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A few times a year I like to call around the industry to see what other companies are charging for particular services. This past month I called 10 different pest control companies to see what their rates were for basic bed bug elimination services. For the purpose of this exercise I explained that I owned a multi-family building and one of the units had bed bugs. I let them know I preferred the chemical treatment as opposed to heat treatment (which I will describe the pros and cons of later in this blog post) and wanted to know the cost to treat the unit with confirmed bed bugs. Here were the results:

  • Vendor 1: Minimum $850 to treat 1 unit/ no warranty promised
  • Vendor 2: Minimum $800 for 2 treatments and 6 month warranty
  • Vendor 3: $550 for chemical treatment and $850 to add steam treatment
  • Vendor 4: $1,300 for steam/3 treatments and no real promise on warranty
  • Vendor 5: Will not provide a quote over the phone/must have a sales rep look first
  • Vendor 6: Will not provide a quote over the phone/must have a sales rep look first
  • Vendor 7: $750 with second treatment 3 weeks later and 3 month warranty
  • Vendor 8: $550 for 2 treatments and no warranty unless other units were treated
  • Vendor 9: $375 for first treatment and then $175 each for follow up treatments and no warranty
  • Vendor 10: $1,100 and no warranty

It had been awhile since I checked for prices. I have to admit I was very blown back by the pricing. Did you know that B & B Pest Control’s bed bug services cost less than all these companies? Other companies will try to chalk it up to their service being better but that is simply not true. For one, hundreds of times we have been the company called in to eliminate a problem after one of these companies did not succeed. Secondly, we have solved over 6,000 units with bed bugs in the past 10 years alone. We are also the trusted vendor for over 6 housing authorities in Massachusetts. We are a company that has experienced 50% growth year over year the past 4 years. We have an A Rating on Angie’s List and 5 Star Rating on Yelp. If we didn’t know what we were doing none of this would have been possible. If you want more information on why we can offer great service and fair prices you can read more here.

I should note that 4 of these companies tried to push the heat treatment down my throat before offering up their chemical treatment costs. While heat treatment is certainly a viable way to treat a home how many people have thousands of dollars laying around to pay for it? I work with many property management firms, housing authorities, treatment centers and homeless shelters that need continuous bed bug inspections and treatments. These type of organizations often have bed bug problems. Many of them have used the heat treatment only to have their rooms or floors loaded with bed bugs again in 45 days. There is no residual left behind with heat treatment and the warranties are often short. That said it doesn’t make sense for a landlord or property management firm to use heat treatment unless it is a unit so infested and cluttered. Many of these tenants frequent places that have bed bugs so the chance of reintroduction is very high. FULL DISCLOSURE: I have the funds and ability to offer heat treatment and thought about many of times. However, I have found that besides hotels and very wealthy / upscale customers the heat is just something people don’t want to keep forking over money for. I offer a service at 75% less of what heat generally costs. I have some of the best technicians in the state and I offer a warranty I full stand behind.

If you are someone who manages low income rental units, owns property in the city or has units that continually run into bed bug problems we would love to connect with you. I have put together many proposals that work for all parties, whether it be a cost-per-treatment or a discount price with warranty. I am tired of seeing people overpay for bed bug services and sick of seeing other companies try to capitalize on people’s fears of bed bugs. I want to solve your pest issues but leave you with money in your pocket. I can still make a living without charging these prices above and I KNOW my technicians are the best in the industry.

B & B Pest Control can be reached at 781-599-4317 or 617-921-9837.

Best,

John