Generally, homeowners call pest control when they already have seen the thing crawling across their kitchen floor or found the droppings in their pantry. At this point, the issue has existed for some time, given that nuisances in question operate on an infestation level. But when they make the call, what happens next? What does a professional actually do when they come through the door?
It’s not just a matter of showing up with a canister of chemicals and filling every crevice with poison. While pest inspection is a step-by-step process, knowing what happens and why helps a homeowner appreciate every phase of a comprehensive pest investigation.
The Questions Before the Treatment
A technician doesn’t just come in and get to work. One of the first steps involves asking questions and getting background on what the homeowner has been experiencing. When did this problem occur? Where have they seen activity? Has anything been done to treat it? Are there pets or small kids?
These aren’t small talk questions. The answers help minimize what pest is actually the problem and where the focus of the investigation should be. A mouse will create a different look than a roach. Finding out if someone came through with spray already will inform what needs to happen next.
The technician will also want to know if there are health concerns or certain sensitivities. This determines what treatment methods and products can safely be used in the space. Some solutions might work great but aren’t ideal for homes that include pets or small children who may inadvertently stumble into the treated space.
What They’re Looking At
Once this initial discussion ends, the technician starts investigating. It’s not just checking the areas where the homeowner has seen activity. They’re looking for things most people would likely overlook.
Entry points are huge. Gaps from where pipes are installed into walls, cracks from a sinking foundation, holes in window screens, gaps from where doors shut, these are all how nuisances come inside in the first place. Finding them is half of the battle because it helps technicians strategize on how to resolve the current issue and prevent any future occurrences.
Moisture is another common reason why pests are attracted to residential homes. Leaking pipes, condensation buildup, limited drainage, these come together to create problematic surfaces from which things like insects and rodents thrive. Many move through life looking for water sources just as much as they do looking for food; a damp basement or a slow drip is all they need to settle down. When St. Louis pest control services assess a property, they’re looking for all levels of attractiveness; it’s not just about where certain pests currently are.
Food sources also become an issue, whether crumbs are lingering, pantry items are kept uncleared or uncovered, garbage hasn’t been thrown out in two days, etc. The inspector assesses what’s available and how readily accessible it is.
The Less Obvious Places They Check
This is where it gets interesting, and probably annoying for some homeowners who aren’t thinking about all this. Pests can be found in places people generally don’t check, like attics, crawlspaces, behind appliances, electrical panels, under insulation, all places where most people never venture and where pest activity can occur without anyone ever knowing based on what isn’t seen during day-to-day activities.
Rodents love spaces where they cannot be bothered, in between walls and in attics; insects might be hiding in wall cavities or under floors; without checking these areas that aren’t frequented every day, people cannot fully assess how bad pest activities truly are.
Outdoors matters just as much as indoors. The exterior perimeter of any home will be checked for signs of nests, burrows or other entry points that haven’t made it inside yet; trees or shrubs that touch the house create highways; stacks of firewood pressed against the foundation provide easy access for termites; gutters that aren’t cleaned regularly fill with water and invite mosquitoes; any pest control inspection spreads beyond the interior of a property to all areas, including garage, shed and yard because pests don’t respect borders drawn by humans and neither should technicians.
Identifying the Specific Pest
This is where professionalism and experience come in handy. Different pests leave different signs behind, different sizes and shapes of droppings, differences in damages sustained to materials and different levels of proximity to where people spend their time versus non-frequented areas.
Homeowners like to think they know what’s plaguing them, but they’re wrong more often than not: mouse poop might actually be from roaches or that noise they’re hearing in the attic is actually rats instead of squirrels. Getting this identification correct helps steer treatment options more efficiently.
Some inspections might leave traps for monitoring reasons or require additional equipment to check areas within walls. Moisture meters detect leaks; thermal imaging can assist in detecting nests/activities from areas not usually checkable, but this all depends on what the early inspection indicates and what the professional has in mind.
How Treatment Plans Are Established
All plans are established after an inspector completes their thorough check; there’s no “one-size-fits-all” spray-and-hope situation, either. It depends on what pest is involved, how bad the infestation truly is, how big (or small) the property is and what preferences/concerns the homeowner has.
For example, some get baited instead of sprayed in an effort to rely on behavior; some pests require exclusion (sealing cracks) instead of chemical treatment; sometimes a combo makes sense, all based on what’s found with suggested treatment thereafter.
The technician should note which products will work best, where they’ll be most effective/on applications, how soon results will happen and if follow-ups will be needed. The best companies ensure a full understanding instead of showing up with an idea on their own without explanation along the way.
What’s Documented
Professional inspections yield paperwork, which may sound unwarranted but helps keep everyone on the same page for different reasons. Documentation spans what’s found, where activity was detected, what’s contributing at the moment and what’s recommended for treatment.
Pictures are often taken during inspections for tracking purposes over time on a case-by-case basis; if there are serious infestations (ex. termites/carpenter ants), this paperwork can help an additional home sale down the line or be needed for insurance purposes. Many homeowners also look for more details through resources such as pest control carpenter ants to understand the risks and proper treatment options.
Any report generated from an inspection should inform means of repairs or maintenance the homeowner needs to consider because while pest control might eliminate current pests, if what’s making people have pests in the first place isn’t addressed over time (ex., leaky pipe), then new pests will come as time passes (or old ones will return).
What Happens After Treatment
If findings are unfortunate enough after immediate treatment can get underway, or may need to wait until another day, some situations require preparations beforehand (moving food away from cabinets/counters/homeowners needing to fix x-y-z) or requires follow up (food removal must occur from outside as well as inside; pests spray outdoors must give some time before rights come back inside).
Commonly these follow-ups occur weeks apart as new generations evolve, from larvae to pests, many insects spray eggs that treatments cannot touch so once new generations show strength (or until old adults die off), that’s when additional visits occur.
There also should be preventative measures suggested as a result of treatment, these landscaping/home maintenance criteria can include anything from changing how someone maintains their garbage (put it in sealed containers) to how they manage their pets inside/outside (stop leaving out extra food), these preventative measures cost nothing but allow a ton of grace when it comes to whether something returns or not!
When Greater Issues are Discovered
Sometimes a mere pest call becomes more serious if damage is found beyond minor treatment: structural beams with termites/carpenter ants could indicate additional concern, extensive levels of insulation removed in case extensive nesting is possible, issues suggest mold or other water damage beyond what attracted initial pests.
This is why a professional inspection gets you saved big time down the line, even though something seems bad at first sight, but it’s bad down the line after thousands upon thousands of dollars, as opposed to thousands upon dollars right away.
A professional inspector also obtains notes that someone might not catch until way too late, or someone only sees it once it becomes urgent, a hole from where mice can enter soffits, it’s likely going to get bigger, the droppings found in attics that no one goes up there to see, they’re from active infestations becoming even worse.
Thus, comprehensive inspections provide information beyond safety from pests dying; it’s insight into conditions/maintenance requirements that cross all plays instead of just pests themselves.
Time is Also Of The Essence
A process takes time because shortcuts don’t work, a once-over visit that takes 15 minutes probably misses details that help inform what’s going on and if they’re true then great, but a thorough analysis that takes an hour (or maybe more depending on property size) gets to those depths figured out along the way.
Homeowners need to understand what’s going on as part of why professional treatment costs what it does, and why it’s more effective than relying upon store-bought canisters of bug spray from Home Depot; it’s about value as these details matter because treating an inactive pest or missing out on highlighting entrances means having to deal with it again in three months!
