Questions to Ask Pest Control
Twenty questions to put to a pest control company before you agree to treatment, covering identification and entry points, exactly what will be applied and where, re-entry times with children and pets in the house, cost, contracts and what the guarantee actually covers.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Can you send someone to inspect before you quote?
Why ask it
A price quoted over the phone from your description is a price for a standard treatment, not for your problem. Companies that inspect first tend to find the entry route and the nest; companies that do not tend to spray the rooms you mentioned and return every month.
What do you think it is, and what are you basing that on?
Why ask it
Ask what evidence they found: droppings, gnaw marks, shed skins, live insects, a smear along a joist. Treatment differs sharply between species that look alike, so an answer that names the pest without pointing at anything physical is a guess with a price attached.
Where do you think they are getting in?
Why ask it
Anything that can be treated can usually also be excluded, and exclusion is what stops the problem returning. If nobody has looked at the roofline, the gaps around pipework or the gap under the door, you are paying for repeat visits rather than a solution.
Is treatment actually needed here, or is this something I could deal with myself?
Why ask it
A handful of ants, one wasp indoors or a single mouse often needs sealing and cleaning rather than a chemical programme. An honest firm will say so, and the willingness to talk you out of a job is the strongest recommendation any of them can offer.
Exactly what product will you apply, and can I see the label and safety data sheet?
Why ask it
You are entitled to know the active ingredient rather than a brand name or a description like a professional grade treatment. Both documents exist for every registered product, and a technician who cannot produce them may not know what they are carrying.
Are you licensed here, and will the technician who comes be certified?
Why ask it
Pesticide application is licensed in most jurisdictions, and the licence belongs to a person as well as to a company. Ask for the number and check it. The person who quotes is often not the person who applies, and it is the applicator's certification that matters.
How long do we need to be out of the house afterwards?
Why ask it
Re-entry intervals are set on the product label and range from nothing at all to several hours with ventilation. Get the figure before you book, because arranging somewhere to be for an afternoon is much easier than discovering the requirement on the day.
Does anything change because of the children, the pregnancy or the pets in this house?
Why ask it
Say out loud who lives here, including anyone with asthma, and mention fish tanks, birds and reptiles, which are unusually sensitive. A firm that does not adjust its plan or its instructions after hearing this has not registered the information.
What do I need to do before you arrive?
Why ask it
Preparation is often substantial: emptying kitchen cupboards, stripping beds, moving furniture from walls, pulling up carpet edges. Poor preparation is the most common reason a treatment fails and then falls outside the guarantee.
Which rooms and surfaces will you treat, and which will you leave alone?
Why ask it
Ask specifically about food preparation areas, cots and bedding, and get the answer before the visit rather than watching it happen. Broad indoor spraying of every skirting board is an outdated approach and worth questioning.
If you are using bait or rodenticide, what is the risk to my dog and to wildlife?
Why ask it
Rodenticides poison the animals that eat poisoned rodents, and dogs dig up bait. Ask whether tamper-resistant boxes are used, where they will be placed, whether they will be collected afterwards, and what to do if your dog reaches one.
Is this a single visit or a course of treatment, and when will we know whether it worked?
Why ask it
Some problems need a defined series timed to a life cycle; others need one visit and a check. What you want is the number of visits and a date by which the situation should have visibly changed, so that success is not a matter of anyone's opinion later.
What is the total cost, and what would add to it?
Why ask it
Ask what happens if a second treatment is needed, if access requires removing a panel, or if the infestation turns out to be larger than expected. Quotes that cover only the first visit make a course of treatment look far cheaper than it is.
Am I signing a contract, and how do I get out of it?
Why ask it
Quarterly plans frequently roll over automatically, sometimes for years, with a cancellation notice period buried in the terms. Ask for the minimum term, the notice required, and whether the price is fixed for the duration.
What does the guarantee cover, and what voids it?
Why ask it
Read the exclusions rather than the headline. Guarantees commonly lapse if you do not complete recommended repairs, if you have another company treat the property, or if the pest is deemed to have re-entered rather than survived, which is a distinction they get to make.
Do your own staff do the work, or is it subcontracted?
Why ask it
Subcontracting is common and not automatically a problem, but it changes who is insured, who honours the guarantee and who you call when something goes wrong. Get the answer in writing if a national brand is quoting for local work.
What should I expect to see in the week after treatment?
Why ask it
With many treatments activity increases before it stops, and without warning that looks like failure. You also want to know what would count as abnormal: a smell, staining, a spread to new rooms, a pet behaving oddly.
At what point should I call you back rather than wait for the next visit?
Why ask it
A clear threshold prevents both nuisance calls and the more expensive habit of waiting a month while a problem doubles. Ask for it in terms of what you would see, not in terms of feeling that things are not improving.
What happens if the source turns out to be next door or in a shared wall?
Why ask it
In terraces and apartment buildings, treating one unit moves the problem rather than ending it. Ask whether they will deal with a neighbour or a management company, and whether they will put their findings in writing so you can pass them on.
What can I do myself to cut down the number of visits I pay for?
Why ask it
The useful answers are dull and specific: a door sweep, wire wool in a particular gap, moving the bird feeder, emptying a bin more often, clearing the wood pile off the wall. A company that has nothing to suggest here is content for you to keep needing them.
Arranging pest control
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before you call anyone
- Photograph what you have seen, including droppings, damage and any insect you can catch in a jar. Identification from a photograph is far more reliable than from a description.
- Write down when and where you see activity, and at what time of day. A pattern over a week is the single most useful thing you can hand a technician.
- Note anything that has changed recently: building work next door, a new bin store, a leak, a delivery of firewood, a period away from the house.
- Check whether the problem is your responsibility. Tenants should contact the landlord or agent first, and in many places infestation in a rented property is the landlord's duty to address.
- Get two or three quotes for anything beyond a single visit, and have each of them tell you what they found rather than only what they would charge.
Species that change the situation
Termites and other structural pests
Damage is structural and often insured or regulated separately. Ask for a written inspection report with a diagram, ask about the warranty attached to the treatment, and be wary of a quote given without anyone going under the floor or into the roof.
Bed bugs
Preparation and follow-up matter more than the product, and treatment usually takes a defined series of visits. Ask about heat treatment as an option, ask what to do with laundry and mattresses, and do not throw furniture out until you have been told to.
Rodents
Trapping and exclusion address the cause; poison alone usually does not. Ask what happens if an animal dies inside a wall or floor, and whether removal is included or charged separately.
Wasps, bees and hornets
Honey bee colonies can often be removed by a beekeeper rather than destroyed, and some firms will refer you. Ask what species they think it is before agreeing to treatment.
Protected species
Bats, and in some places certain birds and their nests, are legally protected in many countries. Anyone offering to remove them without mentioning that is a reason to stop and check with a local wildlife authority.
Get these in writing before work starts
- What was found, where, and what species it was identified as.
- The product to be used, its active ingredient, and the areas to be treated.
- Re-entry time, ventilation instructions, and any handling advice for food, bedding and pets.
- Number of visits included, the total price, and the cost of anything beyond that.
- The guarantee period with its exclusions, and the contract term with its cancellation notice.
- After each visit, a record of what was applied and where. Keep these; they matter if you sell the property or dispute the outcome.
Signs to be cautious about
- A quote given without an inspection, or a price that drops sharply when you hesitate.
- Same-day pressure, a discount that expires this afternoon, or a request for full payment in cash before work.
- An unsolicited caller who says they noticed something wrong with your property and can treat it now.
- Refusal to name the product or to show the label, or dismissal of questions about children and pets.
- Claims that a treatment is entirely safe or completely non-toxic. Every product has conditions of use, and the honest answer describes them.
- A recommendation to fumigate or tent the whole house for a problem confined to one room.