Cost
How pricing works
Pest care has no list price, because no two gardens or houses are the same. Here is what moves the number and when you see it.
What decides the price
Three things move it more than the rest: how much garden and house there is to walk, what is actually found, and how many visits it takes to follow up.
Size of the beds, the lawn edges and the house
The pest, and how far it has spread
Visits to treat and to check
Access: gates, dogs, steep beds
What the estimate includes, and what it doesn't
After the first walk I write what I found, what I propose, how many visits and the cost. That written scope is the estimate.
Included: the walk, the identification, the plan and the notes
Not included: screen or siding repairs, tree work, replacing plants
What happens at the visit
I walk the beds and the house, with you if you're home. I photograph what I find and treat only what the scope says. If you go ahead, the first walk counts toward the scope.
A note afterward with what was done, and where
A product list, if you ask for it
After hours
I'm one person and I don't answer at night. Call or text in office hours and I'll fit in an urgent call, like a nest over a door, as soon as my schedule allows. Wasp nests are treated early or late in the day on purpose, and that costs no more.
When you get the number
In writing, before any work starts, as a flat amount for the visits listed. If I find something that changes the plan, I stop, tell you and write a new scope. Nothing is added without your yes.
Same-pest return visit within 30 days at no charge
Does not cover a new pest, a new spot or something that changed after the visit
If the job changes
Sometimes the walk turns up something the first look missed, like a nest in the wall or a second pest. I stop, tell you what I found and write a new scope. The work in the old one goes ahead only as agreed.
A change is written down before it is done
You can say no and keep the original scope
Why not a price list
Two gardens on the same street
A small shaded bed of hostas with slugs, and a vegetable plot with borers and a nest under the eaves, can both be called pest control. They aren't the same morning's work.
A small shaded bed
One walk, a change in watering, hand-picking at dusk and a check visit. Often the shorter job.
A vegetable plot and a house
A walk of the beds and the house, covers, a nest removal and two follow-ups. A longer job, written out in full.
Questions about cost
Do you charge for the first walk?
If you go ahead with the scope, the walk is part of it. If you decide not to, tell me before the visit and I'll explain what the walk alone costs, in writing, before I come.
Do you have a yearly plan?
No contract. I can set three visits for the year, spring, midsummer and fall, and you can move or skip any of them.
Can I get a number by phone?
Not honestly. I need to see the garden or a good set of photos. I can tell you the range of things that move the price in a few minutes.
Ask for a written scope
Tell me where you are and what you're seeing. I'll say when I can walk it.