Clear Home Pests publishes documentary comparisons of consumer pest control products. Our value is in research, comparison, and putting claims in context — not in hands-on testing. To be completely transparent about how that works, this page explains exactly how products are selected, which sources our analysis draws on, and how affiliate links fit in.
How we select products
Products are shortlisted against a set of objective criteria, not brand reputation or advertising spend. For each guide, we look at:
- Manufacturer specifications: the active ingredient and its concentration, the species the product is intended for, application instructions, and safety and storage requirements — as stated on the product's own data sheet and label.
- Regulatory compliance: whether the product is an EPA-registered pesticide where registration applies, and whether its labeled claims are consistent with how the active ingredient is recognized to work.
- Value for money: the cost relative to the amount of usable product, coverage, and the ingredient you're actually paying for — so a low sticker price isn't mistaken for a good deal.
- User feedback: recurring strengths and failure patterns reported across large numbers of public, verified buyer reviews — ease of use, real-world durability, and common mistakes.
- Availability: whether the product is realistically available to US households rather than a discontinued or professionals-only reference.
A product makes our recommendations when it scores well across these criteria for a specific situation — never because a manufacturer paid to appear.
What our analysis is based on
Our analysis is a synthesis of three kinds of information: manufacturer specifications and labels, public user reviews, and official sources (see below). We compare what a product claims, what its active ingredient is recognized to do, and what real buyers report over time.
What we do not do
We do not run laboratory or field tests. There is no lab and no trial behind these guides, and we publish no test-derived performance figures of our own. When we write that one product is a better choice than another, that is the conclusion of documentary research and comparison — not the result of us measuring the product ourselves.
What we add is comparison, regulatory verification, and perspective: cross-checking manufacturer claims against published guidance, flagging products whose claims aren't supported by their ingredient, and explaining which option best matches a given pest problem. Any numbers we cite come from the manufacturer, an official source, or published research — and are attributed as such.
Our sources
We rely on official and authoritative sources rather than marketing material. The main references we consult include:
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — pesticide registration, safety information, and guidance on Integrated Pest Management.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — public-health guidance on pests such as mosquitoes, ticks, and bed bugs.
- National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) — fact sheets on active ingredients, safe use, and toxicity.
- University extension & IPM programs — research-based guidance from land-grant university extension and Integrated Pest Management programs, for example UC IPM.
- Manufacturer labels & data sheets — the official product label and specification sheet, which carry the legally binding directions for use and safety information.
These links open the original sources directly so you can verify anything we summarize.
Independence and affiliate disclosure
Affiliate Disclosure: Clear Home Pests is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
Clear Home Pests is reader-supported. Some of the product links on this site are Amazon affiliate links: if you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This is how the site is funded.
Crucially, affiliate commissions do not influence our selection or our rankings. Products are shortlisted on the objective criteria described above; no manufacturer pays to appear, and we receive no sponsored placements. If the best option for a situation isn't one we earn a commission on, it still gets recommended.
Content updates
Product availability, prices, labels, and official guidance change over time. We periodically review our guides to keep specifications, recommendations, and source links current, and we update content when a product is discontinued, a label changes, or new official guidance is published.
Methodology last reviewed: June 2026.