Are Pest Control Chemicals Harmful to Pets?
- Sean
- Jan 2
- 3 min read
Hi, neighbor! It’s Sean from LOCAL Bug Guy!
If you have pets, you’re probably wondering if pest control products are safe for them. You don’t want pesticides or bug traps harming your furry little friends! This post will give you some answers on how harmful pest control products are to pets and what you can do about it.
And if you’re in the market for pest control, give us at LOCAL Bug Guy a call! We’ve been serving the Provo, Utah, and Winchester, California areas for years. We’ll give you a free quote to get you started.
Are pesticides harmful to pets?
The danger of any pesticide or insecticide is measured by risk which is just toxicity times exposure. Pest control products are designed to be toxic to bugs and other pests, and should pose almost no risk to humans and pets when applied properly.
The “exposure” part of that makes proper application important. All pest control products used by professionals and consumers should have instructions on how to apply them. As long as you’re following the application instructions on the product, the risk of hurting your pets is almost brought down to zero.
So follow instructions! That’s an order, soldier!
If you're worried about getting instructions wrong and harming your pets, hiring a professional is a good option. Professional pest control techs are specially trained to understand how to apply pesticides so your pets don’t get hurt. They do this full-time, so they know what they’re doing.
Pest control products and safety testing
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates laws around pest control products to make sure products are safe for human and pet use. This includes store bought products and products used by professional pest control companies.
So you can take comfort in the fact that when you buy a pest control product and use it according to instructions, it should be relatively harmless to you and your pets.
Are there things I can do to lower their risk more?
Sure! Here are a few tips.
Keep pets away during treatment
Is it time to treat your home for pests? Keep your pets away from treatment areas! Put your dogs in the kennel for a couple of hours. Put your cat in the carrier for a while. Put your award-winning exotic parakeet in its cage. Once the product dries, you should be fine letting your pets roam about as usual.
Remove pet stuff from treatment areas
Doggy beds. Cat beds. Toys. Treats. Food bowls. Move them away from treatment areas. If food bowls or toys come in contact with pest control product, they can become contaminated. Put them away before treatment.
Store pest control products in safe places
If you’re using a store bought pest control product, put it in a place that your pet can’t access. Pest control products typically don’t have smells that attract your pets, but if your dog or cat happens to get into the box where your pest control spray is stored, they could get hurt. Make sure they’re kept somewhere safe.
Let the pros handle it
Ready to take the weight of pest control off your shoulders and let a pro handle it? LOCAL Bug Guy is highly experienced in treating for the most common pests in Utah and California. Our hundreds of five-star reviews show how much people have loved working with us. And we’ll make sure we apply our products in a way that’s safe from pets.
Contact us for a free quote. We’ll give you no-BS answers on how much it’ll cost to treat your home based on its size and the pests you’re dealing with.