Choosing any vendor for your business can be a stressful task. Add in the fact that your business could be shut down if you fail the pest part of an audit and the choice just became critical. Knowing these 5 things about choosing a pest control company can help you make a more informed choice.
Does the Company Have IPM Experience?
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) has a lot more to it than just spraying if you see a pest. It should include providing long-term solutions for pest prevention as well as employing strategies with the least risk to you, your employees, your facility, and the environment. The pest control company you choose should also include exterior inspections and suggestions on how to fix entry points. Additionally, IPM should include educating the people that are in your building every day – your employees! But don’t just ask if the company you’re considering includes IPM in their methods. Ask what kind of IPM strategies they employ. Check out what their answers should include here. If their answers don’t include anything in that blog post, move on!
Experience & Ingenuity
When it comes to your business, you want a company that is using (and sometimes creating) newer pest control technology – but you also want a company that’s been around for a while. It isn’t an easy mix to find, but it is definitely out there. A company that has extensive experience has time on its side. And with that time comes knowledge. You don’t want the company you bring in to not have the experience to take care of not only your current pest problem but with keeping them out in the future. The right mix is lots of experience with lots of innovation. That way, they are up to date on the newest strategies and technologies but are still tried and true.
A Great User Experience
The right customer portal can help you plan for next year’s pest control and get in front of it. As long as the portal records data and provides trends and analysis, it can be a very powerful tool. If the portal the company is offering you just tracks visits and lets you pay your bill online – look elsewhere. You already have a smartphone. What you need now is basically a digital logbook. A powerful customer portal should reduce manual mistakes, take less time in general to maintain, and always provide you with clean financial data. If an audit comes your way, you should be able to turn to this portal with confidence. If it doesn’t provide you with that, look for another that will.
Service Offering
Expert pest control is a given, but they should be able to help with other areas of public health and safety. You should expect the company you choose to have Board Certified entomologists that act as a partner in your pest control – including educating your staff on what to look for and how to keep pests out. The technicians that come to your building on a routine basis should be looking for more than just pests. If they are trained well, they will be looking for and reporting electrical issues, sanitation gaps, and opportunities to seal entryways. Did you know the agency that regulates disinfectants is the same one that regulates pesticides? And the equipment is very similar, too. So, the company you are choosing should be able to offer your business a professional disinfectant service as well. That means they are keeping their technicians updated on training and certifications. So, if they can’t offer the disinfectant treatment because of lack of training – can you be sure their training is up to date for pest control?
Proven Guarantee
This is an important one. But it doesn’t stop at just guaranteeing their service. If the company hasn’t been around long enough to prove they will be there to fulfill their promise, who cares if they have a guarantee? Longevity, again, makes a difference. The consequences for choosing a company that has a guarantee but has not shown they can back it up could be dire.
Making the Right Choice
Even though the price isn’t one of the items listed above – it is important to remember. It’s mostly important to make sure you are comparing comparable offerings. If a company comes in at a higher price but they have trend reporting customer portal and unlimited emergency services, then make sure you are taking that into account. The bottom line is important, but you also get what you pay for. Choosing wisely includes doing your homework on the cost. What does it include? It’s the only way to get the best bang for your buck.
You may know all of this, but when you have your own job to do and then you add to it hiring a pest control company, well it’s nice to have it all together at your fingertips. That way, you can confidently choose the company that will be best for your business’s needs.