How it works
How PestChief introduces you to a local pest control company
PestChief is a matching service. You tell us what you are dealing with and where you live, and we introduce you to an independent local pest control company that treats that pest in your area. That company, not PestChief, does the inspection, the treatment and the pricing.
- Free for homeowners
- One local company, not a list
- You decide whether to hire
- No obligation
In one paragraph
What does PestChief actually do?
PestChief matches homeowners with pest control companies on two facts: coverage and pest handled. You submit the pest and the ZIP code, PestChief passes the request to one independent local company that covers that ZIP code and handles that pest, and that company contacts you directly and quotes its own price. Homeowners pay nothing; companies pay PestChief for qualified introductions.
The trail
What are the steps, from ZIP code to quote?
There are six of them. Each one is something you can see or something you decide.
01
You describe the pest and your ZIP code
You tell us which pest you are seeing, or describe what you have noticed if you are not certain, and you give us the ZIP code where the problem is. The ZIP code matters more than almost anything else, because coverage is decided company by company and changes from one ZIP code to the next.
02
PestChief matches you with a local company
PestChief looks for an independent pest control company that covers your ZIP code and handles that specific pest. A company that treats ants across your whole state may do no termite work at all, or may not cover your street. If nothing in the network fits, PestChief says so rather than passing you to a company that cannot help.
03
That company contacts you and gives you the price
The company contacts you directly, using the phone number or email address you gave. They ask about the property, they may arrange an inspection, and they quote their own price. PestChief is not on that call and does not set, approve or guarantee what you are quoted.
04
Timing is set by the company, not by PestChief
How quickly you hear back depends on that company and on how busy your area is, so PestChief does not promise a timeframe. If nobody has been in touch and you would like it looked into, say so through the contact page.
05
The match is on coverage and pest, never on price
PestChief does not rank companies by what they charge and does not pick the cheapest one for you. Two facts decide the match: whether a company covers your address, and whether it handles the pest you described.
06
You pay the company, and nothing to PestChief
Using PestChief is free for homeowners. The company sets its own price, you pay that company directly, and no commission is added on top. Independent pest control companies pay PestChief for qualified introductions, which is how the service is funded.
One company calls, not a list of them.
Scope
What does PestChief do, and what does it not do?
What PestChief does
- Asks what pest you are dealing with and where you are.
- Checks which independent companies in the network cover that ZIP code and treat that pest.
- Passes your request to one of them so they can contact you.
- Publishes sourced research on pests, seasonality and typical national price ranges.
- Tells you plainly when there is no coverage for your area.
What PestChief does not do
- We do not spray, trap, bait, inspect or treat anything. Nobody from PestChief comes to your home.
- We do not set, negotiate or guarantee the price a company quotes you.
- We do not take payment from you, hold a deposit or process a refund.
- We do not supervise the work, hold the warranty or resolve a complaint about it. That sits with the company you hire.
- We have no access to your account with any pest control company, including one we introduced you to.
Your details
What happens to the details you give PestChief?
You give us three things: what the problem is, where it is, and how to reach you. Here is where each of them goes.
They go to one company, so you are not fielding calls all week
Your request is passed to the independent company matched to your ZIP code and your pest. You should expect that company to contact you using the phone number or email address you gave us.
The company sees what it needs in order to quote the job
That means your name, your contact details, the location of the property and what you told us about the pest. They need the location to know whether the job is inside their service area and how far the technician has to travel.
Consent is asked for explicitly, not buried
The request form states, above the button you press to send it, that your details will be passed to one independent local pest control company so that company can contact you about the job. Sending the form is how you give that permission, and nothing is passed on before you do.
You can ask us to delete your details
Ask us through the contact page. Note that a company we have already introduced you to holds its own copy of your details under its own privacy policy, so you may need to ask them separately.
What it costs you
What does PestChief cost you?
Nothing. Using PestChief is free for homeowners: no fee, no subscription, and no commission added to the price the pest control company quotes you.
The service is paid for on the other side. Independent pest control companies pay PestChief for qualified introductions, which means they pay to be connected to a homeowner who has a real problem in an area they genuinely cover. That is the whole business model, and it is the reason the research on this site is free to read.
It is worth being precise about what that does and does not mean. It means PestChief has a commercial relationship with the companies we introduce you to, and you should read this site knowing that. It does not mean a company can pay to be recommended over a better fit for your job, and it does not mean anything is added to your bill. You pay the pest control company its own price, on its own terms.
What the work typically costs nationally
About $171
Per single visit
This Old House national average.
$300 to $550
Per one time treatment program
HomeAdvisor.
$300 to $900
Per year on a recurring plan
HomeGuide.
These are national ranges published for context only. They are not a PestChief quote. The company that contacts you will give you a real price for your property.
The call
What happens when the company calls you?
One company calls, not a list of them. Here is what that call normally covers.
Who is actually calling
The person on the phone works for the independent pest control company we matched you with, not for PestChief. They should give the name of their company when they call. If they do not, ask, and write it down.
What they will ask you
Where you are seeing the pest, how long it has been going on, roughly how large the property is, whether there are pets or small children in the house, and when somebody can be there. Some of that decides the treatment and some of it decides the price.
What you should ask them
Whether they are licensed in your state and what the license number is, what the quote includes and excludes, whether a follow up visit is part of it, what any warranty actually covers, and whether this is a one time job or a recurring plan that renews on its own.
What should not happen
You should not be pressured into signing on the first call, asked to pay PestChief anything, or told that the price cannot be put in writing. A quote worth accepting is one you can read before you agree to it. If a call goes badly, tell us through the contact page.
You are never obliged to hire the company that contacts you. Getting a quote is not an agreement, and you can say no to a matched company without owing anybody anything.
What questions come up most about how PestChief works?
Does PestChief treat the pests?
No. PestChief does not spray, trap or treat anything. We match you with an independent local pest control company, and that company does all of the work.
How much does PestChief cost me?
Nothing. There is no fee to you and nothing is added to the price the pest control company quotes. The companies in the network pay us for qualified introductions.
How many companies will contact me?
Your request goes to the independent company matched to your pest and your ZIP code, so you should expect to hear from that company rather than from a list of them.
How quickly will somebody get in touch?
That depends on the company and how busy its schedule is, so we do not promise a time. If nobody has contacted you and you would like us to look into it, tell us through the contact page.
What if there is no coverage in my ZIP code?
Then we tell you that. Coverage is decided company by company and changes from one ZIP code to the next, so there are areas where we cannot help yet.
Can PestChief look up my existing pest control account?
No. We have no access to any company's customer records, including a company we introduced you to. If you are trying to reach a provider you already use, the existing customers page explains how to find their number.
Is the price PestChief publishes the price I will pay?
No. The ranges on this site are national context, not a quote. The company that contacts you sets its own price for your property.
Keep reading
Where should I go next?
If you already know the pest, go straight to the matching form. If you want a sense of price first, read the national cost ranges and what each one is based on. If you run a pest control business, see how the partner network works.
Browse by pest
General and specialty pest control, grouped by the licensing each type of work requires.
Read moreCheck your area
Coverage by state and metro area, because it is decided ZIP code by ZIP code.
Read moreAbout PestChief
Who we are, how the service is paid for, and the sourcing rules behind every claim.
Read moreNext step
Ready to see who covers your ZIP code?
Tell us the pest and the ZIP code. It costs you nothing, your request goes to one independent local pest control company that covers your address, and that company contacts you directly.
PestChief does not perform pest control. Companies in the network pay us for qualified introductions.
Coverage is decided ZIP code by ZIP code.