How To Choose a Pest Control Company
Choosing the best pest control solution for you is important. Factors you might consider include licensing and qualifications, treatment methods, years of experience, customer reviews, and cost.
Below, we dive into detail on each of these factors.
Does the company have a valid license and permits to perform pest control?
Per the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), all pesticide applicators and their supervisors must be licensed at the state level. The EPA maintains minimum standards of competency, and the Illinois regulatory agencies handle the granting, maintaining, and revoking of licenses.
Is the company a member of any professional organizations?
An optional certification that could be worth looking for is the GreenPro Service Certification. In order to earn this certification, a pest control company must both demonstrate that its practices are more environmentally friendly and maintain certain training standards for its technicians. Companies can earn other certifications from QualityPro or similar trade organizations to further back up their work.
Pest control companies can also be members of certain professional organizations. Being a member of organizations such as the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) or state-level organizations is not mandatory, but helps show that a company is reputable. Membership in the NPMA gives companies access to education, resources, and a network of other professionals with whom to discuss practices and methods.
Professional Experience and Specialties
Typically, a company provides information like specialities and years of experience on its website. Online reviews can also inform you as to whether a company has experience dealing with a specific pest. If you're unable to locate the information you need online, you can reach out to the company directly to get the answers to your questions.
Reviews and Recommendations
You can view a company's Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating, browse reviews on social media or local review sites, or check the standing of its license via the Illinois licensing board.
Cost of Services and Guarantees
Things like the size of your house, your location, the type of pest being treated, and other factors can all affect the price of pest control.
You can look into whether a company offers free on-site estimates (to determine if it fits in your budget), as well as what kind of guarantees it has. Often, a company will provide a guarantee that if it does not resolve your pest problem, it will keep coming back until it does.
Safety and Treatment Methods
Your choice of pest control company might be influenced by how environmentally friendly a provider's pest control management solutionsare, as well as how safe its methods are around your family and pets.
Safety
Your pest control expert should be using pesticides that are low toxicity or non-toxic when possible. If any pesticides used don't fit into one of these categories, your technician should explain what safety precautions they plan to use to protect you, your family, and your pets. All pesticides that pose more than a minimum risk must be registered with the EPA.
Treatment Methods
Many pest control companies have started making the switch to using more natural and greener treatment methods before (or instead of) harsh chemical pesticides. Some use a program called Integrated Pest Management (IPM). The steps of IPM are as follows:
- Identify the source of the pest problem and determine whether immediate action is needed.
- Determine the best and safest course of action.
- Use a combination of biological, cultural, mechanical, and physical controls to manage the pest problem.
- Use chemical controls only if needed, and always with other methods for effective long-term pest management.
- Evaluate outcomes and provide additional pest control as needed.
