What Does General Pest Control Cover? A Plain List for Brevard Homes

General pest control covers the everyday crawling bugs that get into a house, and the places they use to get in and hide. So what does general pest control cover in Brevard County? Ants, roaches, spiders, silverfish, earwigs and the like, treated around the outside of the home and in the inside spots where they show up. Rats, mice and termites are separate jobs.

TL;DR

• General pest control is for common household bugs: ants, roaches, spiders, silverfish, earwigs and other crawling insects.
• It treats the outside first, the foundation, entry points, garage and lanai, then the inside spots like baseboards, kitchen and bath.
• Rodents and termites are not part of it. Each one is quoted separately.
• What a plan includes depends on the plan. Read the line items, not just the price.
• If a pest is not on the list, ask before you assume it is covered.

What does general pest control cover, pest by pest?

In the trade, "general pest" means the bugs that are not termites or other wood eaters. That still leaves a long list, and it is the list most Florida homes live with.

On our general pest control service, the pests are:

• Ants. The small ones in the kitchen and the ones that trail in from the yard.
• Roaches. The big palmetto bug that walks in from outside, and the small ones that live indoors.
• Spiders. Mostly the ones that web up corners, eaves and the lanai.
• Silverfish. Bathrooms, closets and anywhere damp.
• Earwigs and other household crawling insects.

These bugs are close to universal. A 2016 study of 50 homes around Raleigh, North Carolina, found ants and cobweb spiders in every single one. A warm, wet place like the Space Coast does not have fewer.

Where in the house the treatment goes

Most of the work happens outside. That is where these bugs live, and stopping them at the wall is easier than chasing them room to room.

Outside, a normal visit covers:

• The foundation and the entry points around it
• Garage and door thresholds
• The patio, lanai and the perimeter of the house

Inside, it covers the spots where activity keeps showing up:

• Kitchen, bath and utility areas
• Baseboards, cracks and the paths bugs use indoors

Then it repeats. The treatment wears down over time, and Florida never gives bugs a winter off. Regular visits are what keep them from moving back in.

What is not included

This is the part people get wrong. Know it before you sign up anywhere.

• Rats and mice. Rodent work is its own job. It starts with a free inspection and covers sealing, trapping and cleanup. See rodent control.
• Termites. Also separate. Ours is a trench and treat with a 10 year bond, on the termite page.
• Pests not on the list. Fleas, wasps and bed bugs are examples. Some companies charge extra for certain ants or spiders too. Ask first.
• Things we do not sell at all. We do not do lawn care, wildlife trapping or mosquito spraying programs.

How the plan changes what you get

Even inside general pest control, plans are not all the same. On our pricing page the three plans read like this:

• Bronze, $60 a visit, every 2 months. Interior or exterior treatment. Limited callbacks, and a service fee may apply.
• Silver, $100 a visit, every 3 months. Interior plus exterior and perimeter, with the eaves and soffits. Limited callbacks, and a service fee may apply.
• Gold, $125 a visit, every 3 months. Everything in Silver, plus unlimited callbacks, no service fees, an annual termite assessment and a pool enclosure cleaning.

Silver and Gold save $10 a visit if you only want the perimeter done. No contracts on any of them.

What we see in Brevard

Ghost ants are the small pale ants in Melbourne kitchens and bathrooms, often near a leak or a potted plant by a window. Palmetto bugs move in from outside when it rains or when mulch sits right on the wall. Beachside homes from Satellite Beach to Indialantic get salt air, damp and a lot of silverfish. All of that is general pest work. The roof rat in the attic is not. That is rodent work, and it is quoted on its own.

What to do now

1. Write down what you are seeing, where, and for how long.
2. Check it against the list above. Rats, mice or termites mean a separate quote.
3. Look at the plan line items, not just the price per visit. Inside, outside and callbacks are where plans differ.
4. Ask the company, any company, for its list of pests not covered.
5. Clear mulch and leaf litter off the slab. It helps whatever plan you pick.

When to call somebody

If ants or roaches keep coming back after you have cleaned up, the problem has settled in and a can of spray will not hold it. Call for a free estimate and tell us what you are seeing. We will tell you straight whether it is general pest work or something else.

Sources

• Bertone et al., Arthropods of the great indoors, PeerJ, 2016

Frequently Asked Questions