Purpose
This policy explains how Pest Decoded researches, writes, reviews, and corrects its content, and what readers can expect from every article we publish.
Independence
Pest Decoded is an independent publication supported by display advertising. We do not accept payment to recommend a specific pest control company, product, or treatment method. Any affiliate relationships are limited, clearly secondary to the article’s decision framework, and disclosed where they appear.
Editorial Standards
- We do not invent prices, statistics, dates, regulations, safety claims, professional credentials, quotes, studies, or first-hand experience.
- Every numerical claim is either sourced or accompanied by a clearly explained Pest Decoded methodology.
- We do not state that prices or data were “reviewed,” “researched,” or “collected” unless the underlying research record actually exists.
- We use qualified, non-absolute language when an answer genuinely depends on the pest, property, state, treatment method, or policy involved.
- We prioritize official and primary sources — the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Pesticide Information Center, state pesticide regulators, state insurance departments, university cooperative extension programs, official pesticide labels and registration records, and peer-reviewed research — over competing editorial or content websites.
- We do not diagnose medical conditions from bites, rashes, photographs, or symptom descriptions.
- We do not recommend off-label pesticide use, unsafe pesticide combinations, illegal products, or methods that conflict with a product’s label.
- We present Integrated Pest Management — correct identification, monitoring, prevention, sanitation, exclusion, targeted treatment, and follow-up — as the preferred framework, rather than describing pest control as automatic, calendar-based pesticide application.
Authorship and Review
Every article on Pest Decoded carries a visible byline identifying who wrote and researched it. Our founder and editor, Alejandro Daniel José, is not an entomologist, licensed pesticide applicator, pest control professional, medical professional, insurance expert, or attorney, and Pest Decoded does not present him as one. Where an article covers a topic requiring specialized technical judgment, we work toward review by a qualified professional; a “Reviewed by” credit is added only once a named professional has actually read and approved the published version. We do not fabricate reviewer credentials.
Corrections
If you believe an article contains an error — a factual mistake, an outdated price, a broken link, or an unclear safety statement — please contact us so we can review and correct it. Material corrections are reflected in the article’s “last updated” date; we do not change that date for minor stylistic edits.
Scope of Our Content
Pest Decoded provides general consumer information. It is not a substitute for an in-person inspection, a licensed pest control professional’s diagnosis and treatment plan, a medical evaluation, or legal or insurance advice. Readers facing a health, safety, structural, or legal question related to a pest problem should consult an appropriately licensed local professional.