Listen, I get it. You’re sitting in your kitchen in Wilmington or Dover, you see a stray roach or a line of ants, and your first instinct isn’t to call me—it’s to run to the big-box hardware store. You want it gone, and you want it gone now.

But here’s the cold, hard truth from someone who spends his days in crawlspaces and attics: Most DIY pest control is just relocation, not elimination. In fact, many of the products you buy off the shelf are designed to be “repellents,” which sounds good in theory, but in practice, it’s like trying to put out a fire by scattering the embers.

If you’re determined to handle things yourself, at least avoid these three “rookie moves” that consistently turn a small nuisance into a full-blown structural nightmare.

1. The “Bug Bomb” Backfire

The total-release fogger—or “bug bomb”—is the single most misunderstood tool in the aisle. People think it’s a magic reset button. It isn’t.

When you set off a fogger, the pesticide moves upward and settles on flat surfaces (like your countertops and pillows). It rarely reaches the deep cracks, crevices, and wall voids where pests actually live. Even worse, the “fumes” often act as a warning. Instead of dying, the colony senses the threat and retreats deeper into your walls or moves to a different room. You might not see a bug for three days, but meanwhile, they’re setting up shop in your bedroom.

2. Over-Baiting (and Under-Cleaning)

I see this with ants and roaches all the time. Someone buys a tube of gel bait and smears it everywhere like they’re frosting a cake.

The Mistake: If you use too much, or if you place it near a “repellent” spray you just used, the pests won’t touch it.

The Competing Food Source: Bait only works if it’s the best meal in the house. If you’ve got crumbs under the toaster or a leaky pipe under the sink, the pests are going to ignore your poison for the “organic” buffet you’ve accidentally provided.

3. Misidentifying the Enemy

In Delaware, we deal with a lot of “look-alikes.” I’ve had customers spend $200 on ant spray only to find out they actually have swarming termites.

Using the wrong product for the wrong bug is like taking aspirin for a broken leg—it might dull the pain for a second, but it’s not fixing the underlying structural damage. Termites, carpenter ants, and powderpost beetles all require very different strategies. If you guess wrong, you’re just giving the colony more time to eat your house.

The Loyalty Bottom Line

DIY has its place—keeping your gutters clean and your grass trimmed are the best pest control steps you can take. But when the “guests” are already inside, “spray and pray” isn’t a strategy; it’s an invitation for them to move into the guest room.

At Loyalty Pest Control, we don’t just spray; we investigate. We find the source, we identify the species, and we stop the cycle. Don’t make your infestation worse by trying to be a weekend warrior with a can of Raid.

Think you might have made one of these mistakes already? Would you like me to put together a quick “Home Inspection Checklist” so you can spot the signs of a hidden infestation before it gets out of hand?

The post Don’t Feed the Beast: Why Your “Quick Fix” is Making My Job Harder appeared first on Loyalty Termite and Pest Control Wilmington Deleware.