One of the best things about our great state is the weather. All of Georgia – but especially North Georgia – offers a temperate climate, and, except for a few sweltering weeks each summer, pleasant and comfortable living.

Unfortunately, those tolerable conditions also make our region very attractive to insects and pests of all varieties. And when you have so many people and pests inhabiting the same space, it is inevitable that a few (or several) unwanted critters will find their way into your home. And who can blame them? For even though the temperatures outside are nice most of the year, they’re even better inside your climate-controlled home. Beyond a cozy shelter, your home also offers food and water sources. 

With that in mind, you can understand why it’s a matter of when – not if – you will experience some unwanted, creepy-crawly guests in your home. And that is exactly why should employ a pest control service: To make your home as unfriendly and impregnable as possible to every type of insect, arachnid, rodent, reptile, or any other unwanted critter. And, preventing that, you want pest control services on call should anything unwanted get inside and try to set up a permanent residence in your home.

So, if you are in the market for a pest control service, the question is: Who?

There are so many choices available, and all of them will have some level of knowledge and tools available to make your home less welcoming to the pests which inhabit north Georgia and metro Atlanta.

So, what sets the competitors apart? And who should you trust? 

Our No. 1 tip: Go local

It may sound strange. After all there are some massive companies with nationally known names and reputations. They also offer some pretty convincing commercials on television and social media. But there are myriad factors as to why you should go local and why you should choose a pest control company headquartered in or near your hometown.

Why choose a local pest control company? Here’s a breakdown of three very good reasons:

1. Customer service

With local companies, your business is more than just a name and number on a balance sheet. Any regional business – especially one with the aim of topping the Buford pest control or Atlanta pest control listings – should treat you like a priority. That means that they should respond to your call, treat you with respect, and make you as much a part of the process as you desire (which means inform you of everything they are doing and why).

If you are shopping for a pest control company, browse the web for rankings and ask your friends, family, and neighbors for recommendations. Once you have a list, begin to go through it one by one, calling each to see how they treat the customer. And if you do not receive prompt, courteous, and professional service, you should dump said company before they even have a chance to come to your home.

And speaking of coming to your home, any professional pest control services that you contact should offer to come to you and perform a complete inspection before offering any sort of estimate. That’s because – until they get up close and personal with your situation – there’s simply no way for them to fully understand the scenario and thus know exactly what it will take to handle it.

Once they do an inspection, any pest control service technician should also offer you a written contract encompassing every aspect of their treatment and what the exact cost will be. They then should be able to sit down with you – if you so desire – and explain why they are doing what they are doing. For instance, they should be able to tell you why your home needs consistent termite treatment and protection, as well as what they plan to do to keep out or eradicate roaches or rodents.

2. Availability

The great thing about having a local pest control company that you can trust is that they can respond to your needs as soon as possible. For instance, you may experience a surge in pest infestation for any number of reasons (change in weather, changes to outdoor habitat, appearance of an invasive species, etc.). If/when that does happen, you want to know that you can make a quick phone call and have someone there as soon as possible. That’s not always the case with large, national companies, who face large call quantities and territories to cover.

Local companies will want to have someone at your home as soon as possible (because of the customer service aspect of business), and a company located here in Flowery Branch, Sugar Hill, or Norcross will be quicker to respond than someone taking a call from a national call center. That can be especially key during certain times of year – for instance, when stink bugs exploded in Georgia a few springs ago, local companies were able to respond quickly and allay their customers’ concerns.

3. Understanding of local pests

All bugs are the same, right? Well, not quite. Yes, the methods used to kill, evict, and keep out pests may be generally the same across the nation, but the bugs and critters themselves are not uniform – nor are the times of year or methods that they access your home and property. For instance, the spiders we see here in north Georgia are very different to the arachnids they see in Michigan or Arizona. And that proved especially true over the last couple of years when the Asian-based Joro spider invaded north Georgia, sparking a mild freak out from people across the state, who feared this new pest might be worse than the feared black widow. Local pest control companies not only quickly learned the truth about Joros (they’re no more dangerous than your average house spider), they knew how to deal with them and their extraordinarily tough webs. And since Georgia was one of the first locales that the Joro showed up in force in the United States, it was a uniquely local phenomenon. 

The same is true for other types of pests here, such as scorpions. And local pest control services can put at ease someone who just moved to this state or who has never dealt with scorpions – or any other native pest for that matter.

Local companies also experience the same weather patterns and will know when homeowners will be at risk of certain types of invasions – because they too are experiencing it in their homes and businesses.

These are three fantastic reasons to look for local pest control companies. And if you’re on the look for one of these professionals to help keep your home critter free, please consider Zone.

We are one of the leaders in pest control maintenance here in North Georgia and metro Atlanta, and we pride ourselves on offering the best customer service possible as well as a knowledgeable and friendly staff that is ready to help you no matter your pest situation. We’ve been doing it successfully for almost 30 years for a wide variety of customers, and we’re always happy to add you to our family of clientele. Simply call us today 770-904-5432 and let us come make your home a pest-free fortress.