How to choose a pest control company
Choosing a pest company starts with the insect or rodent you can actually see, not with a ranking. This site does not publish reviews. The EPA's guidance for the public is to read the pesticide label and to prefer approaches that combine sanitation, exclusion, and, when needed, a pesticide used as the label allows. This page turns that into questions you can ask before you hire anyone.
Name the pest you can point at
Ants in a kitchen, roaches in a bath, mice in a garage, and a wasp nest under an eave are not one job. A company that has not asked what you saw is guessing. Take a photo if you can do it safely. Do not collect a nest or handle droppings with bare hands. If you are not sure of the species, say what you saw and where, including whether it is inside the living space.
The call published on the pest control call page is narrower than every pest a house can have. That page says the call can connect ants, roaches, spiders, mice, mosquitoes, fleas, and ticks at a house or an apartment. It says the call does not connect termites, bed bugs, bees, wasps, wildlife, commercial buildings, or mobile homes. If your problem is on the second list, do not use that button and expect the other job.
The label and the license
The EPA citizen's guide treats the pesticide label as the instructions that have to be followed, not as optional fine print. Ask which product the company expects to use, where they will apply it, and what the label says about people and pets leaving the room. A company that will not discuss the label is not ready to be hired.
Certification of applicators is a state program under the federal pesticide law. There is no single national license number this site can check for you. Ask for the applicator credential your state issues, and look it up with that state's pesticide agency. Dial Home Help does not verify the credential on this page and does not employ the applicator.
What a written scope includes
Ask for the pest, the rooms or the exterior, the number of visits, and what happens if you still see that pest after the visit. Ask what you are supposed to do first, such as food storage, leaks, or gaps at doors. Those steps are often the part that makes a treatment hold. A scope that says whole house with no pest named is not a scope.
Integrated pest management, in the EPA's plain use of the idea, means using more than one method: keep the pest out, remove what it eats, and use a pesticide when the label and the situation call for it. You do not need the acronym to ask the question. Ask which of those three the quote includes.
What this site will not help you do
This guide does not tell you how to mix a concentrate, how to fog a room, or which brand to buy. Mixing and application rates belong on the product label, and a mistake there is not a homeowner shortcut. We also do not list companies by rating. The editorial policy says why.
If you call, the independent provider decides whether they take the job. Hours, when that offer has them, are enforced on the call page, not invented here. The provider sets the price. We do not print one.
Steps
- Write down what you saw and where. Inside or outside, which room, and whether pets or children use that room.
- Check this site's call limits. The published pest call does not connect termites, bed bugs, bees, wasps, wildlife, commercial buildings, or mobile homes.
- Ask for the credential and the label. Ask which state credential the applicator holds and what the label requires people and pets to do.
- Ask for a written scope. Pest, locations, visits, and what you must fix first. A price without those items is not comparable.
- Decide after the scope, not after a slogan. Dial Home Help does not rank providers. You hire the independent provider, or you do not.
Questions
Does the pest call cover bed bugs or termites?
No. The published call page excludes termites, bed bugs, bees, wasps, and wildlife, and it excludes commercial buildings and mobile homes.
Can Dial Home Help tell me which pesticide to spray?
No. The label governs use. This site does not give mixing instructions. Ask the applicator what the label requires.
Do you rank pest companies?
No. This site does not publish reviews or ratings. The provider you reach is independent and may pay Dial Home Help for the introduction.
Is a national license enough?
Applicator certification is issued by the state. Ask for the credential your state uses and check it with that state. This page cannot look it up for you.