Green Pest Control
What does it mean to be green? Being green is suddenly a popular thing to do in business. Many companies have jumped on this bandwagon only as a marketing campaign and especially in the pest control industry.
First of all, it is not a bad thing when companies try to be green (even if their motives are not the best). It is essential for all businesses to be conscious of their impact on the environment. But, since being “green” is such a broad statement, I thought it would be helpful to narrow down what it means when a pest control company claims to be eco-friendly.
Some companies say they are Green and even have the word “Green” in their name, but do absolutely nothing to back it up. They use the same products as pest control companies that are not green at all. On the other end of the spectrum, you have companies that use only natural and organic products like mint seed oil, cedar chips, etc. Although these methods sound nice and clean, they are more costly and hardly work at all.
At New Leaf Pest Control, we stand somewhere in the middle. We believe in being eco-friendly, and customer safety is always our highest priority. We have established a way of doing pest control that is safe, effective, and mostly green. Many of our products that are used the most are organophosphates (which are products that are derived from plants). For example, the product we use most often comes from chrysanthemum, and we also use some natural products like Diatomaceous Earth.
However, there are times where we need to lean on other approaches that are not considered “green.” In the past several years, there have been considerable advances in the science behind pesticide formulations. The last generation of pesticides were just plain toxic, but the newer generation is smarter and more targeted in their approach. I believe that many of the non-green options are safer than green options. For me, again, safety is the bottom line and trumps being “green” in my book.
The products that we use are only part of why we are green. It is also a way of doing business and living life. We created our business model with this in mind and do our best to lessen our impact on the environment in our day to day operations. This includes our treatment methods as well. We use an approach called integrated pest management, which means that we tailor a specific treatment plan for each home. We are not out there just “spraying,” but applying the appropriate amount of product to eliminate the pest issue.
So, if you are looking for something 100% natural and green, that may not be us. There are plenty of companies out there that can help you with that. However, if you are looking for an eco-friendly, safe pest control company, that is what we are.