Discovering that your home, business or rental property is infested with insects is always a bummer, but making the situation worse by introducing new problems is certainly the last thing that anybody would want to do in such a situation. One great way to start things out on the wrong foot when dealing with an insect infestation is to convince oneself that the insects can be eradicated without professional assistance and with commercially available pesticides. Of course, some insect situations within a house can be handled by non-trained homeowners, but if the infestation is substantial and extends to areas of a home that are inaccessible, then calling upon the services of a pest control professional is in order. It is not uncommon for disasters to occur when homeowners and tenants attempt to eradicate insect infestations themselves. For example, not long ago, a business owner discovered that her hair salon had become infested with numerous insects of different species. In a desperate attempt to remedy the situation herself, she literally blew up her salon. But luckily, she successfully eradicated the insect pests.
A New York City woman purchased and activated 20 insect pest foggers within her hair salon in order to eradicate an extensive insect infestation within the business. Although the initial attempt at eradication via fogger managed to kill several of the insects, the foggers also revealed the true extent of the infestation, which was more widespread than she had realized. Since an even greater number of insects arrived to replace the ones that had just been killed, the salon owner proceeded to set up a few dozen additional bug foggers to seal the deal. Unfortunately for the amateur pest control operator, the woman left the pilot light in her stove on, which ignited the flammable aerosol released by the several dozen fogging machines. This is, unfortunately, what can happen when people try and do things quickly. It’s always better to contact professionals that know how to take precautions when eradicating pests and using chemicals. Many pest control companies will have appropriate storage systems to ensure that no flammable liquids are released accidentally. By using bunding storage techniques (learn more here), pest companies can ensure that no spills or leaks will impact the customer’s home or business. This should prevent any incidents like this one. Perhaps this woman should’ve contacted professionals to deal with this problem.
The resulting blast certainly eradicated the insect pests, but the building’s windows were blown out on a total of three stories and 12 people sustained injuries. One building resident described running from the flames in an attempt to escape the building alive. Not surprisingly, this particular incident is nothing new, as non-professionals blow up their homes or other structures 500 times every year in the US in ill-conceived efforts to eradicate insect infestations with flammable fogging machines.
Do you believe that it is ever permissible for a non-expert to attempt a DYI pest eradication method?
