I'm fairly new and just signed up I was just responding to an individual that quoted a pest control pricing.

Who are you talking to Jason?

I'm fairly new in the biz looking for a mentor just wondering if we could possibly talk over the phone or through email. Thanks,jason

Tiffani, it sounds like you guys are doing all the right things!! :)

I would never willingly give up our contract pest control.

Our personal experience has been such that an active contract with a licensed, reputable company is an absolute necessity. We have 85 rental units and spend about $6200 per year for the service which comes out to about $75 per year per unit.

Each unit is treated quarterly for preventive maintenance. The moment a resident comes in with a pest problem our pest control techs will come out promptly to take care of the problem areas for free.

We will not rent a unit if it has an existing pest problem. With an average rental rate of $750 per month, that is a huge loss in income.

We are in a high transient area due to a nearby military base and several colleges. Prospective renters have been very visibly relieved when we are able to tell them, "Yes, we do routine pest control here as part of your lease."

These reasons alone are enough for me to never consider letting my maintenance staff treat our homes, much less the legalities of it!

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind when considering the value of using a professional pest control vendor vs. doing pest control in house:

1. People in pest control contracts often say they don't have a pest problem - Wouldn't that indicate that your vendor is doing a great job? People often assume not having pest problems means they don't need pest services, cancel, and then wonder why after a few months or a year they are over run with pest problems. Not having a pest problem is the value of having that vendor on service for your property.

2. As with anything else, when you outsource something to a professional who specializes in that service, it's going to be done better than you could do it yourself, not being a pro in that field (provided you chose a good vendor), and it keeps you at arms length with really helps limit your liability. Doing your own plumbing or carpentry repairs is one thing, but with pest control, you are dealing with toxic substances that are highly regulated by the EPA, and by your state agencies. Yes, even when you use a vendor the property owner is ultimately responsible and often shares some liability when things go wrong, but when you're using a licensed, bonded pest company, your exposure to liability is dramatically reduced.

Pest control just isn't one of the tasks you want to do in house.

I hope that helps you. If you have any questions about pest control please reach out to me. I'm really happy to help you by providing you all the advice I can!!