iX5 Pest Control Contracts

What is a Pest Control Contract?

A Pest Control Contract (or Service Level Agreement) is an arrangement between you or your business, and a pest control company, to put in place proactive and reactive measures to prevent and / or control pest activity at your home or business premises. Pest control contracts are more common in business premises, but homeowners with larger properties or gardens, or other features such as stables or storage barns etc also often benefit from having a pest control contract in place.

The contract is a formal agreement for a pest control company to undertake certain works to prevent or reduce the risks of pest activity, and to take action in the event of activity occurring. The agreement is usually for a specified period. If you don’t wish to have a full proactive monitoring contract, we also offer ad-hoc verification visits, either on demand or at pre-determined frequencies. For this, we will visit your premises to carry out an inspection, looking for signs of potential pest activity, or matters that might lead to potential pest activity, and will confirm our findings in writing at the end of the visit. We have a number of clients who prefer this approach instead of having an ongoing proactive monitoring contract.

What Types or Business or Premises Might Benefit From a Pest Control Contract?

Any business can benefit from a pest control contract, but the usual types of businesses and premises we support include:

• Office blocks
• Retail Shops
• Food Businesses
• Schools
• Children’s Nurseries
• Factories
• Warehouses
• Public Service Buildings
• Churches
• Housing Associations
• Farms
• Private Homes (particularly those with large gardens, stables, or other features that might attract pests

What Should a Pest Control Contract Include?

 A pest control contract can include a wide range of matters in relation to pest control, but some of the key features that should be set out clearly in the agreement include:

• The duration of the contract period.
• Which pests are covered. Often this might just be rats and mice, but an agreement can include whatever pests you and the pest control contractor believe are appropriate. In food businesses this might also include insects etc.
• The specific areas, buildings or locations that are included in the service.
• The number and frequency of proactive visits (often every 4 to 6 weeks, but this will be based on risk assessment).
• Whether any reactive visits are included in the event of pest activity being noted, along with the number of reactive visits in any specified period.
• The type of services included (trapping or baiting etc), the number of bait points and which baits are to be used, along with information on any other treatments.
• Whether any specialist services are included such as Field Biologist visits, or trend monitoring.
• Whether there is any servicing of equipment such as electronic fly killers included.
• Who is responsible for proofing or any other follow-up works required to ensure the contract is effective.
• What method of reporting is going to be in place (paper-based reports or electronic), and who will be the primary contact?

What is the Benefit to Me or My Business in Having a Pest Control Contract?

There are many benefits to having a pest control contract in place, particularly for businesses. Some of the many benefits include:

• Brand and reputational protection for your business.
• Risk transference by externalising some responsibility for pest control checks and actions.
• Reducing operational burdens through not needing to undertake your own internal checks for pest activity.
• Assisting ensure you meet legal standards for compliance.
• Assisting prevent public health risks to employees and others using your site.
• Proactive competent advice from the outset can reduce the risk of adverse issues occurring.
• Helping you demonstrate a due diligence defence (in your food businesses), in the event of an adverse incident occurring.
• Routine checks help identify issues for early intervention, to prevent pest problems or related issues escalating.
• Pest prevention is far better than cure! It is often far more cost effective to prevent pest activity rather than treat it once it arises.
• By using a reputable service provider you can be confident that best practice and the latest techniques will be used.
• Priority response times are often reserved for regular customers should issues arise.
• You will have access to ongoing support and advice from pest professionals (and this will often extend to other pests not covered under the contract).

How Much Does a Pest Control Contract Cost?

Each contract will be based on a risk assessment, taking account of the size of the site, the likelihood of any particular pest activity, and the types of pests covered, to determine the exact resources and frequency of visits required to service the contract. As such, it is impossible to outline what a pest control contract might cost, but generally, a contract is likely to cost anywhere between a few hundred pounds a year, up to several thousand for a large or complex site.

What Do I Do If I am Interested in Setting up a Pest Control Contract?

If you would like to discuss how we can help you with a pest control contract in your home or business, please contact us on (01604) 328545 for an initial chat, or email us at [email protected]