Cleveland Pest Control Services

How long pest control lasts, depends on many factors. Pest pressure can vary between houses. Some homes, never get pests inside and do not use pesticides. While others often need pest control. Many websites state that pest control lasts 60 or 90 days. This is a very generalized statement. They base this on the residual of the products used, not on the control achieved from the products used.

Manufacturers market pesticides to kill insects for up to 60 or 90 days. This is true in a laboratory setting. It doesn’t really hold up for that long when applied in and around the home. Let’s say you spray a product in a cool, dark and dry basement. This will kill insects much longer than the same thing sprayed outside during a 90 degree summer day. As popular as it is to spray the foundation, you really only get a few days to a week out of that type of application.

Although we apply a band around the foundation, we also apply spray under the bottom lip of the siding. This area is where most pests enter the home. It is also shaded from the sun and rain. Pesticides break down by heat, moisture and UV light. Moreover, pests are less likely to die when they cross over dried pesticides. Pests have to spend time with the pesticide for it to have an effect on them. That is why we apply the pesticides to the crevices in which pests enter homes and the crevices in which they hide. These are also areas protected by the elements. So the products work better and for a longer time.

The whole pest control lasting 60 or 90 days is more of a marketing ploy. If you are basing that on how long of a residual a pest control spray has, I would lean more towards the 20 day mark. Once you factor in environmental factors, 20 some days is a good number. Dusts applied to cracks and crevices last much longer. Organic pest control uses a lot of dusts, since organic sprays hardly have any residual at all. Dusting is usually done once a year.

Sometimes sprays aren’t used at all. So it makes the 60 or 90 day statement pretty irrelevant. For example, you might put out ant or cockroach bait. While the bait may dry up in one week, it can have lasting effects. Yet how long it works for, is a result of how much pest pressure there is, along with many environmental factors.

Your ant bait might knock out the ant nest in your window, but it won’t kill the super colony underneath the driveway. It might take a year for the colony to reestablish a nest in that same window. Unless you perform many treatments to knock a colony back, they will reoccupy the same areas.

One example is if you have carpenter ants in your home during winter. Any carpenter ant nests inside your home consist of workers and older larvae. The queen is in a tree outside. You can kill the ants inside. The main colony will send out more ants to the nest inside your home once the pesticide wears out. So you really need a second service to treat the trees outside during the summer.
Another example is for bed bugs. They hitchhiked inside from somewhere. Our service might eradicate the bed bugs inside of your home. If you introduce another bed bug inside, then pest control will not last as long.

Same thing goes for spiders. You might be getting spiders from leaving the porch light on. We can spray and kill what is there. But if you keep leaving the porch light on, the treatment won’t last as long as it should.

As you can see, pest pressure dictates how long pest control will work, not how long a bug spray can kill bugs for. We recommend treatments every other month during the spray season (March- November). It usually takes a couple months for pests to reoccupy the treatment areas. That is why our warranties are for 60 days. We try to educate our customers and teach what they can do to keep pests from coming back.

They say that about 80% of the population will never hire a pest exterminator. Most people trying to do it themselves end up taking many trips to the store for products. They live with the pest for a long time, creating a lasting disruption of the household. They carelessly apply pesticides in a manner that exposes themselves and their family. All in all it complicates the issue way more than it must. And money gets wasted without solving the problem. We know!

Everyday people call us after trying to do it themselves. These people are worn out and frazzled. One thing about pest control, is that it isn’t like repairing a broken water pipe. Instead of hiring a plumber, many people will watch a how-to video. Pest control is not as straight forward. There are variables. It takes training to know what to look for, and what to do. There is more to it than applying bug spray or setting mouse traps. Likewise, you need to know how to set the traps strategically or apply the products properly. We all know that few people read instructions. I would bet that around 95% of DIY pest controllers do not read the pesticide Label on how to legally apply it. Do you want to be one of those people?

Save time trying to do it yourself.

You will also save money on products that do not work- then paying an exterminator on top of it.

Immediate resolution. People usually complicate the issue by waiting and trying things themselves.

Reduce stress of having pests in the household. This is a big one. Pest infestations stress people and entire households. We do a lot of counseling for our customers. Paying for professional relief is well worth it!

I am a big advocate on putting a price on your time. For example, you want to buy a ping pong table. The options are to buy one new for 500$, or buy one used for 250$. The new one comes delivered, assembled and with a warranty. The other comes as-is, assembly required, and you must transport it to your home.

While the used one is half price, you must factor in the cost of renting a truck to move it. Then you must buy your friend pizza for helping you move it. Let’s say that adds on 100$. Someone is likely to get a sore back or stub a toe moving it too. Factor in going to the bank, planning with the seller, renting a truck, moving it, and assembling it. After all that, is it worth it to buy a used ping pong table without the assurance of a warranty?

There is a lot of value in making a few clicks online to have a brand-new ping pong table delivered to your doorstep. Likewise, there is a lot of value in paying for a skilled tradesman to provide a service to your home. Open time to do more important things. You reduce the chances of the problem persisting and becoming worse. You also reduce the stress that you and your household go through living with the pest for a long time.

Depending on how you value your time and quality of life, determines if pest control is worth paying for. All our customers fall into two categories. First are people who value paying to resolve a problem that they are not trained to resolve. Second are people who have tried to resolve it on their own and failed. Which one do you want to be?

A Consultation
Whether done on the phone, email or in person, gathering details helps us help you. If you are home during the service, give us the tour. Tell us what you have been experiencing and where. This is a time where we can answer any questions that you have and ask questions to better solve your problem. With each job we have a mental checklist running. After we tap into your knowledge, we fill in the blanks with a good look into key areas. Our goal is to find out what is happening and why.

A Detailed Inspection
Inspections are a key component to any pest control service. A detailed inspection diagnoses even the most complex pest problems. People overlook the value of a skilled exterminator evaluating their home for pests. Pests will exploit the vulnerable points of your home, especially wildlife. A good exterminator will identify these areas. In other words, we take time to look for the source of the issue.
For example, a customer of ours had mice. We located the entry point underneath the front porch. The problem was resolved by repairing the entry point in the foundation. And by trapping the rogue mouse. We also found out that the foundation hole developed from a broken downspout. The hole would have grown into significant damage if we didn’t figure that out. So, you can see the value of pest control service. Not only will we treat the problem, but we will also make our best effort to get to the bottom of things.

Treatment
Unlike some companies that send out a salesperson, we come ready to treat. People hire an exterminator to get rid of their pests pronto, and with little effort on their part. Our services cater to this fact. You will receive a pest treatment that we have refined for over a decade. Our tailored services exceeds the needs of our local customers. It rids homes of high populations of pests. And it considers the safety of people, pets, and the environment.

Warranty or Discounted Follow-Ups
For most pest control services, you are purchasing a home warranty against pests. Warranty your home year-round with quarterly maintenance. Buy a bed bug treatment plan and you receive a 60-day warranty. Same thing with ants, spiders and stinging insects.
A warranty does not guarantee that you will not find problem pests at your home. If you find evidence of pest activity covered under your warranty, contact us. We will respond to provide you with free follow-ups until the activity subsides. Since we are backing our service with free follow-up visits, we do everything we can to rid you of your pest problem.
Some services do not come with a warranty. Instead, you will receive discounted follow-up services. This for pest problems caused by sanitation issues, or for our budget-friendly options.

For example, we offer a 3-visit mouse control service that allows us to make sure no activity remains. As a result, you receive a 90-day warranty. In some cases, the 3 visits are not necessary. Or customers would rather check the traps themselves than to pay us to check them. Or people might not have 300-400$ to spend on mouse control. So instead, they buy a single service without a warranty. They can still call if needed. In these cases, follow-up visits are about half the cost of the initial service.
We do the same for cockroaches. You can buy a warrantied 2-visit service. Or you can buy a single service with half priced follow-ups. Sometimes there are sanitation issues that stop us from being able to provide a warranty. As a result, we offer discounted retreatments within a certain time. Flies are one pest that are always a result of a sanitation issue. Fly larvae feed on decaying organic material. For example, a dead carcass, feces, or dirty drains. Due to this, we do not provide a warranty for fly issues.

We have developed multiple treatment options to better suit our customer’s needs. This makes us a better fit for a variety of customers. As a result, some people have a hard time deciding what treatment plan is best for them. If you can’t decide after reading this, we recommend starting with the most basic option. You can always expand off the Technician’s recommendations once he is at your place. You might find that a single service was satisfactory too.

For certain pests, we provide two visit plans. Cockroaches, fleas, moths, springtails, and bed bugs are all examples. We plan for 2 visits, based on the pests lifecycle.

Ants, spiders, and centipedes, have options for a single service or quarterly service. White homes close to the lake are like magnets for spiders. Similarly, ants can come from a colony that expands out into neighboring properties. If you receive a lot of pest pressure, quarterly plans provide a year-round warranty. You would have to decide if that is of value to you for the price. There is value having a reliable company to respond if any pest problem pops up. Some people need it, some people enjoy the convenience and peace of mind. One thing is for sure, you won’t see many spider webs on your house with ongoing treatment.

Another benefit of the quarterly plan is that we can target mature colonies of ants over time. A single service is enough to stop ants from infesting your home for an extended period. But, it usually isn’t enough to control a mature colony of ants living in your trees or under your driveway. Ant populations are usually high for them to expand their feeding range inside. While the ants in your kitchen might have popped up today, it is likely that the colony has taken years to develop. In turn, it would take an extended period to eradicate them from your property.

We have a ton of people that only need single services for ants- granted the majority get it done each year. In this respect, most of our customers are on the quarterly maintenance plan. As far as revenue per service goes, our single service ant control comes in third place. It is in high demand and very effective. We support both levels of general household pest service. I hope this helps you decide what is best for you.
Coming in at second place in revenue per service is our single service mouse control. Moreover, we offer mouse control in single service or a 3-visit plan. Taking this into account, single service mouse control is more popular. Single services are budget-friendly. The initial service is similar for the 3-visit plan as the single service. Yet we tend to use traps more often with the 3-visit plan, instead of bait stations.

After discussing, you may decide that the use of rodenticide (bait) is not a great option. Then you’ll want to go with the 3-visit plan. Especially if you do not want to maintain mouse traps yourself (we set them, you check them).

Both mouse control services come with the same inspection. You get the same amount of repairs too.

The single service is best for budget conscious people. As long as you do not mind us using bait stations to control mice in the unfinished parts of their homes. Or we set traps for the customer to maintain.

The 3-visit plan allows us to maintain the interior control products. As a result, we can confirm that there is no more activity in the structure. Because of this, we provide a 90 day warranty.

You need to repair all potential entry points to control mice long term. Both services include a square foot area of patchwork repairs at ground level. In other words, this includes as many holes as possible that you can fit into a square foot area. Patchwork repairs are made with spray foam, Xcluder fabric, and clear sealant repairs.

Remember that upon inspection, there might be extra repair recommendations. This includes any repairs that need a ladder. And repairs underneath porches or decks. Screening vents, and tuckpointing with mortar are additional repairs too. And any patchwork repairs that exceed a square foot area.

Where mice are getting into attics, expect us to quote the repairs separately. In this case, the repairs would likely need a ladder. We do not remove lattice panels from around porches. If you want more than a visual inspection under porches, then you will have to provide access by removing a panel.

We attempt to seal up as many holes that we can included. There may be extra repairs needed to prevent mice from accessing your home. Even though the 3-visit plan costs more, it does not mean that we patch up all the potential entry points included. The extra cost covers the 2 visits to maintain the traps/ bait placed during the initial service.

Pesticides are generally considered safe since we apply them according to the Label. Do your part of keeping the area vacant for any liquid pesticides to dry/ dust to settle out of the air.

Most questions pesticide safety questions come from scheduling service for ants. During the spray season most ant infestations only need an exterior treatment. Interior pesticide application is rarely required. If it is, then we make every attempt to keep the application to cracks and crevices. That way, there is minimal risk of exposure to occupants.

Popular flea medication share the same active ingredients as top ant control sprays. With these medications, you apply it to to your pet’s skin monthly. It is also at a higher concentration for spot-on flea medication, than we use for ant control. Pets do not live long enough to develop “chronic” toxicity from the flea medication. On the contrary, we remind customers to keep their pets out of the treatment area until the spray has dried. By doing so, you will reduce risk of “acute” toxicity.

Our most used ant spray has a Meta Active effect. Which differentiates between target insects and non-target organisms. The target insect ingests the pesticide. Then, its own enzymes turn it into a molecule with pesticidal properties. While toxic to pests, it is low risk around humans and pets.

The granular bait that we use to locate ants outside is a borate. Like boric acid, it is an organic pest control product. We apply gel baits with a syringe to areas of ant activity. These products have a very dilute quantity of pesticide in them. It would likely have no effect on a pet if they licked a bit of it.

In our opinion, the products utilized in our cockroach protocol are very low risk. We dust cracks and crevices, bait cabinets, spot spray hotspots, and place sticky traps. Additionally, you can add HEPA vacuuming to provide extra control without the chemicals. We dust the voids between the cabinets and in electric outlets. We need the home vacated for dust applications. Generally, we use a borate dust which is organic. While we apply it to crevices, some of it may go airborne. Hence the need to vacate the home.

Like ant gel bait, roach bait is carries a very dilute amount of pesticide. And we make every attempt to place it in areas inaccessible to children and pets.

For any liquid applications, we mix two products. The main spray that we use is an EPA Reduced Risk Product. That pesticide mixes in with an insect growth regulator. This IGR targets the growth hormones of insects. Since we do not have these hormones, it poses minimal health risk to people and pets. IGRs are often used in organic pest control as an alternative to the regular bug sprays.
Cockroach treatments occur inside sensitive areas of kitchens and bathrooms. The products are low in toxicity compared to many other pesticides though. And the way we apply them, minimizes exposure to occupants. Do your part by following our preparation guidelines. And vacate the home for approximately three hours during the initial service.

Our general use pesticide that we use for spiders is micro-encapsulated. This formulation puts a polymer coating around the spray particles. This is like microscopic water balloons. The result of the polymer coating reduces the ability to absorb it through your skin. It also makes it last longer. Micro-encapsulated products generally have lower toxicity than products without this coating. We use it because it lasts a long time and has one of the highest LD50 (low toxicity) of general use pesticides.

We combine thorough inspections with detailed treatments. As a result, you decrease pesticide use and service intervals. While this is true, we do not have a magic eraser that removes all signs of pests. We select the most effective pesticides and apply them according to the Law.

Weather might affect the treatments at times. Or pests might be able to access the home in ways to avoid our pesticide application. For example, ants often use vegetation as a bridge to the home.

Single service general pest treatments come with a 60-day warranty. Many customers opt for a year-round warranty with the quarterly maintenance plan. In this case, the warranty is for all perimeter pests. You will receive 20% off non-covered pests and wildlife service.

The 3-visit mouse control plan allows us to maintain the traps/ bait over a period. This confirms that there is no more activity by the final visit. As a result, you receive a 90-day warranty. Keep in mind you should repair all potential entry points to keep more mice from entering. If practical, do your best to make any extra recommended repairs.

You must prepare according to our guidelines for roaches, fleas and bed bugs. To keep the provided warranty, you must follow the guidelines.

Pest control costs to treat single family homes in the Cleveland area are as follows:

General pest control service for ants, spiders, centipedes, and wasps start at 175$. This comes with a 60-day warranty.

Quarterly Maintenance Plans start at 108$ per service.

Mouse Control 3 visit plans cost 400$. and come with a 90-day warranty. Single Services cost 200$. Follow-up visits for this option cost 100$ within 60 days of initial service.

Rat Control Service costs 400$ for three visits. Extra visits cost 100$ per visit.

Flea Control Service costs 250$ plus tax for two visits and a 60-day warranty.

2-Visit Cockroach Treatment plans cost 250$. It comes with a 60-day warranty if there are no sanitation issues. If there are sanitation issues, the cost is 185$. Extra visits within 60 days are half price.

*Pest control is subject to sales tax.