use a service like Terminix?

[etwahl]

there are a lot of icky bugs and spiders and ants around here. dh wants to hire them. in san diego we needed a service to keep our interior of the house from being overrun from ants.

what are the pros and cons of using them, especially having kids and pets (although the pets do not go outside).

Tammy,
Mom to Lauren Genevieve
03/12/2003
www.evantammy.com

[lukkykatt]

You can use a service LIKE Terminex, but I would recommend that you don't use them. I just ended up terminating my contract with them and getting my money back. I don't want to go into all the problems we had with them here (you can PM me if you are interested), because I am sure their service varies from area to area. But it was so bad for us that I would never use them again no matter where we moved.

I would recommend contacting a local firm and explaining your concerns to them about your children and pets. They should be able to come up with a solution for you (they could treat mainly on the outside and in areas where Lauren does'nt go - like under your sink vanity, etc.). My friends had similar problems with a different national company, which is why I think a more local company might be better.

[peanut4us]

Hmmm... We use a service called Bulwark. I'm not sure if they are nationwide or just regional. But if you've got 'em, do 'em. Seriously, we had FIRE ANTS coming into our house really bad (especially in Sara's room!). I looked into a lot of different companies. Bulwark is supposed to be better for the environment and safe for kids. They don't spray the perimeter of hte inside of your house... they take all the outlets off and spray into the walls. They do spray the perimeter of the windows. That's for your first visit. Thereafter, they only do the outside of the house, unless you have more problems.

They are a little more expensive than some of the others, but I have really liked them so far. We have had them for about 8 months, I think??!!

[egoldber]

We use Terminix. We had a terrible ant problem in our kitchen and they really seem to have solved our issue. We also have pets (and a child :) ) and they were very careful to spray in inaccessible places. The maintenance treatments are all on the exterior of the house, but if we see anything inside, we can call them for an additional treatment.

Your quality of service will undoubtedly vary with your particular local franchise, but we've had no issues with ours. You may want to ask your neighbors who they use and if they like them.

HTH,

[ddmarsh]

We use a local service and are really please with it. I don't know how Terminix is but ours does a 4x/year maintenance plan and if anything happens in between they will come out for free. This has turned out to be great b/c we have a terrible bee problem (new development way out) and they have had to spray and re-spray several areas. Check around with your neighbors, I'm sure there are some quality local companies.

[mommd]

We use Orkin, and haven't had any problems with them. We had all kinds of creepy crawlies, but when an earwig bit me in our bed, that was enough for me! Their products are safe for both pets and kids. Most of their spraying is done outside, unless we report a problem, which is usually ants in the spring time.

[new_mommy25]

We used something like Terminix years ago. SHortly after our cat got very sick and lethargic, and then died. The vet diagnosed it as poison. We assume that he must have eated a poisoned gecko or something. He liked to eat and play with gecko's, even if they were dead. This was a cat that did go in and out of the house though.

[llcoddington]

We had a problem with icky bugs, mostly spiders, in our last townhouse. Instead of hiring a professional company, I went to Home Depot and bought a 4 pack of spray poison (red bottles). You just push the lever down, quick leave the room and then leave the house for 2 hours. When you come back, air out the place. I used one upstairs, one on the main floor, and 2 in the basement. We never saw another live bug after this.

Lana
mommy to Lauren 12/5/03

[MartiesMom2B]

Tammy:

I was looking on the net how to kill spiders. They are all over our exterior wall and I'm scared that they are going to come in the house through the crawl space. Ewwwww. Anyhow I found I site that sells professional insecticide and some of it is organic, if Evan doesn't mind doing the work. It's www.epestsupply.com

Sonia
Proud Mommy to Martie 4/6/03