You’ll likely experience an inconvenient pest infestation at some point during homeownership. One option you have besides applying homemade pest treatments is hiring a full-service pest control company. These companies specialize in eliminating a wide variety of pests safely and promptly.
Our team researched, reviewed and rated national pest control companies to determine which brands will best suit your needs.
Research
Our goal in researching pest control companies is to highlight the benefits and potential drawbacks of each provider we review. To do this, we secret shopped, interacted with company websites, requested online quotes and spoke with customer service representatives to simulate the buying experience.
In addition, we checked government databases, such as the Environmental Protection Agency’s Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP), to determine whether companies held certifications with this program.
We gathered customer insights by surveying 1,000 homeowners who had experienced a pest infestation within the last two years. We also evaluated hundreds of customer reviews for every pest control company we analyzed to compile the most common positive and negative sentiments.
Finally, we spoke with multiple industry experts to obtain advice and recommendations for keeping your home pest-free. Through all our research, we aim to surface and summarize the main factors you need to make an informed decision.
Review and rate
After compiling our data, we score and compare pest control companies using our detailed review standards. We rate companies out of 100 points and convert this score into the 5-star rating we add to our recommendations.
We focus our rating factors across four main categories:
- Plans and services
- Safety and certifications
- Customer service and reputation
- Service guarantees and availability
Plans and services (22 points)
Full-service pest control companies provide single pest treatments alongside comprehensive treatment plans. We rated companies based on the types and variety of pest treatments they offer. Our research shows that many companies provide general and specialty pest treatments. Providers that offer a comprehensive list of general and specialty pest treatments scored the most points.
Safety and certifications (28 points)
Through our conversations with industry experts and review of customer testimonials, we found that homeowners prefer certified companies that prioritize safe pest control methods. Therefore, we dedicated an entire category in our review standards to these factors.
We checked each company for the PESP and the National Pest Management Association’s QualityPro and GreenPro certifications. Companies that are PESP Gold members and have QualityPro and GreenPro certifications scored the highest.
We also considered the safety measures companies implement, such as disclosing the ingredients of their treatments. We gave the most points to providers that disclose their treatment ingredients and offer pet- and child-safe treatments.
Customer service and reputation (30 points)
We consider a company’s customer service and overall reputation to be crucial factors since they can predict whether your pest issue will be successfully resolved. We rated companies against three subcategories:
- Communication methods
- Additional customer service benefits and resources
- Average customer reviews
Companies with a dedicated phone number, chat tool and online service request form scored well. We gave additional points to providers with extensive resources on their websites, such as articles on different types of pests.
We scored companies based on their average ratings on third-party review sites such as the Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot. Companies with an average star rating of 4.1 out of 5 or higher across multiple review sites scored the most points.
Service guarantees and availability (20 points)
Finally, we assessed companies’ service guarantees and nationwide availability. We gave full points to companies with reservice and money-back guarantees for 30 days or longer. Additionally, companies that service 45 states or more scored the most points.
Editorial note: The name “Homefront” refers to the alliance between USA TODAY and Home Solutions that publishes review, comparison, and informational articles designed to help USA TODAY readers make smarter purchasing and investment decisions about their home. Under the alliance, Homefront provides and publishes research and articles about home service and home improvement topics.
Homefront has an affiliate disclosure policy. The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Homefront editorial staff alone (see About Homefront). Homefront adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is believed to be accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.
Go Back to Top