Signs You Are Not Getting Effective Pest Control

-If your current technician is zipping through your interior and exterior servicing in 10 minutes, you're paying for nothing. An average residential home cannot be properly inspected and treated in that short a time. If your current technician is not asking about any possible issues you've had recently and just comes in to go through the motions as fast as possible, that is NOT professional service. You are NOT getting what you pay for. They are trying to push as many tickets through as possible to maximize profit. That said, along with basic sanitation and home maintenance, it IS the responsibility of the customer to report any pest issues as soon as possible to your provider. The customer has just a big a role in an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program as the technician/applicator/provider - it is designed to be a joint effort.

-Your current company uses the same chemicals with the same modes of action for every service, year after year. This in turn promotes pesticide resistance and decreases effectiveness over time. Some organisms are naturally resistant to pesticides. These organisms survive and reproduce, producing generations that are also resistant to that chemical. This also applies to rodenticides; mice or rats that survive feeding on chronic, multi-dose bait will become ill but not die, then become bait shy and avoid the bait. For maximum effectiveness and protection against pests, products must be strategically cycled with other products with different active ingredients and mechanisms of control. You can check what types of chemicals are used in and around your home or business on your service receipts, which all pest control companies are require to provide you with after every service for your records and are also required by law to keep on hand for their company records.

-Your current company only sprays a thin band of pesticide in spots along the foundation and on the window sills of the exterior. This is NOT an effective barrier. Exterior sprays are particularly important, as they keep bugs from invading your interior. Anything less than a "3 feet out, 3 feet up" application is ineffective, plain and simple. Make time to either follow or otherwise record your technician and watch how they work, what they actually do. This is your right as a customer and property owner.

-Your current company sends technicians to spray in moderate to heavy rain. This is an egregious example of unprofessional and reckless conduct. Obviously, any spray application will immediately be washed or leached away through the soil. The application will not only be completely ineffective with no residual effect whatsoever, but is also against the pesticide label directions. In pest control, the label is the LAW. Always bring this to the attention of the owner/manager of your pest control provider, and demand to know why this is being done. Insist on a reschedule. There is no water-diluted pesticide concentrate that sticks to exterior windows, foundations and soil in heavy rain.

-Your current company sends technicians to spray water-diluted pesticide concentrates in freezing January/February weather on the exterior of your home for the same price you'd pay for a service in June. There are no cobwebs to knock down, there are no active exterior insects flying or otherwise trying to get in. Ever wondered why you're paying full price for them doing less work? Prizefighter Pest Solutions has dynamic winter pricing in Southside Virginia for the months of January and February.

-If you bring valid questions and concerns to your provider, are met with disdain or defensiveness, and they then cite their experience in the field, know this means next to nothing. Applicators are required to constantly re-educate themselves and be recertified in their categories because pesticide laws and approved product usage guidelines are ever-changing. However, there are some people in this field that learn how to do things one way initially and get set in that way, resistant to change despite their inefficiency and ineffectiveness. Just because someone has been doing something for 15+ years does not necessarily make them an authority on a subject. Some people do things the wrong way all their lives, yet fall through the cracks one way or another. Be proactive, demand material safety data sheets for chemicals used on your property. Go online and read the labels yourself. You may find that some chemicals that are only supposed to be applied no more than 3 times a calendar year per the label instructions are being applied many more times than that. You may find your termite servicing wasn't done properly. You may find that your company is sending unlicensed personnel to spray your yards and treat your homes. Know the company, the people in which you place the trust of your health and that of your loved ones.