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Consider Fumigation to Rid your Home or Business of Multiple Pests
Is your home crawling with ants, termites, spiders and all sorts of other pests? Having just a few insect pests in your house can be disturbing; having a whole lot of them running all over your house will be like sitting through an unpleasant 3D sci-fi horror movie, but only too real. If you have such a situation at home, then you should consider fumigation to exterminate all of them at one go instead of removing each pest individually.
Fumigation is a pest control technique that involves filling the affected area completely with gaseous pesticides, called fumigants. The idea is to suffocate or poison all the pests living and hiding in the target area. Since the fumigants can reach inside every crack and crevice and permeate through carpets, almost all the insects are flushed out and killed. This makes it the favoured method for controlling pests in commercial buildings, homes and large spaces.
The fumigants that are widely used in fumigation are phosphine, 1,3-dichloropropene, chloropropene, methyl isocyanate, hydrogen cyanide, sulfuryl fluoride and formaldehyde. These chemicals are highly toxic and can quickly kill any insect and microorganism that they come into contact with. They can be toxic to humans, although not lethal. This makes fumigation a hazardous operation that only certified professionals are legally allowed to perform. However, if properly done, fumigation is considered safe as gases escape into the atmosphere soon after being released from the building.
Fumigating your home generally involves the following steps:
Create a Sealed Environment: The affected area is covered to create a sealed environment from which no toxic gas and no pests can escape. If your entire house is affected, it may have to be covered with a rubber tent.
Remove the Occupants and their Pets: Before fumigation starts, all the occupants and their pet animals are removed to a safe place. They are not allowed to return until the area has been determined safe.
Release the Fumigant: The fumigant is sprayed or released into the covered area in liberal quantities. The operators who perform the job wear special suits and masks to protect themselves.
Wait for the Fumigant to Work: Sufficient time is given for the fumigant to percolate through affected area and act on the pests. It takes an hour or two to kill all the insects within the building.
Allow the Fumigant to Escape: After the recommended waiting time, the covered area is ventilated to allow the poisonous gas to escape entirely. No trace of the gas should remain before the cover is removed.
Safe to Use: After all the gas has escaped, the cover is removed and people are allowed to enter the area.
Depending upon the size of your home, the entire fumigation can take 1 - 2 hours, with an additional 3 hours for poisonous gas to completely dissipate. Once a fumigated area becomes safe for breathing, you can once again enter the building. Fumigation is no simple task, and takes a team of professionals to successfully rid your space of pests, in a safe and thorough manor. Contact us today to learn more about our many fumigation options!