American Pest Control

The person I spoke to on the phone quoted me $125 for inside and outside service. He told me that we (and our pets) would need to leave the house only while they were actively spraying and we could return immediately. He assured me of the safety of the chemicals as soon as they were dry which was almost immediate. The technician arrived at the very last minute of the time window he provided after calling me twice--I think he was lost. The first thing he said when he arrived was that we probably have rats in the attic, that's what attracts ants. This made no sense to me so I asked some more questions and he didn't seem to know what he was talking about at all. He climbed up in the attic and reported that we did not have rats up there. I told him that I thought we had ants because our house is built on an anthill. He only wanted to spray outside. I told him that he was supposed to spray inside and outside, and he basically dragged his feet about spraying inside and didn't want to. He told me that usually they just spray outside first and see if the problem goes away. Then he told me that I would have to leave with the pets for at least 4 hours after the service, directly conflicting with what the guy on the phone said. I wasn't prepared to take the cats somewhere for 4 hours, and honestly I didn't want to leave this guy with the keys to my house, so I agreed that he would only spray outside and I'd call if the ants were still in the house. The technician seemed completely uninformed about the chemicals he was using. I asked some simple questions about how it works, whether it kills the ant nest or just the ants it contacts and he didn't know. He started spraying outdoors and before I could move them, he sprayed actually right onto my child's toys. I am not a 100% organic type but RIGHT ON THE TOYS?? I would not even want to spray dish soap right onto them. Then he asked ME how much I had been quoted on the phone. I said $125 but that was for inside and outside service. He told me it was the same price and charged me $125. So sure enough--the ants live under the house--so spraying outside around the house did not stop them from coming inside at all. (Although, there are no more ants in the yard, I am happy with that.) I called back about 10 days later on a Sunday afternoon. I said and quot;Hi I'm calling because I recently had you come out to spray for ants and the ants are back inside.and quot; The guy who answered the phone said, in the rudest possible tone, and quot;Okay, maam. It's Sunday. Your are aware that we are closed.and quot; The written word can't convey the rudeness here. I said, and quot;Well no, I didn't know you were closed. I would not expect you to answer the phone if you're closed.and quot; He said and quot;We answer the phone in case of emergencies. You need to call back between 9am and 5pm Monday through Friday.and quot; Fails: 1. conflicting information between the person on phone and technician 2. technician totally uninformed about the service, the price, and what he was doing 3. sprayed chemicals ON my child's toys instead of taking a moment to ask me to move them and/or pick them up himself 4. rude

I don't think we could get it any cheaper. We trust them and are happy with the work.