Buggsy Quarterly General Pest Service Guide
The standard whole-house service real pest control companies run every quarter — the same routine techs run on a general (non-specialty) account. It's not aimed at one pest; it's the maintenance program that keeps ants, spiders, wasps, roaches, and the rest of the "normal" bug pressure from building up around a house in the first place. If you're not currently fighting a specific infestation (see the species guides for that), this is the routine to run every 3 months.
Part 1: The service, step by step
Run these in order. The whole thing takes most homeowners 30–45 minutes for an average house.
- Knock down webs and nests first. Before you spray anything, brush down every spider web and wasp/mud-dauber nest you can reach — eaves, corners, window frames, under decks, light fixtures, door frames. Use a stiff-bristle brush on an extension pole.
- Dust the brush head. Load a small amount of insecticide dust onto the brush bristles before you knock things down. As you brush, it deposits a light residual in the exact corners and crevices spiders and wasps rebuild in — that's what actually stops them from coming right back to the same spot, not just the brushing alone.
- Spray the foundation. Band the entire foundation perimeter — 3 feet up the wall, 3 feet out onto the ground/mulch/landscaping — with a liquid barrier treatment. Get doors, windows, vents, and any utility penetrations extra attention; those are the entry points.
- Granulate the yard. Broadcast granules over the whole yard, out to at least 10–15 feet from the house (further if the lot allows). This is what handles the ants, ticks, and general crawling-insect pressure further out in the yard that the foundation spray alone won't reach.
Part 2: Rates and quantities
- Foundation spray: Demand CS at 0.5 oz per gallon of water.
- Yard granules: Bifen L/P — one full hand-spreader load covers an average-size house/yard. Bigger lots need a second load; don't stretch one load thin to cover more ground than it's rated for.
Part 3: Regional swap — scorpion states
In the western states where scorpions are a real concern (Arizona being the big one), swap Demand CS for Onslaught FastCap as the foundation spray. FastCap is labeled and formulated for scorpions as well as general crawling pests, which Demand CS isn't built for — everything else in the service (brush/dust, granules, rates, interior visits) stays the same.
Part 4: Interior — twice a year
Run the exterior service (Parts 1–3) every quarter, but only treat the interior twice a year, using Alpine WSG. It's a non-repellent (dinotefuran) product, which matters indoors — repellent sprays just push ants and roaches deeper into the walls instead of controlling them. Baseboards, entry points, under sinks, and any known hot spots.
Part 5: Product list
| Product | Active | Role in this service |
|---|---|---|
| Syngenta Demand CS | lambda-cyhalothrin (repellent) | Foundation barrier spray, 3' up / 3' out — standard states |
| Onslaught FastCap | esfenvalerate | Foundation barrier spray — scorpion-country swap for Demand CS |
| Control Solutions Bifen L/P | bifenthrin granule (repellent) | Whole-yard granular, 10–15'+ out |
| D-Fense Dust | deltamethrin | Light dusting on the brush head — web/nest re-buildup prevention |
| Alpine WSG | dinotefuran (non-repellent) | Interior treatment, 2x/year |
All available on the Buggsy products page. Never substitute big-box consumer versions — the actives, concentrations, and label uses differ.
Part 6: Safety
- The label is the law — rates, application sites, PPE, and child/pet re-entry intervals are legal requirements, not suggestions. The 0.5 oz/ gallon and one-spreader-load figures above are a general-service starting point; always confirm against the actual product label you bought, since formulations and label rates can change.
- Gloves and eye protection for mixing concentrate and handling dust.
- Keep people and pets off treated foundation beds and yard until fully dry.
- Don't dust or spray directly into active wasp nests you're standing under — knock nests down from the side/below with the pole, not from directly beneath them.
Part 7: When Buggsy says call a pro
- Any pest pressure that doesn't taper off after 2–3 consecutive quarterly services — that's usually a conducive condition (moisture, gaps, harborage) the quarterly service alone won't fix.
- Wasp/hornet nests in a wall void, or anywhere you can't safely reach with a pole from the ground.
- Termite activity, carpenter ant frass, or anything structural — this service is general maintenance, not a treatment for wood-destroying pests. See the Termite & Wood-Borer guide and Ant guide for those.