Is Professional Pest Control Worth It?

Having to deal with a pest control company has a reputation for being an expensive pain. And sadly, if you don’t have the right provider, that can be the case. But is professional pest control really worth it, or is it just something that companies like us tell you that you need? Let’s find out!

DIY Pest Control vs Professional Pest Control

Handling a pest infestation on your own can be tempting. After all, we understand that accomplishing big tasks around the home feels good. But do the advantages of a DIY Approach outweigh those of professional control? Take a look for yourself.

The Advantages of DIY Pest Control

To be clear, DIY pest control does have a few distinct advantage, including:

• Saving money: It can’t be ignored that doing your own pest control can save you some pretty serious money. From labor costs, to expenses associated with products, transportation, insurance, and even office rent all get factored into the cost of professional service. Every dollar spent on the back end gets passed on to you at some point or another.
• Choosing your own products: Want to avoid a specific chemical? Want to avoid chemicals altogether? Or do you prefer one brand over another? When you choose the DIY pest control route, you can pick whichever products you like without anyone trying to steer you in a different direction.
• Being in total control: When you’re in charge of your own pest control, you get to choose precisely when and where you spray, set traps, or install barriers. This way, you can avoid certain high-traffic areas or anywhere in the home where you don’t feel completely comfortable applying chemical products.

The Disadvantages of DIY Pest Control

That all being said, nothing is perfect. While DIY pest control has a few distinct advantages, it also has some significant drawbacks, which include:

• A lack of training and expertise: We’re guessing that you aren’t a professional exterminator. As such, you probably don’t have access to the stringent training and education programs that the pros do, giving them a significant edge in terms of both know-how and experience.
• Safety risks: When pest control products are involved, certain safety protocols must be observed. If you don’t have extensive experience with these sorts of things, or in some cases, the proper equipment to apply them correctly, you may end up putting your loved ones in danger.
• Instead of exterminating an infestation, you could actually spread it: Particularly where stubborn pests like bed bugs and cockroaches are concerned, inadvertently spreading the infestation to other areas of your home is a substantial risk.

The Advantages of Professional Pest Control

We’re a little biased, so keep that in mind as you read this, but professional pest control has some serious advantages of a DIY approach. These include:

• Time spent on ongoing preventative maintenance: Keeping your home pest-free can often feel like a full time job. So if you just don’t have the time to take that on, a professional exterminator is exactly what you need to prevent infestations from occurring in the first place. This kind of integrated pest control which targets both ongoing and future infestations simply can’t be reproduced on your own.
• Increased home value: Piggybacking off of that point, a house that has been well-cared for and has not suffered from pest-related damage will almost always sell for more than a house that has. From that perspective, quality pest control is an investment in your home!
• Access to the best tools: Professional pest control companies have access to tools, products and technologies that the general public simply does not. If you want to make sure that the job is getting done correctly every time and that the very best merchandise is being put to work for you, professional service is the only way to go.
• Peace of mind: The value of peace of mind can’t be overstated. When you hire an experienced, well-regarded professional to get rid of pests for you, you can remove it from your list of things to worry about altogether, especially if they offer a satisfaction guarantee.

The Disadvantages of Professional Pest Control

In the interest of fairness, we should point out a few of professional pest control’s drawbacks as well. These include:

• Price: It’s true that pest control can get expensive. That’s not to say that it doesn’t represent good value for money when done correctly but that does not mean that it’s always a realistic option if you’re working with a limited budget.
• Untrustworthy subcontracting: This is where finding a quality provider really makes a difference. Cut-rate or poorly-reviewed companies may contact their service with groups with limited accountability, few resources, and a lack of customer service. Ending up with service from subcontractors is a surefire way to end up with an unsatisfactory result.
• Unnecessary contracts and upselling: At the end of the day, pest control companies are businesses and they need to make money. Unfortunately, this can result in disadvantageous or unfair contracts and irritating attempts to upsell you on products and services that you don’t need.

Things to Look Out for When Hiring a Pest Control Company

Just as you would when buying a car from a dealership or a luxury mattress from a retail location, doing your homework on a pest control company can make all the difference in the world. Here are a few things that you should pay extra close attention to when doing your research:

• Customer reviews: Too many negative reviews? Skip that company altogether!
• Years of experience: Decades of hands-on experience aren’t necessarily a prerequisite for quality service, but the knowledge that a company develops over time definitely helps. So we always advise choosing a team with plenty of experience to their name.
• Pests treated: If a company can only get rid of one or two kinds of pests in your home, chances are that they might not be able to get the job done for you.
• Tools used: You deserve to have the very best when it comes to pest control for your home. With that in mind, see what sort of tools, products, and technology that a company can put to work for you and always make sure that they can give you nothing less.

5 Reasons to Work With a Local Pest Control Company

People are always saying that you should shop local. As a locally-owned and operated ourselves, we at Blades of Green couldn’t agree more. Just like shopping at a farmer’s market or patronizing a local restaurant has it’s advantages, so too does keeping your pest control local. Why? Well…

1. A local company has a better sense of your area’s pests and pest control needs.
2. If a company is responsible primarily to members of its own community, it will probably go above and beyond to make sure that its customers are happy.
3. Local pest control companies tend to pride themselves on community involvement and on building relationships in and around it’s home area.
4. The big pest control brands out there (you know who they are) can trade heavily on their name alone and can charge higher prices as a result. Conversely, a small, local company doesn’t have the same luxury, saving you money on what is often a higher level of service.
5. Locally-operated pest control companies often hire from the communities in which they are located, keeping much-needed jobs in your area.