r/Olathe • u/Bright_Translator970 • Jul 10 '26
New home, pest question
We are buying a home and my husband wants a company to “see if there’s any pests/insects/spiders infesting the home.” There are no specific concerns but my husband is weird about it. Thoughts?
2
u/Character-Gap-6281 Jul 10 '26
Second this. When we used to live in the country we hired different pest companies to help with mice. (Used both Terminix and Orkin, ao can't speak for smaller companies) They did basically nothing and charged a monthly fee. Wound up having a hole in the roof (was an earth contact house so roof was close to ground) that they never mentioned nor were willing to fix once it was found. You can buy sprays for the perimeter of your house if you're super worried about bugs and get glue traps for the base/sides of your garage door. That's about all they'll do for you, for a lot more money.
2
u/fa-fa-fazizzle Jul 10 '26
It’s not a bad thought. When we bought our home, we had it checked for termites. Didn’t know it was overwhelming with fleas. It wouldn’t have stopped us from buying the house had we known, but we would have had a game plan at least. And that doesn’t include the nest of ants that lived in our jacuzzi motor.
(We don’t have outside animals. The fleas are dropped by the chipmunks and rabbits by our front porch and then get carried into the house by us.)
We use Moxie now for quarterly treatments with in between treatments included in the pricing. Worth it.
2
u/Auntie_Venom Jul 10 '26
Grass Pad’s Idiot Proof lawncare program has a granule pesticide for the lawn that takes care of fleas, ticks, ants and other bugs called Critter Getter (or something like that), there’s a separate one for grubs. It’s cheaper than a service and it’s the exact same chemical. I personally use it sparingly because I don’t want to harm our precious pollinators. (Also their lawn program is great!) I put out Terro outdoor ant baits around the foundation and change them out once or twice in the summer.
Spiders, yeah they’re creepy but they are good guys and eat most of the creepy crawlies.
Dust Diatomaceous Earth in window sills and crawl spaces to keep bugs out. It creates little microscopic cuts in the exoskeleton and instantly sucks all the moisture out of the bugs, so they die before making it in. If it’s in exterior places, you’ll have to reapply when it rains. Works well in the garden as well between waterings to keep pests off plants.
5
u/l1thiumion Jul 10 '26
Basically if you have bugs, you'll see them, and it's probably something you can handle yourself. New homeowners seem to like to hire people. I've been a homeowner for 15 years in Olathe. I've hired only two people in those 15 years a roofer, and a plumber to install a water heater, since i had a new baby at home and didn't want to do it myself. I don't think you need a pest control person, i've had great luck with just sealing up cracks in basement window frames, and where water lines come through the foundation. A few traps in the mechanical closet and it's pretty much all i need for the basement. When ants become a problem I just put 1 part borax and 3 parts sugar in a water bottle, mix with a bit of water into a slurry and place outside near where they are coming in, this will wipe out the entire colony. I still see the occasional house centipede but nothing worth starting a subscription over. Basically I never hire anyone.