DIY Pest Control: How To Do Your Own Pest Control

Whether it's your home or place of business, you may have to deal with a pest infestation. Pests of all types can commonly invade a home—flies, spiders, ants, cockroaches, mosquitoes, and rodents, to name a few.

Each pest has its own tendencies and habits, so it's important to know a little bit about the pest to recognize what it likes and doesn't like and what application method is the best way to eliminate it.

This page is dedicated to general do-it-yourself pest control. Rather than targeting one pest, we'll go over the steps and products you can use to treat multiple pests, inside and out, for both curative and preventative pest control.

Since Solutions Pest & Lawn is a DIY pest control supply store, you can rest assured that the products we suggest are the best out there for your specific pest problem. 

For a more detailed treatment plan for your target pest, browse our library of common pests. It contains nuanced guides and specific products for control and prevention. 

Identification

If you've seen an increase in pest activity, it does help to know what pest exactly you are treating for a more effective and focused application. When you're trying to identify a pest, there are some things you must consider that will help you get an idea of what you're dealing with.

• Is the insect pest you're seeing crawling or flying (or both)?
• What are its physical characteristics -- size, shape, color, leg count, and presence of antennae?
• Where do you see them (indoors or outdoors?), and what time?

Answering these questions will help you determine which pests you have and, as a result, give you an idea of how to approach DIY treatment.

Inspection

Once the pest has been identified, you will want to look around for any environmental conditions causing your pest issues. Most of the time, some basic maintenance on a structure can help reduce pest activity.

Pests can enter a home or building through tiny cracks, crevices, or voids around the structure. Properly inspecting the property and noting where the pest activity is highest will help you apply more targeted pesticides. Once you have identified and corrected the conducive conditions, you can implement a proper DIY pest control treatment program.

Treatment

When conducting DIY pest control, it pays to use high-quality products that the professionals use over what big box retailers carry in the pest control aisle. This is because those generic retailer products are heavily diluted or watered-down pesticides that may not effectively eliminate the pest problem.

The products that work effectively are the professional-grade DIY pest control pesticides and insecticides. Professional pesticides kill pests quicker, stay effective for longer, and require only a small amount per treatment, so they last a long time.

After confirmation of the location of pest activity and/or their harborage area or nesting site, you can move on to treatment. Before beginning any DIY pest control treatment, always wear proper personal protective equipment (PPE) and apply responsibly. Be mindful of restricted use sites and drift and limit contact by people and pets to treated areas until safe. 

Indoor Insect Pest Control—Indoor pest control involves 50% implementing preventive measures and 50% minimizing possible infestations.

• Step 1: Our preferred general DIY pest control treatment indoors is a semi-annual preventative spray of Novacide Aerosol. This product is amazing because it delivers a quick knockdown on any current adult pests, applies a residual insecticide that will kill new adult insects, and carries an insect growth regulator (IGR) to prevent new pest populations from forming for up to seven months.
• Step 2: To treat hard-to-reach or liquid-sensitive areas, use D-Fender Dust Insecticide with a handheld duster. This insecticidal dust can be applied as a thin layer for insects to crawl through. It is ideal for treating areas like under appliances or behind electrical wall plates.
• Step 3: Practice proper sanitation. Most pests indoors are either looking for food or water. By preventing those sources from being readily available,, you will cut them off at the source. This means cleaning up crumbs, oils, and other organic matter, regularly removing trash, and making sure things being brought into the structure (food, furniture, clothing, electronics, etc.) do not have active infestations.

Outdoor Insect Pest Control—Outdoor pest control is safe and easy. Insects generally enter the same spots regardless of the structure, so eliminating and treating those target areas will provide excellent results.

• Step 1: First, eliminate all environmental conditions that may foster pests. This includes vegetation, soil levels, moisture, cracks in foundations and walls, gaps in windows, doors, and eaves, and any holes in the structure where plumbing or electrical penetrates. You can do this using copper mesh, expanding foam, and caulk.
• Step 2: Next, you will want to apply a quarterly treatment with a residual insecticide. Begin by using Valar Plus Bifenthrin Granules. Because this is a granular insecticide, it can be evenly spread across the lawn to target any pests in the turf. After application, water is added to the product for deep soil penetration and long-term control.
• Step 3: Apply Supreme I/T liquid concentrate with a pump sprayer to create a protective insecticide barrier around your property. Supreme I/T is a lethal and repelling insecticide with a broad label and can be used on many surfaces (wood, concrete, vinyl). Mix this with water and spray around foundations, windows, doors, eaves, and home penetrations to create a barrier that will kill any insects that cross it.
• Step 4: You can also puff D-Fender Dust Insecticide into voids around the structure, such as in weep holes or where plumbing or electrical wires penetrate the walls.

Indoor & Outdoor Rodent Control—Like insect pests, rats and mice will enter a home or building if there is a hole or void large enough and available food and water sources. 

• Step 1: If you have rodent activity, the first thing you need to do is sanitize and seal up your home. Be sure that food and water are not readily available to the rodent. This means cleaning regularly, keeping trash in sealed trash bins, taking it out daily, and putting away pet food and water. After that, you will want to seal up any hole or void a rodent could enter around the structure. If the hole is larger than a dime, seal it.
• Step 2: For indoors, use Solutions Easy Set Rat Traps. These durable, plastic snap traps are easy to use and clean. Bait the traps without setting them and place them up against walls in common pathways for rodents to travel, such as under sinks, behind furniture, or in crawlspaces and storage areas. Rodents are skittish, so we bait and place without setting first to gain the rodent's confidence. After about 3 days, re-bait the traps and set. Be sure to wear gloves when handling the traps to keep your scent off the traps.
• Step 3: For outdoors, use a combination of Eratication Rodent Bait and Solutions Bait Stations. Eratication is a powerful, multi-feed rodent bait made with peanut butter scents that are irresistible to rodents. When rodents feed on the bait, they die within 2 to 4 days. Place the bait in Solutions Bait Stations to provide a dark and enclosed space for the rodent to feel safe and eat the bait. The loaded bait stations must be placed against walls where rodents travel. These stations are tamper-proof; they come with a key to open the lid. This will prevent children and pets from tampering with the station's contents.

Prevention

Prevention is the final key to total control of your specific pest problem. To do this, you must mainly modify your environment to reduce the likelihood of reinfestation and apply preventative pesticides. 

• Maintain the yard, minimizing clutter, debris, and leaf litter. If you notice vegetation creeping toward the home or building, trim it back.
• You can keep your home or business clean by regularly taking out the trash and removing any available food and water sources.
• Fix any leaky faucets and address high moisture areas.
• Be sure to also re-apply Supreme IT Insecticide every three months to maintain the control of a broad range of common household pests.

Key Takeaways

You Can Successfully Do Your Own Pest Control 

• It is always best to know which pest you are targeting and the conducive conditions. Identifying the pest, followed by a detailed inspection, helps determine what product to use and where to focus your application.
• Using a combination of expert advice from DIY pest control pros and professional-quality pesticides will ensure that you effectively eliminate your specific pest problem.

How To Perform DIY Pest Control

• For total control, use a combination of pesticides, such as aerosols (like Novacide), liquid concentrates (like Supreme IT), and dust (like D-Fender Dust Insecticide). While a single pesticide can be enough to treat small infestations, using a multi-pronged approach is the best way to ensure complete and effective coverage.

Preventing Future Pests In Your Home

• Remember to perform environmental modifications in your home or business to reduce conducive conditions that attract pests. Regularly check for any cracks, crevices, or voids inside and out, and seal these spots with caulk to keep pests out.
• Preventative applications of a residual insecticide like Supreme IT Insecticide, when performed quarterly, can deliver long-term control of pests.