Why are appropriate technology services so hard to come by?

Years ago I was impressed by the ideas in the books Green Wizardry and The Integral Urban House about using the low-tech solutions for the biggest bang when it comes to reducing energy usage and controlling pests. The books advised that the best solution for these issues was to seal up any openings in which air or pests could infiltrate. I decided that whenever I got a house of my own, I would follow their advice.

But once I got my old, highly permeable house, I quickly became overwhelmed by the prospect of trying to do it all myself. I tried to search for contractors who might do the work, but all I got was a useless energy audit from my electric company that left me with a bunch of light bulbs and the news that I did not qualify for rebates. And for that I waited months! When I search for contractors specializing in things like weatherization and energy audits, not much comes up. The focus seems to be on major appliance upgrades. So I did a little caulking on my own, and then resigned myself to having a permeable house.

But then last summer I was visited by a couple of roaches, and they are the one pest I will actively use poison for. They give me such anxiety.  So to relieve my anxiety, I started looking for an exterminator. Everything I read advised that sealing cracks and openings is the best defense, so I assumed I would find an exterminator to do that. But upon browsing I realized that all the companies planned to just come in and spray poison. That is not what I wanted, so I contented myself with spreading boric acid and DE around far too liberally. I saw no more roaches and forgot about the idea of sealing the house.

But this winter to spring I was visited by an inordinate amount of stink bugs. I was removing several a day, which got tedious. I could not figure out how they were getting in to try to seal the openings, and given how permeable my house is there could be more than one point of entry. I also got visited by ants. I was able to figure out that they were coming in through the stove vent, but I did not know what to do about a place that has openings for functional reasons. They eventually stopped visiting on their own volition.

Every season seems to have its pest visitors, and now that summer is upon us, another roach came to visit last night. I started looking again for pest control companies, and again I was dismayed that the modus operandi for these companies is to get customers hooked on a subscription of spraying poisons around their homes. I get that having a repeat customer base is profitable, but surely there should be some intrepid entrepreneur who wants to fill a severely under-served niche of low-tech sealing. I would start to think about doing it myself except the whole reason I am looking at these companies is because I find this work overwhelming.

Why is it so hard to find companies that offer effective, low-tech solutions? Surely there must be a way to make a profit even without the subscription model when there are so many homes in need and apparently no competitors?

Looks to me like a market that needs more people realizing it is one.

I do things myself, quite a bit because of that. I KNOW I'll do it non-toxic.

I suspect there are two things: the demand is relatively small -- it would be a "weird" specialty and maybe only work in a big metro, and it's a lot of work. I think it would be really expensive to hire someone skilled and responsible to walk around the house filling every cranny with steel wool and pine resin.

I am sorry that you are finding that solutions are hard to come by.

We bought a house that needed to be finished inside.  Our plan was to hire folks to do the work.

We soon found that no one wanted the job or would even give us an estimate.

We did the work ourselves.

Only the bedroom is finished and the rest of the house is missing the trimmings.

Concrete floors work too.

I’m thinking one would need to flow some kind of fluidized material into the walls that could later settle and/or solidify. But I suppose if it was fluid enough to flow into gaps *inside* the wall, it would also be fluid enough to flow into gaps through the interior and exterior surfaces of the wall (because after all, it’s not sealed).  In other words it could easily make a giant mess!  So maybe a main challenge would be how to remove the excess material oozing out, whether it was in liquid or solid form, and how could this be done in a way that wasn’t too messy nor too labor intensive nor too aesthetically unappealing? Is there a way to use some environmental property that changes across the wall, (like a difference in light, temperature or oxygen?) that a material could be fluid inside of the wall but solid outside the wall?  

I've come across some information about a spray system using a type of closed cell foam under pressure to seal any and all cracks and opening in the framing of homes.  This was used in older homes that had been stripped to the studs and or on new homes.  All flat surfaces had to be protected, and I think the building had to say closed for 24 hours.  It would not work in a home you were living in or on a room by room remodel.  Also don't think I saw anything about the cost.

I think Angel is doing what can be done, if one doesn't mind getting dirty, climbing ladders or crawling under the house, you can get the house fairly tight as a DIY
project


Peace

I feel ya, been dealing with lots of insects the last few years.

Wish I had better advice or could help - maybe at least knowing you aren't alone in the feelings helps some.

They've taken up residence under the siding, can hear them in the walls. Its asian lady beetles, flies, stink bugs, flying roaches, wood roaches, and small ants. Lots of spiders too which I don't mind so much. Ive tried DE, spraying vinegar, salt, vaccum, and hand to hand combat. None of it has made anything "go away" I'm just happy when winter comes and they arent as active...it's a partially finished shed house in a woodsy weedy setting, no a/c so doors and windows open a lot. Yep theres my issue haha :) I'm not into poison either, I spend most days outside, and sleep in my small box van now during the warmer months.

I'm not sure what to do at this point, short of taking off all the siding and looking into what it would take to lime plaster the outside and have the whole interior spray foam insulated in an effort to take away the gaps cracks cricks and crevices all the critters seem to love!!??

Hi,

I think that companies need to make a profit. Sealing your house reduce THEIR profits, so it's hard to find someone to do it. Pest control companies, for example, make money by actively killing your pests, while sealing your house against pests would leave them with no more work to do in the future.

Have you tried looking for a handy man, these jack-of-all-trades that make small house fixing of all sorts, and explain to him exactly what you want to do?
I've found that these technicians don't come to my house unless I have lots of work for them to make their visit profitable.