Straight answers to the questions we hear most on the phone. Every answer here matches what is on the page it links to. Don’t see yours? Call 208-889-9222 and you’ll talk to an owner.
Plans and pricing
What does pest control cost?
Our regular plans are a flat price per visit: Quarterly $150 (our best value), Tri-Annual $195, Bi-Monthly $165 and Monthly $119. Sales tax is added where required. One-time and targeted jobs (bed bugs, cockroaches, carpenter ants, wildlife, tick and mosquito treatments) are quoted separately. See Pricing & Plans.
Is the first visit really the same price?
Yes. The price on the page is what you pay on visit one and on every visit after it. No $300 initiation fee, no sign-up fee.
Is there a contract?
No sign-up fee and no fixed-term contract. You pay per visit and can stop any time by telling us in writing. Details are in our service terms.
Do you charge extra for wasps, mice or spiders?
No. They are included in every plan. Some companies charge an add-on for rodents or stinging insects; we do not. Rodents work a little differently. When a rodent problem starts, we set the number of tamper-resistant bait stations we think will solve it, at no charge, and check them on two follow-up visits, also at no charge; the second is usually your regular quarterly visit. Stations with no feeding have done their job, and we pick them up. If a station or two is still seeing activity after that, we talk it over with you: they can stay for our cost of the station, or go. Either way you know before anything is billed. More on our mouse and rat page.
Can I switch plans?
Yes. Many customers start Tri-Annual and move to Quarterly after the first year once they see the difference the fall visit makes. Just call.
How do I pay?
We bill per visit. Ask about payment options when you book.
Visits and scheduling
How soon can you come out?
Call 208-889-9222, Monday to Friday, 9 to 5. Emergency call-outs are available, especially for wasps and hornets when someone in the home is allergic, and for wildlife; a skunk under the deck or a raccoon in the attic usually gets a visit in less than 24 hours.
Do I have to be home for the visit?
Not for exterior visits, as long as we can reach the yard. If you want an inside treatment, someone over 18 needs to let us in.
Who shows up?
An owner. When you call, you talk to an owner; the person who plans your service is the person who performs it.
Do you serve my town?
Spokane and the surrounding area out to Nine Mile, Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, Hayden, Rathdrum, Spirit Lake, Athol, Sandpoint and north to Good Grief, Oldtown and Priest River, and the Silver Valley from St. Maries to Kellogg, Wallace and Mullan. If you are near those, call and ask.
What if the bugs come back between visits?
Call us. If a covered pest comes back between visits, so do we, at no charge. That is the Property Shield Promise. The products we use need time to work, and the waiting period is written on the label; in pest control, the label is the law. So a free return visit can be requested 14 or more days after your last service and more than 14 days before your next one. If you call inside the 14 days before your next visit, we either take care of it at that visit or do the regular service early. Bed bugs, cockroaches and carpenter ants are quoted separately with their own follow-up built in. Full details in our service terms.
Kids, pets and bees
Is it safe for my kids and pets?
We pick products and placements with families and pets in mind, follow every label, and tell you anything you need to do, such as keeping pets off a treated area until it is dry, usually within an hour. Ask us about the essential-oil plan if you want to avoid conventional products.
Is the ant bait safe for my dog?
Yes. We place baits where pets can’t reach them and follow the label, and we ask about your pets when you book.
What about the bees?
We keep bees ourselves. We don’t treat blooming plants or flowers, we time applications when pollinators aren’t active, and if you have established honey bees in a wall, live removal is our first option, not our only one. See Honey Bee Removal.
Common pests
Why do ants come back every spring?
Because the colony lives outside, under the slab or in the yard, and only sends workers in when it is warm and wet. A quarterly plan treats the colony, not just the kitchen. Spraying the ants you see does nothing to the nest. More on our ant page.
Is that a bee or a wasp?
Fuzzy, round and golden: a honey bee or bumblebee, and we save those when we can. Smooth, shiny and narrow-waisted: a wasp or yellowjacket. Wasps do not reuse nests, but new queens will try the same spot next year, which is what regular visits catch. More on our wasp page.
How do I know the mice are gone?
No new droppings, no noise and clean traps for two weeks. We check at every visit. The biggest rodent magnet we see is the bird feeder, especially suet; take it down for the winter or move it well away from the house. More on our mouse and rat page.
Why are there so many spiders in fall?
Mating season plus the first cold nights push them indoors. A September treatment catches them, and we remove the cobwebs at every visit as part of the plan. More on our spider page.
Do the bugs on my sunny windows damage anything?
No. Boxelder bugs, stink bugs and western conifer seed bugs can stain curtains and smell, but they do not bite or breed indoors. They want the warmest wall, south and west, and a well-timed fall treatment makes a huge difference. More on our boxelder bug page.
Do roaches or bed bugs mean my home is dirty?
No. German roaches and bed bugs hitchhike in on luggage, used furniture, backpacks and visitors. Cleanliness makes control easier, but anyone can get them.
Bed bugs
How much does bed bug treatment cost?
$150 per room, plus tax in WA, and every room in the home is treated. Count your rooms and multiply; that is the price, with no inspection fee. The guarantee runs 30 days from the initial treatment: we inspect the next day to confirm the results, then up to two more times about two weeks apart, and if we find bed bug activity at a follow-up we re-treat at no charge. Bed bugs are a one-time service with their own guarantee, spelled out in the service agreement you sign before we start. Full details on our bed bug page.
Can I get rid of bed bugs myself?
Rarely. Foggers, dryer sheets, essential oils and most store sprays do not work on bed bugs, and several make things worse by scattering them into other rooms. The one thing that does help is a hot dryer for 30 minutes on anything that can take it.
Do I have to throw out my mattress?
Usually not. Most mattresses, bed frames and sofas can be treated and kept. We will tell you honestly if something is too far gone.
Businesses and rentals
Can you come before we open or after we close?
Yes. Most of our commercial visits are early morning or after hours, and we leave a service report for the health inspector after every visit. See Commercial.
Can you treat one unit in a building?
For general pests, yes. For bed bugs, every room in the affected unit is treated and we inspect the adjoining units: beside, above and below. Bed bugs travel through walls and hallways, and treating one unit while they sit next door means doing the job twice.
Who pays for bed bugs, the tenant or the landlord?
In Washington the landlord is generally responsible unless the tenant caused the infestation, and in reality there is no way to prove who brought them in; Idaho rules differ. We stay out of the middle of landlord and tenant disagreements; what we do is write down every inspection, treatment and follow-up so everyone has the same record. More on our rentals and property managers page.
Wildlife
Do you relocate the animal? Is it humane?
Live traps, checked daily, sized for the animal, placed out of the sun and weather. Both states limit where and whether trapped wildlife can be released, so we follow the law and explain your options before we set a trap. We look for young before anything else, and sealing a mother out while the kits are inside is the one thing we will not do. See Wildlife Control.
What we don’t do
We don’t do termite treatments or wood-destroying-organism (WDO) inspections for real estate sales. Call us anyway; if it isn’t our job we will tell you who to call.
Still have a question? Request a free quote, text us a photo through Send Us a Photo, or call 208-889-9222. Family-owned since 2016, and an owner performs every service.