Added on April 30, 2024
Pest Control or Wildlife Control - What's the Difference?
Generally speaking, the pest industry falls into two categories - Pest Control and Wildlife Control. So what's the difference? In very loose terms, pest control is the control and eradication of insects, whereas wildlife control is the control of animals. The line gets a little blurred when it comes to rats and mice, as both industries practice the removal of these animals, albeit in different ways. Indeed, a number of companies in the traditional pest control industry branded out into bug control after beginning in rodent removal.
What's the right approach?
The Pest Control industry makes their money from locking customers into contracts and taking a more long term approach to animal problems. Their business model revolves around taking basic measures to treat a problem when it arises, and being there to help you if it happens again. The Wildlife Control industry takes a more permanent approach, whereby existing animals are removed, and services provided to prevent it from happening again. The pest approach typically has a lower up front cost, with payments spread over a longer period, whereas the wildlife approach has a higher upfront cost, but once the problem is solved, there is no need for further expense.
So which approach is right? We may be a little biased, but in almost every instance, the permanent solution offered by your wildlife control company is the better approach financially, and when taking your health and safety into consideration. Remember, with the chance that a rat can chew on a wire before you know it's there, you're only 30 seconds from disaster.
An evolving industry
In recent years, we've seen a shift from pest control companies simply setting traps or poison, to where they're beginning to offer exclusion and prevention services that were long left to the wildlife industry. As recently as 15 years ago, it was unheard of for a pest control company to offer services for armadillos, or raccoons in your attic, but that's not the case today. At Dr. Critter, we've been doing this for almost 30 years. We've made mistakes along the way, experimented with different methods, and are continually evolving. The pest industry not only lacks our experience, and intimate knowledge of animal behavior, but they haven't learned our methods for the most effective and eye-pleasing ways at controlling animals. They don't specialize in this line of work - put simply, they dabble in what we do to make money. When you consider wildlife control is all we do, each and every day, our skillset isn't diluted and we are continually improving. This can't be said for the pest industry that practices wildlife control on a part time basis.
Contractors vs. Subcontractors
Another thing to consider is who will be doing the work. Does your pest control company perform wildlife services themselves, or do they contract it to a professional wildlife extractor? If they do it in house, do they have the knowledge to do it right? If they subcontract it, what is their markup (after all, any service company exists to make a profit)? Is it more financially beneficial for you to go directly to a wildlife company rather than have your pest control company subcontract the work?
Your largest investment
In most cases, your home is your largest investment. Our years of experience, continuous evolution and world-class training programs mean we're looking out for your largest investment. Your pest control company might know how to fill in a hole, but do they do know how to do it effectively? We have seen hundreds of instances where they don't use the correct materials, in the correct manner - particularly when you have a tile roof (we've attached photos to this blog entry that shows this better than we can explain it). Do they know how avoid roof leaks? Again, tile roofs present problems where incorrect materials can lead to water intrusion if not sealed correctly. There are some areas of a tile roof that might look like potential entry points, but in reality are areas for water to drain and incorrect exclusion can create future problems. Do they adhere their repairs in a way that doesn't impede ventilation or water ingress? Do they use materials that are animal proof? As you can see from the photos attached to this article, duct tape and expanding foam are products the pest control companies are using to keep animals out. It seems like common sense, but these aren't materials that should be used to animal-proof a home. Finally, do they perform repairs in a way that are both functional and aesthetically pleasing? The answer to each of these questions is almost always "No" when you hire a pest control company to perform exclusion repairs. In fact, we struggle to think of a single instance where we have seen a pest company check any of the boxes above, let alone all of them, and it's common across the entire industry in every market we've had the pleasure of working in.
Conclusion
Pest control companies perform a valuable service - we would all experience a lot of unfortunate issues without them. But we recommend leaving the wildlife to us and let them stick to what they're good at. After all, we don't work with lawns, insects or termites.
