Do You Need Pest Control All Year Round?

If you don't see ants in the kitchen, spiders in the garage, or a mouse darting across the floor, do you really need pest control right now?

It's a fair question. Waiting until a pest problem appears can seem like the simplest approach. But one-time treatment and ongoing pest control serve two different purposes. One addresses a problem you're dealing with now. The other is intended to manage pest activity around your home over time.

For homeowners in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, and throughout Hampton Roads, that distinction matters because the pests showing up around a home can change throughout the year.

One-Time Pest Control vs. Ongoing Pest Control

If you discover a pest problem, calling for treatment makes sense. A technician can inspect the home, determine what you're dealing with, and recommend the appropriate service.

The limitation of waiting for a problem is that you're relying on what you can see.

Ants may already be traveling around the exterior before they appear on a kitchen counter. Spiders may be active around eaves, garages, and other protected areas before homeowners notice them indoors. Mice and rats can take advantage of openings around a structure before someone actually sees a rodent indoors.

Ongoing pest control takes a different approach. Instead of starting over each time a pest appears, your home receives scheduled service aimed at managing the covered pests that commonly cause problems in and around Hampton Roads homes.

Pest Pressure Changes Throughout the Year

There isn't one single "pest season" in Hampton Roads.

Different pests respond to temperature, moisture, food availability, shelter, and other conditions differently. Ants, cockroaches, fleas, spiders, rodents, and other household pests don't all become more or less active at exactly the same time.

That means the pest pressure around a home can look very different from one part of the year to another.

Year-round pest control isn't simply about treating the same pest four times a year. It provides ongoing service as conditions and pest activity change.

Why Treat Outside When You Don't Have Bugs Inside?

A lot of pest activity begins outside the living space.

Pests can move around foundations, doors, windows, utility openings, landscaping, garages, crawl spaces, and other areas before homeowners notice them indoors. That's why Getem's ongoing residential service focuses primarily on the exterior of the home.

After the initial service, Getem returns quarterly to inspect and treat the exterior. Interior treatment is also available when there's a problem inside.

That exterior focus can seem unnecessary when nothing is crawling across the kitchen floor, but that's exactly the point. You don't necessarily have to wait for pests to make it that far before addressing activity around the home.

What Happens If Pests Show Up Between Visits?

Quarterly service doesn't mean you're limited to help once every three months.

If a covered pest problem arises between regularly scheduled visits, Getem customers can call for a retreatment at no additional charge.

That is an important difference between an ongoing plan and purchasing isolated treatments as problems occur. The service continues between scheduled visits rather than ending as soon as one treatment is completed.

Which Pests Are Included in Getem's Residential Plan?

Getem's residential pest control plan covers many of the pests Hampton Roads homeowners commonly encounter, including:

• Ants

• Beetles

• Black widow spiders

• Certain cockroach species

• Centipedes

• Earwigs

• Fleas

• Mice

• Millipedes

• Rats

• Silverfish

• Spiders

• Springtails

Some pests, including German cockroaches, termites, bed bugs, stinging insects, and ticks, require separate services.

Is Year-Round Pest Control Worth It?

That depends on what you're looking for from the service.

Some homeowners prefer to call only when they discover a pest problem. Others would rather have their home inspected and treated on a regular schedule so they aren't starting from scratch each time pest activity changes.

Ongoing service may make sense if you regularly notice covered pests around your property, have dealt with repeated problems in the past, or prefer having scheduled service in place before something shows up indoors.

The home itself matters too. Crawl spaces, landscaping, moisture, entry points, neighboring properties, and other conditions can influence pest activity. Two homes on the same street can have different pest pressures.

Year-round pest control isn't based on the idea that your home will have pests every month. It's about having scheduled service, coverage for common pests, and re-treatment available when covered problems arise between visits.

Keep Your Hampton Roads Home Covered Year-Round

Getem Services has been helping Hampton Roads homeowners with pest problems since 1922. If you'd rather have an ongoing plan in place than wait for the next pest problem to appear, contact Getem Services to request a quote.