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Choosing a Pest Control Company
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I prefer local companies for routine service
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Summary: When
choosing a pest control company your first
decision will be whether you need a large national
franchise, like Orkin or Terminix, or a
small, local company. I prefer local firms
for routine service but national franchises for
work that might require specialized equipment.
Jack DeAngelis, PhD
OSU Ext. Entomologist
(ret.)
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Local or National Company?
Here at 'Bugs we encourage people to
tackle many of their own pest control needs
themselves with help from us and with supplies and
equipment that are available online. We recognize,
however, that not everyone wants, or is able, to
preform these tasks. In addition, there are some
pest control operations that should never
be performed by homeowners because they require
some special expertise or are simply too dangerous
(see this DIY
Pest Control article for a list of
which is which).
For those times when you need help first
look over Five
Things to Consider When Selecting Pest Control
and also carefully think about whether or not you
need a national franchise like Terminix or
Orkin, or if a local company in your area
might be a better choice (see below).
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Tarp-style fumigation tent
covering a small warehouse. Photo by Art
Antonelli
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National pest control companies
National franchise companies like Terminix
and Orkin have access to expertise and
specialized equipment that may not be available
through your local pest control company. So, for
example, a complicated procedure like structure,
or tent, fumigation may be best left to a large
national franchise company.
On the other hand, these companies will
probably be more expensive for routine pest
control and they tend to push what I believe are
unnecessary "periodic maintenance treatments" with
aggressive marketing. I'd suggest that you use
large national firms only when you really need
their equipment or specialized services. For
routine treatments, if you are unable to do them
yourself, it might make more sense to hire a local
company.
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