The three branches of structural pest control in California
The California Structural Pest Control Board sorts the trade into branches. California structural pest control licensees must meet state licensing requirements in at least one of three branches: Branch 1, fumigation with poisonous or lethal gases; Branch 2, general household pest control, excluding fumigation with poisonous or lethal gases; and Branch 3, controlling termites and other wood-destroying pests or organisms, excluding fumigation with poisonous or lethal gases.
Ask each Hanford company this
On the first call to any company, ask: "Which Structural Pest Control Board branch covers this work, and what is your license number?" Jot the answer in a notebook with the company's name, the day you called and who you talked to. Keep each company's entry on its own page so the replies do not run together when you compare them later.
Ask every company for proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation, too, and tuck those papers behind its page.
Hanford's start as a city
Hanford's Articles of Incorporation were filed on August 12, 1891, and when Kings County was formed in 1893, Hanford became the County Seat.
Where Hanford's water comes from
According to the City of Hanford's 2017 Consumer Confidence Report, Hanford's water source is strictly groundwater taken from wells pumping from aquifers deep beneath the city; the City of Hanford system has 14 active well sources and 1 standby well source, and the City routinely monitors for over 120 drinking water contaminants.
Sizing up the problem by what you find
What you find around the house can help a company decide what kind of visit to offer. Before calling, sort what you have noticed into rough groups:
- Something alive and moving: where it was, how many, and whether it came back after you cleaned the spot.
- Something left behind: droppings, shed skins, wings, chewed packaging, fine powder or pellets near wood.
- Damage: a hollow-sounding board, a soft window frame, holes in stored fabric, a gnawed cable.
- A smell or a sound: where in the house, and at what hour.
Put dates next to each item. A clear photo or a sample sealed in a small bag can travel with you to the conversation.
Booking the visit
When you set up a visit, ask what it will consist of. Is it a look-around and a written proposal, or will the technician treat on the spot if something turns up? Ask whether there is a fee for the trip and how long the technician expects to stay. Ask which areas they will want open: under sinks, the garage, the attic hatch, any space beneath the floor, the yard along the walls. Ask how you will get the findings, on paper at the door or by message afterward.
Inside the walls and outside them
Pest work can take place in the living space, in hidden spaces such as wall voids and attics, and around the outside of the house. A proposal may cover one, two or all three. Ask the company to spell out:
- which rooms it plans to enter, and what it will do in each;
- whether it plans to drill, open or seal any wall, floor or trim, and who patches the holes afterward;
- what it will place or apply outside, and how far from the house;
- whether any device or bait will be left in place, where, and who checks it.
If one company proposes indoor work and another proposes only outdoor work for the same problem, ask each one why.
When a proposal names gas
If a proposal calls for fumigation with gas rather than a local treatment, ask the company to walk you through the plan before you agree. Ask how many nights the house would be empty, what you would need to take out or seal up, how the company keeps people away from the house during the work, and how you will know the house can be entered again. Ask for the plan on paper, signed and dated.
Changing companies partway
If you stop a plan with one company and start with another, tell the new company what has already been done. Hand over the old service records, product names and dates. Ask the new company whether it would change anything in the approach, and why. Read the first company's agreement for any cancellation steps before you stop paying.
Paying and keeping records
Ask how the company bills: one price for the job, a charge per trip, or a monthly or yearly plan. Ask what a call between scheduled trips costs, and whether a return visit is included if the trouble comes back during the term. Pay against a written invoice that matches the proposal.
After each trip, ask for a service record listing what the technician saw, what was done, the products by name and where they were applied, and when the next trip is planned. Keep those records, the proposal, the branch answer, the coverage papers and the receipts together in one envelope. If you sell the house or switch companies, that envelope holds the job's history in one place.