"The Fumigator" -- Selecting A Good Exterminator

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Where's John Goodman when you need him??? (In case you missed it, John Goodman plays "The Fumigator", a bug exterminator, in the move Arachnophobia about spiders gone wild.) Most people refer to companies that provide pest control services as "exterminators". Exterminators prefer "pest control operator" or "pest control technician". By any name a good pest control company is like a good car mechanic -- when you need one, you really need one. While our main 'Bugs site is dedicated to helping you solve many household pest problems yourself, occasionally you'll need professional help. If you are having trouble deciding if you can do it yourself or if you need help take at look at this page. We've posted some suggestions for screening pest control companies for those (hopefully few) times when you need one, and some additional things to watch out for. Try to avoid the "maintenance treatment" trap. Some companies will push maintenance contracts that call for periodic (once-a-month, every three months, etc.) re-treatments. These repeated treatments are almost never necessary, especially not during winter months. See the article at 'Bugs for more information.

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