Pest Pointers is a one-stop destination for those searching for child-safe pest control solutions. Many pest control companies and blogs offer solutions that involve chemical pesticides, dangerous traps that can harm our young family members or products that simply don’t work.
Here at Pest Pointers, we’re dedicated to finding homeowners the best child-safe pest control solutions for a variety of pest problems. Our goal is to use effective products and practices that are safe for our homes and families, including children.
Whether you’re looking for a safe pest control spray, or insect repellent for the house, or prefer DIY child-safe pest control, we cover it all.
Why We’re Unique
We aren’t your typical pest solution crew. Instead of simply treating the problem, we offer in-depth options to prevent future infestations and treat current problems. But it doesn’t stop there. We also provide child-safe pest control solutions that keep your children and pets in mind when dealing with pests.
After reading through our articles on common pests like insects, gophers, moles, and mice, you’ll have a deeper understanding of why these creatures invade your home, not just how to get rid of them.
So, what makes Pest Pointers unique?
Child Safety
A study from the Journal of Environmental Toxicology tells us that children are uniquely vulnerable to environmental toxins and chemicals for five main reasons:
- Children are smaller: Children are more heavily exposed concerning their body weight because children drink more water, eat more food, and have a higher breathing rate per unit of body weight than adults.
- Immature Metabolism: Children’s metabolic processes are immature compared to adults, so it is more challenging for them to process and remove toxins in the body.
- Developmental Phases: When children are developing, they undergo specific development phases. If these phases are interrupted by toxins or chemicals, the damage may be permanent and irreversible.
- Child Behavior: Child behavior, such as playing and rolling on the ground and commonly transferring what’s on their feet to their mouth, makes them particularly vulnerable to toxins.
- Chronic Illness: Children have more years of life ahead of them than adults, giving them more time to develop chronic illness due to toxic exposure. These illnesses, which often take years to develop, will produce symptoms earlier in life if children are exposed to toxins.
At Pest Pointers, we care deeply about the safety of your children. Kids bring so much joy and love to our lives, and parents understandably want to keep their children safe.
Children are naturally curious, so at Pest Pointers, we search high and low for child-safe pest control products. We want to make sure our products are durable, natural, and won’t harm your family members, little ones included!
More Than Just Chemicals
Another way that Pest Pointers stands out as the champion of child-safe pest control is that we add another tier of detail to our well-researched articles; barriers, scare tactics, habitat modification, and biological control.
- Physical barriers are an excellent way to keep pests out of our homes and yards without resorting to chemicals with unpronounceable names and warning labels surrounding them.
- Scare tactics are humane ways to scare off animals (think of scarecrows!) that are safe to use around children. They often involve fake statues, bright colored ribbon, or noisemakers that scare off even the most determined critter.
- Habitat Modification is an eco-friendly, humane option for dealing with pests that eliminates the need for chemicals. It involves modifying your yard so that it is less attractive to pests. For example, stacking wood off the ground to reduce mice and snake activity, or keeping grasses trimmed to eliminate vole and mole hiding places.
- Biological control tactics are all about the big picture. We contemplate what natural animal might control the problem pest. For example, if you’re having problems with white grubs destroying your plants, beneficial nematodes can control grub populations. No chemicals, just natural creatures interacting and keeping your pest problem under control naturally.
Check out some of our featured articles and know that we put your child’s safety first and foremost!
Consider Simple Tech-Based Prevention
Parents who want to avoid harsh chemical treatments can also use simple tools around the home and yard to prevent pest activity early.
Motion sensor lights, chimney covers, trail cameras, and motion-activated sprinklers can help make your property less inviting to pests while keeping prevention more hands-off.
If you’re looking for more family-conscious prevention ideas, check out our guide on eco tech pest control.
Long-Term Pest Relief
The goal at Pest Pointers is not just to inform you how to get rid of an infestation of mice in your garage or ants in your kitchen. We offer long-term solutions to pest problems, including ways to eliminate current issues and prevent future ones, all while keeping the safety of your children in mind.
We find it’s better to get to the root of the problem instead of treating the symptoms. For example, what attracts ants to your kitchen? Sure, setting out ant traps will eliminate the current ants, but they’ll keep returning as long as the attractant is still there.
That’s where we come in! We give you a comprehensive list of what attracts pests, how to eliminate those attractants, and how to deal with your current pest problem using child-safe pest control options.
This gives you, the homeowner, a long-term solution to your pest problem that will last much longer than simply treating the current pest problem. The best part? Our pest control solutions always keep your child’s safety in mind!
Humane Solutions
When we provide solutions to pest problems, our goal is more than elimination. We want to gently push parents in a direction that is both child-safe and humane. After all, we care deeply about your home and family and the critters out there in the wilderness!
Our articles offer humane ways to deal with pests, such as using humane traps, natural repellents, physical barriers, and biological control methods.
All-Around Coverage
We’re here to address concerns about pests in any location. Have a mouse who keeps building nests in your attic? We have information on how to target mice in attics specifically. Having problems with aphids in your garden – we have an article for that!
Not every pest problem centers around your home, and we understand that. Maybe you have a pesky porcupine that keeps chewing on your wooden-handled tools or a woodpecker that won’t leave your cherished apple trees alone.
Our articles aim to prevent and eliminate pest problems in any location, indoors or out, using child-safe pest control options.
Pest Control For Every Season
Pests may not have a calendar to tell them what day it is, but they certainly ramp up at certain times of the year! At Pest Pointers, we review the seasons when certain pests become active and provide information about what time of the year you should be most prepared for specific pests.
For example, spiders may be most active in the summer when the weather warms up, but they only become pests in our homes in the winter when they look for a warm place to cozy up for the winter season. The same could be said for mice, bats, ladybugs, and stinkbugs.
On the other hand, pests like coyotes, foxes, skunks, and raccoons tend to be most destructive in the spring, when they’re raising their young and need more food to provide for their babies.
We consider these peaks and valleys of activity when tailoring our child-safe pest control articles for you and your family.
Eco-Friendly Options
Not only do we prioritize your children’s safety, but we also care deeply about the impact our actions have on the environment. That’s why Pest Pointers recommends eco-friendly options that are safe for your home, your children, and the environment.
Some of the child-safe pest control solutions we have in our arsenal include essential oil sprays tailored to specific pests, physical barriers like fencing or plant-based barriers, and humane catch-and-release traps with whole-ingredient baits, not chemicals!
Child Safety Is A Priority
Dealing with a pest is stressful enough without worrying about how your chosen repellent will affect your children. At Pest Pointers, we take the stress away by making child safety a priority. Our well-researched articles provide ideas and solutions that keep your family happy and healthy.
Common Misconceptions About Child-Safe Products
Many products on the market are touted as being safe for use around children, but they have quite a bit of fine print to read through to make it safe! If you go online and type in child-safe pesticide, you’ll likely get a whole host of products that, when it comes down to it, aren’t really all that safe or natural.
Here are some common misconceptions about child-safe pest control products.
- When The Product Dries, It’s Safe: Most pesticide sprays need to dry before they are safe to be around. Even then, children are known to put things in their mouths that they’re not supposed to. Even if the product is dry, it’s still unsafe to ingest.
- Essential Oils Are Natural, So They’re Safe: Essential oils are considered ‘natural,’ so many homeowners relate that word with ‘child safe.’ Unfortunately, essential oils are highly concentrated, and many are toxic at such concentrations. That’s why it’s vital to water down any repellents made with essential oils, which we outline in all our articles!
- Mothballs: Many believe mothballs are an easy way to repel spiders and other creepy crawlies. However, mothballs contain naphthalene, which is toxic and can be stored in fat cells for long periods, leading to chronic illness. We never recommend using mothballs as a repellent.
- Child Safe = Safe To Ingest: Just because a product is rated as child-safe does not mean it is okay for children to lick or ingest it. Always try to keep your children away from the area where you placed the repellent product, even if it says it’s safe.
- Children Can’t Get to Enclosed Traps: Glue traps and enclosed insect traps may seem safe to use around children because it’s difficult to reach the harmful area of the trap. However, every parent knows how fast a child can get into something! We never recommend glue traps because they are unsafe to use around children and are inhumane ways of catching pests.
Effect of Pests on Children
When homeowners think about pests, they often consider their effect on their homes and the humans living there. For example, termites destroy wood, mice chew on wires, and dust mites cause allergies.
But what about the effect these pests have specifically on children? At Pest Pointers, we consider this and understand how pests like bees, roaches, and bed bugs can be particularly dangerous for children to be around. Our refined articles offer child-safe pest control advice to keep pests away from you, your home, and your children.
Here are just a few examples of the pests that may have a bigger impact on children:
- Cockroaches and Mites: These creepy crawly bugs are more than just an unsightly inconvenience. They can cause allergic reactions and flare up any respiratory conditions, such as asthma.
- Bees and wasps: Unless you get an allergy test performed, it’s impossible to know if your child is allergic to bees or wasps until they get stung. This can be stressful, and having these pests around the house only adds to the anxiety.
- Bed bugs: While most adults know when something isn’t quite right with their sleep quality, children may not yet know that being itchy or feeling discomfort at night is a problem.
- Mice and rats: Because children attend school and play on playgrounds or in the backyard, they are more likely to be exposed to rat droppings or urine, which can lead to contaminated food and drinks, as well as the spread of unwanted illnesses.
- Ants: Fire ants and other species of biting ants are commonly found in areas where children play, such as the backyard, playgrounds, and sport fields.
- Friend-shaped animals: Until they learn otherwise, children who are raised around pets may mistake wild animals like coyotes, skunks, raccoons, and foxes as domesticated animals and approach them without hesitating.
A review of our child-conscious articles will give you in-depth direction on how to deal with pests like the ones listed above. However, the list of pests doesn’t stop there. We have informative reviews on handling pests like bats, bears, snakes, weevils, snails, slugs, and so much more!
Every Child Is Different
We recognize that every child is unique. Some children are quite curious about their surroundings and want to investigate every nook and cranny, while others are content to stay out of harm’s way.
When we research and write our articles, we have the mindset of a parent who has the most inquisitive child. The one who wants to investigate everything. We leave nothing to chance! At Pest Pointers, we always recommend ways to eliminate household pests that are safe for children, even if they investigate the product.
Safety Practices For Children Around Pests
We have some fantastic guidance on how to keep your children safe around repellents and insecticides. Even if the product claims to be child-safe, it’s always best to err on the side of caution.
As we mentioned before, every child is unique. Some kids are naturally curious about new things in their environment, so it’s important to keep any insect repellent, sprays, traps, and other pest repellents out of reach or behind a barrier.
The good news is that there are plenty of ways to keep your child safe around deterrents, repellents, and pesticides.
Block Off The Area
One way to keep your child or children safe from applied products like pesticides or sprays is to block off the area. This might be as easy as placing a few cardboard boxes in front of the area to block a small child.
Depending on your child’s age, you may have to use something a little stronger, such as a baby gate or fencing. The key here is to block off the area long enough for any sprayed products to dry completely.
After the product has dried, monitoring your child within the area is still important. It’s okay if they are near the dried product, but if they start sitting or crawling on it, it’s time to put the barriers back up.
Wash Any Affected Items
Accidents happen. If you’re applying a repellent and accidentally spray it on or near your child’s clothing, bedding, or blankets, wash them immediately. Low concentrations of repellents are unlikely to affect your child, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Wash items in hot water to remove residual chemicals, then promptly dry the item or hang it up to dry. Avoid letting the item sit in the washer, as there may be leftover chemicals on the sides or base of the machine’s interior.
Place Repellents Out Of Reach
Another way to keep children safe around pest repellents is to keep them out of reach. Most of the time, this simply means keeping them on the counter or in a locked cabinet where children do not have access to.
Child locks are an excellent tool for these scenarios. If you keep any pest-repellent sprays or oils in the house, use child locks on the cabinets where you store them.
Alternatively, move these repellents to a shed or garage that the child does not have access to.
Always Read Labels
Product labels are a wealth of information that can help you identify any possible concerns about having your child around the product. Even natural products like essential oils can have adverse effects.
Labels can also indicate whether or not a product must be diluted before use. This means that water must be added to the product because it is a concentrated version. This is true of all essential oils and many online pesticide products.
So, before using any pest control repellent, turn the bottle around and check out the label for any child-specific warnings. This is also a good way to understand the ingredients in your product. If you feel so inclined, you can always research each ingredient to better understand what it is and its possible effects on children.
Why Choose Us To Solve Your Pest Control Needs
Pests in and around the home are more than just an inconvenience. It can feel like your home is out of your control and like the problem is far too complicated or advanced to solve with anything less than high-power chemicals.
We’re here to tell you that we understand! And we’re here to help with quick, easy solutions that are safe for your children, home, pets, and the environment.
Here’s why you should put your trust in Pest Pointers to solve your pest problems:
- Attainable Solutions: Our child-safe pest control recommendations are practical so that homeowners can read through our articles and have a plan of action that day. We avoid complicated pest control options and give you attainable goals for fast results.
- Conscious-Minded: Our articles are geared toward a variety of audiences, but we strive to prioritize child safety and humane practices. We’re not here to eliminate pests altogether but rather to coexist with them in a way that works for you and your family.
- Thorough Research: A high level of research goes into each and every one of our articles. We gather information from credible sources, such as scientific journals and universities, to give you accurate, reliable information.
- Specific Topics: Instead of providing broad articles covering various pests, we aim to focus on one pest at a time. That way, we give you highly specific information focusing solely on the pest you’re dealing with.
- Identify and Control: We offer tips and guides on getting rid of pests and help you identify mystery pests. If something has been munching on your garden plants, check out some of our articles about garden pests to narrow down what exactly is destroying them! Once you’ve identified the culprit, our articles provide solutions for eliminating the pest and restoring your home back to normal, which your family will thank you for!
There are plenty of options for pest control, but here at Pest Pointers, we offer the best of the best! Our services are earth friendly and family friendly. We hope you and your family, little ones included, will choose us to solve all your pest control needs.
