How we decide what Shoo recommends

Every plan on this site, and every plan the Shoo app will give you, has to pass two questions before anything goes in it. Does it actually work? And is it safe in a home like yours? Most pest advice online only asks the first, and often not very carefully. We wrote our answers down as rules, so they do not drift when a trendy product comes along. Here they are, in the order we apply them.

Known, established solutions only

We recommend what pest control guidance already backs: bait, traps, sealing gaps, mattress encasements, removing food and water, and the like. Nothing novel, nothing unproven, no clever trick that went round social media last month.

That rules out a lot of what people try first. Peppermint oil, vinegar, baking soda, bay leaves, conkers, mothballs for snakes. We understand the appeal: they are cheap, they feel safe, and someone swears by them. But they do not do the job, so they only appear in our answers to say so, and to point to what does. Do baking soda, peppermint or borax kill cockroaches? and do peppermint oil or vinegar keep ants away? are two examples.

Free fixes first

A Shoo plan is staged, and the first stage costs nothing. Fix the dripping tap. Dry the sink at night. Clear the crumbs behind the cooker. Store food sealed. Close the gap around the pipe under the sink. Cockroaches, ants, mice and moths all come for food, water and shelter, and taking those away does real work before you spend anything.

Then come the known products the plan actually needs, and only those. For German cockroaches, that is usually gel bait, an insect growth regulator and monitor traps, not a shelf of sprays. Then, if the numbers say so, a professional. You can see the stages in I saw one cockroach and what you need for German cockroaches, and in what order. Our guide to sealing gaps covers the free part properly.

The label wins

Every bait, spray and growth regulator comes with a label, and the label sets how that product may be used where it is sold. Our advice never overrides it. If we say “small dots under the sink” and your product’s label says something different, follow the label. Where a plan names a product, it points you to the label too.

That is also why we name product types rather than telling you exactly how much to use. Strengths and directions differ between brands and countries. The label on the one in your hand is the only one that applies. Our safety and labels page and how to read a pest product label explain how to read one, and how long should I stay out after my home is sprayed? shows the label rule in action.

Kids and pets, every time

A toddler on the kitchen floor or a cat that investigates everything changes a plan. So every plan has that branch built in. Products go somewhere a child or pet cannot get to them, or they are left out of the plan altogether if they are not suitable. Enclosed bait stations, traps behind furniture, nothing loose on the floor of a room a child plays in.

Pregnancy, asthma, bites, a child or pet who got into something: we do not diagnose. Read the label, and see a doctor or pharmacist, or call your vet, plainly and promptly.

More in is cockroach treatment safe with a baby in the house?, is ant bait safe with a baby or pets? and is pest control safe for my cats and dogs?

No ultrasonic, ever

Plug-in ultrasonic repellers promise to drive away mice, cockroaches and spiders with sound you cannot hear. Established pest guidance does not rely on them, and the evidence that they work is weak. So we never recommend one as a fix, we will not sell them, and the Shoo app will not have an ultrasonic feature either. A phone speaker could not do it anyway. If you already bought some, you are in good company, and do ultrasonic pest repellers work? explains what to do instead.

Humane only, for animals

Insects get bait and traps. Mice, rats, birds, foxes, snakes and dogs get a different rulebook. For animals we recommend only humane and preventive methods: closing the way in once they have left, removing what draws them, humane deterrents, live catch traps, and licensed wildlife services. No poison. No glue traps. No snap traps. Nothing built to injure an animal.

Part of that is kindness, and part is that the alternatives cause real harm. Poison can reach pets and wildlife that were never the target. Glue traps cause suffering. And many birds and wild animals are protected by law, so a nest that is in use may be off limits until it is empty. Check with your local wildlife authority before you touch one. See mice keep coming back, are glue traps or bucket traps humane? and can I remove a bird’s nest?

Dogs are humane too. No pepper spray. Deterrent sprays such as citronella are legal in some countries and not others, so is dog deterrent spray legal where I live? tells you who to ask. And snakes or any animal that could be dangerous get the same answer every time: keep your distance, keep kids and pets away, and call local animal control or a licensed catcher. We will never tell you an animal is harmless from a description.

Regulated products, only where they are allowed

Baits, growth regulators and repellent sprays are regulated, and the rules differ by country. In the US they need EPA registration, and states can add their own. In the EU they fall under the Biocidal Products Regulation. A product that is fine in one country may not be legal to sell in the next.

Right now Shoo sells nothing. The shop is closed, and our guides name product types as information so you can find what works locally. If that changes, chemical products will only be offered in countries where they may be sold, never from unregistered listings, and the page will name the real brand. If Shoo ever earns money from a product it recommends, the page will say so.

A straight answer when it is time for a pro

Plenty of pest problems clear at home with the right order. Some do not, and saying so is part of the job. Bed bugs rarely go with DIY alone. Rats in numbers need a professional. A building-wide cockroach problem needs the building to act. And if your traps are still catching young cockroaches after weeks of doing everything right, more of the same is not the answer.

When we say call a pro, we also tell you what to ask: which method, how many visits, whether there is a follow-up, and whether you get a written report. Your trap counts and dated photos help them too. The full list is in questions to ask a pest controller. Read should I deal with cockroaches myself or call pest control? and can I get rid of bed bugs without an exterminator?

The same goes for the law. Renting, deposits, hotels and neighbours vary by country, so we explain the usual pattern and then name who can tell you where you stand: the council’s environmental health team in the UK, a tenancy board or housing authority, a tenants’ union, Citizens Advice.

The same rules for the AI

The detector on this website already follows every rule on this page, and the app’s plans will too once it is out. It says when it is not sure, and it never invents a species or a fix. Why that matters is in why Shoo says “not sure”, and the steps from photo to plan are in how Shoo works.