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Make the Bugs Go!
Does Rain Affect My Pest Control Treatment?
Pest control treatments are used to exterminate pests like fleas, termites, bed bugs, roaches, mosquitoes, and wasps, as well as beetles and rodents, from your home.
Pest control by San Antonio companies usually starts with an evaluation of the type and level of infestation before eradicating the pests. This includes checking for sources of the pests to ensure an infestation doesn’t reoccur.
Many believe that pest control treatments get washed up by rain. However, that isn’t the case.
Will a big downpour affect your pest control efforts?
There’s no reason to be worried that your pest control treatment will be affected by the rain.
Most houses have guttering and eaves that overhang wall edges. This means that unless the rain blows directly against the walls, your treatment will not be affected.
Additionally, when providing pest control in San Antonio, companies don’t spray wet surfaces when treating the exterior of a business or home. This is because the treatment needs to bind with the area it is applied on to take effect. So, if it has been raining heavily for some time before the treatment is sprayed, most companies opt not to treat the area until it has dried.
Normally, treatment is sprayed in areas around cracks, door frames, and windows where it usually is dry, so do not fret if recent rains have you worried.
In some instances, rain can be good for pest control. For example, specially formulated granular pellets placed on the lawn during the treatment require water to activate them. The rain helps ferry these insecticides into the soil. It then exterminates pests like earwigs, spiders, crickets, ants, etc., and prevents them from getting into your home.
Rain also wets and softens the soil, which draws pests out, in particular, ants. You’ve probably seen a trail of ants moving to a dry area on a rainy day. This happens when the rain pushes them out of their nests. To escape the moisture from their nests, they go above ground, which leaves them exposed.
This makes it easier for San Antonio exterminators to get rid of them and makes the treatment even more effective because the pests are eradicated. It also lets the pesticide granules dissolve and absorb into the ground, killing even more pests that may still be underground.
How to help your treatment be more effective
If you live in an area where it hasn’t rained, most pest control professionals in San Antonio suggest you water your property’s perimeter for the first week or two after the treatment to activate the insecticides and allow them to seep into the ground. This helps make the treatment even more effective.
However, there are still instances in which you should cancel your appointment due to the weather.
When should you cancel your pest control treatment appointment?
Rain can be a good thing for pest control treatments. So, if you’re thinking of rescheduling your pest treatment/inspection on rainy days or asking for retreatment if it rains after the treatment was sprayed, there’s no need.
Rain also doesn’t apply if you are treating the inside of your property.
In most cases, you won’t need to reschedule or cancel your appointment. However, there are some exceptions to this rule. If you intend to treat the outside and it’s been raining, there are a few things to keep in mind:
Many of the pesticides used for pest control are insoluble and will not be washed away by rain. However, rain that lasts for several days in a row is another story. If the weather only worsens instead of improving, you may need to reschedule your pest control appointment.
Hurricane-force rains are also not a good time to do a pest treatment. If the rain comes in with 70mph+ wind gusts, this may blow the rain directly onto your walls, impacting any treatment you may have completed. If you know a heavy storm is on the way, it’s best to reschedule to a later time.
Is there anything else to keep in mind when planning pest control?
Pest control in San Antonio is appropriate at any time of the year. Still, you should pay some attention to the weather. Remember, you should never apply treatments to wet surfaces, but sometimes the rain is a good thing.
Checking the weather forecasts and planning accordingly may also save you from worry; however, if you already have an appointment and it starts raining, don’t reschedule. Instead, contact your pest control specialist and let them determine whether they can do their job in the rain effectively or if it would be better to do so another day. This will help you save time and help you to get your money’s worth.
