Orkin - Gaithersburg

THE WORST -- these big box pest control companies do not have the customers best interest in mind. My boyfriend and I recently purchased a home and when we moved in we had a problem with mice, droppings everywhere in kitchen and smell of urine. We also know the area we live in is more rural and have many large tree's in backyards so we were also concerned about spiders, ants, etc. Orkin sent out two technicians for the initial visit, they told us they thought we had a serious infestation problem with mice so they put some traps down and sticky boards, and also spray foamed some holes. They advised us that they would better know exactly how bad our mice problem was if they could go up in the attic, but someone else like a manager would have to do that because they were not authorized to enter attics. So they left, and we caught a few mice with the traps and it really hasn't been a problem since. I guess we will know better next winter. Anyways, I never heard anything back from Orkin about a supervisor coming out and I just let it go since the mice problem has seemed to go away. Spring is in full effect now, and we have a large tree in the backyard which we are in the process of getting pruned, but the branches are currently sitting up against the house letting ants and other bugs enter into our 2nd floor. I called Orkin and was transferred to my local office, they had me speak with the technician. I told him the problems we were having and he said he would come out the next day. Next day came and went and didn't look like anyone had been by to spray since there was no paperwork left. A few days later I walked outside and saw hundreds of ants crawling all over our deck, so I called Orkin back. Once again I spoke with my technician who said he would come the next day between 8am and 10am. My boyfriend waited around until 10:30 and no one showed so he left as he had many things to get done that day. I called Orkin again and spoke with a supervisor, he said he did not have on record that this was my 2nd attempt to get the technician to come out. I guess that's what happens when you call the office and the employee's just transfer you to the technician. I told the manager I was not pleased that this was the 2nd time I was trying to get this scheduled and the technician could not show up in the allotted time frame, and I was not pleased with the lack of communication. Manager said he was going to call the technician, find out what the problem was and call me back. In the time I was waiting for a call back I researched and found another small pest control company local to my area, spoke with a gentlemen and got service setup for Saturday morning (it's Thursday as I am writing this). Since I hadn't heard back from Orkin I called back and told the manager I was cancelling the contract, he said OK and that was it. The point of this review to let other Angie's List members know that when you go with these big companies you end up paying big bucks to cover their overhead and will receive no communication from the technicians or office staff. It's simply not worth the money. I would have paid $90 every other month and already paid $150 for the initial inspection - that's about $780! My new contract will only cost at most $450 for an entire year, and there's no initial inspection fee. If you decide just get a one time spray it may seem expensive but if later (within 3 months) you decide to go with a year contract the amount you already paid will be pro-rated against the total cost. Moral of the story is, it's not worth paying Orkin or any of these big box companies top dollar for bad service.

They came out , fully explained exactly what they were going to do - which was much more that another contractor who was recommended, but not from Angie's List had told us. We made an appointment for them to do the treatment. They showed up exactly when expeected, did a full treatment. A week later the manager stopped by to inspect what they had done, and in conversation,we discovered another area inside our unfinished basement that needed treadment. He rescheduled it on the spot. It was done today. They're a very efficient and professional firm. I'd definitely use them again if it becomes necessary. I also like their yearly maintenance plan of $150.

Their traps have caught the odd mouse occasionally, so we keep their service to prevents rodents from becoming a huge issue.

They are always on time and they are courteous. If there is any need for re-spraying, they will come back quickly and take care of the problem. I have not compared their price to other companies.

They were okay. I got some one else who uses less toxic and chemicals. They stay outside and they said it would be good for everything. The one by Orkin was every other month so I quit using them. We quit using them two years ago. They were not the cheapest. They were pretty good and once I had some bugs and they came right out. They told me what to do and once they gave me information on the phone on what to do. They were fine. The price was comparable.

They have been very responsive and I haven't had any problems with them since I've contracted with them. I had major ant and bug problems before but now I have nothing.

Everything went well. They were courteous, competent, and did a good job.

I called Orkin this morning and spoke to someone that told me that a service professional would be out here between 4 and 6 today. I rearranged my schedule, including all my meetings, so that I could be home by 4:00. During my meetings, I received two voicemails: one from "Mike" asking me to return his call, and the other (after) from "Wayne" confirming my time. I did not have a chance to call Mike back until I was home, and he told me that Wayne was from Atlanta, that he was from my local office, and that no one would be showing up today. I explained that I had taken time off to come home and that I was very busy. Mike could have cared less, told me that somehow I was supposed to magically know that Wayne was from Atlanta, not Gaithersburg, and that there was nothing he could do. He offered no concessions on my service call as a result of inconveniencing me, and delivered the worst customer service I have ever seen -- particularly for a company's huge screw up. They are a complete and total Fail.

It didn't go well. The treatments failed to eliminate the roach problem after several attempts over the course of one year.

Eeek! We found mouse droppings one morning on our kitchen counters. My husband and I were pretty upset and didn't know exactly how to handle the situation - we have only owned our home for a year and have never had this problem before. Our first thought was to call in the experts. We thought that a pest control company would be sure to handle the problem quickly and effectively. Orkin was quite responsive at first and was able to come out on a Saturday morning. The first thing that they did was lay out some poison traps under the sink and behind the stove. They talked with my husband about potential ways that the mice could have gotten into the house and it was determined that the most likely place (a dryer vent cap that fell off one afternoon) was already fixed. Over the next week we were still finding droppings throughout the kitchen and the traps were untouched. We called Orkin again and this time they were not really as responsive. Finally they sent someone else over. During the second visit the pest control expert placed some steel wool in each hole under the sink where he thought the mice may have been coming in. He then laid out some glue traps and checked the poison traps which he found were untouched by the mice. After the second visit we thought that the problem was solved. Although we (luckily) didn't find any mice on the glue traps we also didn't see anymore droppings. One week later the droppings began again. We had enough. We knew that we were only supposed to get two visits from Orkin with the one month plan that we had purchased specifically to deal with the mouse problem. Although we were ready to put up a fight with Orkin we also wanted the mouse problem dealt with - and fast! At the urging of my father-in-law we went to Lowes and spent $7 on two mouse traps which are actually self-contained so you don't have to see the mouse that you trap (unlike the archaic glue traps which leave the mouse right out in the open for the viewing pleasure of all). Wouldn't you know it, the $7 mouse trap caught a mouse the very first night that we put it out. That was two weeks ago and we have not seen droppings since then. Needless to say I was very disappointed with the services that Orkin offered It was sad to find that inexpensive traps from a big box store were far more effective than what the professionals at Orkin were able to provide to us.

I really liked the gentleman that came out to the home. What I didn't like was they never could stick to our scheduled time. They never called. They were very unreliable,

It is a great company and they are very responsive. I called them in the morning and asked them to come over and they came the same day, which I had not expected. They are very professional and honest about explaining what they are going to be doing and what the charges are going to be. I had asked them to call before they came and they did that, which was very nice. I definitely recommend this company.

I like the price it is affordable. I do like the technician who comes out. He does a really good job. It is a recurring situation, so they come every two months and spray by the house. Lee is the name of the guy we work with. He does a good job. The spider problem that we had has been resolved. In terms of the service they offer it works. We had little bit of problem in the beginning. It is an automated process where they come out every two months and they charge us sometimes before they actually show up and do the service. The first time it happened it kind of threw us off, but now that we have talked to Lee, we can understand how that process works, its fine.

My wife mainly worked with them and she said she is very happy with them. I will use them again in the future.

My overall experience with Orkin was extremely positive. By identifying and blocking the entry point into the building used by the mice, Orkin was able to eliminate the mouse infestation problem. The professionalism exhibited was high and the field technician worked very efficiently. I no longer have a mouse infestation problem thanks to Orkin! I would definitley recommend Orkin for mouse or ant infestation problems.

We saw a mouse in the attic, and they put some traps inside. They looked around and told us what they thought was going on. They did well. I was happy with their service.

Orkin (Gaithersburg) was extremely frustrating to deal with, they are completely unorganized and then admitted to me on the phone that they have had layoffs and thus lack trained personnel to handle existing contracts with clients. Orkin got the first appointment time wrong so the exterminator showed up when no one was home. The second appointment they never showed up for. The third appointment they came four hours late (and it was a Saturday so their office was closed and we didn't even know if they were still coming). After the bees returned 10 days later, it took them nine days and multiple phone calls to get someone to promise to come out. And then he didn't come during the appoiment time but came the next day. The second technician then gave conflicting advice from what the first technician told us. The bees are gone but we are having other problems in the same area that Orkin now can't seem to address. If you want to hire an exterminator and have to beg them to do the work, call Orkin. If you want to hire an exterminator and have them not show up during scheduled appointments or promise but then fail to call you back, call Orkin.

The pest have stayed away and I haven’t had any problems.

We were happy Orkin customers for over 5 years receiving prompt, excellent service from our assigned technician. About a year ago there was a change to our assigned technician and we noticed a marked difference in the service. The new tech did not do as thorough a job. Although we were not getting the same service as previously provided, there was no noticeable problem, so we continued the contract. Just after our April service, we called for additional service as there was a swarm of bees in the front of the house. We explained that we were having work done on the outside of the house and needed this treated immediately. We were told our technician was on vacation so no one was available and they didn t know when they would be able to send anyone. We called again a week later because no one had responded. Our regular tech returned our call but said she couldn t come that day but would come by the end of the week. She did not show nor did she call to make other arrangements. We called the following week because, again, the bees were swarming the front door and UPS refused to make a delivery. Again, there was no response. We even e-mailed the corporate office explaining the situation and received no response. We made yet another attempt for service and that evening there was a message left on our home answering machine stating that someone would be there by the end of the week. Again, no one showed and there was no follow-up message. This went on for a period of 2 months. Orkin did not to respond to our request for service as provided in the contract nor did they adhere to their guarantee (posted on their website) stating complete satisfaction. We canceled our contract in writing on June 8, 2008. We never received an acknowledgment nor an apology. We find the Orkin Gaithersburg Branch to be an unprofessional organization.

I have been with the company for years. I had called them recently and told them that I had mice in the house. They came out at no charge and set the traps and took care of my problem. I am very happy with their work and would recommend them to others.

We had used them for the past 30 years and the service had always been good, but recently it started to slide. It just seemed like the products didn't work and the technician in my opinion was trained to do the work, but it just wasn't working. Also, it was nearly impossible to get in touch with them. Their prices are a little high as well.

We found three similar black bugs in our kitchen one weekend. I was concerned they were termites, and called four companies for estimates. All companies said they were ants, not termites. Two said they were carpenter ants and we should treat, although they couldn't say where. One said they were odorous ants and we should not treat. Jim from Orkin looked carefully at the bugs and said two were reproductive ants, and one was a reproductive carpenter ant. That made the most sense because two looked identical, and the third was larger. Jim said that because we only found one carpenter ant, treatment was not necessary, especially since we had the door open to the woods the same weekend we found the bugs. Even though he is on a commission, Jim's had the integrity to tell us not to treat. He was patient, professional, and knowledgeable. He took into consideration our cat and baby when we were talking about pest control in general.

Our appointment window was 8am-10am. When no one arrived by 10:30, we called and they told us our window was 8am-noon. When no one arrived by 1pm, we called and they said they had no way to get a hold of the technician. He arrived at 1:30pm. He had a pre-filled monthly contract for us to sign. When we said we did not ask for a monthly contract, he explained the other options (quarterly and one-time), and we chose one-time. The technician was courteous and assured us that the products were pet-friendly. He sprayed our home, but did leave a few powdery spots from his equipment. We wrote a check for the full $250, but they also charged our credit card. We had to call to get them to remove the credit charge. He did get rid of the bugs. We would not recommend this company.

THEY COME AS THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO AND WE DONT HAVE ANY BUGS THAT WE KNOW OF SO THEY DO A GOOD JOB. THEY ARE VERY PROFESSIONAL AND PLEASANT TO DO BUSINESS WITH. I AM VERY SATISFIED WITH THEIR SERVICES.

THEY DID A FAIRLY GOOD JOB. I USE THEIR SERVICES ON A MONTHLY BASIS WITH THE TYPE OF CONTRACT I HAVE WITH THEM. THE WORKERS ALWAYS ARE PROMPT, COURTEOUS AND GET IN AND OUT. THEY GET THE JOB DONE EVERY TIME.