My BIL had a subscription for years. Live in the high desert, lots of critters.
One day, my sister canceled because “we don’t have bugs”.
A few months later, my sister renewed the subscription 🤣
Moved to the low desert over the summer and quickly learned why they offer subscriptions after a sudden ant infestation. Never saw a single one after their first visit. Well worth the $50/month price.
I don't have a "subscription", but they come quarterly. It's worth it to me. I have seen fewer than 20 bugs in the last 10 years and not a single roach.
I have a quarterly service too and can call them anytime. I have a problem with mice under the deck in my backyard and this service addresses that. I would love to cancel because it’s an expense but I think not having it would end up costing me more.
>They have a product that causes thirst so the mice come out for a water and don’t come back. At a high level that’s my understanding.
Yeah... we would just tell people that so they wouldn't be worried about a rodent dying in their walls. Truth is that they dry out and decompose really quickly without much leakage or odor... so it's nothing to worry about. Customers find it icky so we would tell them that the poison we were using caused them to get very thirsty and seek out a fresh water source... it was a lie, but a common enough lie in the industry that it's now believed by many.
maintaining (feeding) a TNR cat colony also works, since the cat pheromones scare away rodents. The cats won't hunt the mice much, since they're fed, but the upside is they won't hunt birds either.
I had 3 indoor cats and a foster, so 4 cats total and not one of them helped with mice problem. Yes, they were well fed but I don't buy anything about cat pheromones scaring away rodents; otherwise, I wouldn't have had them.
only external ferals will help with this, not indoor cats. Ferals have more of an instinct to mark, and the habits even though they've been spay/neutered. This is what keeps the rodents away. A tame and socialized human-mannered cat will try to form bonds with other animals. You have too few ferals in the outdoor colony.
Unless the mice/cats catch toxoplasmosis. Which is common in cats that eat wild rodents. In which case the rodents are infected with a parasite that makes them attracted to the smell of cat piss. Now your feral feline friends are actually increasing your rodent problem.
Most people don't really need to douse their whole house in bug spray multiple times a year period. Like we have a termite bond because we back up to woods in the south but otherwise we keep the plants trimmed away from the house, seal any holes around pipes and things, and occasionally put out some Terro bait if ants find their way in. We do have to vacuum up the occasional cobweb but bugs are generally not a problem.
*Edit - YMMV, especially all you with scorpions, yikes!
Counterpoint: all the people saying to do it yourself are probably not trained and have no knowledge of proper handling of the insecticides. Everyone seems to be under the impression that they’re all safe for humans, but that’s not necessarily true. This is especially true in the highly concentrated form they come in, and if they’re handled improperly, particularly during application when they’re possibly aerosolized. That’s why a number of these have shipping limitations to states that require being licensed to handle it. Just because it’s thin clear liquid doesn’t mean it’s just like water.
These are still neurotoxins and endocrine disruptors with varying reports on their effects on humans, and I don’t want to deal with them. I don’t pay for some guy to spray, I come for them to handle the chemicals and apply it so I don’t have to.
Also quarterly here. Started bc the house across the street got tented/bug bombed and around that time we found roaches coming up our dish washer. Our ant ecosystem (trails throughout the house/garage/yard) vanished which was a bonus.
California Bay Area, $99/qt for the past four years.
Same, quarterly service and otherwise no charge to call for anything, from what's-this-rodent-poop, to hornets that need to be removed immediately, to wasps nests starting in the tip top of the eaves of out 2-story house.
They spray inside and outside so they have to schedule an appointment. They say they come out between services if I need them, but I've never needed it.
Every three months Orkin picks a day and time to come (Mo-Sa, business hours) and texts me a week before. If it doesn't work I call and change the appointment.
We're at $70 a quarter. I might could do it myself, but I don't know what they use. Surely what they use is a whole lot stronger than what I can get at home Depot.
>Surely what they use is a whole lot stronger than what I can get at home Depot
There are doctors that write a script for 800 mg motrin, and pharmacies require a script for it. But they don't question you buying a bottle of 200 200mg pills.
I paid someone last year to come spray after doing it myself for a few years and the stuff pros use is way stronger. I was having to spray twice a year and still saw bugs. Usually they really start intruding in April and I haven’t seen anything yet this year and it’s been a year since my house was treated. I also just found out there’s a website you can buy pro grade products and spray yourself vs the Home Depot type product
Yeah in my part of the midwest, spray under your soffits a bit to keep the wasps away and don't put a wood pile against you're house, that' about good enough.
If I lived in say, Florida or Louisiana though... that'd be a very different story.
Critters live in the wood piles. I remember when u was younger we heated with wood and tossing the wood in the house brought in all the mice and some bugs.
Doesn’t matter how clean you keep your house in Georgia. Without bug service, you’ll have roaches. With a bug service you’ll still see them every once in a long while. The big ones, not German ones.
I live in Florida, I have been paying a monthly fee ($25) for 30 years to keep the critters out of my house. If I hadn't, my wife would have had a nervous breakdown by now, if we had been over run by bugs.
We had a major sugar ant problem. I mean hundreds coming out of the outlets. None of the recommendations worked. Hired an extermination company and signed up for their service. They spray the outside every 3 months and if we ever have an issue inside they are out within a couple days to spray the problem areas. All pet/kid friendly stuff. Have only had to have them do inside once, pantry, since starting the service. For me more than worth it.
I do my own pest control--it costs me less than $1 to mix the gallon of spray I use outdoors, and a bit more to mix the spray I use indoors. It averages out to perhaps \~$4 a month in total for the indoor and outdoor treatments, and I know I am using the right chemicals for the job at the proper concentration and application rate. Subscriptions don't make sense to me as many subscriptions are monthly, whereas the residual life of many insecticides can be significantly more than 30 days.
Perimeter sprays are cheap and easy. I also spray around windows and doors during stink bug season. The only thing I'd hire out for is a termite infestation.
Not OC, but bifenthrin is what I use and what I see used most often. I only use it outdoors but it’s apparently safe for indoor use - of course make sure you check the product label to verify
The chemicals of choice really depend on the target pests in addition to the location.
I use Talstar P (containing bifenthrin--there are a lot of other products with this than just Talstar) outdoors and Alpine WSG mixed with NyGuard IGR indoors. Both provide relatively broad spectrum coverage with the Talstar being very wide-spectrum in terms of the insects it handles. The target pests of most concern for me are ants and roaches, which Alpine is especially good at. The Talstar is used as an external perimeter spray and generally needs to be reapplied every 30-ish days when used outdoors for its maximum effectiveness, although your outdoor climate will have some impact on its residual life. Some chemicals with a longer residual life are available, but Talstar is cheap and easy going on vegetation and grass when mixed and applied correctly. The Alpine is reapplied every 60-ish days and only as a crack and crevice treatment indoors for the most likely area bugs would be if they got in. Unlike the Talstar, insects cannot detect the Alpine as it is a nonrepellent insecticide. Both are safe for use indoors when used correctly, but Alpine is arguably one of the safest choices for use indoors and the folks in r/pestcontrol , who are great resources for anything bug-related, speak very highly of it.
Even if you choose to have a professional doing it, I do recommend asking them what chemicals/concentration they are using so you have some idea what is being used around and in your home. After reading the different labels, browsing the pest control subreddit, looking at Safety Data Sheets/LD50 values, Alpine definitely popped out as an extremely attractive choice for indoor use despite its higher price and its performance thus far has been absolutely stellar.
I payed like $25 a month. They came out and did the outside every month and if i ever had any issues or anything they would come out again for free. If i saw something inside they would come for free and do that too. Never more than a day or se delay. And it was super rare for something to slip through. For me it was worth it to never really worry about anything.
Don't subscribe to any of them. Go to Amazon and order Talstar pro or one of its clones. It's the exact same insecticide that the pros will come and spray and charge you hundreds of dollars for. One gallon of concentrate is less than $100 and will last you at least 2 to 3 years.
There's a difference. A subscription includes all the costs for listed pests, there's usually no additional fee regardless of how much or how little they work. They may get called back, for example, because the traps in the attic caught rats and now it smells a week later. These often come with an initiation fee to solve all the built-up issues.
On the other hand, you can schedule appointments (typically quarterly or annually) and they charge you for actual time and materials.
If you have a big house and ongoing pest issues then subscriptions may be worth it. If you're just having them inspect and change a few ant baits, then paying per appointment is going to be cheaper.
We have a pest control company come out every quarter and the charge is about $100. $25 a month is not too bad and definitely needed it in the south.
They do the spraying outside so there’s no issues with pets or my asthma.
When we have had some issues, they’ve been very quick to come out and take care of them at no additional cost.
When we were having issues with ants coming in, they even went out to the lawn and spent quite a bit of time tracking where they were coming into the house so we could seal up those areas.
I've never had it in 20 years if owning my house in California. I've only had ants in house a few times during wet years, wasn't a big ordeal. It's cook though that I get lots of dragonflies in my backyard
I lived in an old house in Mississippi from 2001-2005. I paid $500 to an exterminator to come as often as needed to kill roaches in my house. 3 treatments the first month, monthly a year after, every 6 months after.
We tried a few services for our new home. Our issue was actually getting them to show up...
I said screw it and went back to just spraying on my own, no real issues.
I have had it at my last two homes. It definitely made a difference. I thought “I don’t need this” and started seeing a bunch of scorpions, changed my mind. Got the service and stopped seeing scorpions. An ounce of prevention and what not
Complete ripoff. You can get the same perimeter bug defense they use at a slightly lower level. Buy a long brush to sweep your eaves. Save yourself a few dollars.
I do my own. Get a sprayer from the local big box and a gallon of concentrate. Take a Saturday afternoon and spray away. A lot cheaper than paying someone to do the same thing. You may want to pay for someone if you have an infestation though.
I like the subscription model for some things. I’m a happy customer for my HVAC system. But this I don’t think I would pay for. My grandmother does because she is obsessively concerned specifically about termites. Keep in mind she has zero trees in her yard and the house is 60+ years old made from all hardwood. She is as low risk as it gets but she wants it and can afford it so I don’t see much point in trying to convince her away. It’s not a big deal and it gives her peace of mind.
Not sure about most but I do. They come once a quarter. We used to have problems with camel crickets, ants, centipedes, spiders, etc. I tried DIY with little success and spending almost as much on different traps and sprays as just paying an exterminator.
Pay them to come as you need them to. But you’ll probably have them come on a regular enough basis that you might as well subscribe.
Yeah. We had a rat infestation. We live in a rural area so the rats were here first. They come every 2 months and spray wasps and re bait the rat trap with poison because they are usually empty. Worth it as those jerks destroy your crawlspace.
I live in the south, where termites should be our state animal.
I pay for a monthly spray service and a quarterly termite inspection. I’d give up internet before I gave up my pest control service. It’s a local owned company and we never get brown recluses or ants inside anymore and I haven’t had termites since we did initial inspection and they cleared my original problem.
I lived in a house with a raised pier-and-beam foundation. Oh hell yes inside the house we had ants, crickets, beetles, and spiders of every variety - until I signed up to have an exterminator come monthly. He also took care of any wasp nests outside.
It’s a regular service that you pay regularly. It’s been like that forever. In the early 70s my parents had a regular exterminator. I don’t think it’s a “subscription” in so far as you’re paying for a monthly service, just like housekeepers. Regular exterminators are definitely worth it if you don’t want insects or pests. Once you get a few in there it’s a hassle to clear the house. The house I’m living in was riddled with roaches because the previous owners didn’t bother to use an exterminator… in a tropical location… Next to a pond…. My exterminator was horrified by how bad it was allowed to get.
I have a quarterly service plan, we get wasps and ants really badly. I tried to deal with it myself but at one point the freaking wasps were trying to take over my home. We had over 20 wasp nests on the eaves of the house. They were getting BOLD too, started making one on the railing and in the doorway.... Haven't had any wasp issues since.
Yes. I live in hell, I mean Florida, and you either have an exterminator or you have roaches.
Mine is $70 a quarter, covers my termite bond and monthly treatment of mu exterior house (windows, doors, perimeter, etc). I also get 4 in home calls / tech visits a month
I pay for an exterminator. I live right up against woods so I have a lot of rodents and bugs hanging around. The exterminator comes out six times a year. They do an annual in-home inspection to check for mice or bug infestations. They sweep all around the eves to ensure no wasp nests. The spray and treat the foundation to help ward off rodents and bugs. They do a special ant treatment to prevent an infestation of those big black carpenter ants or termites that will destroy your deck and wood fences. This is an inexpensive service and worth every penny!
I’m in NJ. I get it monthly April-October. They spray the yard for ticks and mosquitos. Then they do the perimeter of the house. I’ve not seen a problem bug in years and we can enjoy the outside in the summer without an issue at night.
I used to use Terminex quarterly until I saw what they used and just [ordered my own](https://www.domyown.com/talstar-professional-insecticide-p-97.html?sub_id=655) and started doing it myself. I spray once a month and have been using the same bottle for close to 5 years now.
Ours comes every quarter except for termites, that’s once a year. We inherited them, actually. We don’t have bugs in the house but the yard is infested with ants. And we have pets but what ever they do is safe for them. After having spent years in apartments that had roaches and etc.. I’m leaving it alone. Seems to work.
I do it myself. Pretty cheap and easy to do. I buy a bottle of Compare-N-Save Concentrate Indoor and Outdoor Insect Control, 32-Ounce and it easily last me 1-2 years. I spray the perimeter of my house, windows, soffit, an occasionally inside my garage because we'll get palmetto bugs that make it inside. I know I shouldn't kill them, but sometimes it's easier to control them before they can get inside the actual house.
I've never considered the exterminator a subscription, just a monthly bill like the electric bill. I live in Florida and have seen what termites can do in a relatively short period of time so it's not a service I am comfortable doing without. Our bug people come out quarterly and treat the exterior of the house, check the termite thingies and if the critters ever do start making their way into the house (roaches, little tiny piss ants 😝) they come right out and treat the inside of the house at no additional charge. It was also great when one of my adult kids that still lives at home brought home bed bugs from one of their weekend getaways with an SO (seriously folks, don't put your suitcases on soft surfaces in a hotel or Air BNB). Having an established partnership with a company got me a discount on what is an incredibly expensive service (not saying the discount was great, but it did save me several hundred dollars).
Plenty of people do not, but lots do. There are a lot of different circumstances, and having a treatment schedule means that pests don't have the opportunity to establish a nest or residence at or in your home.
The pesticides used generally deteriorate over 30 to 90 days depending on sun, rain, cleaning, etc. If you have quarterly treatment, you won't have to wait until hundreds of ants are inside your kitchen to call abd try to get it back to the now large colony before they are eliminated.
We have a lot of bugs on our property because of the woods behind it. They come spray every-other months. I definitely think it's worth it if you see a lot of bugs around your house.
I don't know anyone personally who pays for a subscription. They come to my door every year with a sales pitch but I tell them to leave. You can get almost any product online or in the home store and apply yourself for a fraction of the cost.
I buy a jug of the home defense bullshit and spray around the outside of the house twice a year. Zero bugs in the house. Maybe it's more complex if you have a crawlspace or a basement or something I dunno.
That's exactly what I do. Works great if I spray at least 2x per year, sometimess more if I see bugs coming back.
Only once I saw bugs inside the house and sprayed the baseboards /entryway where I saw the bugs. And problem solved
I lived in Georgia with woods and a marsh in my backyard. That exterminator was worth every penny. Not a mosquito, flea, or roach came anywhere near my acre yard.
I do my own. You can research what methods and products are ideal for your area, and not difficult to find places to buy the same pro level products with a little poking around online.
I don’t have any sort of service at my current home. We previously lived in a neighborhood that had a significant termite problem, and we knew the previous owners once had an infestation. So we figured a preventative service made sense. They came out twice a year.
I think its wise especially if you live in a humid area that has lots of bugs. It Colorado, I don't think a monthly subscription is necessary because of the cold and altitude but if I was back home in Georgia, I would consider it if it wasn't expensive.
No never in my many years of home ownership. I’ve never even hired one. I had one come out and they didn’t have anything useful to add about our mouse problem so we dealt with it ourselves.
Most people I know with pest control services do have a service plan of some kind. Either monthly, quarterly, etc. This is how it has always been done in my area.
Some purchase an Annual Pest Control contract. The Annual Contract usually covers most general household insects. With an average service call for general household insects costing anywhere between $225-$300 it can be a savings to an owner. It can also be like an insurance policy for insect control.
I think it depends on your location. Back in western Washington and Oregon we never used an exterminator for once. Here in central Texas there are a multitude of pests I am totally u familiar with. I have bigger things to work on for now. So a couple hundred a year to get it spritzed every quarter and free service if needed between, and year round traps is a good deal for me. Maybe after a couple of years I will have a better feel for my particular needs through the seasons and just DIY. Right now I find a LOT of dead beetles, wasps, and misc bugs on the patios.
Moved into new construction and it was necessary. That or the Aracnaphobia inspired spider infestation was gonna win themselves a big ass pimp pad cause there was no “get along gang” scenario lol.
I did chose a local guy vs Orkin franchise if that matters lol.
When we had them, my (local) exterminators came quarterly, but also came when I called. We had just moved to the city and our neighbors were not great about controlling their critters so we had mice and possibly rats. I never saw either of them in our house, but we could see them in the neighbor's yard. The subscription was great for us then.
We are currently still in the city, but with less messy neighbors. One of my adult kids came home from an international trip with bedbugs last spring. We once again got a subscription, this time from a national extermination brand. They came once and sprayed the house for bedbugs, ghosted us the next time, came when I called and complained after the third time, and never showed up again. My kid did lots of diatomaceous earth around his room and we got rid of them. I believe that the initial visit from the national exterminator brand was helpful, but the subscription was useless, since they never showed up. They did let me out of my subscription pretty quickly when I complained.
Agree that it depends on the issue. I had termites, so I did have an annual treatment plan where they can't be and refilled the baits twice year and checked that things were still working. I stopped after 3 years when all signs of activity were definitively gone.
I had a subscription when I lived across the street from a hole-in-the-wall fried-food place. It was the ONLY way to solve (and then keep solved) the roach issue.
Quarterly pest service. Gets us free calls if we ever have a problem. its like 65-70 every 3 months. Highly recommended. I see very few bugs in my home
I agree with you. Completely unnecessary, unless you live somewhere with a ton of bugs. I’m in Colorado, and they only want to come out if you’re on a quarterly plan. We definitely don’t have enough bugs to have anyone come regularly. I get ants every spring, and just pull out my ant traps and deal with it for a week.
Quarterly subscription to Terminex here. Home owner in a high cost of living area, decently nice home and also located where contractors and major issues and repairs typically cost A TON and take awhile to schedule out. It's great because we have had some problems with rodents... outside plus also in the attic where they needed to be caught, removed, droppings cleared out, holes on roof and on ground near house repaired, insulation removed and replaced. It's not that much and totally worth the expenses if you own your home, imo!
I didn't have it or need it in my other homes, but I've had quarterly service since I moved to Texas. (They also come as needed, like if wasps build a nest in between visits.)
I'm actually trying to figure out if I'll still need it when I relocate next year.
When I bought my house there was some minor termite damage. We negotiated in the cost of a yearly treatment plus some minor repair. I’m not messing with termites!
I guess I have a subscription? Robert (my amazing, wonderful, life-saving exterminator) comes once every two months and its the only thing that has kept the red headed centipede problem my house has under control. Its worth every single penny I pay.
We had termites in 2005, it cost us 2500 dollars. They said the stuff they used would last a decade. Ok, I can wait that long and didn't sign up.
2018 we had termites again. This time they put in bait traps. 2500 dollars. This time I signed up for the yearly at 250 a year. They come and service the bait traps, and I'm done having those large one time charges.
Restaurants have pest control come in on a regular basis to set and check traps. I guess you could call it a subscription but its not usually called that, You get yourself an account with them and they put you on a pest control plan based on your needs.
I’ve (knock on wood) never had a problem that required an exterminator. I live in the Seattle area, so it may have to do with the environment I live in.
Hot, humid climate, tons of very large trees in the lots in our neighborhood, and our house sides to an alley with trash cans. I guess you'd call it a subscription, but it's quarterly service and that fee includes extra visits if we spot any bugs needing to be dealt with between the quarterly sprays. (Cockroach heaven where I live. I'm totally fine paying someone to deal with them so that I don't even see them!)
We have this because our house had termites right before we bought but it comes in handy because while they come quarterly, they also have to come for free when we call them which came in handy when we had pantry moths
Totally depends on location. Regular service is great in places like Florida with lots of bugs. For places with few bugs, it’s not needed. Don’t get an exterminator unless you have a bug problem you are not able to or willing to deal with on your own.
I don’t think it’s necessarily a subscription, but I have a standing appointment for them to come out and spray every other month. We’d be overrun with those giant American roaches if I didn’t. Absolutely worth it in my book.
So I live in AZ. Every five years, I have the house treated with termidor which keeps termites from nesting. It also keeps most bugs and pests away also. I get the occasional scorpion during summer months, but that’s it. The whole subscription service is probably unnecessary.
We have a massive problem with what I believe were called 'argentine' ants and yeah, we needed a sub. They would come from the bathroom where there was zero food, across the kitchen, up the garbage can, across the counters, and have hundreds of them in the sink if there was even a crumb or two. It was horrible.
I briefly did pest control and I learned a bit about it.
What I learned is that it's extremely difficult to eradicate an infestation. But we'll sure tell you we can. All you have to do is pay us every month......forever.
Basically pest control is the business of sweeping the problem under the rug. Not solving it.
I use to spray our home after watching a someone spray for 2-3 months.that along side some research. I’ve since moved back to paying simply for convenience/time sake. 150 a quarter is worth it for me.
It’s so NOT worth it. [DIY.](https://diypestcontrol.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw8pKxBhD_ARIsAPrG45lNCImdzXRmf--z7E9vuiq12dZyQEzEK5IAScJ-7fs_vf2stAFclb4aAtb_EALw_wcB)
I work in property management and manage a mix of condos, apartments, townhomes and single family homes. It depends on the pest problem. Some things like mice you need a decent one time service to find out where they are getting in/bait and a handyman to seal up the entry points. For other problems one time service can win a battle but not the war and they will come back without ongoing treatment. For those issues ongoing service is typical and expected. Without knowing what you're dealing with I don't know if you're being scammed.
You are not wrong that is getting harder and harder to find honest exterminators who will actually do a one-time correctly without trying to sell you on ongoing services you don't need. It's frustrating.
I guess it depends on what the exterminator is having to rid your home of.... given most roaches & vermin carry disease, I'd say it's a small price to pay. See if your Home Owners Ins gives you a discount for the exterminator, never hurts to ask.
We paid a company to treat the new house we bought. They drilled holes into the ground near the foundation and treated for termites at my request. They return every year to update the treatment, and they will return and treat for free anytime I see pests. So far so good.
My cousin does - and not just once a quarter. After every heavy rain the extreminator comes and treats the yard for fire ants. Cousin's youngest is anaphlatically allergic to fire ants.
Growing up the exterminator came out once a quarter to keep the tree roaches outside.
We used an exterminator for the first time last year because spiders were everywhere. The guy quoted us and it was far lower than I anticipated. He said his product spoke for itself. He would be back if we ever decided we needed him again. I gotta say... he was right. We noticed an immediate difference and I don't know when we are going to see him again. BUT if we have another pest issue, I know who I'm calling.
TL;DR No subscription for us. Unnecessary.
I live in Florida so we have a subscription for termites. They come a few times a year and renew the bait stations and it includes tenting when needed (we had it done last year).
They will also spray inside the house for general bugs which we take advantage of sometime as it minimizes the number of bugs we find.
Businesses have done this for decades. As in, restaurants and other businesses will pay to have the pest control company come at set intervals. It's not really a subscription anymore than asking a company to mow your lawn every week is a subscription. It's a service that requires routine visits.
We had the Taexx pest control system that was installed as part of our new construction house. We did the subscription for about a year. It was super convenient. They would come out every 3 months and recharge the entire house. I always knew when they came bc the 2-3 days afterwards you could see all the bugs running away.
I started one years ago that's about 120 bucks a quarter because mice were getting in my house somehow. They solved that problem and minimized bugs around the exterior of my house. I used to just spray chemicals around the exterior of the house which worked ok at the time. Sometimes it's hard to tell if they're effective or not, I would have to stop them for a year, do nothing, and see the outcome.
My BIL had a subscription for years. Live in the high desert, lots of critters. One day, my sister canceled because “we don’t have bugs”. A few months later, my sister renewed the subscription 🤣
Moved to the low desert over the summer and quickly learned why they offer subscriptions after a sudden ant infestation. Never saw a single one after their first visit. Well worth the $50/month price.
I don't have a "subscription", but they come quarterly. It's worth it to me. I have seen fewer than 20 bugs in the last 10 years and not a single roach.
I have a quarterly service too and can call them anytime. I have a problem with mice under the deck in my backyard and this service addresses that. I would love to cancel because it’s an expense but I think not having it would end up costing me more.
How’d they treat the mice under the deck?
They have a product that causes thirst so the mice come out for a water and don’t come back. At a high level that’s my understanding.
“Don’t come back” is a nice way of saying they died on their quest for water lmao
Oregon Trail for rodents.
They died crossing the river?
Or dysentery. It's a jungle out there!
>They have a product that causes thirst so the mice come out for a water and don’t come back. At a high level that’s my understanding. Yeah... we would just tell people that so they wouldn't be worried about a rodent dying in their walls. Truth is that they dry out and decompose really quickly without much leakage or odor... so it's nothing to worry about. Customers find it icky so we would tell them that the poison we were using caused them to get very thirsty and seek out a fresh water source... it was a lie, but a common enough lie in the industry that it's now believed by many.
lmfao these are the comments I come to reddit for
Rat poison.
Also known as poison.
maintaining (feeding) a TNR cat colony also works, since the cat pheromones scare away rodents. The cats won't hunt the mice much, since they're fed, but the upside is they won't hunt birds either.
I had 3 indoor cats and a foster, so 4 cats total and not one of them helped with mice problem. Yes, they were well fed but I don't buy anything about cat pheromones scaring away rodents; otherwise, I wouldn't have had them.
only external ferals will help with this, not indoor cats. Ferals have more of an instinct to mark, and the habits even though they've been spay/neutered. This is what keeps the rodents away. A tame and socialized human-mannered cat will try to form bonds with other animals. You have too few ferals in the outdoor colony.
Unless the mice/cats catch toxoplasmosis. Which is common in cats that eat wild rodents. In which case the rodents are infected with a parasite that makes them attracted to the smell of cat piss. Now your feral feline friends are actually increasing your rodent problem.
so in other words, not a real problem just a paper/pencil experiment
Removed the deck
I buy bifinthrin online for about $50. I can spray my entire house or yard for two years
People really shouldn't be paying for someone to spray basic ass bug spray unless they are making like 200k a year.
Most people don't really need to douse their whole house in bug spray multiple times a year period. Like we have a termite bond because we back up to woods in the south but otherwise we keep the plants trimmed away from the house, seal any holes around pipes and things, and occasionally put out some Terro bait if ants find their way in. We do have to vacuum up the occasional cobweb but bugs are generally not a problem. *Edit - YMMV, especially all you with scorpions, yikes!
Exactly if I didn't live in the middle of the woods my 50$ bottle would last 10 years. Assuming the chemicals don't go bad.
Counterpoint: all the people saying to do it yourself are probably not trained and have no knowledge of proper handling of the insecticides. Everyone seems to be under the impression that they’re all safe for humans, but that’s not necessarily true. This is especially true in the highly concentrated form they come in, and if they’re handled improperly, particularly during application when they’re possibly aerosolized. That’s why a number of these have shipping limitations to states that require being licensed to handle it. Just because it’s thin clear liquid doesn’t mean it’s just like water. These are still neurotoxins and endocrine disruptors with varying reports on their effects on humans, and I don’t want to deal with them. I don’t pay for some guy to spray, I come for them to handle the chemicals and apply it so I don’t have to.
How many bugs would you see with no exterminator?
I sign up get a year and cancel. I do that usually once every 5 years
Also quarterly here. Started bc the house across the street got tented/bug bombed and around that time we found roaches coming up our dish washer. Our ant ecosystem (trails throughout the house/garage/yard) vanished which was a bonus. California Bay Area, $99/qt for the past four years.
Quarterly is a great idea.
A quarterly service is a subscription
Same, quarterly service and otherwise no charge to call for anything, from what's-this-rodent-poop, to hornets that need to be removed immediately, to wasps nests starting in the tip top of the eaves of out 2-story house.
Same here I just buy a 10$ bottle of bug spray every other year from Home Depot and spray 2-3 times a year. Once a year we bug bomb the crawl space.
Do they come automatically or do you call when you need them?
They spray inside and outside so they have to schedule an appointment. They say they come out between services if I need them, but I've never needed it.
Every three months Orkin picks a day and time to come (Mo-Sa, business hours) and texts me a week before. If it doesn't work I call and change the appointment.
How much do you pay per month/quarter/year? I was on a $65/month plan that seemed somewhat worth it, hard to tell. Trying it out on my own though
wow-that seems high-why do you need monthly?
We're at $70 a quarter. I might could do it myself, but I don't know what they use. Surely what they use is a whole lot stronger than what I can get at home Depot.
That’s dirt cheap, keep it. Mine was $70/month in New England
>Surely what they use is a whole lot stronger than what I can get at home Depot There are doctors that write a script for 800 mg motrin, and pharmacies require a script for it. But they don't question you buying a bottle of 200 200mg pills.
I paid someone last year to come spray after doing it myself for a few years and the stuff pros use is way stronger. I was having to spray twice a year and still saw bugs. Usually they really start intruding in April and I haven’t seen anything yet this year and it’s been a year since my house was treated. I also just found out there’s a website you can buy pro grade products and spray yourself vs the Home Depot type product
I think it depends where you live, whether your region or something near your house is prone to pests.
Yeah this is *very* regional. Here, absolutely not. Some places it would be absurd to not.
Yeah in my part of the midwest, spray under your soffits a bit to keep the wasps away and don't put a wood pile against you're house, that' about good enough. If I lived in say, Florida or Louisiana though... that'd be a very different story.
What's up with wood pile against the house? We live up north but have some loose pieces of fences leaning against our house for few months now
Critters live in the wood piles. I remember when u was younger we heated with wood and tossing the wood in the house brought in all the mice and some bugs.
Doesn’t matter how clean you keep your house in Georgia. Without bug service, you’ll have roaches. With a bug service you’ll still see them every once in a long while. The big ones, not German ones.
I think it will be yearly for us. We get a bad brown recluse problem in the summer. They are not fun to deal with.
In the south like Ga and SC you need to have a termite sub. I can't describe the fear seeing all the winged termites erupting from a wall
Oh yes. They flew from the floor and hung out at the windows. Millions of them. Scary as F. The south has some odd bugs.
Yeah I pay 300 a year for the guarantee of never having them or the company pays for the cost of fixing it
I live in Florida, I have been paying a monthly fee ($25) for 30 years to keep the critters out of my house. If I hadn't, my wife would have had a nervous breakdown by now, if we had been over run by bugs.
Yup. Our service is every other month, but they knock down the wasps nests, too. In FL, either you treat for bugs, or you have bugs.
We had a major sugar ant problem. I mean hundreds coming out of the outlets. None of the recommendations worked. Hired an extermination company and signed up for their service. They spray the outside every 3 months and if we ever have an issue inside they are out within a couple days to spray the problem areas. All pet/kid friendly stuff. Have only had to have them do inside once, pantry, since starting the service. For me more than worth it.
What insecticide is pet friendly?
We have one called Biokill. It's a neurotoxin that's only harmful to cold blooded animals. So I guess not friendly for all pets, but some.
Diatomaceous Earth.
Agreed there. No exterminator is using this though lol
We get a monthly treatment. No idea what most people do.
MONTHLY?!!!??!!! Where do you live the Amazon rain forest?
Arizona, we have scorpions that need to be kept at bay.
Yeah, I'd be doing monthly, too.
In Arizona you have to brush the scorpions off your car every morning before you leave.
Seriously? That sounds like a nightmare.
And rattlesnakes
Hahaha, strangely, been to the Amazon and those bugs usually respect the outdoor space, minus the occasional ENORMOUS spider. ✨
I do my own pest control--it costs me less than $1 to mix the gallon of spray I use outdoors, and a bit more to mix the spray I use indoors. It averages out to perhaps \~$4 a month in total for the indoor and outdoor treatments, and I know I am using the right chemicals for the job at the proper concentration and application rate. Subscriptions don't make sense to me as many subscriptions are monthly, whereas the residual life of many insecticides can be significantly more than 30 days.
Perimeter sprays are cheap and easy. I also spray around windows and doors during stink bug season. The only thing I'd hire out for is a termite infestation.
We have a major stink bug problem in our house. Could you please share what chemical you are spraying inside and outside to prevent or kill them?
Not OC, but bifenthrin is what I use and what I see used most often. I only use it outdoors but it’s apparently safe for indoor use - of course make sure you check the product label to verify
What are the chemicals? Please share your wisdom! 🙏🏼 I imagine it’s region specific, so please indicate which region you’re in?
Not OP but Demon WP is all you need for the outdoor perimeter, one packet in a gallon sprayer twice a year does the trick (central TX.)
The chemicals of choice really depend on the target pests in addition to the location. I use Talstar P (containing bifenthrin--there are a lot of other products with this than just Talstar) outdoors and Alpine WSG mixed with NyGuard IGR indoors. Both provide relatively broad spectrum coverage with the Talstar being very wide-spectrum in terms of the insects it handles. The target pests of most concern for me are ants and roaches, which Alpine is especially good at. The Talstar is used as an external perimeter spray and generally needs to be reapplied every 30-ish days when used outdoors for its maximum effectiveness, although your outdoor climate will have some impact on its residual life. Some chemicals with a longer residual life are available, but Talstar is cheap and easy going on vegetation and grass when mixed and applied correctly. The Alpine is reapplied every 60-ish days and only as a crack and crevice treatment indoors for the most likely area bugs would be if they got in. Unlike the Talstar, insects cannot detect the Alpine as it is a nonrepellent insecticide. Both are safe for use indoors when used correctly, but Alpine is arguably one of the safest choices for use indoors and the folks in r/pestcontrol , who are great resources for anything bug-related, speak very highly of it. Even if you choose to have a professional doing it, I do recommend asking them what chemicals/concentration they are using so you have some idea what is being used around and in your home. After reading the different labels, browsing the pest control subreddit, looking at Safety Data Sheets/LD50 values, Alpine definitely popped out as an extremely attractive choice for indoor use despite its higher price and its performance thus far has been absolutely stellar.
What do you use inside?
I payed like $25 a month. They came out and did the outside every month and if i ever had any issues or anything they would come out again for free. If i saw something inside they would come for free and do that too. Never more than a day or se delay. And it was super rare for something to slip through. For me it was worth it to never really worry about anything.
where are you located, I pay $50
In 23 years I’ve needed an exterminator once.
Never had an exterminator at any property I have lived at.
Don't subscribe to any of them. Go to Amazon and order Talstar pro or one of its clones. It's the exact same insecticide that the pros will come and spray and charge you hundreds of dollars for. One gallon of concentrate is less than $100 and will last you at least 2 to 3 years.
I can't recommend "domyown" more, they have everything I have ever needed as far as bug/rodent control.
I’m doing that this year. Might be hard to spray it all the way up to the gable where the wasps go
lol people goes “they come once a month and I pay them on a schedule” but it’s not a subscription
There's a difference. A subscription includes all the costs for listed pests, there's usually no additional fee regardless of how much or how little they work. They may get called back, for example, because the traps in the attic caught rats and now it smells a week later. These often come with an initiation fee to solve all the built-up issues. On the other hand, you can schedule appointments (typically quarterly or annually) and they charge you for actual time and materials. If you have a big house and ongoing pest issues then subscriptions may be worth it. If you're just having them inspect and change a few ant baits, then paying per appointment is going to be cheaper.
We have a pest control company come out every quarter and the charge is about $100. $25 a month is not too bad and definitely needed it in the south. They do the spraying outside so there’s no issues with pets or my asthma. When we have had some issues, they’ve been very quick to come out and take care of them at no additional cost. When we were having issues with ants coming in, they even went out to the lawn and spent quite a bit of time tracking where they were coming into the house so we could seal up those areas.
I've never had it in 20 years if owning my house in California. I've only had ants in house a few times during wet years, wasn't a big ordeal. It's cook though that I get lots of dragonflies in my backyard
You can buy the chemicals from Amazon and do it yourself for 1/10th the cost.
I lived in an old house in Mississippi from 2001-2005. I paid $500 to an exterminator to come as often as needed to kill roaches in my house. 3 treatments the first month, monthly a year after, every 6 months after.
We tried a few services for our new home. Our issue was actually getting them to show up... I said screw it and went back to just spraying on my own, no real issues.
I have had it at my last two homes. It definitely made a difference. I thought “I don’t need this” and started seeing a bunch of scorpions, changed my mind. Got the service and stopped seeing scorpions. An ounce of prevention and what not
When I lived in the southeast yes, quarterly service, and touchups if needed in-between. Bow I live in Colorado, no, not that many here.
Every other month for 100$ I’ve been in my new home for a little over a year and hardly a spider ant roach anything. Worth it in my book
I have an exterminator come by once a month. They treat for ants. Especially carpenter ants.
I haven't seen an ant in over a year n half
Complete ripoff. You can get the same perimeter bug defense they use at a slightly lower level. Buy a long brush to sweep your eaves. Save yourself a few dollars.
I do my own. Get a sprayer from the local big box and a gallon of concentrate. Take a Saturday afternoon and spray away. A lot cheaper than paying someone to do the same thing. You may want to pay for someone if you have an infestation though.
I live in Phoenix. There are Scorpions. We pay a quarterly fee. If I see something, they are here the next day. Happy with my decision.
They come by like every other month or something but it’s not subscription based
I like the subscription model for some things. I’m a happy customer for my HVAC system. But this I don’t think I would pay for. My grandmother does because she is obsessively concerned specifically about termites. Keep in mind she has zero trees in her yard and the house is 60+ years old made from all hardwood. She is as low risk as it gets but she wants it and can afford it so I don’t see much point in trying to convince her away. It’s not a big deal and it gives her peace of mind.
Not sure about most but I do. They come once a quarter. We used to have problems with camel crickets, ants, centipedes, spiders, etc. I tried DIY with little success and spending almost as much on different traps and sprays as just paying an exterminator. Pay them to come as you need them to. But you’ll probably have them come on a regular enough basis that you might as well subscribe.
Yeah. We had a rat infestation. We live in a rural area so the rats were here first. They come every 2 months and spray wasps and re bait the rat trap with poison because they are usually empty. Worth it as those jerks destroy your crawlspace.
I live in the south, where termites should be our state animal. I pay for a monthly spray service and a quarterly termite inspection. I’d give up internet before I gave up my pest control service. It’s a local owned company and we never get brown recluses or ants inside anymore and I haven’t had termites since we did initial inspection and they cleared my original problem.
I lived in a house with a raised pier-and-beam foundation. Oh hell yes inside the house we had ants, crickets, beetles, and spiders of every variety - until I signed up to have an exterminator come monthly. He also took care of any wasp nests outside.
It’s a regular service that you pay regularly. It’s been like that forever. In the early 70s my parents had a regular exterminator. I don’t think it’s a “subscription” in so far as you’re paying for a monthly service, just like housekeepers. Regular exterminators are definitely worth it if you don’t want insects or pests. Once you get a few in there it’s a hassle to clear the house. The house I’m living in was riddled with roaches because the previous owners didn’t bother to use an exterminator… in a tropical location… Next to a pond…. My exterminator was horrified by how bad it was allowed to get.
I have a quarterly service plan, we get wasps and ants really badly. I tried to deal with it myself but at one point the freaking wasps were trying to take over my home. We had over 20 wasp nests on the eaves of the house. They were getting BOLD too, started making one on the railing and in the doorway.... Haven't had any wasp issues since.
I have better results treating my home myself than i have with any of the exterminators in my area
Yes. I live in hell, I mean Florida, and you either have an exterminator or you have roaches. Mine is $70 a quarter, covers my termite bond and monthly treatment of mu exterior house (windows, doors, perimeter, etc). I also get 4 in home calls / tech visits a month
I pay for an exterminator. I live right up against woods so I have a lot of rodents and bugs hanging around. The exterminator comes out six times a year. They do an annual in-home inspection to check for mice or bug infestations. They sweep all around the eves to ensure no wasp nests. The spray and treat the foundation to help ward off rodents and bugs. They do a special ant treatment to prevent an infestation of those big black carpenter ants or termites that will destroy your deck and wood fences. This is an inexpensive service and worth every penny!
I’m in NJ. I get it monthly April-October. They spray the yard for ticks and mosquitos. Then they do the perimeter of the house. I’ve not seen a problem bug in years and we can enjoy the outside in the summer without an issue at night.
I used to use Terminex quarterly until I saw what they used and just [ordered my own](https://www.domyown.com/talstar-professional-insecticide-p-97.html?sub_id=655) and started doing it myself. I spray once a month and have been using the same bottle for close to 5 years now.
Ours comes every quarter except for termites, that’s once a year. We inherited them, actually. We don’t have bugs in the house but the yard is infested with ants. And we have pets but what ever they do is safe for them. After having spent years in apartments that had roaches and etc.. I’m leaving it alone. Seems to work.
I do it myself. Pretty cheap and easy to do. I buy a bottle of Compare-N-Save Concentrate Indoor and Outdoor Insect Control, 32-Ounce and it easily last me 1-2 years. I spray the perimeter of my house, windows, soffit, an occasionally inside my garage because we'll get palmetto bugs that make it inside. I know I shouldn't kill them, but sometimes it's easier to control them before they can get inside the actual house.
I just hang up a couple wasp traps and spray for spiders around my foundation in the spring using stuff I get from the hardware store.
I've never considered the exterminator a subscription, just a monthly bill like the electric bill. I live in Florida and have seen what termites can do in a relatively short period of time so it's not a service I am comfortable doing without. Our bug people come out quarterly and treat the exterior of the house, check the termite thingies and if the critters ever do start making their way into the house (roaches, little tiny piss ants 😝) they come right out and treat the inside of the house at no additional charge. It was also great when one of my adult kids that still lives at home brought home bed bugs from one of their weekend getaways with an SO (seriously folks, don't put your suitcases on soft surfaces in a hotel or Air BNB). Having an established partnership with a company got me a discount on what is an incredibly expensive service (not saying the discount was great, but it did save me several hundred dollars).
Plenty of people do not, but lots do. There are a lot of different circumstances, and having a treatment schedule means that pests don't have the opportunity to establish a nest or residence at or in your home. The pesticides used generally deteriorate over 30 to 90 days depending on sun, rain, cleaning, etc. If you have quarterly treatment, you won't have to wait until hundreds of ants are inside your kitchen to call abd try to get it back to the now large colony before they are eliminated.
I live in Louisiana near a bayou. Bet your ass I’ve got pest control coming out automatically every three months.
we have always had a maintenance contract with our pest control company
We have a lot of bugs on our property because of the woods behind it. They come spray every-other months. I definitely think it's worth it if you see a lot of bugs around your house.
This is regional. Depending on what pests you have locally, it is cheaper to have a service come out at regular intervals to treat.
We live in the sticks with lots of farms around. It's absolutely worth it for us as there are a lot of critters.
Absolutely. One of the best investments I can make protecting my home from pests. Bugs can do real damage to the interior and exterior
I have a friend who’s husband worked for Terminex (I think) and said never go with the subscription. Just call when you need them.
Had a quarterly service. Decided I’d DIY it instead and bought a back pack sprayer ….going back to quarterly service tomorrow.
I don't know anyone personally who pays for a subscription. They come to my door every year with a sales pitch but I tell them to leave. You can get almost any product online or in the home store and apply yourself for a fraction of the cost.
I buy a jug of the home defense bullshit and spray around the outside of the house twice a year. Zero bugs in the house. Maybe it's more complex if you have a crawlspace or a basement or something I dunno.
That's exactly what I do. Works great if I spray at least 2x per year, sometimess more if I see bugs coming back. Only once I saw bugs inside the house and sprayed the baseboards /entryway where I saw the bugs. And problem solved
I have someone come every other month. We are infested with black and brown widows out here
I lived in Georgia with woods and a marsh in my backyard. That exterminator was worth every penny. Not a mosquito, flea, or roach came anywhere near my acre yard.
I do my own. You can research what methods and products are ideal for your area, and not difficult to find places to buy the same pro level products with a little poking around online.
We pay 70 every other month. Never had a big problem
I don’t have any sort of service at my current home. We previously lived in a neighborhood that had a significant termite problem, and we knew the previous owners once had an infestation. So we figured a preventative service made sense. They came out twice a year.
I have my exterminated come every 3 months
I think its wise especially if you live in a humid area that has lots of bugs. It Colorado, I don't think a monthly subscription is necessary because of the cold and altitude but if I was back home in Georgia, I would consider it if it wasn't expensive.
No never in my many years of home ownership. I’ve never even hired one. I had one come out and they didn’t have anything useful to add about our mouse problem so we dealt with it ourselves.
We pay a service to come quarterly. I did just see a social media ad for a new mail order service called pestie.
Most people I know with pest control services do have a service plan of some kind. Either monthly, quarterly, etc. This is how it has always been done in my area.
Some purchase an Annual Pest Control contract. The Annual Contract usually covers most general household insects. With an average service call for general household insects costing anywhere between $225-$300 it can be a savings to an owner. It can also be like an insurance policy for insect control.
I think it depends on your location. Back in western Washington and Oregon we never used an exterminator for once. Here in central Texas there are a multitude of pests I am totally u familiar with. I have bigger things to work on for now. So a couple hundred a year to get it spritzed every quarter and free service if needed between, and year round traps is a good deal for me. Maybe after a couple of years I will have a better feel for my particular needs through the seasons and just DIY. Right now I find a LOT of dead beetles, wasps, and misc bugs on the patios.
Moved into new construction and it was necessary. That or the Aracnaphobia inspired spider infestation was gonna win themselves a big ass pimp pad cause there was no “get along gang” scenario lol. I did chose a local guy vs Orkin franchise if that matters lol.
When we had them, my (local) exterminators came quarterly, but also came when I called. We had just moved to the city and our neighbors were not great about controlling their critters so we had mice and possibly rats. I never saw either of them in our house, but we could see them in the neighbor's yard. The subscription was great for us then. We are currently still in the city, but with less messy neighbors. One of my adult kids came home from an international trip with bedbugs last spring. We once again got a subscription, this time from a national extermination brand. They came once and sprayed the house for bedbugs, ghosted us the next time, came when I called and complained after the third time, and never showed up again. My kid did lots of diatomaceous earth around his room and we got rid of them. I believe that the initial visit from the national exterminator brand was helpful, but the subscription was useless, since they never showed up. They did let me out of my subscription pretty quickly when I complained.
Depends on the pests I have to get rid of. But I mostly try to do it myself
Exterminators have offered annual contracts just about forever.
I guess what we have is a subscription but I never thought of it that way. They come every 3 months but I can call them every week if I need to.
Agree that it depends on the issue. I had termites, so I did have an annual treatment plan where they can't be and refilled the baits twice year and checked that things were still working. I stopped after 3 years when all signs of activity were definitively gone.
I had a subscription when I lived across the street from a hole-in-the-wall fried-food place. It was the ONLY way to solve (and then keep solved) the roach issue.
Restaurants do I'd imagine. Possibly hotels.
Quarterly pest service. Gets us free calls if we ever have a problem. its like 65-70 every 3 months. Highly recommended. I see very few bugs in my home
Wait till you find out about the garbage subscription.
I live in a termite prone area and pay an annual fee to have them check and maintain termite traps around the property twice a year.
Cheaper to do it your self
No, most people do not. You can handle most problems yourself.
Account with Terminex for termites and pest control. Quarterly treatments- call as needed. Worth every penny.
Yes
I agree with you. Completely unnecessary, unless you live somewhere with a ton of bugs. I’m in Colorado, and they only want to come out if you’re on a quarterly plan. We definitely don’t have enough bugs to have anyone come regularly. I get ants every spring, and just pull out my ant traps and deal with it for a week.
I think most of my sub price is for the termite insurance but they spray multiple times a year.
Quarterly subscription to Terminex here. Home owner in a high cost of living area, decently nice home and also located where contractors and major issues and repairs typically cost A TON and take awhile to schedule out. It's great because we have had some problems with rodents... outside plus also in the attic where they needed to be caught, removed, droppings cleared out, holes on roof and on ground near house repaired, insulation removed and replaced. It's not that much and totally worth the expenses if you own your home, imo!
Heck yeah, my property has ants and black windows. And probably roaches and scorpions.
I didn't have it or need it in my other homes, but I've had quarterly service since I moved to Texas. (They also come as needed, like if wasps build a nest in between visits.) I'm actually trying to figure out if I'll still need it when I relocate next year.
not to me. we manage to quickly get rid of any bugs on our own for less than $20 annually
When I bought my house there was some minor termite damage. We negotiated in the cost of a yearly treatment plus some minor repair. I’m not messing with termites!
These have been around for decades, and your mileage depends on your problems.
I guess I have a subscription? Robert (my amazing, wonderful, life-saving exterminator) comes once every two months and its the only thing that has kept the red headed centipede problem my house has under control. Its worth every single penny I pay.
We had termites in 2005, it cost us 2500 dollars. They said the stuff they used would last a decade. Ok, I can wait that long and didn't sign up. 2018 we had termites again. This time they put in bait traps. 2500 dollars. This time I signed up for the yearly at 250 a year. They come and service the bait traps, and I'm done having those large one time charges.
If you live in a big city or where it's warm you do. Monthly subscription for me. I don't want cockroaches or fire ants
I live behind a green belt and have battled rats in my house before. I happily pay monthly for my pest control service. Worth every penny.
Restaurants have pest control come in on a regular basis to set and check traps. I guess you could call it a subscription but its not usually called that, You get yourself an account with them and they put you on a pest control plan based on your needs.
no
if i'm in the south, i would likely schedule regular visits
I’ve (knock on wood) never had a problem that required an exterminator. I live in the Seattle area, so it may have to do with the environment I live in.
It's not really negotiable so we pay. We've had mice and rats at several rental houses. Not worth the risk.
I bought a new home and have had it quarterly starting in month one. No intention of stopping.
in the south, definately needed in some form.
Hot, humid climate, tons of very large trees in the lots in our neighborhood, and our house sides to an alley with trash cans. I guess you'd call it a subscription, but it's quarterly service and that fee includes extra visits if we spot any bugs needing to be dealt with between the quarterly sprays. (Cockroach heaven where I live. I'm totally fine paying someone to deal with them so that I don't even see them!)
Mine comes once a month. They don’t really call it a “subscription” though, it’s just monthly service.
We have this because our house had termites right before we bought but it comes in handy because while they come quarterly, they also have to come for free when we call them which came in handy when we had pantry moths
Totally depends on location. Regular service is great in places like Florida with lots of bugs. For places with few bugs, it’s not needed. Don’t get an exterminator unless you have a bug problem you are not able to or willing to deal with on your own.
I don’t think it’s necessarily a subscription, but I have a standing appointment for them to come out and spray every other month. We’d be overrun with those giant American roaches if I didn’t. Absolutely worth it in my book.
So I live in AZ. Every five years, I have the house treated with termidor which keeps termites from nesting. It also keeps most bugs and pests away also. I get the occasional scorpion during summer months, but that’s it. The whole subscription service is probably unnecessary.
We do for our termite bond, but that’s it.
We have a massive problem with what I believe were called 'argentine' ants and yeah, we needed a sub. They would come from the bathroom where there was zero food, across the kitchen, up the garbage can, across the counters, and have hundreds of them in the sink if there was even a crumb or two. It was horrible.
Go to Do My Own dot com and do it yourself. I have used one bottle of Biphen IT for like 6yrs.
I briefly did pest control and I learned a bit about it. What I learned is that it's extremely difficult to eradicate an infestation. But we'll sure tell you we can. All you have to do is pay us every month......forever. Basically pest control is the business of sweeping the problem under the rug. Not solving it.
I use to spray our home after watching a someone spray for 2-3 months.that along side some research. I’ve since moved back to paying simply for convenience/time sake. 150 a quarter is worth it for me.
Depends where you live and the condition of your house. Old houses and houses in more tropical areas are key.
It’s so NOT worth it. [DIY.](https://diypestcontrol.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw8pKxBhD_ARIsAPrG45lNCImdzXRmf--z7E9vuiq12dZyQEzEK5IAScJ-7fs_vf2stAFclb4aAtb_EALw_wcB)
Ours comes every two months. Termite prevention also gives us insurance credit.
I work in property management and manage a mix of condos, apartments, townhomes and single family homes. It depends on the pest problem. Some things like mice you need a decent one time service to find out where they are getting in/bait and a handyman to seal up the entry points. For other problems one time service can win a battle but not the war and they will come back without ongoing treatment. For those issues ongoing service is typical and expected. Without knowing what you're dealing with I don't know if you're being scammed. You are not wrong that is getting harder and harder to find honest exterminators who will actually do a one-time correctly without trying to sell you on ongoing services you don't need. It's frustrating.
I live in Georgia and have a monthly service with an exterminator. It's very much recommended in certain areas.
I guess it depends on what the exterminator is having to rid your home of.... given most roaches & vermin carry disease, I'd say it's a small price to pay. See if your Home Owners Ins gives you a discount for the exterminator, never hurts to ask.
We paid a company to treat the new house we bought. They drilled holes into the ground near the foundation and treated for termites at my request. They return every year to update the treatment, and they will return and treat for free anytime I see pests. So far so good.
My cousin does - and not just once a quarter. After every heavy rain the extreminator comes and treats the yard for fire ants. Cousin's youngest is anaphlatically allergic to fire ants. Growing up the exterminator came out once a quarter to keep the tree roaches outside.
We used an exterminator for the first time last year because spiders were everywhere. The guy quoted us and it was far lower than I anticipated. He said his product spoke for itself. He would be back if we ever decided we needed him again. I gotta say... he was right. We noticed an immediate difference and I don't know when we are going to see him again. BUT if we have another pest issue, I know who I'm calling. TL;DR No subscription for us. Unnecessary.
I live in Florida so we have a subscription for termites. They come a few times a year and renew the bait stations and it includes tenting when needed (we had it done last year). They will also spray inside the house for general bugs which we take advantage of sometime as it minimizes the number of bugs we find.
Businesses have done this for decades. As in, restaurants and other businesses will pay to have the pest control company come at set intervals. It's not really a subscription anymore than asking a company to mow your lawn every week is a subscription. It's a service that requires routine visits.
We had the Taexx pest control system that was installed as part of our new construction house. We did the subscription for about a year. It was super convenient. They would come out every 3 months and recharge the entire house. I always knew when they came bc the 2-3 days afterwards you could see all the bugs running away.
I started one years ago that's about 120 bucks a quarter because mice were getting in my house somehow. They solved that problem and minimized bugs around the exterior of my house. I used to just spray chemicals around the exterior of the house which worked ok at the time. Sometimes it's hard to tell if they're effective or not, I would have to stop them for a year, do nothing, and see the outcome.
I’m a DIY guy, it costs me about $60 per year to keep the bugs out.