Wherever we go, we provide water, food and a nice comfy home for our self in order to survive. The problem is, we don’t seem to provide it only for our species, but other species as well.
Pests such as rodents, flies and cockroaches follow us for the elements of survival that we provide. Thus, it is very rare for any household or business to not have a pest problem once in a while. So, when you do have pest problem – who you gonna call?
Like in any business industry, you have a number of top players that could offer a great service, but at a not-so-great competitive price. On the other side of the scale, you could find small businesses offering a great price, but a not-so-great service. And since the pest control industry in general uses harmful chemicals, you want to make sure that you find a great and safe service, at the price you can afford.
So here are some rules that you should give yourself when deciding on a pest control company to partner with – whether it be for your home or for your business.
- Is the pest management professional/ technician knowledgeable about the problem and can they provide a proactive solution? Their solution should be proactive and preventative and should not simply rely on reactive solutions such as spraying a chemical. Needless to say, if they have not heard of the term ‘Integrated Pest Management (IPM)’, they most probably wont have a proactive solution for you.
- Is the pest management professional/ technician registered with the Department of Agriculture? You can confirm this by asking them for their P Number (this is a registered license from the Department with a specific number, starting with the letter P, indicating that the technician has gone through the necessary training to obtain a license for pest management).
- Is the pest management professional strict on safety? Although Integrated Pest Management is the consideration of all pest management techniques with pesticides as a last resort, it is a proactive approach that usually involves a variety of methods, one of which will probably be pesticides in small quantities. Thus, every pest management professional has to be strict on safety measures.
- Is the company registered with a pest management association such as South African Pest Control Association (SAPCA)? Please note that this is not a legal requirement of any company, however it shows that the company prides itself in taking an active role in the industry as a whole.
- Ask for a number of referrals. If their service is great, the referrals will speak for themselves.
“If you do build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful.” – Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com
