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Pest control blog: page 14

Identification guides, what treatments cost, and what the public records say about pests and the companies that deal with them.

Articles

Family loading bags and a pet carrier into a car, leaving the house for the dayOriginal data

Bug Bombs Caused More Illness Than All Professional Pest Control

California recorded 340 illness cases from bug bombs used at home 2016-2023, vs 135 from all professional pest control. DPR began a fogger review in 2026.

October 3, 2026House covered by a red and grey striped fumigation tent, a neighbour walking a dog pastOriginal data

California Is Tenting Fewer Buildings

California structural fumigations fell from 102,490 in 2016 to 78,398 in 2023 while other pest control grew 33%. County-by-county data.

October 3, 2026Field scientist in waders dipping a sampling cup on a pole into a riverOriginal data

Imidacloprid Exceeds EPA’s Stream Benchmark in 30 Percent of Samples

Imidacloprid exceeded EPA's chronic invertebrate benchmark in 30.1% of 34,686 US stream samples. For 4 pyrethroids, benchmarks are below every lab limit.

October 3, 2026Nurse in blue scrubs walking along a busy hospital corridorOriginal data

Who Gets Hurt by Pest Control? Eight Years of Illness Reports

135 pest control illness cases in California 2016-2023; 116 from fumigation: 15.2 per 100,000 fumigations vs 0.015 for all other treatments.

October 3, 2026Clean laboratory glassware on a stainless steel bench under even daylightOriginal data

Eight Years of Pest Control Chemistry: Organophosphates Nearly Gone

Eight years of California pest control data: neonicotinoid applications up 168%, growth regulators up 268%, organophosphates down 96%.

October 2, 2026Dry hillside of golden grass at the edge of a California housing development in late afternoon lightOriginal data

California’s Rodenticide Ban, Measured: Pest Control Switched Poisons Instead of Baiting Less

Second-generation rodenticide applications fell 85% in the first year of California's ban, but total rodenticide use rose 23% as diphacinone replaced them.

October 2, 2026Organised service vehicle interior with unmarked containers and a sprayer in a shelving rackOriginal data

The 15 Products Behind Half of California’s Pest Control, Ranked by 18 Million Applications

15 of 1,723 products made half of California's 18.3 million pest control applications in 2022. Bifen I/T leads at 7.9%. Top 100 ranked.

October 2, 2026Plain unmarked white chemical containers on a steel shelf in a clean storage roomOriginal data

How Toxic Is Professional Pest Control? 18 Million California Treatments, Classified by Label

97.2% of 18.3 million California pest control applications used CAUTION-label products; 0.6% DANGER, mostly fumigation; 2.4% restricted-use.

October 2, 2026Suburban California street with one single storey house under a plain fumigation tentOriginal data

Where California Tents Its Houses: Fumigation and Pest Treatment per Home, by County

Santa Barbara recorded 23.1 structural fumigations per 1,000 housing units in 2022, 4x the California rate. All 58 counties, 2022 and 2023.

October 2, 2026Technician's sprayer and hand tools laid out on the open tailgate of a service truckOriginal data

Pest Control’s August Peak: A Year of California Treatment Reports, Month by Month

California pest control files 30% more treatment reports in August than January while payroll rises 4-7%. Rodent work stays flat all year.

October 2, 2026Suburban drainage ditch with clear slow water, mown grass banks and a culvertOriginal data

Testing for Fipronil Alone Misses One in Four Detections in US Streams

In 20,676 US stream samples, 1,320 held a fipronil breakdown product with no detectable fipronil: 1 in 4 detections a parent-only test misses.

October 2, 2026Concrete storm drain outfall discharging into a shallow creekOriginal data

The Rodenticides Nobody Measures in Water

Six of eight rodenticides used in pest control, including brodifacoum, have no registered name in the US national water-quality database. Warfarin is measured only as a...

October 2, 2026