Hi everyone. I have avoided pest control in my house because of my 2 year old kid, who has a habit of putting everything in his mouth. Because of a major fire ants infestation so we finally hired an organic pest control (guy from the Natural Pest Control) about 3 days ago. The house smelled like cloves and rosemary for a few hours after that. I tried to keep my kid away from my house during that time.
How soon does the organic oils on the baseboards and the connected carpets dry? I can't keep my kid away from the treated baseboards. Should I really worry about this? Is the organic pest control oils ( clove, rosemary and some other oils) really safe for young kids?
Is following it up with a thorough carpet shampooing to wash out the oils a good idea?
What precaution should I take for my kid following the pest control?
Please help! Thanks!
Thanks Carrie. That was very reassuring. I think my son should be fine. :)
Essential oils are not toxic. My only concern would be the potential for some skin irritation with direct contact on sensitive skin, but really only for a few hours afterwards. If you are still concerned, simply contact the organic pest control company and ask them.
I recommend Eco Friend Pest Control. You can call Lin Ellis at ###-###-####. It is safe for kids and pets. I know you'll be pleased with their service.
The treatment should have dried the same day. Do not shampoo the carpet it'll just wash away what you paid for. The treatment he did in your house will not get rid of fire ants, I'm assuming he did some other organic treatment in your yard to solve that problem. But also make sure your neighbors are treating their fire ant mounds or they'll keep coming back.
As far as essential oils they're pretty harmless but some can have a skin sensitivity.
I am an Entomologist with Texas AgriLife Extension Service and have many years of experience trying to manage fire ants. If you have fire ants in your home you need to treat the problem outside. The ants live in your yard and migrate into your home looking for food. The oils that were applied inside your home will not harm your child. Many of the essential oil based products are not required to be registered as insecticides since they are food based. Washing your carpet will remove the oils and they will no longer work against the ants (if they worked to begin with).
If you want to use organic products outside the home I would recommend using a bait containing the ingredient "Spinosad". This is an OMRI (approved for use in organic production) registered bait that is very effective against fire ants.
See https://agrilifebookstore.org/publications_details.cfm?wh... for more information.
I would just Google "natural pest control" and use some of the methods there. Ants come and go, they are hard to control, I think they hate spearmint..... anyway, there are tons of non poisenous ways to prevent pests. Much cheaper than having some so called Organic pest control dude come to the house.
