For many consumers, signing up for pest control can be as bad as signing up for the most publicly hated gyms. Let’s not let a few bad apples spoil the bunch. There are some great pest control companies out there.
Follow these few tips to not get scammed when getting pest control.
Contracts
Contracts, service agreements and shady legal documents can lock in unassuming consumer. This wastes hundreds, even thousands, every year. Always ask if there is a service contract or any legal bindings to continue with service with them. Customers can get stuck unhappy with their service yet unable to cancel.
Unclear Pricing
If a company can’t give you simple pricing for a simple service over the phone, drop ‘em. If a pest control provider requires more services you don't want, don’t give them the time of day. Many companies will pressure you into rodent control when you asked them to kill your ants. It’s like going into a grocery store, bringing a bottle of water to the checkout and they’ve added on groceries you don't want. Keep an eye on the list of services you are being quoted for after an inspection. Pest control companies will often sneak in unnecessary, unwanted services at astronomical prices. Then they wrap this all up in to a contract binding you to a year or two of sticking with them. On top of that, you didn’t want an inspection in the first place, just a price to kill your bugs. Never pay for something you didn’t want in the first place. Here at Expert we have pricing for most of our services on our pricing page. That's what you'll pay, simple as that. There are some services that we can't price up front, such as rodent inspections or larger jobs.
Operating Illegally or Without Insurance
Pest control companies are working with chemicals that can be harmful to humans. Proper training, certification and methods are important when working with pesticides. Always ensure that the company you are working with is licensed, and insured. Many pest control companies act as one-man-teams. This means they can offer some services at some pretty great rates. Many times it's these types of operators who are not properly licensed or insured. This puts your family potentially at risk. Be sure you confirm your pest control provider has proper insurance and licensing.
Green Pest Control That Isn't
These days the words “green” and “organic” are thrown around so much they are starting to loose all meaning. For the most part, organizations and companies are free to use these words as they want. There is no laws or standards regulating the use of them all all. Companies can market themselves as green without any proof that they are actually using products that are less harmful to the planet. On top of that, most of the “organic” products in themselves are scams that contain many dangerous and synthetic chemicals. We, Expert Pest Control, do not use any kind of natural or organic pesticides ourselves. We see companies that advertise themselves as 'green' or 'organic' all while using the same products we do. There are few genuinely green pest control companies. If organic service is something you want you'll need to do your research. One of the few truly organic companies we can strongly recommend is BalancedHome.
'Ultrasonic' Pest Control
These devices are advertised to work for both insects and rodents and are easily found online at affordable prices. Supposedly, they used high pitched frequencies that annoy pests and keep them away from your homes and lives. Though they sound like a nice, cheap alternative to pesticides, they aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.
So, do they work? Nope. They used to be advertised to work as well as regular pesticides, but the FTC actually stepped in and made the companies that manufacture sound repellers change their advertising. The advertising has since become much more tame and realistic according to how well they actually work. They are now advertised as a good “addition” to regular pest control.
You can read our whole post on these things here.