So, you’ve recently realized that you’ve maybe never had a pest treatment done on your home. And unfortunately, it is starting to show. You are getting sick of the ants and the spiders and the cockroaches, and you’ve decided it is time to do something about it – find pest control in Portland.
The problem is you have never hired a pest control company before, and you aren’t quite sure where to start. Of course, you could just call the first company on your Google search results, but how are you supposed to be sure that it’s actually a good company and that their prices are fair? Because the company will be coming into your home, you really want to make sure that the company is trustworthy.
If you want to have a good experience with your pest control treatment, there are a few things you should always do when you’re looking to hire a pest control company:
Things You Should Always Do When Hiring Pest Control in Portland
1. Ask Friends for Recommendations
Google is always there for you when you need it most, but sometimes you can get more useful information from your friends. This is especially true when the information you need is based on local experience and opinion. These are people you know and trust, so their opinions will be more helpful to you and hold more initial weight than random opinions online.
So when you start looking for pest control in Portland, start by asking friends and family about the pest control companies they hire. They will be able to tell you about the good experiences they’ve had and the bad experiences they’ve had, and from there you can start to narrow down your options. It’s much easier to go to Google with a shortlist of possible companies than it is to try and sort through the overwhelming list of options it brings up for you, and friends are great for helping you put that shortlist together.
2. Check the Reviews
Once you have your shortlist of companies, Google actually is a good place to go. You need to research the companies before you hire one of them, and a great place to start is with online reviews of the company. Even though you’ve heard the opinions of friends and family already, it’s still a good idea to look at other people’s experiences as well.
You can expect to find some mixed reviews for most companies. This is because there’s always someone somewhere who’s had a bad experience with a company, but that does not mean that the company is bad overall. As you go through the reviews, compare the good reviews to the bad reviews and check the overall rating of the company as well. Doing so should give you a good idea of what working with the company is actually like.
3. Compare Your Budget to the Cost
Another thing you’ll want to research is the cost of the treatment. If you can, trying to find the pricing information on the company’s website. This information is not always listed outright on company websites, but don’t consider that a red flag. There are a lot of variables that go into pricing pest control, so it may be that the company would rather find out what your pest problems are before giving you a potential price.
Of course, when you look at prices for pest control in Portland, you also need to consider your own budget. How much money do you have available to put toward pest control? Would you need to make adjustments within your budget to be able to afford pest control? It is possible that small changes would have to be made in your budget, but the results and peace of mind will make the cost of pest control worthwhile.
4. Request Free Quotes
After you’ve researched the companies and figured out your budget, it’s time to request quotes from the companies you are still considering. Most companies offer free quotes, so if you come across a company that does not offer free quotes, you should consider looking into other companies. A free quote gives you the opportunity to assess if a company really will give you a price you can and are willing to pay.
A quote is also helpful to have when the company actually comes to do the treatment. It will help you know if additional costs are being added or not and help you hold the company accountable to their proposed price. When you find a company, whose price is reasonable and who you feel you can trust, that is the company you should hire to treat your home.
5. Don’t Only DIY Pest Control Instead
When you’re looking into the price of pest control in Portland and considering all the hassle of researching and finding a company, you may be tempted to forget about hiring professional pest control services and doing it all yourself. There are DIY pest control methods, and some of them can be pretty effective. But they are never as effective as a professional treatment and often they wear off much faster than a professional treatment as well.
Professional pest control in Portland gives you expertise and high-quality treatments. You’ll have more success at removing and preventing the pest in your home. And you’ll have access to professionals who can help you find potential problems in your home, who know where to look to find pest problems, and who can give you guidance as to which DIY pest control methods would be good to combine with the professional treatments.
Finding pest control in Portland doesn’t have to be difficult. It’s just a simple matter of looking into the companies a bit so you can be sure that the company you want to hire is trustworthy and helpful. After you’ve found the company and had treatments done on your home, you’ll be thrilled you took the time to make sure you are home was pest-free.
