When you have hard-to-reach pests living inside your home, it is sometimes necessary to turn to fumigation as an answer. Fumigation is like hitting the reset button on targeted pests, and can give your home and your family a new lease on life. But, before the tent goes up and the fumigants get turned on, there are some things you can do to make this short inconvenience a little more convenient.
As you are probably aware, fumigation can take as much as 72 hours for the entire process to be done. While this is a small price to pay for a complete eradication of those invasive pests, it can be frustrating if you're not properly prepared. Making arrangements well ahead of time and making a thorough list of items you will need to take with you can be a big help. It is also important to note that rain and heavy winds can affect the success of the treatment. Being aware that a reschedule is sometimes necessary will prepare you for the unlikely event that your scheduled treatment needs to be shifted to another day.
Other things you can do before fumigation:
- Remove plants from inside the house and from outside areas that will be fumigated.
- Trim all shrubbery around the house, so as to allow space to secure the tent around your home.
- All mattresses need to be removed from plastic coverings. Plastic covers will hinder the treatment from working properly. Also consider opening or removing plastic covers from furniture. This will prevent gases from being trapped inside.
- Open all drawers and doors to cabinets, appliances, closets, and cubbies to help technicians get your treatment done faster.
- Open all blinds, curtains, and shades to give technicians easy access to windows.
- Canned or bottled items that have not been opened do not need to be removed or sealed in plastic if the original manufacturer's seal is intact.
- Tobacco products, medicines, and other products can all remain in the home if they are in plastic, glass, or metal cans or jars that have not been opened and where the manufacturer's air-tight seal is still intact. Anything that is not sealed needs to be removed or double bagged.
- If you have anything that operates on gas, such as a gas stove, the day BEFORE you are to have the fumigation, you need to be sure someone from the gas company turns your gas off.
- Also, the day before, water the perimeter of your house at a depth of about six inches. This will help to protect any plants which are just outside the fumigation tent. It also helps prevent leakage from the base of the tent.
If you have additional concerns about fumigation, the fumigation specialists here at Action Pest Control will be more than happy to help. Just give us a quick call or email. If you would like to set up a FREE fumigation consultation, we'd be glad to help you with that as well.