Friendly staff, but disappointing service
July 2019 update (8 months after visit):
It's been 8 months, and we are still experiencing mice. We had mice return as early as December (inspection in November), but the inspector said it takes some time for mice to be gone for good so we left it as is. Heard them again around March, but we were too busy to do anything about it. Heard them again last week and decided we should do something about it. Just checked and found out we are out of our 6-month warranty period, but we will call the company to see if they will do anything to help us.
I read the company's reply to my review, and while most of what was said is accurate, the part about the garage door weather stripping being damaged is completely wrong; it is not damaged whatsoever, and the mice are not coming in through there.
Also, because the company had said they wouldn't put the weep hole covers to the weep holes on the second floor, we ended up doing it ourselves. Even so, we are still experiencing rodents, and therefore, believe they are coming in through the roof. It is not uncommon for deer mice to climb up to the roof.
Long story short, we are still experiencing rodents, although they are now dying in the walls and attic, and not making their way into the kitchen anymore.
It would be best if the mice could not enter at all. We want to find a company that can actually find the point of entry and fix the problem once and for all. If the Exterminators are up for the job, that would be great.
Original Review:
I have mice in the house. After calling many companies and reading many company reviews, we chose The Exterminators because they had good reviews, and they said they would definitely visit the attic (which we knew was a problem area). So I booked my appointment with The Exterminators, and was looking forward to their professional and expert advice.
Chris arrived on time, and was polite and friendly the entire time. He came into the kitchen, looked under the sink, behind the stove, and then took a look around the basement. He then determined that the mice came in through the garage door. At this time, he hadn't looked at the exterior of the house, any other rooms, or any other floors. I was greatly disappointed, as I felt he already came to a conclusion without fully assessing my property. In particular, he hadn't (and didn't want to) inspect the attic, but we were told on the phone that the person would definitely inspect the attic.
After he gave his verdict (and seemed ready to leave), I had to practically force him to do a full walk-around the outside of the house, and then go upstairs to the attic. Even there, he only peeked his head in (did not enter). I was quite disappointed, as I was looking for feedback as to how dire my situation is, and without a comprehensive inspection, how can he give me reliable advice?
I also told him that we had deer mice, which he denied we had. I showed him a picture of a mouse we caught with our mouse trap, then he went to speak with his boss before he concluded that we did in fact have deer mice. Again, I was disappointed by the fact that I (the non-expert) was telling the expert what we had. The goal of hiring an expert was for the expert to confirm these facts to me.
He recommended weep hole covers, but said he would only do ones on the lower half of the house. I said the upper level ones were quite large and, if I had them done, I'd want them included as well. He did a quote for me on the covers, but again, only included the lower level ones. He said he would not do the upper level ones. Again, disappointed. Deer mice are climbers, so is there a point to only cover half the weep holes around the house?
All in all, Chris was friendly and seemed like a good person, but not the professional that I was seeking. Although traps were put around the house, I feel the money I paid was not worth the service I received.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $485.00
- Company Response
Hello Pearline,
thank you for taking the time and providing us with your feedback.
I’m sorry that you were disappointed with the service that our technician provided in the process of resolving the mouse infestation in your home.
I would like to take this opportunity to address some of the concerns you have put forward.
It is our standard practise to inspect the interior and exterior of every household when we are dealing with mice or rats. We inspect the exterior to identify potential entry points and we inspect the interior to best place our bait stations in areas of activity within the structure.
The sequence in which the interior and the exterior inspections gets completed is in the discretion of the technician performing the service.
In your case, after inspecting the main and basement levels the technician made his way to the garage. It was evident that the garage door weather stripping was compromised. It is very common for mice and rats to gain access into a structure by first infiltrating the garage. A compromised weather stripping can allow rodents to do so. That is what the servicing technician pointed out to you.
During the exterior inspection the weep vents were pointed out as a potential entry point. It our professional take that mice do not tend to enter structures from weep vents located on upper levels of structures. All rodents can climb but it is much easier and safer, especially for smaller rodents, to infiltrate structures from openings that are as close to the ground as the rodents are. This way, they minimize energy expended and decrease the probability of being eaten by predators.
That being said, closing off upper level weep vents is something we can definitely perform for you if you so wish to but would advise against it, as it is ineffective and an unnecessary monetary cost.
It is standard practise to inspect attics for rodent activity if such activity is suspected to be in the said space. Such inspections are performed routinely. There is no need to walk around in the entirety of the attic and risk compressing your insulation and thus decreasing your attic’s R value for the mouse inspection to be performed. Mouse boroughs can be spotted easily and accurately from the attic hatch.
Bait stations were placed in all areas of concern within the structure, attic included.
To conclude, according to our GPS records, the tech was at your home for approximately an hour and a half performing the mouse extermination. I apologize if the “Pest Proofing Quote Sheet” we left behind did not include upper level weep vents, but that omission was done so in good conscience. However if you are still concerned about entry points please call us and we would gladly return and close off ALL weep vents for you along with installing the exterior rodent station that is mentioned in the quote sheet. I would strongly consider installing the exterior rodent station as your home is directly adjacent to a forested area. In this way, you will have a first line of defense as rodents come towards your structure.
From what I can gather it appears that you are no longer dealing with a mouse infestation inside our home. If things change please give us a call as you are covered under our 6 month warranty.
Thank you