Frequently Asked Questions
Cash OK?
Yes of course – but we pay the HST on everything. So the price is the price is the price – whether you pay cash, cheque, credit card, or my personal favourite, EMT. While I try to always remember to give estimates PLUS HST, if I forget, my apologies – but ’tis the law. And come on! Do you really want people that don’t follow the rules running around with pesticides?
You really don’t, right? Of course you don’t!
Can you be discreet? Like maybe use an unmarked vehicle?
But but but ….. my truck is pretty!! You don’t think my truck is pretty? LOL
I get it – sort of. Sometimes you just don’t want to be giving your neighbours anything to talk about. And yeah, if it’s really, really important to you, we’ll try to arrange things so that we can bring a less decorated vehicle. We do still have to have certain decals on any vehicle we use, though.
But really, in my opinion, if you’ve got a pest problem and you call us to solve it? That’s way better than letting it get worse. Some people live with things like roaches, bedbugs, mice, etc. for a lot longer than I think wise.
Cottage Country Pest Control tries really hard to do pest management we can feel proud of, by solving problems without harming people, pets, or pollinators. No embarrassment required.
But sure, if it’s important to you, let us know and we’ll do our best.
Do you service…..
All of Tay and Tiny are a given, of course!
But beyond that, you’d probably be surprised about the number of places we will go to. Even if your area is not included in our coverage areas, it doesn’t hurt to ask. We generally go up as far as Parry Sound, down to Bradford and/or Alliston, over to Gravenhurst and Brechin, and everything in between.
What is your guarantee?
That is a tough one!! We cannot guarantee that you (or your tenants) will do everything we ask or suggest. Nor can we guarantee the weather, or the behaviour of whatever pest we happen to be treating.
What we can and do guarantee is that we will do everything we can to solve your pest problem and prevent its return. In theory, we typically plan for two visits – one to investigate and provide treatment, and a second to make sure it’s all good, finish it up, and do whatever prevention might be indicated.
In an ideal world, that’s the deal – but the truth is that sometimes the pests don’t cooperate and we wind up making extra visits. Mostly, I don’t charge extra for those unless/ until it starts costing me – and then we’ll talk.
Will ~whatever~ hurt my dogs, cats, kids …. ?
We always, always, always take great care to ensure that nothing we do will harm people or pets!
Honestly, the majority of products anyone is allowed to use in Canada are pretty benign – they do the job, but they have nowhere near the potency of products that are permitted in other countries.
Even so, however, we always prioritize the health and safety of the people, pets, and environments that will be exposed to the work we do and the products we use.
Because we follow IPM, our decisions about which products to use prioritize health, safety, and effectiveness. We don’t limit ourselves to quick, cheap & easy, and we certainly don’t choose quick, cheap & easy knowing it will need to be done again and again.
You know what they say about doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results, right? That is not our way.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes, absolutely! We are licensed through the Province of Ontario under the Ministry of the Environment, and insured by Northbridge Insurance.
Our employees are also covered by Workman’s Comp, (even though it’s not actually required for pest control)
We are also members of the Structural Pest Management Association of Ontario and the Canadian Pest Management Association.
Do you guarantee…. ?
I guarantee only what I can reasonably control – that we will do everything possible to solve your pest problem while caring for your environment. Some issues take more time and effort to resolve, and sometimes, there just isn’t a (reasonable) way to solve the problem; in those cases, we will work with you to develop a plan for ongoing management.
What I cannot guarantee is that the weather, critters, or people involved (for example, tenants) will cooperate!
Why the heron? They aren’t pests!
You’re right, of course heron are not pests! They are one of my favourite birds, actually, and I love that we have one the hangs out at our dock most days.
Way back when we were trying to come up with a logo for Ross’s newly formed business, we talked about lots of ideas. We landed on the heron because a/ I had gotten a fairly good shot of one that we could use, and b/ the big part of why he started his own business is that he wanted to do things more responsibly than others. (He was green long before it was even a thing) We keep the heron in mind when deciding what approach to use – making sure that nothing we do harms the heron (the water, other birds and wildlife, etc. etc).
We didn’t wind up using my heron picture for long – Darryl at Midland Copy Shoppe did a great job on our logo for us.
Still the heron, though – and we are still caring for the environment in everything we do.
