Members, my name is Ken Boone, the owner of Animals B Gone, and the person you refer to in your review. I handled your job personally and frankly, your review was a stunning surprise based on my recollection of the original work and our several (5) follow-up visits. Please correct any discrepancies in my account of the engagement bellow: As I recall you initially contacted us after previously hiring 3 other companies who were not able to solve the problem with flying and gray squirrels getting into your attic. Within 15 minutes of the inspection, I identified and showed you the areas where the flying and/or gray squirrels either could currently enter the attic or with little effort, have the leverage to chew new entry points in, and proceeded to provide you an itemized proposal. As I recall you actually made a comment about the price being cheaper than what you paid the previous 3 companies who never solved the problem. During the inspection, I recall pointing out areas where squirrels had already scraped off the paint (biologist believe they’re attracted to the salt and minerals in the paint, and they often chew and mark an area they’re nesting as territorial behavior, warning other squirrels to keep away). I was asked if there was any way to keep the squirrels from still being able to continue that type of damage after we complete the proposed exclusion. I then proceeded to further explain the goal of the exclusion work we were recommending was to keep the targeted animal(s) from getting inside your home where (in the case of squirrels) they typically will do the most damage (flattening and marking up insulation and chewing electric wires). I explained that when gray and flying squirrels are involved, we would install a controller system (one way tunnel) over the area they’re most likely actively using to gain entry, and after sealing the rest of the structure, allow time for the squirrels to safely exit. We use this technique because the squirrel who was just evicted from its nest will be the most motivated and tenacious in its efforts to find way back in, quickly testing our exclusion. Companies who will try and trap / relocate the squirrels know this and will rather try to remove and not have to deal with that squirrel… knowing very well that because of the rapid heart rate and stress hormone levels of the squirrels, they generally die from the stress of being captured once release. I also explaining that the home was in an extremely squirrel friendly environment (heavily wooded area providing access and cover, along with many nut producing trees providing the food source), and that the squirrels would continue to have access to the outside of the structure, potentially still able to damage some wood / paint in areas where we do not install exclusion, but we guarantee they will not be able to enter the structure through our exclusion work. Obviously we cannot place metal over all areas where the squirrels could still chew the wood or scrape the paint. This was all explained to you and your wife at the time of the inspection. Short of replacing the siding with hardi-plank, the only other way to limit the damage would be to attempt to trap and relocate the one or two squirrels who are doing the damage. However in an environment where there are probably a hundred squirrels active within 500 ft of the home, live trapping would not be feasible. This point was also clearly made at that time. 2 days later, after your approval, I personally came to project manage the exclusion at your home. As we often do with our clients, to demonstrate our appreciation for trusting us with your home, I offered to do several repairs unrelated to the squirrels and our exclusion, free of charge. They included, cleaning the gutters inside and out by hand, removing large branches that were hanging over the house that were sure to fall in the near future, these among other things. After the job was completed and the controller was removed, you called to report hearing noises in a bedroom wall. I came out on the same day and upon re-inspecting this bedroom wall which lines up along the external side of the home (versus an internal wall). I explained that my conclusion that there was no way into that wall from the outside and that the noises were most likely from the squirrels climbing up and down the side of the house. We could actually see scratch marks on the exterior of this wall where they have been climbing from. No other areas were found where squirrels had gotten back in (I did not invoice for this trip by the way). You called again two days later, adamant about the squirrels being in the wall. I came back out again, this time pulling off the baseboard off the wall (to reduce damage to the wall) and put a cameral in the wall. As I had suspected, we found a closed cavity , closed on the top with a header to support roof, and closed off from the bottom by a footer (used to anchor the wall to the floor). What I did find in the wall were american cockroaches that were eating the insulation paper. Even after demonstrating this and our lack of ability to obtain any evidence of the squirrels inside the structure, I still put down tracking powder and set a trap in the wall to prove to you the lack of any physicial squirrel activity inside the structure… returning two days later to check the traps and tracking powder, still found no signs of anything other than the roaches in that wall. As a courtesy I helped spry the interior wall with a cypermentherine to solution to kill the roaches, then replaced the base board, caulking it back in to limit the visible damage to the area we cut into. Again, I did not charge you anything for these two subsequent trips. One month later you called again and wanted us back out there because the squirrels were on your roof and you had seen them gnawing on the siding again, expressing concerns that they were going to get back in. We again came back out and found that the squirrels had not found a way to get back into the home, but were in fact chewing the siding. I explained again that unless you were prepared to spend a significant amount of money to start live trapping squirrels which I would not be able to guarantee would be successful in catching THE specific squirrel(s) actively causing the damage. The high live trapping price is due in part to being required by law to check the live traps daily. After seeing that you were upset and obviously did not like that answer, I again reminded you of the fact that you hired our company to keep the squirrels from getting inside your house / attic, not to keep them off the outside of the structure. Again no invoice was generated for this visit. You again call a couple of weeks later, expressing that this time you were absolutely sure the squirrels have gotten back in. Having now been back several times without being able to collect any evidence that the squirrels had actually gotten back in, I explained that if we came back out and found no evidence again, we would have no option by to invoice you for a trip fee. Our warranty terms clearly gives us the right to charge a trip fee if we find no evidence of re-entry, which we are extremely lenient in enforcing each time, but with gas at $3.50 per gallon, we are limited as to how many times we can return for free without finding any issues. I clarified that if we did find any problems with our work and the squirrels did get back in this time, there would be no fee. You immediately expressed your anger about the possibility of having to pay this fee, saying something similar to what you wrote in your review… something like "oh I see how you are...you have my money now....etc, etc" I tried to explain that having been paid already had nothing to with it.. making the point that if my goal was to take the money and run, why would I even answer his calls? Still obviously not satisfied, I explained that I did have one of my top employees in your area and since he’s already nearby, I could have him come by and check things out again at no charge. I did warn you that this employee’s English was not that great but he has years of hand on experience and extremely qualified to determine IF there is an issue. Once again, we found the squirrels had not gotten back in, and documented that the areas chewed were just on the outside surface. Only as a courtesy, I instructed my employee to paint those damaged areas (on the front of the house). These were in fact damages to the surface only, not actual holes. These were not “holes on the roof” as you said in your review… in fact, it would be rather difficult to paint a hole. I understand your frustration with the squirrels damaging the outside of the home trying to get back in. We simply cannot protect all areas of your home against possible damage from squirrels, again our focus is to identify and reinforce those areas where the squirrels would have leverage to actually chew all the way through and into your home. If we were required to cover any little damage your home might sustain from the animals trying to get back in, the price of the original exclusion work would have to be significantly hire to cover our potential costs. Please let me know what part of our policy you feel is unreasonable and what exactly you would like us to do to make you happy. Looking forward to your response.