Is Pest Control Safe for Households with Children and Pets?
Households that include young children and pets need to be careful when dealing with pest control. Curiosity and their small size can make it challenging to keep them out of places where they shouldn't be. The answer to, "Is pest control safe?" is: yes, if extra precautions are taken to ensure the children and pets' safety. It is arguably much safer to deal with rodents than to allow them to continue to live in the home, where there is a risk that diseases and contamination may be passed from the rodents to humans and domestic pets.
Using Professional Pest Control Services
The use of a professional pest control service can provide peace of mind. They have the experience and knowledge to deal with all types of situations, including households with children and pets. Most parents and pet owners feel safer dealing with eco-friendly, pet-friendly solutions. Companies that specialize in humane pest control services will most often have non-toxic, non-poison solutions for getting rid of rodents in the home. Poisoned bait or rodenticides should never be used. Ask to see the safety data for any products the company proposes to use in the home.
Traps
Traps are a common tool used to remove mice, rats, and other rodents from a home. When young children and pets are present, traps must be placed in areas that are inaccessible to them - although that can be much more difficult with young children who are fast and mobile, and also particularly with cats, who are expert mischief-makers!
Traps aren't an issue if they are placed in an attic or other inaccessible area... but there may be situations where that simply isn't going to resolve the problem. If snap traps need to be placed where children or pets might happen upon them, then they need to be properly secured within a box. The box should not be able to be moved or tipped over by a child or pet, and a child's arm or pet's paw should not be able to reach into the box and trip the trap.
Even live traps need to be considered carefully. Once again, a small pet shouldn't be able to inadvertently wander into one and get caught... nor should a child or pet be able to stick an arm, leg, or even head into the trap and perhaps become injured.
Using Bait
Even if regular food items are used, it's not a good idea for it to be accessible to children or pets in case they consume it. The food may be spoiled or could be contaminated from rodents or their urine or feces. Remember, too, that although peanut butter is a popular rodent bait, some people have very severe allergies to it. Ask a pest control professional what type of bait they intend to use.
Regardless of the measures taken, children and pets of course need to continue to be supervised appropriately.
So is pest control safe for households with young children and pets? If proper precautions are put into place, then yes. Parents and pet owners should feel free to ask questions about any treatment or rodent removal plan. Don't be afraid to also ask for an explanation or demonstration of how the company intends to child or pet-proof traps. Ultimately, it is better to remove rodents from the home so that the home can be properly cleaned and disinfected (and repaired, if necessary). Rodent exclusion and preventive pest control steps should then be taken to keep rodents out of the home.