pros of Michigan trying to help eliminate pests in your environment. In fact, today Amber Byers is back with us to talk about five ways to create a pest-free environment. Hi, Amber.

Amber Byars:

Hey Richard, how are you?

Richard Piet:

Good, this is your zone, this is your expertise and in a way, this is kind of a zoomed out. Look at how we do this. We've talked several times now about specific pests. In this case, we're really sort of zooming out. So, when Amber goes to a party and tells people what she does, these are some of the things they want to know. Wait a minute, how do I keep pests out? We're going to give you five ways right now that you can do that. What's number one on this list?

Amber Byars:

Well, we're going to start with mechanical control, with trying to mitigate or eliminate some of those entry points that pests are going to utilize to gain entry to the home.

Richard Piet:

Yeah, yeah, boy, sometimes we don't know these things are there, do we?

Amber Byars:

We do not know, or that's not the first thing clients think of. They're just like what do you got to spray? You know, what do you got to put around here to get rid of these guys? But sometimes that's not the answer. But we know that, especially here at Pest Pros, we utilize the integrated pest management methods, which are multiple different tools and tactics that play into coming to a solution, and exclusion is a huge part of that.

Richard Piet:

Yeah, and that word is descriptive. We want to exclude the ability for pests to enter. That's really what we're talking about.

Amber Byars:

Exactly, yeah, what are?

Richard Piet:

you looking for with that? I guess it depends on what type of pest we're talking about Exactly. Yeah, what are you looking for with that?

Amber Byars:

I guess it depends on what type of pest we're dealing with. So if we're focusing on, let's say, a rodent or a mouse, we have to try to figure out where they're using to get in if it's foundation level, if it's roof level. So we start by looking at the structure. What's the exterior siding? Are there any trees touching? Are there any other bridges to the home that they could be utilizing? So with a mouse, we know they only take a very small entry point about the size of your pinky or smaller if it's a smaller mouse to get in. So we're looking for any area that big to seal off. We're looking at siding corners. We're looking at utility lines. We're looking at foundation to siding gaps. Clients aren't thinking about that. They don't go around on their hands and knees looking at the foundation of their home. That's what we're there to do.

Richard Piet:

And if it's the size of a pinky, we might look right at the entry point and say, nah, that's too small.

Amber Byars:

Yeah, exactly. But then comparatively, if we're talking about something like a stink bug, then we know we're looking roof level, like gable vents or ridge vents, chimneys, window frames, door frames, and that doesn't matter what kind of siding or structural components. That's the areas those bugs are going to go into the house.

Richard Piet:

All right, so you get it. This is the situation. A prospective on exactly what is happening on your property is important because, as Amber has just illustrated, she knows what to look for depending on what the pest is. But the point is, exclusion is important. Next step in one of the ways to create a pest-free environment, it's food and not having it.

Amber Byars:

Yeah, Food source, water source. Whatever the case is, that can look a lot different depending on pest as well. So with something like a German cockroach, they can eat whatever they want. They'll eat glue off of a book or cardboard boxes or organic material, but they will not survive without water. So if we can eliminate the water source or barriers up around the water sources, we'll eliminate the cockroaches. With something like a spring tail, which we're dealing with crazy right now a lot of our clients, with all of the rain and either the rain or really high heat springtails are invading homes like crazy. So they will not invade a home unless there is a moisture issue, because they will not thrive without organic growth, fungi, mold, algae. Something has to be in that home for them to feed on, for them to be able to thrive indoors. So we eliminate that. We eliminate the springtails.

Richard Piet:

There you are again, so specific examples of a pest that then you go into your data bank and say, okay, here's what they want, here's what we should look for. That's probably why they're here. Reducing those things reduces them.

Amber Byars:

The important thing to know about that, when you're talking to a client, is just the simple fact of educating them, because what we don't want their perception to be is that our treatments are failing. There are no amount of pesticides that will ever eliminate a certain species of pest. Without eliminating conducive conditions, without eliminating the food source, without excluding them, no amount of product will ever be the cure-all. So that's the bigger picture. There is trying to inform people of that, because the first thing we hear is hey, you guys aren't doing your job, which isn't true.

Richard Piet:

Yeah well, it's a multi-layered approach, as you pointed out when we started here. So what was that comment? You may just come and spray something. It's more than that.

Amber Byars:

Exactly.

Richard Piet:

And these are all examples of it. Another one and I venture to say we've talked about this in other episodes because it keeps coming back the idea of not providing access points that might be your landscaping.

Amber Byars:

Yes, overgrown vegetation, and it might not even be vegetation but something like a mulch bed. It could be something just like a normal tree that is overhanging onto the roof. We have to manage those types of conditions because that is a literal bridge from a part of the earth to your structure. You don't want that, whether that's for carpenter ants, whether that's for a squirrel. You don't want an easier access point than you would, you know, necessarily want to have. So we look at all of those things on site. We look at if there's brush touching the structure, overgrown like invasive vines that come right up to the home and then trail up the siding. That is a jungle gym for a lot of rodents. They love to climb, you know.

Richard Piet:

It's a playground. They like that.

Amber Byars:

Yeah, so we want to talk to people about let's trim that back, and not just for rodents but for things like moisture pests. If there's something directly in contact with the house. We always recommend putting a barrier up between the foundation and at least four or five feet out, with something like dried pebble obviously, like a landscape fabric underneath, to put that barrier between the soil and the stone underneath, to put that barrier between the soil and the stone. It just is all a reduction process of reducing the amount of pests that are in the environment.

Richard Piet:

Well, you made a good point about describing that overgrowth as a bridge, because it's very similar to the point of the exclusion point we were talking about before. So we're eliminating the entrance points. We also want to take the bridge down.

Amber Byars:

Yeah, because that will relieve some pressure. With all that touching of the structure, the pressure is higher yeah.

Richard Piet:

Okay Now the next thing in our list of five ways to create a pest free environment is to keep an eye on all of this stuff. It's not like you can trim that stuff back and then you're good for the rest of the time you live there. These things will grow again. But an overall inspection, right?

Amber Byars:

Yeah, yeah, monitor and inspect regularly are very important. That is also a part of the integrated pest management cycle is to follow up and, you know, re-inspect, make sure the program is working, whether that's by hiring a pest control company to do that for you or you having the self-discipline to do that yourself, because what you don't want to happen is for you to do all this work up front get the pests under control, eliminate the pests, possibly, and then forget about it, and that is in relevance to a lot of things in our daily lives. Anyways, right.

Richard Piet:

That's probably true. Some problems don't go away without upkeep.

Amber Byars:

Yes, that's what you're talking about. Exactly.

Richard Piet:

Now do you end up I imagine you do teaching homeowners and residents how to walk around their property and spot things? Is that fair to do?

Amber Byars:

We absolutely love to educate our clients anytime we have the chance. It's just a part of who we are. We will share information, especially if we have a lot of clients that are DIY people, and we're not against that. All we can do is just educate them. If that's going to be the path they choose, they might as well do it in the right way. You know what I mean. So we have some clients that, oh, I just want you to do the recurring maintenance, but I want to seal the house. Okay, well, let me give you a couple of pointers here. Use this product versus this product, because? But I want to seal the house. Okay, well, let me give you a couple of pointers here. Use this product versus this product, because it will last a lot longer.

Richard Piet:

So, yeah, we love to educate our clients and, speaking of products we did talk about, you know, it's not just about spraying. However, this is one of the five ways to create a pest-free environment. There's going to be an incorporating of appropriate products that will help right.

Amber Byars:

Oh yeah, you nailed it. There is a place for pesticides or insecticides in this cycle. Absolutely, what we try to steer clear from is that being the only thing we're doing right, because we know that alone will not solve a pest issue. So, yes, we know that alone will not solve the pest issue. So, yes, insecticides definitely play a part in this. You just have to understand the mode of action and the active ingredient and how that affects whatever it is you're trying to control so that you can be successful. We know, as professionals, that there are certain species that need a certain product to be able to control them, and that is what we train our staff to look for. That is what we move forward with in any of our services.

Richard Piet:

What is the?

Amber Byars:

best plan of action for this specific issue. It's different at every house.

Richard Piet:

Oh, think about that. It's different at every house. So the pest prospective is to evaluate each individual situation and come up with this action plan of sorts that probably includes these five things to create a pest-free environment, or maybe one of them is somehow different, probably the products thing, but that depends. So having this viewpoint is important.

Amber Byars:

Absolutely Cause there's so many oh my gosh, there's so many factors that play into these decisions. What's the weather like? You know? What's the structure made of? What's the environment look like? How much vegetation is there mulch? Is it rock? Is there a lot of cement? You know what's the pest they're dealing with. All of that will come to the decision of okay, this is the best pesticide to use and this is where I'm going to apply it.

Richard Piet:

All right. So what is the situation at your property? You certainly can reach out to the Pest Pros of Michigan and have them evaluate the situation and give you a report, and very likely these five things will be part of the integrated pest management approach that Pest Pros will take. Amber Byers is one of those Pest Pros. In fact, she surveys all of the outreach that goes on at Pest Pros of Michigan, and so she is one of the pest pros Happy to help Click through and find out more from their website and also subscribe to this podcast, where you get them, because there are plenty of pest perspectives to share. Thank you, Amber.

Amber Byars:

Thank you so much.