6 Things You Need To Know Before Hiring An Exterminator

You are cooking dinner for the family, and your doorbell rings and it’s not your neighbor wanting to borrow your toothbrush again! Can’t they just buy their own toothbrush at Walmart? You open the door to some young kid on a hoverboard, and he” really really” needs to sell you some pest control services! Though he pretends to be a young entrepreneur just starting his own business, he is really part of a $450 million company based in the western US that specializes in direct-to-consumer sales, aka door-to-door sales! The most distressing part is the salesman won’t take no for an answer, and your pasta sauce is burning, so you sign his agreement to get rid of him, locking yourself into an 18-month contract at $180.00 a month! The worst part of this never-ending hell is that the contract does not cover interior services or the majority of common pests like carpenter ants. Those services are all extra. Time-saving hint #1. Don’t answer the door. Hint #2. If you do answer the door, pretend not to speak English! Thank me later!

All the big corporations will keep your credit card on file and run it automatically each month, whether they do anything for you or not. I have heard many stories of technicians pulling into a customer’s driveway, sitting in the truck for a few minutes, and never getting out to do anything, but the customer is billed for a service!! This, along with the times they are billed for a “No Show” service even though the client’s Ring cameras can prove no one came to the house!  It’s frustrating, to say the least, and the companies make it difficult to get your money back when you call for a credit to your account. Be vigilant about what you are being charged for!

This goes hand in hand with having your credit card on file. Since you don’t have to be home to accept service, the technician can come anytime it’s convenient for them and charge your card whether they do anything or not. Don’t be so quick to sign this type of service agreement! Having the exterior sprayed will not kill any pests on the inside of your house. The spiders in the basement and the mice in the attic will continue living rent-free in your house! There is value in having a pest professional inspect your house a few times a year on the inside. Termites, carpenter ants, and other wood-destroying pests can cause a considerable amount of damage if not found promptly. Mice and rats can chew wires and contaminate food. Inside services can consist of just a flashlight inspection and not have to include the use of chemicals if sensitivities exist. There are truly safe, effective organic botanical products nowadays that can be used inside if regular pesticides are not desired by the homeowner.

There are lots of exclusions in the mega-corporation contracts! Want to cancel that 18-month contract you just signed? Too bad, you have to pay a $600 early termination fee! Do you have mice inside the house? That will be another $350 service charge! Unfortunately, I am not exaggerating. At a minimum, the common pests in our area should be covered. What’s the point of paying $180 a month if carpenter ants and yellowjackets aren’t included? At a minimum, rats, mice, ants, spiders, crickets, and stinging insects should be covered under a general home service plan. Some companies offer all-inclusive pest programs, and that is probably the best value when it comes to protecting your house.

If your first contact with a company is a salesperson, you will be paying their commission as part of their “Start-Up Fee” charged to new clients. I have never agreed with the idea that you should pay an extra $500 -$600 for the privilege of starting a contract with a company and then have to pay the yearly charge on top of that! It does serve as a penalty to keep the customer locked in to avoid paying another “start-up fee” if the contract lapses as a punishment. Find a company that does not charge this type of annoying expense and do business with them.

For the same reason large companies charge your credit card automatically, they want to enroll you in a monthly service plan. What’s better than making guaranteed money every month?? The truth is that with some exceptions, you will never need to have monthly service for your home! Most of the modern pesticide products last around ninety days under normal circumstances when used on the exterior of your house. Pesticides last longer inside the house as they are protected from rain and sunlight breaking them down. Quarterly services are probably the best frequency for the average homeowner who desires to protect their house from pests. Make sure that “extra service requests” are free in the contract you sign to avoid having to pay another fee for trouble calls between visits.