10 Best Pest Control Companies in Appleton, WI (2024)

In Appleton, spiders, rats and bees are common pests. While you can try DIY removal and prevention techniques, an active infestation usually requires a pest control professional's help. A professional pest control service in Appleton can diagnose, address and solve your pest problems.

Pest infestations pose risks to your home and loved ones. Insects and small animals can spread disease, damage your home's structure and contaminate food.

Hiring a professional pest control company can reduce these risks. A technician will identify nesting areas, and create an extermination plan, using methods such as sealing entrances, capturing pests or applying pesticides. Once the right solution is administered, pests can be controlled for the long haul.

Find the best local pest control company for you in Appleton

Look for pest control companies in Appleton with at least 3.5 out of 5 stars on Google Reviews and a good rating on Better Business Bureau (BBB). Use the filters below to help you find the right company for your needs.

What are common pests in Appleton?

While pests are everywhere, the hot spots for different species differ. The following pests are common in Appleton, and these are some signs of an infestation:

• Bees: If you see more bees than usual inside or around your home, have dark stains on your walls or hear humming inside the walls, you may have a bee infestation. You might also notice a strange odor coming from your walls. This happens as bees die or honey seeps into the walls, causing the growth of mold and fungi. Bees can easily harm your family or your pets, as bee stings often cause allergic reactions.
• Rats: If you hear scratching in your walls or ceiling or find droppings about half an inch long, you may have rats. Rats also create entry points for themselves by eating through walls, doors and food packaging.
• Spiders: The best way to know you have a spider infestation is a noticeable uptick in spiderwebs in and around your home. Visible egg sacs and lots of other insects that the spiders can feed on are some other indications of an infestation. Aside from dangerous black widows and brown recluses, which have painful, venemous bites, most spiders found in homes are harmless.
• Flies: It's normal to find the occasional fly buzzing around your home during the summer months, but if you see a significant number, you could have an infestation. Flies leave waste that looks like clusters of black dots on high shelves, around trash and near sink drains. The presence of maggots, which are fly larvae, in trash or other food waste also suggests an infestation.
• Termites: Termites consume cellulose fibers in wood. You may have a termite infestation if you notice termite swarms, droppings, mud tubes or cracked or bubbling paint. Another sign is if wood sounds hollow when you tap on it.
• Moths: Clothes moths and pantry moths commonly enter households as pests. Clothes moths chew wool and cotton, leaving tunnels, silky furrows, trenches and small tubes, which are larvae casings. Pantry moths breach plastic food packaging, leaving a web-like residue in pantry corners and on or in dried goods. Moths are naturally attracted to ripe fruits, fermented sugar and light.
• Mice: If mice have infiltrated your home, you might see one darting by or find droppings around the size of a grain of rice. Mice often damage furniture and have a musky scent. They construct nests with foraged materials and shredded fibers, and favor tight areas, so you may hear them in your walls and ceilings.

How can you prevent pests in your Appleton home?

Getting rid of pests isn’t easy, but a good defense is always the best offense. While an infestation usually requires professional help, there are steps you can take on your own to mitigate the risk of pests.

Schedule regular preventative pest control

Insects and small animals can cause serious issues for your home and health when left unchecked. The best way to stop these infestations before they start is to work with a pest control company. They may recommend plugging holes, laying traps or spraying pesticides in key areas.

Cover, seal or eliminate food sources

Pests primarily seek food, so making food hard to reach will keep them on their way. Keep food a minimum of six inches off the floor and a bit away from the walls. Always ensure sinks, counters and food storage areas stay clean and disinfected between uses. Get rid of food scraps and other trash regularly, and keep your trash cans and dumpster areas clean.

Keep up with yard maintenance

Pests can hide in standing water, trash, tall grass and leaves in your yard. One of the easiest methods to avoid an infestation is to keep your yard clean and properly maintained with mowed grass and pruned foliage. If you require professional landscaping services, find out if national lawn care providers such as TruGreen operate in your area.

Seal off pest entrances

Sealing off entry points will stop insects and small animals from making their way indoors. Rats, for instance, can fit through openings as small as a half-inch wide. Be sure to address openings in your roof or siding and seal damaged window frames. Some pest control companies focus specifically on keeping pests out and can help you with this task.

What are questions to ask your pest control provider?

Ask the following questions to make sure you get a pest control professional that can handle your specific needs.

Are your technicians properly licensed and insured?

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) monitors pest control chemical use through the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. In addition, restricted-use pesticide applicators and their supervisors must be certified according to EPA requirements and the laws of relevant states, territories and tribes.

Wisconsin requires pest control professionals and those using pesticides to have a Commercial or Private Applicator License issued by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

What treatment schedule do you recommend?

A pest expert's recommended treatment frequency will be determined by factors such as the infestation severity, pest type, treatment type and property location. Generally, pest control companies do not recommend only a single treatment, since insects are often at different phases of their life cycle, and may have laid eggs in hard-to-access areas.

Pest control experts often recommend regular treatments, with some scheduled exclusively during the warmer months and others occurring throughout the year. To prevent infestations from taking hold, they might also propose preventive treatments every two or three months to stop new infestations from forming.

How long will it take to get rid of pests?

How long it takes for your pest issue to disappear depends on the infestation nature and severity, as well as the insect's life cycle. When the pest control professional applies the first treatment, you may perceive a decline in activity, but pests could resurface after hatching, requiring supplementary treatments. On the other hand, you might notice increased activity following the first treatment, as it can drive pests from their hiding spots. Fortunately, this should get better within a few days' time.

Can I remain in my home during pest control treatments?

You can stay in your home during certain portions of the pest control process, such as when holes and cracks are being sealed. However, if your service technician applies a pesticide, it might take several hours to dry, and you'll need to leave the house during this period.

Some pest control services can be particularly lengthy. During termite fumigation, the pest control professional must set up a tent around your home for three days to release the pesticide. Throughout this timeframe, you'll have to stay at a different location.

Are your treatments safe for my family and pets?

An experienced pest control professional knows the right amount of a product to use, the time needed for it to dry and when children and pets can safely return to the treated location. Before beginning any treatment, your service provider should inform you about what should be taken out of the area, including food, animals and plants.

Do you offer any “green” pest control methods?

A number of pest exterminators provide environmentally conscious methods for treating infestations. This means they use products with a lower environmental impact than traditional methods. Some examples of eco-friendly pest control include sealing up gaps for pests, setting catch-and-release traps for rodents, and using pesticides derived from natural sources.

What do I do if pests come back?

Many pest control services have guarantees and warranties in place to protect you if pests return before a predetermined date. These companies may offer a single service or continuous treatments to tackle a stubborn pest problem. Be sure to discuss the options with your provider.

Our methodology for selecting pest control companies

The Homefront Local team employs a proprietary scoring algorithm that evaluates companies based on key factors you value, such as average customer review ratings and trustworthiness indicators. Our method for determining trust involves a comparative analysis of the number of reviews a company receives compared to its local competitors. This leads to companies that have earned more trust from your local community being awarded a higher score. We review national pest control companies against our full pest control methodology. We score pest control companies based on service options, safety and certifications, service guarantees and customer service.