Pest Control 101: Is Non-Chemical Pest Control Better?

Is non-chemical pest control better to use in your home, building, or farm? We’ll find out through this article.

Pest control involves two different methods, chemical and non-chemical. Both ways come with advantages and disadvantages that may help you decide which one you would prefer to use.

is non-chemical pest control better

 

What Is Non-Chemical Pest Control?

The non-chemical pest control treatment is a natural way of managing pests without the use of toxins or chemicals. Most of the non-chemical treatments are entirely based on organic and home remedies.

Controlling pests in a natural way purely depends on the use of herbs and plants. Its main advantage is the reduced chemical exposure, therefore lowering the risk of health issues and less to no harm to the environment.

Citronella is one of the examples of natural pest control remedies. It is an herb used to get rid of mosquitoes, flies, rats, and other pests in your place. 

If you compare citronella from mosquito coils and chemical pest control spray, it is actually more effective as it helps in reducing the pest population better. Moreover, it is safer to use and does not create any adverse effects on your health.

Another remedy is a natural ant repellant. It effectively exterminates ants and may include mint, cucumber, cloves, cinnamon, coffee grounds, cayenne pepper, and so on.

When applying natural pest control, there are different methods used, such as agricultural techniques, organic oils, and genetically-modified organisms. Genetically-modified versions of organisms provide their own various uses through changing their genes according to the desired benefit.

For more information, you can check out this comprehensive guide on what is organic pest control.

 

Methods Of Non-Chemical Pest Control

Controlling pests is not an occasional practice but a routine. Here are some of the natural methods that are easy to use but will need you to be consistent and persistent with them.

 

1. Surveillance

To put it simply, this method is the close monitoring of your home or your plants. Pest invasions do not happen overnight and can be prevented by frequent inspection.

 

2. Perimeter weeding

Weeds are hosts of common insect pests, so when there is little to no weed around your area, chances are there will be little to no pest infestation.

 

3. Conventional land preparation

Most eggs, pupa, and larvae of pests originate from the soil. Adequate preparation of the soil can help reduce the chances of infestation and drastically reduce the population of the existing ones.

 

Advantages and disadvantages of non-chemical pest control

There are several benefits that you can get when using non-chemical pest control. Here are some of them.

  1. Non-chemical pest control is the best way to manage pests without causing any infection or skin allergy to humans. 
  2. Natural pest control requires little effort as it is easy to apply and does not need the help of pest control experts. 
  3. Non-chemical pest control is cost-effective and will only involve fewer ingredients. 
  4. For crops, using natural pesticides effectively helps them grow better in natural ways and without involving any toxins.
  5. Using natural pest control products and remedies has no adverse health impact on humans and animals.

Non-chemical pest control does not have many disadvantages. It’s only downside is that it is sometimes less effective.

Natural methods also usually take more time and effort. Oftentimes, results take longer to accumulate.

 

Advantages and disadvantages of chemical pest control

 

Advantages

Unlike the natural method, chemicals are used in chemical pest control. This type of method can give you benefits like the following:

  1. Chemical products usually produce more effective results. 
  2. Chemical pest control has a high tendency to kill specific pests without any delay. 
  3. Chemical pesticides are highly-effective and can reduce the pest population on the first treatment. 
  4. In contrast to natural methods, using chemicals will allow you to precisely target specific areas.

 

Disadvantages

Unlike non-chemical pest control, chemical treatment has few disadvantages.

  1. Using chemical pesticides and other products can promote evolution. It stimulates the development of resistance to chemicals, making pests immune to pesticides after some time. 
  2. Chemical pest control may develop a chance of resurgence as chemical pesticides affect the environment and disrupt organic pest control.  
  3. Chemicals may release POP (Persistent Organic Pollutants) which are extremely harmful to the non-target organisms. It can also affect humans by causing problems to the endocrine system, infertility, or causing cancer. 

Regardless of the method, pest control is still a risk. Here is an article on what are some low-risk pesticides in pest control so that you can have safer options.

 

Conclusion

Both chemical and non-chemical pest control methods provide you with solutions to your pest issues. However, they also have their own fair share of disadvantages that you have to take into account.

With that, the answer to the question “is non-chemical pest control better?” will depend on your preferences and the things you are willing to compromise. One thing is certain, your health and safety should always be your utmost priority.

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