Q: Will I ever see any bugs after starting service?
A: Great Question, it is common to see an increase in pest activity following our initial service as insects leave their harbourage areas and attempt to flee the treated area. It is also common to still see some bugs outside and around your home after treatment. You should expect that occasionally you may see a few bugs, they are necessary in the environment. However, if you ever feel like there are too many pests, or begin to see pests inside, you can call us to come back to your home for free to take care of the issue!
Q: Do I need to leave the house during/after treatment?
A: We hear this question a lot. At Scout our customers are our number one concern, and we always prefer to err on the side of caution. With that in mind we usually treat pregnant women, and children under a year old the same way we would a hospital patient and ask that they stay out of the service area until after everything has had a chance to dry. That being said, we recommend that anyone who is very sensitive, or has unusual conditions check with their doctor about any concerns. If you don’t fall into one of those categories, it should be ok to stay at home during and/or after service.
Q: Why is there an abundant amount of spiders this year?
A: That’s a great question! There are a lot of reasons spiders and other pests can be worse from one year to the next. Usually a mild winter is a big factor in an increased pest population. This is because fewer spiders die off over the winter, and probably more important, fewer of their favorite meals die out!
Another factor could be if you’ve made changes in the landscaping around your home, or if you have a neglected part of your landscape, it may be more inviting to insects, and the spiders will follow. If there is any standing water this can be a big contributing factor.
Lastly, the heat can make the problem worse. When it gets really hot, pests tend to be more active and reproduce at a faster than normal rate. When there are more bugs, more spiders will reproduce to eat those bugs!
Q: What do you use for organic/green treatments?
A: Our green pest control service utilizes natural compounds like Diatomaceous Earth, Boric Acid, Silica Dust, and natural Pyrethrins, as well as various essential oils like thyme oil, rosemary oil, peppermint oil, geraniol, and others to eliminate and prevent unwanted pest problems.
Q: Do I need Pest Control during the winter?
A: While homeowners typically see less insect activity during the winter months, that service period is extremely important to gaining control over pests. As temperatures drop pests like to move into more temperate areas like wall voids and attics to overwinter. Our service is designed to flush out those nesting areas, helping to prevent the common explosion of pests most homes get in the spring! During our winter services we also inspect for rodent activity, and remedy issues as they come up. Many homeowners also take advantage of the winter months to have us perform exclusion services on their home, helping to lock out future pest invaders.
Q: Is your pest control safe for infants?
A: Many new parents ask this question, and it is a valid concern. Babies are so small and just developing, and so at Scout we take extra precautions when servicing around infants. The products we use are approved for treatments in and around sensitive areas, like hospitals, day cares, and others. Many of the products do require hospital patients to be removed from any room that is being treated, and not allowed back until it has a chance to dry or settle. Even though the label doesn’t require this, we take the same precaution with infants, small kids, and recommend it to anyone who is or could be sensitive. Further, we avoid treating the insides of homes. If you ever have a concern, please tell us and we will be happy to customize a solution to fit your needs!
Q: Will this hurt my pets? or Is this safe for pets?
A: At Scout, we offer various options for pest control. With each of our services we use products that are specifically labelled, or designated for use around pets. Most of our products are even labelled for use in hospitals, veterinary clinics, and even daycares. If you have a pet with a specific allergy, or concern, we can customize service to fit your needs, and reduce any potential impact. We also offer our Green Service program, featuring products that are used in compliance with the National Organics Program. This is a great option for anyone that has concerns about their pets.
Q: Do I need to leave my home?
A: With our regular service it usually isn’t necessary to leave your home during or after treatment. On occasion, depending on the pest issue, we may ask you to leave your home for a few hours. This is usually the case when we perform a flea or tick treatment indoors, and when we perform a bed bug treatment. With our other services you are usually ok to remain in your home, in fact many customers love that with how much we do outside of your home on each service, that they normally don’t even need us to treat the inside.
Q: What is your guarantee?
A: Like many companies, with our service we offer unlimited free retreats in between regular visits. What makes our service so great though, is that we don’t put you at the back of the list. If you call in needing additional service we usually will have an open time spot for you within two business days, often we can accommodate you even before then! Sometimes we can even come out the same day. We know that if you have a bug problem, you don’t want to wait weeks for it to be taken care of.
Q: I don’t see any bugs, do I still need your service?
A: In Northern Alabama we have an abundance of pests. The unfortunate truth is that if you don’t do something proactively to eliminate and prevent their infestation, then they will be moving into your walls, attic, and home. Our service is designed to eliminate pests as they attempt to enter your home. With our service, we typically don’t need to treat the inside of your home to eliminate problems. We focus outside and around your home where pests are always active, and create an invisible “barrier” that will keep them from getting in. We also treat back into nesting areas like the weep holes and any cracks or crevices to flush out existing pests, and make your home less inviting to them. This will maintain your home as a pest free environment, and prevent future problems. The old axiom, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” holds true here. It is much easier to avoid pest problems than to have to deal with eliminating serious infestations later. Also, once pests have created an infestation in your home or walls, it becomes more inviting to recurring infestations in the future.
Q: How does your scheduling work?
A: For your initial service we schedule a time window to have our technician come and service your home. They will go over the service, and make sure that you have any questions answered. For future visits we will either call, or email you to schedule depending on your preference. Future visits are typically outside only visits, unless you let us know you would like something done on the inside. Since they are outside only visits, when we call or email to schedule we will remind you to leave the gate unlocked, and to have any outdoor pets put away so we can service the full exterior of your home. Those visits are usually scheduled for us to come by anytime during a particular day, however, we can always provide you with a two-hour window of when we will be there if you request it. When we schedule service we also ask to find out if you’ve had any pest issues since our last visit. If you have we will make a note for the technician so they can focus on eliminating that problem. With our service, for any visit, regular, or a retreat, if you need the inside done, or if you need to be there for any reason, we will schedule a two-hour window, so you aren’t waiting around all day for us. We want this to be as convenient and hassle free as possible!
Q: Do I have to be here when you service?
A: Once of the things many of our customers love about our service is that we are normally able to control pest problems with exterior only visits. Because of that, you aren’t tied into being home each time we come to service. If you would like to be there, great! If you have other things to do, then feel free to do that instead. Our goal is to control your pests in as hassle free of a way as possible!
Q: I heard you can’t get rid of brown recluse. Is that true?
A: False. Brown recluse can be controlled and eliminated, but it does take time. It can often take several months, to a year to eliminate these pests. When servicing for brown recluse we use specialized products that work more effectively on spiders, and focus on treating back into walls, and under baseboards to get at these tricky pests. Usually with a serious brown recluse infestation, we will recommend switching to a monthly service, and we will need to service the inside of your home on to gain control. Many of our customers love that we don’t charge extra to treat for brown recluse. We don’t employ scare tactics, or try to make it seem worse than it is. We will give you our honest recommendation, and focus on getting rid of the problem – not on making an expensive up sell.
Q: Spiders are impossible to control, right?
A: Spiders can be more difficult to eliminate, but it is possible, and it’s something we include with our service. Because we focus on using high quality products, and particularly ones that are more effective on pests that are more difficult to eliminate, we can gain and maintain control around your home. A few of the things that we do that help include:
-We sweep the eves for spider webbing each visit. This eliminates their food source, and their nesting area.
-We don’t just treat the seam between the ground and the wall, we extend our exterior spray two to three feet high, and three to five feet out, attacking many spiders where they nest and hide. This also creates a larger barrier for spiders to pass through in order to penetrate inside.
-We use microencapsulated products. That means that the products have micro bubbles that will grab a hold of and cling to insects like spiders when they pass through them. As these bubbles burst, they eliminate the pests, even if they are no longer in the treated area!
-We use dusts on each service. Dusts will cling to bugs, and are particularly effective on spiders. Spiders have small hairs called cilia that will actually attract many types of dust, and aid in control of the spiders.
If you have a spider problem, we can get it under control!
Q: What if it rains before or after you service?
A: At Scout, we don’t apply any liquid sprays while it is raining. Usually we will reschedule that part of the service for a different day if necessary. What we can do is to apply dust back into wall voids and many other cracks and crevices that pest like to nest in. We can also sweep the eves clear of any spider webs, or wasp nests. There are a few granular baits that we can use in the yard as well. Often though, we will reschedule service. Especially if it is raining hard, or if it’s going to be raining all day.
If it rains before service that usually doesn’t pose a problem. Unless it has rained so hard that the ground is totally saturated with water, then we can service.
While we don’t perform our normal service when it is raining, we can service before it rains with no problem. No one can predict the weather perfectly, but we try to complete services 24 hours before the rain comes down. What is really important is that the liquid products we spray are dry before the rain starts. The products we use have been designed to bind to soil, and they do it as they dry. Once they are dry, as long as the rain isn’t washing away the soil, it shouldn’t wash away the product.