Pest Management, Inc

I really try not to write negative Unilocal reviews, as I strive to support small and local business. I have tried multiple times to get this company to fix the situation, and I am beyond frustrated and over the entire experience. In an effort to save ANYONE from the headache and waste of hundreds of dollars I am breaking down and sharing my experience.
It all started with a squirrel problem. We had a family of squirrels living in our attic, and after the horror stories of the destruction they could cause started coming I decided to call someone to help rid us of the problem. I called one person, and he told me he would quickly take care of the situation — but if I am sensitive to animals, I may not like it. After much searching, I found Pest Management who gave me a detailed plan of how they will humanely catch and release the family. After a thorough inspection, I was told a family was nesting in our attic as well as a «rat infestation» and sold on securing all access points to the house. Against my DIY husband’s wishes, I went ahead and went with the full shebang because with it came a full year’s warranty.
Two months I lived with various men, not just coming in and out of the house, but at random times. I would be given a day /​time for trap checks, and they would show up days /​hours later. Fortunately I work from home, however my schedule was no longer my own. I would sit in anticipation hoping that maybe something would be caught, given the cages and traps that were placed and checked throughout my attic. After that period of time, everything was sealed off and traps removed. Nothing captured. Not a single rat from this «infestation.» Not a single squirrel. A frantic terrorized squirrel fell through the chimney, which we removed ourselves. But that’s it. Then the rot hit.
So my «humane» pest removal basically was a complete hassle for me, along with trapping the animals in our walls and letting it die and rot. Super humane right? Awesome. I sent a letter to owner and management about my frustration and to see what can be done about the stench of death that had taken over both sides of the duplex. The response was «It really upsets me to hear this!» and the solution was to give me a bag of scent diffuser.
Fast Forward several months, and our tenant has some very aggressive rats taking shop next door. (Did I mention they have a new baby? Yeah, kind of a big deal.) My husband reminds me of the big warranty I so beautifully sold to him a few months ago. I begrudgingly call the place, hoping they will finally make good and prove me right in making this decision to hire them in the first place. The person answering the phone was quick and speedy, and made sure someone was there the next day. (Win!)
The next day the guy comes, first thing. He sets a couple of mouse traps, tells her there’s a hole behind the oven that needs to be fixed, and leaves. Never to be heard from to check the traps or follow up again. That’s it? How did they get in at all, considering we paid to secure all access points around the house? Wouldn’t he communicate that with me, the customer, to give me the rundown and guide me to solutions? Nope. Nothing. Silence.
Being the person of faith that I am, after a week of no word I try once again. (I am stubborn in my resolve). I speak to the sweetest new receptionist on the phone, just trying to understand what it is that my warranty covered. Maybe it’s a mistake of mine. Perhaps I just didn’t quite understand what I purchased. Again, benefit of the doubt. She tried to get the owner, Sarah (who has already failed on so many occasions when given the chance), on the phone to talk to me. Sarah chose not to speak with me, but to have the tech that came out give me a call back to explain. He’ll call within 30 minutes. It’s 2 days later, with not a sound. Your time is up. Failure in Service. All Around.
Search elsewhere, Unilocalers. Save yourself.
PS. NOTE: This is a condensed account of everything experienced with this company. It has not included the cigarettes in our driveway, the duplicate $ 750 charge to my card months after the first charge, mud dragged through my house, etc. The techs are run ragged, my original sales guy is long gone. It’s all around bad.

My husband and I thought we might have bed bugs after he found several bite-​type markings on his body. I looked at several companies and appreciated all the information i was able to find on the PM website. Lance of Pest Management came right out (45 miles out of Austin at no charge) and did the initial inspection. Again, lots of great information during the hour he was in our home doing the inspection. He was unable to locate any evidence of bed bugs, but offered the K9 service to be sure. After a week and more strange bites, I was able to text Lance from the number on his card, after hours, a picture of the most recent bites and he got right back to me. Sarah came out the following day to do the K9 inspection. I am so impressed with the level of knowledge and especially the level of customer service I was given. I highly recommend Pest Management– Austin for your pest control needs.

I’ve used PM several years now and find them very responsive and professional, and I trust them. They took care of a sugar ant infestation in my previous home. The technician was super nice, communicated well, and explained what I could do in the future. He returned a few weeks later for no charge to add more solution when asked.
I sought them out in Nov to treat my newly-wed’s home as we had a sudden flea bloom, ants of all types, wasps, silverfish, etc. Things were getting out of hand. The staff helped us strategize an economical solution that balanced gaining control of pests with freaked-​out cats, upcoming carpet replacement, allergies, and maintaining a certified wildlife habitat outdoors. We were unable to corral the cats the morning they came to treat fleas and there was bedlam, but the technician worked with us and cleverly and safely applied treatment that did the trick. He was awesome. They followed up to make sure we were satisfied. I have them come on a quarterly basis now — worth it.

We had cricket issues and an interest general pest control and they came recommended. They were very friendly, courteous, and prompt. Crickets taken care of and not having any other issues with bugs.
Also — I forgot to ask about how safe it was for kids and dogs, as we have both, before they arrived. It turned out that there were not issues to worry about with little ones — two or four legged.
So I recommend them just as they were recommended to me.

My parents recently retired to the Austin area and live in Georgetown. They had an armadillo problem. They did not have a regular pest control service and asked me to make some calls.
We got two prices, and Pest Management was the better price and was able to get us on their schedule right away. We were very happy with them overall, and highly recommend them.

I did not have a good experience with Pest Managment Inc. They spent a lot of time up front trying to win business, but once the contract was signed, there was little effort to follow through on their promises or warranty. The techs who came for our pest control were consistently 2 – 3 hours late, had no idea what our contract was or what the job entailed, and although polite at first, became increasingly rude over time. Later on after this service failed, the warranty kicked in, but really, how can you expect people to do a good job on the warranty when they couldn’t deliver on the initial service? The tech who came out for the warranty would show up late as well (or not at all), tell us he treated the home, but in reality, he didn’t do anything. Often, he would leave 5 minutes after arrival and make up notes for his records. It was a total waste of time and money, and I most definitely would not recommend them based on my experience. I ended up hiring another company (reliable, courteous, and knowledgeable) and have been happy since then.

Professionals with Honesty and Integrity.
In mid-​June 2013, my wife and I started noticing strange bumps/​bites on our three year-​old son each morning when he woke up. Wondering what the problem could be, and suspecting fleas were somehow in his room and biting him at night, we contacted our local pest control company. To our shock, they diagnosed the problem as bed bugs, surmising that our son must have brought them home from day care. We immediately contracted with the local company to treat the room. After 7 – 10 days, we noticed the bumps returned. The local company treated the room a second time. Another 7 – 10 days passed, and the bumps reappeared — but this time, my wife and I also were being bitten.
Completely freaked out by the thought of having a whole-​home bed bug infestation, we sought out companies across the region that specialized in eradicating these evil little things. After interviewing two companies, we chose to move forward with Pest Management, Inc. The only problem is that they were so busy performing the thermal remediation treatments for other clients, it would be a week before they were available to travel to our home in Madison, Miss.
So, in the meantime, we initiated «operation anti-​bed bug»! All clothes were washed in hot water and dried on high heat. All articles of clothing that had been at day care (because we were still under the assumption that this was the origin of the bugs) stayed outside the house until they were properly laundered. We moved out of our bedrooms, and the entire family — mom, dad, son, daughter and dog — all slept on air mattresses in the breakfast room attached to the kitchen (on the complete opposite end of the house from our bedrooms).
Finally, the week had passed, and the Pest Management team arrived at our home early this past Monday morning. After a 13-​hour round-​trip drive, they left without unpacking a single piece of thermal remediation equipment… and without spraying a single ounce of pesticide on our home.
You see, they thoroughly inspected our home and found not a single bed bug. I showed them the photo on my phone, taken of the bug the local pest company identified as a bed bug. Pest Management stated without a doubt that it was not a bed bug — rather, it was a common beetle, completely harmless, and indigenous to the area.
The Pest Management team then moved into the attic, and again found not a single bug of any kind. They then moved out into the backyard and deduced that the bites were happening when my son, wife and I were outdoors playing with him — that he was getting more bites because he spent more time outside — that my daughter had not been bitten because she is an infant and had not been outside as often — and that all that was needed was a simple treatment of our backyard to kill chiggers (redbugs, as we call them) and biting flies.
After 6 weeks with little sleep, this all came as quite a shock. We had been misdiagnosed by the local guys, who had TWICE sprayed unnecessary chemicals into my son’s bedroom. We had uprooted our family from their usual beds, wrestles through weeks worth of sleepless nights, wasted countless hours laundering clothing out of fear, and — honestly — lived life on the verge of mental breakdowns because of all we’d been dealing with. But now, it’s all over. And we’ve never slept better.
I’m so appreciative of the honesty of Pest Management, Inc. They could have easily treated the house for what we THOUGHT was the problem. But instead, they took the time to investigate and counsel me on the real problem and how to solve it. We are all sleeping safe and sound in our beds again. I’ve treated the front and back lawns as they recommended, and we are being more consistent in our use of OFF! bug spray (with DEET) when outdoors. All is right in the world, once again.
Thanks, guys. I hope I never have to call on you again, but I’m thankful I did this time.