How To Choose a Pest Control Company
Choosing the best pest control treatment plan for you is important. Things you might consider include licensing and qualifications, treatment methods, years of experience, customer reviews, and cost.
Below, we discuss each of these factors in more detail.
Does the company have a valid license and permits to perform pest control?
All pesticide applicators (and those who supervise them) need to be certified at the state level. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets minimum standards of competency, but any pesticide applicators working in the state of Utah must be licensed via the necessary state regulatory agencies.
Is the company a member of any professional organizations?
Pest control companies can also obtain optional certifications such as the GreenPro Service Certification. This certification is granted once a company has shown its methods to be more eco-friendly and demonstrated that it also maintains certain other standards, such as up-to-date employee training. A company can also earn other certifications from QualityPro or similar trade organizations to further support its practices and methods.
Pest control companies can also become members of certain professional organizations. Companies can be members of the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), or state-level organizations. NPMA membership gives companies access to education, resources, and a network of other pest control companies. While not mandatory, membership in professional organizations helps demonstrate a company's reputability.
Professional Experience and Specialties
You can get some insight into a pest company's level of pest management experience by seeing how many years it has been in operation. Local reviews and the company's own website can also let you know whether a certain company has the experience needed to deal with the specific species of pests invading your home. You can always call the company directly to learn this information if you can't find it online.
Reviews and Recommendations
You can read reviews and recommendations on social media or local review sites, view a company's Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating, or check its licensure status through the Utah licensing board.
Cost of Services and Guarantees
Things like your location, the size of your house, the type of pest being treated, and other factors can all affect the cost 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 type of guarantees it has. Often, a company will provide a guarantee that if it does not take care of your pest problem, it will keep coming back until it does.
Safety and Treatment Methods
Keeping yourself, your family and your pets safe is an important consideration when picking a pest control provider. You might also prefer a provider that uses environmentally friendly methods.
Safety
You should ask your pest control expert if they plan to use low toxicity or non-toxic pesticides, and if not, what sort of precautionary measures they are going to use. Any pesticides that are not minimum-risk chemicals need to be registered with the EPA. Your pest technician should be able to provide information about all of the pesticides that they plan on using.
Treatment Methods
Many companies are using options for more eco-friendly solutions before relying on harsh pesticides.
One popular way of making pest control safer and more eco-friendly is Integrated Pest Management (IPM). The steps of IPM are as follows:
- Identify the source of the pest problem and assess whether immediate action is needed.
- Determine the best and safest course of action.
- Use a combination of mechanical, physical, biological, and cultural controls to manage the pest problem.
- Employ chemical controls only when required, and always in combination with other techniques for effective long-term pest management.
- Observe the results and continue with additional pest control as needed.
