If someone may have been poisoned
Call 111 if a person is unconscious, has difficulty breathing or looks very ill, or if a chemical is burning or stinging their eyes. If someone has swallowed a chemical, contact the National Poisons Centre on 0800 764 766 immediately, and don't make them throw up unless told to. If it's a pet, ring your vet now.
How long do you stay out?
There's no single number, and we won't make one up. It depends on the product, how it's applied and which rooms are treated. The technician will tell you any re-entry or drying time, and the product label is where that comes from.
The EPA's sheet on gardening products, which include pest sprays, is a useful guide for anything outdoors. It says to read the label to check how long to keep away from a treated area. If the label says nothing, keep children and pets away at least until the spray has dried.
Will it be all right for children and pets?
Nobody can honestly give you a blanket yes, so be wary of anyone who does. What you can do is give the technician the full picture. Tell them about kids, pets, allergies, fish tanks and veggie gardens, then ask which product they'll use, its full name, and for its safety data sheet.
A product's wording won't settle it either. The EPA says gardening products labelled natural or organic can still be hazardous. The re-entry time and the precautions are what count.
Pregnancy, asthma and other health concerns are worth raising on the call, before the visit. Our form doesn't ask about them, so it's up to you to tell the pest business. Your doctor or Healthline can talk it through.
Before the technician arrives
Ask what's needed
Every job's different, so ask for the list when you book. What follows is the usual shape of it.
Put food and dishes away
Clear benches and put food, cutlery and baby bottles in closed cupboards, or wherever the technician says. Bring in the pet bowls.
Clear the edges
Move what you can away from skirting boards, and clear under beds and sinks, so they can reach where pests travel.
Sort the animals
Make a plan for dogs, cats, birds and caged pets. Ask what to do about a fish tank, and whether it needs covering.
Make the roof or subfloor reachable
Clear the way to the ceiling hatch or subfloor access if they'll need it.
For fleas, get ready differently
Health NZ says to have any pets treated, vacuum the carpets and furniture pets use, and wash or throw out their bedding. Ask the technician how to time this around the visit.
When you get back
Wait out the full time
Stick to the re-entry time you were given, and keep children and pets off treated areas until the drying time has passed.
Ask about airing the house
Open windows if the technician suggests it.
Hold off on the mop
Ask before you wash skirtings, floors or the outside walls, because cleaning can remove what was applied. Do clean anything you were told to.
Leave bait stations where they are
They're locked for a reason. Keep children and pets away from them, and tell the technician if one gets moved or opened.
Watch and note
Jot down what you're seeing and where. If it hasn't improved by the time they said it would, ring them.
What to have before they leave
- The full product name, and its safety data sheet if you asked for it.
- Where it was applied, room by room.
- The re-entry and drying times.
- Anything you shouldn't clean, and for how long.
- Whether a follow-up is booked.
- What to do if you see the pest again.
- Any warranty, and what it covers, in writing.
Baits, gardens and storage
Rat bait needs particular care. If a child swallows it, ring the National Poisons Centre on 0800 764 766, and if a pet does, ring the vet straight away. The EPA also says pellet-type garden products could be attractive to young children and pets.
If anything's been used near the veggie patch, the EPA says to check the label for how long to wait before eating what you grow. And if you keep your own pest products at home, Health NZ says to store them out of reach of children in a lockable cabinet. Keep them in their original packaging, never in a food or drink container.
Our advice for treatment day
Plan as if you'll be out longer than you expect. We'd take the kids and the dog somewhere for the afternoon, and take a photo of the treatment record before we left it on the bench. If anything seems unclear, ring the technician and ask. It's a two-minute call, and they'd rather you did.
Want someone to look at it?
Tell us what you've seen and your postcode, and a local pest business that handles exactly that calls you to talk it through.
