Seeing bugs after getting treatment can be frustrating. You pay good money to have a pest control treatment done and it can feel discouraging to still see the bugs after your home or business has been sprayed. Sometimes, it can even feel like there are more bugs now than there were before the treatment! So, what gives? You might ask, “what if I’m still seeing bugs after getting pest control”?
There are a few things that can happen after you have treatment. The short answer is that it could be because you had a lot of bugs to start with, you were just serviced, or this is your first treatment. The good news is that if you’re still seeing bugs, it’s not something to be worried about. Most of the time, it is harmless and the bugs will die off in a few days. However, if that’s not the case, Vinx offers a guarantee and we’re happy to come reservice. Let’s dive into why your home may be still crawling with bugs.
ARE LANDLORDS RESPONSIBLE FOR PEST CONTROL?
Just serviced
It may seem strange, but if you were just serviced, that could be the reason that you have a lot of bugs. If you were not on a preventive treatment before, there were probably a lot of bugs to kill. When the pesticide gets on these bugs, it’s not always an immediate kill. This is especially true with ants but can also happen with cockroaches. The chemicals are designed as a type of “bait” where they go back to their colony and feed everyone else. This kills off the colony in a few days, but it can cause an increase in activity for the first few days.
While not all bugs are given bait, the pesticides can still make the bugs more active right after treatment. It usually stirs the bugs up for a few days, so it can seem like there are more bugs than ever before. In reality, they are coming near the pesticide and that’s attracting them, so it seems like there are more. These sneaky bugs were really just hiding, and the pesticide will get rid of them.
We usually say that if you are seeing bugs within the first ten days after treatment, that’s completely normal. However, if you continue to see the bugs after ten days, it may be time for some intervention from us.
First treatment
As mentioned a little bit before, if you haven’t had preventive pest control, there could be a lot of bugs hiding out in your home that you haven’t seen before. We find that when it’s your first treatment, you can expect to see an increase in bugs for the first few days. We work to push bugs inside the home to the outside, but sometimes, the bugs try to escape the pesticide from the outside and end up inside the home. This can happen with any service include spider extermination, bee control, ant control, etc. This should only last for a few days after your first treatment.
However, if it’s been more than a few days and you are still seeing bugs, it could be because the egg cycle wasn’t interrupted in time and these are new bugs that the pesticide never touched. When that happens, a pest control treatment should be done again. We can understand that this is a hassle, but it’s not usually an issue that repeats after the first treatment. Plus, the good news is that we do free reservices!
Weather
Has there been a bunch of rain lately? Maybe the temperatures are soaring and the humidity has reached its max? The interesting thing about bugs is that they are affected a lot by the weather. When it’s raining, many bugs want to be out of the wetness just like we do. It’s common to see an increase of ants as they come up from underground and seek the dryness of your home. And when it’s hot out, there are always more bugs. They love the heat, and in winter often hideaway to get out of the cold. Summer is free game for them, so an increase is natural with the weather change.
However, that doesn’t mean you have to deal with them. If the weather is bringing out a bunch of bugs you’d rather forget about, we don’t blame you. The best thing you can do is give Vinx a call so we can schedule a follow-up appointment. We can’t control the weather, but we can get rid of the bugs.
Other causes
As with anything, there are a lot of reasons that bugs could be showing up after treatment. With roaches or ants, it’s important to keep food up and to not let trash stay out for more than a few days. This attracts those bugs that are looking for your leftover food. Even crumbs on the floor can attract little ants to come in and seek them out. Make sure your children aren’t hiding open food in the house because that can attract more bugs! If that’s the case and you’re seeing bugs thanks to crumbs or food, call us so we can take care of them.
A few other causes, like an empty lot near you or construction starting, can also cause an increase in bugs in your house. Even if it’s not occurring in your home, bugs may try to seek out a safer place, but thankfully, our pesticide will make sure they know they aren’t welcome!
What to do
When the bugs are crawling and you just want to have a pest-free home, we completely understand. There is nothing worse than expecting to see no bugs and then seeing an increase! We are here to help. There are a few things that you can do when you find yourself seeing marching bugs.
The first thing to do is check the date of your last service. Whether it was an inside or outside treatment doesn’t necessarily matter. Any treatment can cause an increase in the number of bugs that you are seeing. If you’ve been with us for a while, you may not have realized that the service was done. Check your invoice and see when the service had been done. If it was recent, give it at least ten days before you evaluate. The pesticides are working, but some of them work slower than the others.
If after a while you’re still seeing bugs, give us a call. We’ll be happy to talk to you about what you’re experiencing and which bugs you’re seeing. Using that knowledge, we’ll schedule an appointment for a follow-up treatment. We call this a reservice. Because we know that our treatment works, we offer free reservices. We want you to be as happy as we are, so our guarantee is that we’ll come out whenever you see bugs.
What’s a reservice?
A reservice is a treatment of the home that occurs outside of the quarterly treatments. With the quarterly treatments that are preventive, it’s pretty rare that you will see bugs. However, there are new bugs that pop on over from the neighbors’ homes or ones that simply laid too many eggs in between treatments. When that happens, we offer a reservice.
With a reservice, you get the same treatment again. If you’re seeing a specific bug, we’ll treat for that bug specifically to try and get rid of it for good. If it’s just an increase in all types of bugs, we’ll do a regular treatment where we treat for everything out there. We understand the importance of a pest-free home, and we know that it can take time to get there. That’s why we’re dedicated to the happiness of our customers.
How pest control works
Pest control is really a science. All of our technicians are trained and certified in this science so your home will be bug-free. In order to get your home to the tip-top shape that we want it to be in, we have to work with that science. Some bugs respond to treatments differently, which is why we always use multiple pesticides tailored to the specific bugs that you’re seeing.
Our pesticide works to draw bugs away from the home so that they never get inside. However, with the first treatment, we will also treat inside to kill off any egg sacs that may be lying around and any bugs that are still alive. Usually, this is all that’s needed to prevent bugs from coming into the home. With some bugs, like ants, we have to use a bait to kill off the colony. They eat the bait and take it back with them, so it can take a few days for them to die off.
In addition to our inside and outside spray and our ant bait, we also use granules in the yard. These granules kill off any bugs in the yard that may be messing with your grass. This also includes ant piles, which can be large colonies that eventually get into the home.
Bugs can be hard to kill because they have a thick exoskeleton that protects their bodies, which is why multiple pesticides are used to repel, kill, and prevent the bugs from getting near the home.
The preventive process
Bugs are wonderful at creating babies. In fact, some bugs can lay up to 1,000 eggs at one time. So, imagine if that were in your house. It’s not a good thing, and only a pest control treatment can make sure that doesn’t happen. In order for the bugs to be gone for good, not only do you have to get rid of the live ones, but you also have to interrupt the egg cycle.
The egg cycle happens almost on a monthly basis. The first treatment you get should kill off the alive bugs and interrupt the egg cycle so those new babies aren’t going to have time to grow and lay eggs themselves. However, the only way that happens is if you get preventive quarterly pest control treatments.
Since the pesticides wear off after a few months, when you are not getting your home treated every three months, the egg cycle comes back with a vengeance. There is nothing stopping those pesky bugs from multiplying and creating a population that rivals Dallas itself. Since no one wants a city of bugs inside their home, preventive treatment is key. While you may not see bugs all the time and think the pesticide is no longer needed, that couldn’t be further from the truth. As soon as those treatments stop, the egg cycle is no longer interrupted.
The longer you have a preventive treatment, the fewer bugs that you will see. It will keep interrupting the egg cycle to make sure that any bugs that wander over from the neighbors’ homes won’t be able to procreate. Bugs are all around, and they can quickly come back into your home without the proper treatment.
What if I’m still seeing bugs after getting pest control? The Vinx guarantee
When you ask “what if I’m still seeing bugs after getting pest control,” there are various reasons. It could be because you just got treatment and the bugs haven’t died immediately. It could also be because some of the eggs hadn’t been killed because of the timing in the egg cycle. Another reason could be the weather. Many bugs and insects seek heat and dryness which they can typically find in your home. So, if the temperatures have risen recently, that could be another reason you’re seeing bugs.
If you’re seeing bugs after a pest control treatment, we want to help. If you are not a customer of ours and live in the Dallas area, we’d be happy to give you a free quote. You can fill out the form below or give our office a call. If you are a customer of ours, let us know that you’re seeing bugs and we’ll come out for that free reservice.
At Vinx, we’re passionate about getting rid of bugs. We have locations in the Dallas–Fort Worth, Charleston, and Greenville areas. We also serve areas such as Spartanburg and Simpsonville, SC. In fact, we also serve Sulphur Springs TX. We believe that they should stay outdoors where they belong and not be allowed into your home. Though it’s natural to see a few bugs here and there around the house, if it hasn’t been just a week since your last treatment, we can come out and make sure those bugs are dying for good. Fill out the form below or give us a call at 972-855-8469 so we can get rid of the bugs!