Portland, Oregon Pest Control Coupons

It can be hard to find a good deal on pest control services in the Portland Metro area.  Most companies will offer a "free inspection", but then gouge you on price when they give you a bid to take care of the problem.  It is difficult to know who you can trust before you pick up the phone and call someone. 

Full disclosure, I am in the area and own a pest control company in Vancouver, Washington.  Before I started out, I had a few different people come to my house occasionally for pest control services.  One of the guys that came out really tried to hard sell me on services that I was not even sure that I needed.  I don't know about you, but I really, really hate pushy sales people.  It makes me feel really uncomfortable and what I have found is that most pest control companies fit this mold. 

When I started New Leaf Pest Control, I decided that I wanted to be different and set up a company that was never "pushy" and never made the customer feel uncomfortable.  So far, I think that we have accomplished that.

I got a call from a potential customer the other day that seemed pretty nervous about having a pest control company come to her house.  She asked me an interesting question, "if you needed to find a company to come out and treat for ants, would you pick your company?"  Well, I didn't really need to think about it too hard and I said, "of course".  But, later on, I did think about it.  If I was a customer, how would I rate my experience from the moment I picked up the phone to when the technician left my house.  Perhaps it is unfair to answer that because my opinion is obviously so biased.  But, regardless of that fact, I think it is important to think about these things, to make an effort to create a good experience for the customer.

Anyway, in this long winded, self serving rant, I wanted to offer you a coupon for reading it all the way to the end.  Please click here for some pest control coupons in the Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington area.  Thanks for reading!

Are Carpenter Ants Damaging My Home?

If you were to step back from your computer right now, go outside and walk around your block, the chances are that you would see a carpenter ant along the way.  The truth is that they are pretty much everywhere and most people don't realize that all these ants that they are seeing can potentially do some harm to their home.

Most people would probably think that termites are the most destructive pest in the Pacific Northwest, but in reality, carpenter ants are far more damaging in the Portland Metro area.  They are so common that you can probably find them in just about every neighborhood, so your home is at risk whether you realize it or not.

Carpenter ants are "polymorphic" which means that they can come in a lot of different sizes.  They do not "eat" your wood, but they do chew through it to hollow out nests for themselves.  You will often see their debris from the wood shavings that they excavate out of their nesting site.  This just looks like very fine sawdust.  The ants that you will actually see are called "worker" ants and they can travel up to 1000 feet from the nest to find food.  They will find parts of plants, nectar and other bugs to bring back to the colony to eat. What you don't see is the queen ant that is pumping out more and more babies.  The queen can live up to 25 years and produce multiple satellite colonies that can infest a whole neighborhood!  Once a nest is fully developed and infesting your home, I have heard estimates as high as $17 worth of damage a day that can be done.

Okay, so now what?
Don't make the mistake that the ants that you see around your home are not carpenter ants.  If they are bigger than a sugar ant, they are probably a carpenter ant and should probably be addressed.  If you have wood piles, shrubs touching your home or any other conducive condition, you should probably remove them right away.

The good news
Fortunately, as far as pest control goes, carpenter ants are not that difficult to get rid of.  They have patterns of movement that allow pest control companies to target specific areas to apply product where the worker ants will cross and bring back to the nest.  At New Leaf Pest Control in Portland and Vancouver, we charge an average between $100-$200 for the cost of a standard carpenter ant treatment.  This investment now can save a lot of money later on.  Also, if you just are looking for a preventative treatment because you have seen them around your neighborhood, you can do that for $88.00 with this coupon.

If you need any help with carpenter ants or if you just have a few questions, please do not hesitate to email me or call me.

Photo credit: Thomas Shahan / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND