6 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Pest Control Company (or Exterminator) in Central & Southern MD

Each and every time you make a decision, especially when it comes to spending your hard-earned dollars, you want to be confident in your choice.

As you think about hiring a pest control company in Central and Southern Maryland, it can seem almost impossible to figure out what separates a great exterminator (kind of an old-fashioned term for a pest control pro) from a poor one. You might even be asking yourself if there’s any difference between one compared to another.

But just like any other service business, there will be some pest control companies that are better than others. Maybe it’s their experience or treatment quality, or products they rely on. Many of these things and others can impact final results.

Use This Tool to Compare Your Local Pest Control Companies

Talking to each company you’re interested in hiring can certainly help you weed out the good ones from the bad, but you may not know exactly what to ask as you’re reviewing their merits. There are some specific questions that can help you as you try to quickly find a pest control pro to tackle your buggy situation.

How to Choose a Good Pest Control Company

When you have a pest infestation -- whether it’s ants in the kitchen or mice in the garage -- you don’t want to spend too much time trying to find the right exterminator while your problem keeps multiplying in your home, as well as elevating the whole creep factor. Think about it: cockroaches, spiders, bed bugs. Ew.
Mice infestation in a homeTo make it easier on you, we’ve compiled a list of helpful questions you can use as you interview potential service partners. The answers (or maybe even the lack of them) can help you best identify whether or not each company knows what it’s doing, and if you should be serious about hiring one of them.

1. What Are the Current Pests and Problems That You See?

There are many different signs of various pest infestations in your home, and you want to be sure the technician you hire is able to identify them.

Why does this matter? Because different problems require different solutions. A pest control service that talks about just applying one general product for all pests unfortunately is not a company that understands pests or the fact that a customized approach is the best one.

Your pest control technician should be able to show you evidence of current or previous pest activity and suggest a customized and long-lasting approach to rid your home of the specific pest and keep it away. They should also have enough experience to be able to tell you a little bit about how this pest operates. Pest control technician showing a customer evidence of a current pest problem

2. How Much Time Will You Spend At My Property?

The difference between a high-quality exterminator and a low-quality one is you will notice a big discrepancy in the amount of time they spend in your house.

Companies driven by daily quotas will not give your home and your questions the attention they need. If they are only there about five to 10 minutes and blow off your questions, they may be driven by an unrealistic number of visits they have to make per day versus truly taking the time to develop a relationship with you, their client. If they can’t even answer your basic questions, how do you think the job they perform will go? Right, not good.

A normal general pest control visit will take no less than 20 minutes. And your pest control technician should be able to stop and answer all of your questions so you both feel good about identifying your pest issue and coming up with a solution everyone is on board with.

3. What Is Your Customized Plan For My Pest Problem and What Kind of Products and Equipment Do You Use?

As we said before, a frustrating truth is that many pest control services don’t take a customized approach to your specific needs. They just conduct a blanket spray. But that’s not technically necessary.

Pests are quite adaptable. A reliable pest control business will be able to identify the specific issue or issues you have, explain the details to you, and then have the latest information on what products are the safest and most effective for treating your infestation at its current stage.

The application equipment they use will also be highly targeted with unique, specialized nozzles that direct applications exactly to their targets. This limits the amount of product necessary for control.
Pest Control technician spraying for pests at your home
These practices ensure the safety of everyone in your home. Since we are in your home, we want to use the most state-of-the-art, safest products in the most minimal but effective means. An experienced technician should be able to easily explain what type of products and equipment they are using and how they are using them.

4. What is the Expertise/Tenure of Your Team, Particularly My Technician?

The pest control service you hire should employ registered, professional technicians. Companies who hire and train experienced employees and treat them well know they will turn around and treat you well.

At Natural Green, our average pest control technician tenure is around three years -- much higher than the industry average. We also won’t hire an exterminator unless they have a minimum of three years of experience so we know they are invested in the profession and have established some of the basic skill sets necessary to do the job right. Then we train proper application technicians a few times annually. The company you hire should be able to tell you how much experience your technician has and what kind of training he or she receives.

This ensures he or she will be able to recognize your buggy problems, quickly address them, and answer all of your relevant questions. Pest Control technician spraying for pests along the perimeter of a home

5. What Do Your Clients Have to Say and Where Can I Find Those Comments?

Customer reviews say a lot about a company’s quality of service. You should be able to easily find a company’s Google rating and read the reviews. In fact, the businesses you’re interviewing should be able to provide you with a link to this information to make it even easier for you to find.

Some companies will even be able to show you video testimonials from their customers who took the time to share their thoughts.
These verbal and written reviews should give you a glimpse into what working with that exterminator is like.

6. What Can I Do Better to Keep This Pest Out of My Home?

Remember, a service business is ultimately about you, the customer. In addition to identifying your pest problem, showing you the past and/or current signs of activity, and sharing a customized plan with you, your pest control pro should be able to talk to you about what you can do better on your own to keep pests at bay.

For instance, ants and cockroaches might be drawn to specific areas of your home that you can tidy up to stop luring them in. While a pro won’t make money offering you these tips, this education is invaluable for you to have. After all, hiring an exterminator should be a partnership where they are informing you and taking care of your problems, as well as providing you with helpful tips, insight and suggestions so you can live pest-free.

Making a Wise Choice

Now that you know what questions will help you pick the best pest control service for you, it’s time to put them to the test.

Signing up for a free inspection can give you plenty of time to get your important questions answered. Then, choosing which company to hire for a quarterly pest control program means you’ve embraced a proactive approach to protecting your home from all the creepy-crawlies. Building a relationship with an experienced pro means your problems will vanish … and you get all the information and high-quality care and attention that comes with that.

Of course, Natural Green wants to be the company you choose. And, even if you don’t go with us, we want to help you make the most informed and best decision for you. We are happy to take the time to answer all of your questions so you know what a professional pest control program includes.

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Noticing any bugs in your home? Want to learn more about pest control services in Central and Southern Maryland? Get started today with a free quote. We’ll review your options together so you can make a great choice. Then you can just sit back and enjoy your home -- pest-free.

 

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Topics: Pest Control

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