What Happens On A First Visit
Nobody enjoys booking this. Here is exactly what it involves, so there are no surprises on the day.
The phone call
Describe It In Your Own Words
You do not need to know the species. "Something is scratching in the ceiling at about two in the morning", "there are small black things on the worktop in the mornings", "I have bites in a line on one arm" are all perfectly good descriptions and each one narrows it down a long way.
What helps us most on the phone: where in the building, what time of day, how long it has been going on, whether it is a house, a flat or a business, and whether there are children, pets or anyone with a health condition in the property. The last one changes the plan, not the price.
If you have caught something or photographed it, keep it. It settles more than any description can.
The survey
If Nothing Is Moved, Nobody Has Looked
The visit starts with looking, not treating, and it goes further than most people expect. We are trying to answer three questions: what is it, how many and how long, and how did it get in.
That last question is the one that decides whether the job lasts. It means looking outside as well as inside - the roofline, the airbricks, where the soil pipe enters, the drain chamber, what is stored against the wall, whether a branch reaches the roof. On a flat it means the bin store and the risers. On a business it means the waste compound and the delivery doors.
You will be told what was found before anything is applied, and the price is agreed at that point. There is no call-out fee for the survey even if you decide not to go ahead.
The treatment
What Actually Gets Done
It depends entirely on what it is, and that is not evasion - a wasp nest is twenty minutes and a bed bug job is a planned programme. But the shape is usually the same: deal with what is there, make the place less attractive, and close the way in.
You will be told what has been used, what precautions apply during and after, how long to stay out of a treated area, and what to do about pets. The products are safe when applied correctly and the precautions are part of that, so they are explained rather than assumed.
If something we find is not our trade - a broken drain, chewed wiring, a roof in poor repair - we will say so and tell you who does it. We do not quote for work we are not qualified to do.
Afterwards
What You Are Left With
You get told what happens next, and if a follow-up is needed you get told why rather than just being booked in. For some pests a second visit is genuinely part of the treatment - it is how the stage that survived the first one is caught - and for others it is not needed at all.
The guarantee applies from here: if it is still active after the treatment has had time to work, we come back and there is no second call-out fee. It does not cover something new arriving through a route nobody has closed, which is why the proofing list matters.
For a business, the written record arrives after the visit: what was found, where, what was applied, what was recommended, what is outstanding.
Common Questions
Do I have to be there?
For the survey, yes, or somebody who can give access and make decisions. After that it depends on the job.
How long does a first visit take?
A wasp nest can be twenty minutes. A full survey of a house is usually under an hour, and a commercial premises longer.
What if I decide not to go ahead?
Nothing is charged. There is no call-out fee for coming to look and no pressure to book on the spot.
Going further
Advice Worth Reading First
What It Costs, And What Changes It
One published price, and an honest account of why everything else is quoted instead of listed.
Read more ›Pests In A Rented Home: Who Is Responsible?
General information rather than legal advice, and the short answer is that it usually turns on how they got in.
Read more ›Pest Control And Your Food Hygiene Rating
The treatment is half of it. The paperwork is the half that gets scored.
Read more ›Preparing For A Treatment
Some of this genuinely changes the result. Some of it just saves time. Both are worth doing.
Read more ›Which Trade Does What
We would rather tell you it is somebody else’s job than take the money and leave you with it.
Read more ›One-Off Treatment Or A Contract?
Contracts suit some premises and are a waste of money for others. Here is the honest test.
Read more ›Wildlife Law, And What Cannot Be Treated
Some of the things people ring about are protected, and a firm that offers to deal with them anyway is offering to break the law on your behalf.
Read more ›Pests When Buying Or Selling A House
It comes up more often than people expect, usually at the worst possible moment in the chain.
Read more ›Pest Control In A Flat Or A Block
The hardest part is rarely the pest. It is that the part of the building causing it is not yours.
Read more ›Get A Free Quote
Tell us your postcode and what you are seeing. We will come back with a time and a fixed price before anything is booked.
Local Experts You Can Trust
Fast, effective, affordable pest control for homes and businesses across the whole of Kent. Fully qualified technicians, fixed prices, every service guaranteed.