How do I choose a pest control company, and who pays?

Pest control, like locksmithing, is not a licensed trade in the UK, so the checks fall to you. The difference between a good and a poor job is rarely the chemical — it is whether anyone identified how the pests are getting in and told you what to change, because a treatment without proofing is a subscription rather than a solution.

Step by step

1. Check the council first.Many councils treat rats and mice in domestic properties free or at a low fixed fee, and some treat wasp nests cheaply. It is usually the cheapest route and the service is generally competent.
2. Look for BPCA or NPTA membership.The British Pest Control Association and the National Pest Technicians Association both require qualifications, insurance, and adherence to a code of practice, and both publish a member search. Verify membership on their site rather than trusting a logo.
3. Ask what qualification the technician holds.A recognised pest control qualification, and specific training for the job in hand. Bed bugs, wasp nests at height and bird proofing are all specialisms rather than general work.
4. Insist on identification before treatment.A survey that names the species, finds the harbourage and identifies the entry route. Anyone quoting a price over the phone without seeing it is selling a product rather than solving a problem.
5. Ask what is included and how many visits.Rodent work is usually two or three visits over several weeks; bed bugs the same or more. A single visit for either is rarely enough, and the price should say clearly what happens if it is not resolved.
6. Ask what they will use and where.Which product, in what form, where it will be placed, and how it is protected from children, pets and wildlife. A professional will answer this readily and will explain the secondary poisoning precautions without being asked.
7. Ask about proofing.A report should tell you which gaps to close and where the harbourage is. Some companies do proofing themselves; others advise. Either is fine, but no proofing advice at all is a warning sign.
8. Get it in writing.A written report and a treatment record, with the products used and their placement. You will need it for a landlord, for a managing agent, and for the next contractor if it recurs.
9. Work out who pays.Owner-occupiers pay their own way. For tenants the position depends on the tenancy and the cause: an infestation arising from disrepair or from the state of the property at the start is usually the landlord's responsibility, while one caused by how the property is used may not be. Report it in writing immediately either way.
10. Escalate a landlord who will not act.A serious infestation can be a hazard under the housing health and safety rating system, and your council's environmental health team can require a landlord to deal with it. Written evidence of your reports is what makes that work.
11. Sort out a shared building collectively.In flats, rodents and bed bugs travel between units and treating one alone frequently fails. The managing agent or freeholder usually has to coordinate, and pressing for that is more productive than repeated single treatments.

Tips

• Ask what you should do differently. A good technician gives you a list — bins, feeders, gaps, storage — and that list is where the lasting result comes from.
• Get two quotes for anything substantial. Prices for the same bed bug or bird proofing job vary widely.
• Keep the written report even after it is resolved. It is useful when selling, and if the problem returns it saves repeating the diagnosis.

Common mistakes

• Buying a treatment without any proofing advice — Killing what is present without closing the way in produces a repeat visit in a few months. The proofing is the part that ends it.
• Not reporting an infestation to a landlord in writing — Responsibility disputes turn on the record. A verbal report a year ago is worth very little; a dated email is worth a great deal.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask