Bulwark Exterminating

Bulwark Exterminating provides pest control services in St. George. The industry has moved a long way from the idea that pest control means applying chemicals on a schedule, and the framework that replaced it - integrated pest management - puts most of the effort somewhere else entirely.

Worth knowing

Integrated pest management treats a chemical application as one tool near the end of a sequence rather than the whole service. The sequence starts with identification, because the treatment for one ant species is wrong for another and the treatment for a ground-dwelling roach is wrong for an indoor one. Then comes inspection to find where the pest is entering and what is sustaining it, then exclusion and habitat modification to remove those, then monitoring, and only then targeted treatment where it is still needed. The logic is straightforward: a pest that cannot get in does not need to be killed after it does.

Exclusion on a house in this valley has a fairly predictable list. Weep holes in brick and block, which have to stay open for drainage, take stainless mesh inserts rather than being sealed. Garage door bottom seals harden and shrink in this sun and stop meeting the slab at the corners, which is the single most common entry point in a desert home. Utility penetrations - refrigerant line sets, gas lines, hose bibs, electrical conduit - are often foamed but rarely sealed against something determined. Door sweeps, window screens, attic and dryer vent screens, and the gap where stucco meets a roofline all belong on the same list. None of it is glamorous, and it is the part of the work that keeps paying after the technician leaves.

More on this: garage door companies and handyman services. See every listing under Pest Control.

Nearby: Pendleton Furniture, Morty's Cafe, Urban Renewal.