Recommend a bug/exterminator company? (Tucker, Chamblee: HOA, house, crawl space)

[Alicia64]

I've been using Arrow for the last 2.5 years and I'm really not happy.

Do you use a bug company that you really like a lot?

Thanks!

Alley

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by Alicia64

I've been using Arrow for the last 2.5 years and I'm really not happy.

Do you use a bug company that you really like a lot?

Thanks!

Alley

Northwest Exterminating has always done a good job for me.

[Alicia64]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

Northwest Exterminating has always done a good job for me.

Thank you! Do you use them for a quarterly service? Can you share what they charge?

Alley

[ATLTJL]

I'll share the same tip that I share with everyone who asks this question...

I adore my exterminator and he does an excellent job, always ready when I need him and I know for a fact that his rates are the best anywhere and that he does the best job he can.

I know that because my exterminator is me. With the internet and places like all the do it yourself pest control stores, the pros really don't have access to anything better than you can get on your own. So I bought a plastic sprayer from Home Depot for $12 or whatever it was, and a bottle of my chemical of choice for $30 or so. It lasted me 3 years. All I do is spray outside where the house meets the foundation when necessary. I don't have a regular schedule because I want to limit my use of poison to only when necessary....when I see a bug, I spray the house. But I suppose I could make a schedule and do it every 2 or 3 months if I never wanted to see a bug.

So for a sprayer ($12) and the chemical ($30), I got 3 years of pest control for $42. Then the price went down because I had to buy a new bottle last year, but the sprayer is still good!

With Google and about an hour of research or with a 20 minute conversation at one of the do it yourself places, you can know a lot more than the average professional exterminator.

[VJP]

^^ Ding ding ding. I started doing this 10 years ago when I bought my house. Probably saved 3-4k so far.

[Alicia64]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

I'll share the same tip that I share with everyone who asks this question...

I adore my exterminator and he does an excellent job, always ready when I need him and I know for a fact that his rates are the best anywhere and that he does the best job he can.

I know that because my exterminator is me. With the internet and places like all the do it yourself pest control stores, the pros really don't have access to anything better than you can get on your own. So I bought a plastic sprayer from Home Depot for $12 or whatever it was, and a bottle of my chemical of choice for $30 or so. It lasted me 3 years. All I do is spray outside where the house meets the foundation when necessary. I don't have a regular schedule because I want to limit my use of poison to only when necessary....when I see a bug, I spray the house. But I suppose I could make a schedule and do it every 2 or 3 months if I never wanted to see a bug.

So for a sprayer ($12) and the chemical ($30), I got 3 years of pest control for $42. Then the price went down because I had to buy a new bottle last year, but the sprayer is still good!

With Google and about an hour of research or with a 20 minute conversation at one of the do it yourself places, you can know a lot more than the average professional exterminator.

Okay, this is really exciting to me. I'd love to not pay $88 quarterly. But here's the thing: I'm from CA. Georgia bugs are really scary for me.

I've been here 2.5 years now and the very first thing I did -- I'm not kidding -- was set up my Arrow account. I'm all for doing the bug work myself using Home Defense from Home Depot, but I need a little hand holding: you promise a giganto roach won't attack me in the middle of the night?!

I don't think we even had roaches in CA -- none that I ever saw. (This isn't a "CA is better thread because it's not and I don't miss it at all).

What did you spray inside once or twice a year?

Thank you again!

Alley

[ATLTJL]

You need to do a little research and buy stronger chemicals than Home Depot sells. It all depends what your problem bugs are. I use bifenthrin because it's one of the few pesticides that works on centipedes, which was the problem I was initially having. The chemical that is right for you will depend on your situation.

I mean....I can't GUARANTEE a roach won't ever enter your house (I CAN guarantee it won't attack you in the middle of the night, though). The idea of spraying is to create a perimeter around your home that bugs don't want to cross. But in the summer if you open a door and a roach runs in, it's going to be around a while. Those things are strong and no chemical kills them right away. For the most part, though, they shouldn't want to come near your home.

I never spray inside. I just do the outside. That should be all you need unless you are on a crawl space and they come up from there or if they somehow come in through the attic, maybe. But start with outside, spray where the home meets the foundation. I also sometimes spray around windows if I see bugs coming in there.

Having said that, it's extremely important to keep your termite bond with Arrow. You just don't need quarterly extermination, most likely.

BTW, it's also extremely difficult to keep spiders out. Chemicals don't really work well on them, but if you don't have any bugs, you just sort of organically won't have spiders because there is nothing for them to eat.

[tdatl]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

With Google and about an hour of research or with a 20 minute conversation at one of the do it yourself places, you can know a lot more than the average professional exterminator.

I'll second this. I've been doing my own for about 10 years now. There's a place on the Internet called doyourownpestcontrol.com with a store over on Chamblee-Tucker neat I-85, where you can buy the same stuff the pros are using. My HOA has sent professional termite guys by periodically, and one of them saw bottles of the stuff I have and said it was what they used. But since I'm not worried about heavily diluting it or using it sparingly to keep my expenses low, I mix things at the max dilution and I spray along all walls/crevices, not just in corners like I have seen paid guys do.

The only thing I'd add is if you need to spray distances (like maybe you have those bees that burrow into wood up high or you have a crawlspace), skip the Home Depot/Lowe's sprayers -- they're pretty weak. Spend the $200 or so and get a super-powerful one at Harbor Freight or Northern Tools. It doesn't need to be powered. I have a hand-pump backpack sprayer that will shoot 20 feet.

[AnsleyPark]

Be sure to use stuff that can’t harm your pets.