Should I buy a one-off treatment or an ongoing plan?
The short answer
Buy a one-off job for a problem that has an end: a wasp nest, a single rodent entry sealed and trapped down, a treatable ant colony. Buy an ongoing plan where the pressure is continuous and the building is exposed to it — termites in an active region, recurring seasonal invasions, commercial food premises.
The honest division
A pest problem with a specific cause that can be removed is a job. A pest problem driven by where the building is and what is around it is a condition. Selling a plan for the first, or a single visit for the second, is where most dissatisfaction in this trade comes from.
If you are considering a plan, ask these
- What is the term, and what notice do I have to give to cancel?
- How many visits a year, and what happens between them if something appears?
- Are callbacks between scheduled visits included, or charged?
- What exactly is covered, and what is specifically excluded? Termites and wildlife are commonly excluded from general plans.
- Does the price change after the first year, and by how much?
Auto-renewal with a long cancellation window is the term most often regretted. Read it before you sign, and put a note in your calendar for the notice date.
Also asked
- Is quarterly service necessary?
- It is necessary for some situations and habitual in many others. The question worth asking is what the plan is actually preventing at your property — if the answer is a general sense of protection rather than a named pressure, a reactive approach and good exclusion work may serve you better.
Read next
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- How often should I have pest control done?There is no general interval that is right for everyone. Regular service is justified where the pressure is co…
- How do I check a pest control company is licensed?Ask for the company's licence number and the name it is held under, then check it with your own state or provi…
General information about pest problems and about hiring, not advice about your specific property. Pest control licensing, wildlife protection and landlord and tenant law are all set state by state and province by province across the United States and Canada, so your own regulator is the current answer. How we read the data.