“We called the week after closing. They found a gap by the garage door that I had walked past ten times, and it was in the report with a photo.”
Dani R.Bought a bungalow near the Avenues
Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Front
Pest control for your first year in the house
Closing day is the start, not the finish. We walk the house and the yard, tell you what we find, and line up a visit for each season, so the year holds fewer surprises.
Your first year
Your first year, by the season you move in
Pick the season you got the keys. This is the order we'd go in, from the first walk-through to the look back a year later.
Moving in spring
Ants are waking up and the sprinklers are about to go on. You get the longest runway of the four.
Week one: a walk-through of the outside, the basement and the garage, with every gap we find written down
Month one: ants and spiders treated where they're showing up, window wells checked
Summer: eaves, sheds and fences checked for wasp nests before they get big
October: the seal-up visit, before the cold sends mice looking for a way in
Month twelve: a look back at the year, in writing, and what we'd change for year two
Moving in summer
Wasps and ants are at their busiest, and you're still looking for the light switches. We start outside.
Week one: the walk-through, with nests and ant trails first and everything else after
Month one: the first treatment, outside walls and entry points
September: boxelder bugs and stink bugs start to gather on south-facing walls, so we treat the outside
October to November: the seal-up visit, covering the garage door, vents and pipe gaps
Spring: ants and clover mites on the first warm days, then the look back
Moving in fall
Mice are already looking for a warm house, and yours has a new door they haven't tried.
Week one: the walk-through, starting with the garage door, vents and pipe gaps
Within a few weeks: gaps sealed and traps set where we found signs
Winter: a check on what we set, and on whatever you've heard in the walls
Spring: ants and spiders as things warm up
Summer: a nest check on the eaves, then the look back at month twelve
Moving in winter
Quiet outside, busy inside the walls. A good time to learn the house while little else is going on.
Week one: the walk-through, with the attic, basement and garage looked at for nesting signs
Late winter: gaps sealed that we found on the first visit
Spring: ants and clover mites on the first warm days
Summer: nests, window wells and the yard's damp corners
Fall: the seal-up visit, then the look back at month twelve
The Salt Lake calendar
What turns up in a Salt Lake house, month by month
The bars show when each one is most likely to show up on the Wasatch Front. The visits follow the bars.
Ants
Pavement ants and odorous house ants, mostly outside until it turns hot and dry.
Mar–Oct
Clover mites
Tiny red specks on sunny walls and window sills. More of a nuisance than a problem.
Mar–May, Oct–Nov
Earwigs and sow bugs
Where it's damp: window wells, under planters, near the sprinklers.
May–Sep
Wasps and yellowjackets
Small nests in June, a different story by August.
Jun–Oct
Spiders
Wolf spiders in the garage and the occasional black widow in a woodpile.
Jul–Nov
Boxelder and stink bugs
They gather on warm, sunny walls, then find a way in for winter.
Sep–Nov
Mice and rats
They come in when the nights turn cold, through gaps about the width of a pencil.
Oct–Feb
Timing moves with the weather; a warm spring starts everything earlier.
The walk-through
The first visit is a walk-through, not a spray
We'd rather find the way in than treat the whole house for something that isn't there. You walk it with us, and you get the findings in writing.
Outside walls, foundation, window wells, garage door seal and roof edge, with a flashlight
The basement or crawl space, the attic hatch and under the sinks
What we find, named in plain words, with photos in the report
A written estimate: what we'd do, how many visits and what each costs
Nothing is treated until you've read it and said yes
What we treat
The usual calls from the valley's new owners
Six kinds of call, and a seasonal plan that covers the common ones.
Ants and spiders
Pavement ants in the kitchen, wolf spiders in the garage. We find where they're coming from first.
How we handle itMice and rats
Gaps sealed first, then traps and a check back. The fall visit is the one most people book.
How we handle itWasps and boxelder bugs
Nests on the eaves and bugs on the south wall, treated from outside.
How we handle itA look for termites
We'll look and tell you what we see. Ask about a formal report for a purchase.
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From the first year
What new owners tell us
“The calendar told us what was coming. When the boxelder bugs showed up on the south wall in October, we already knew what they were.”
Tevita F.First house, Sugar House
“I was nervous about signing up for something every season. The estimate said what each visit covered and how to stop, and that settled it.”
Noor A.New build in Lehi
Sample reviews.
Where we go
Salt Lake City and the towns on either side of the valley
Most first-time buyers are in a new build in Utah County or a bungalow close to downtown. We drive both, and we try to send the same technician back each season.
- Salt Lake County: Salt Lake City, Rose Park, Glendale, East Millcreek, Emigration Canyon
- Tooele County: Tooele, Stansbury Park
- Utah County: Lehi, Alpine, Pleasant Grove, Lindon, Vineyard, Saratoga Springs, Cedar Hills
We don't take jobs in Davis, Weber or Summit counties, or south of Saratoga Springs and Pleasant Grove.
Questions we get from new owners
How much does pest control cost?
It depends on the house, the pest and how many visits it takes. How pricing works spells out what changes the number. We send a written estimate before any work starts, and you decide after you've read it.
What if the pests come back?
If the pest we treated for returns within 60 days of a visit, call us and we come back and treat again at no extra charge. It covers the pest named in your report and the areas we treated. It doesn't cover new pests, an entry point we flagged that hasn't been sealed, or a visit we couldn't finish because we couldn't get in.
Do I have to sign a contract?
A one-time treatment has no contract. The first-year plan is written out on the estimate, with what each visit covers and how to stop: call or text us before the next visit.
What about kids and pets?
Licensed applicators follow the product label. We tell you which areas to keep children and pets out of, and for how long, and we'll give you the product list if you ask.
Do I need to be home?
For the first walk-through, you or someone you trust, so we can go through the house with you. For later visits, outside treatment can happen while you're out; inside work needs someone there.
Do you do termite inspections for closing?
We'll look at the house and tell you what we see. If your lender or agent needs a formal wood-destroying insect report for a purchase, ask us when you call. A report describes the day it was written; it isn't a guarantee.
Closing soon, or already in?
Tell us when you got the keys. We'll find a time for the walk-through that fits around the boxes.