With so many pest control companies out there, how do you pick a pest control company in the Treasure Valley? At Evade Pest Management, we want to help you pick the right pest control company… and we know that we are not always the right fit for what people are looking for. Here are the five factors to evaluate in determining which pest control company to use in the Treasure Valley:
Not All Pest Companies Service All Pests
First, it is important to understand that not all pest control companies do all types of pests. Just like professionals in any field who specialize in specific areas, pest professionals often specialize in specific areas. If you want ants and spiders treated, that is a different scenario than having gophers and/or skunks removed. At Evade, we specialize in small rodents like mice, voles, and gophers as well as all insects including ants, wasps, spiders, crickets, centipedes, millipedes, fleas, ticks, and other creepy crawlies.
What Type of Pest Service do You Need?
Second, determine what kind of service you are specifically interested in. Some people hate spiders and never want to see one on their property. Others don’t mind a few spiders, but just want to keep the pests at bay generally to avoid huge infestations. Each customer has a specific goal in hiring a pest control company, so it is important to ensure that the company you hire can meet your goals. Many companies have a one-size-fits-all approach in servicing, but if one client doesn’t mind a few bugs popping up as long as the problem is generally under control, and another client doesn’t want to see a single bug ever… those are two different treatment plans and price points. Do your research to ensure that you are not overpaying for pest results… or on the other hand, that you are not being underserviced for the goals that you have in mind.
At Evade Pest Management, we specialize in customizing our treatment plans fo fit the goals of our customers. We don’t have shareholders or private investors demanding a specific profit per customer. Our life is simple–we work with you to come up with a plan that fits your goals. That may mean we do one treatment every season, monthly treatments, or something in between.
What Customer Experience do You Expect?
Third, confirm what type of technician or pest specialist will be doing the service. If you want your pest service to feel like you walked into a sit-down restaurant with top notch waiters and professional staff, then you will want to ensure that the company has trained technicians with experience and background checks. If you are ok with a simple spray around the house because “something is better than nothing” then likely any company with insurance and a pulse can fill your need.
At Evade, none of our technicians has less than 3 years experience servicing customers. When we hire a new technician, he works with our field manager until he has the experience and expertise necessary. All pass a background check as well as continued training. We pride ourselves on providing an incredible customer experience. The best part about it is that by eliminating private investors and shareholders in our business, we can offer you the sit-down-restaurant experience at almost the same price as our competitors who have chosen to offer the drive-through experience.
Fine Print?
Fourth, do you want to have cancellation fees and locked-in pricing, or would you rather avoid fine-print? This seems like a silly question, but some people prefer to have a company that will lock in their pricing for several years and pay a penalty for cancelling. With inflation rampant, I can see how this might actually work out to their advantage.
Evade Pest does not do fine-print or cancellation fees. In rare circumstances we will do a payment program for someone where we perform services and small payments are made throughout the year. In this situation, there is obviously a penalty for “cancelling” because it means that we don’t get paid in full for the service performed until the payments are all made. As the owner, I don’t like to sign up for things that penalize me for not liking them, and so I don’t do business that way with my customers either. If you like our service (and I hope you do) you will keep us. If we aren’t the right fit for you, then there are many other companies that could be the right fit for your needs.
Go National or Go Local?
Finally, the last thing to consider in choosing a company is whether it is a national brand or a local company. Everyone harps on national brands saying that we should take care of the local guys. (Don’t get me wrong, as a local guy myself, I fully endorse that statement). However, just jumping on the “local bandwagon” might not get you personally the results and experience you want. National brands have systems and incredible abilities to scale. They also have access to managers from all over the nation to ensure every branch is running top notch. And, like McDonalds–they can give you a very similar experience no matter where you go. Local guys customize their service for their area. I generally think that is the best way to do it, but it can also create some wild-card experiences… meaning that if you go with Joe the bug killer, he may or may not take your calls on time and service you in a professional manner… but it will definitely be a custom experience.
I have tried to take the best of both worlds to ensure that customers get a unique experience that is also predictable and reliable. We have a professional office staff (that is local and knows the Treasure Valley needs), professional technicians, branded trucks, and unique service that fits the needs of clients here in Idaho.
There are other factors to consider when choosing a pest control company, but these five are the key ones to get you off the ground and running with the right company. Pest management is a partnership between the company and the customers, so if the partners don’t have the same vision, then the end result will never be achieved.
We’d love to see if we are the right partner for your pest needs–give us a call at (208) 917-3577