How do pest control companies deal with large apartment complexes?

May 24, 2021 8:28 PM

I’m dealing with yet another pest issue in my new place. We told management who said they would contact their biweekly pest control company, but looked incredulous when I suggested they check out our unit specifically. How do most pest control companies actually deal with large apartment complexes if not to investigate where the problem is?

I’m mostly asking out of curiosity (though if you want to offer moral support, is always welcome... ). We moved into a 6-story building a few weeks ago and saw an adult German cockroach yesterday. No signs yet of a serious infestation except... seeing an adult German cockroach yesterday, which in my experience always means no fun.

As I mentioned, the company said they’d have Terminix come around (“they will come next week, but we’ll try to get them sooner”) but I’m genuinely curious what they normally do if they don’t actually inspect the apartment in question. Do they have a whole systematic approach, or do they do the bare minimum? Baits, traps, sprays... is there kind of a standard approach?

We’re in California and I guess a side question is what I should reasonably expect from the landlord under these circumstances. We live in a newer building that’s generally kept up well, so I was surprised by the lackadaisical response. (To be fair, the maintenance guy who came around first seemed to take it more seriously than management.) We’ve been here several years with no issues but are on a different floor and another side of the building now so perhaps we’re exposed to an issue we weren’t before.

I really hate roaches so I probably fixate on this stuff more than a normal person but knowing what the company is up to might make me let go a bit.

posted by stoneandstar to Home & Garden (11 answers total)

I live in a complex in New Mexico with 16 buildings, which each have 16 units. Pest control comes to the complex every week. At any time, we can have the exterminator treat our specific unit when they make their weekly visit.
posted by NotLost at 8:58 PM on May 24, 2021 [1 favorite]

Also in California, also deal with a (chronic at this point) roach problem, which is why we're planning to move out when our lease is up (but that's besides the point). For my complex, I submit a pest control service request and the pest control company visits my apartment in person, and they'll do an inspection, lay baits and/or spray the place depending on what they find, then come back a week after to check some glue traps to see if the problem's been taken care of, rinse and repeat as needed (though usually after the spray, that holds us for at least a few months). Our apartment complex does have a designated day that pest control comes by, they don't make special visits outside that day, but they do enter the apartment.
posted by Aleyn at 9:35 PM on May 24, 2021

California, ~100ish condo units across 8 buildings in our community. We contract with a company that does vector control with sprays and traps in the exterior areas every month. You can ask for them to do the interior of your house and they’ll charge you $30 to do it on the days they are already here and $50 to come out specifically for you. It’s a totally standard request.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 9:44 PM on May 24, 2021

I lived in a big complex of condos near a university with a mix of student renters and non-student owners and at one point they had to tent the entire complex for termites. We were told to be out of our place at a certain time and they'll see us in a few days.

On the other hand, we had rats there too and when we complained to the landlord they were like "yeah......sorry...shared walls with student tenants near a canyon means any rodent problem is a pretty intractable rodent problem..." The rats did disappear for awhile after they tented though!
posted by potrzebie at 9:49 PM on May 24, 2021

Also, my complex does not charge for the visit, and I would expect that if you're renting yours shouldn't either. (Condos would be a different matter.)
posted by Aleyn at 9:50 PM on May 24, 2021

I lived in a ~350 unit apartment building that only sprayed out unit upon request. We didn't see any roaches for the first year living there, and it actually wasn't a problem until they started major renos on the ground floor, apparently displacing the entire roach ecosystem and we started calling for regular sprayings and seeing carcasses of mainly tiny roaches.

In my previous building that had ~50 units, and was managed by a company that had several buildings in the area, they sprayed every unit monthly by default and I never saw a roach in 4 years there. I saw baby mice twice, and only knew because my chill AF cat went bonkers.
posted by DoubleLune at 6:14 AM on May 25, 2021

Texas. When we lived in apartment complexes pest control came every 1-2 weeks to treat the outside of the building and any units that requested inside treatment. So yes, you could mention it to the office and they'd put you on the list for inside treatment at the next visit.
posted by magnetsphere at 6:33 AM on May 25, 2021

I had an apartment treated for ants, where they came inside and sprayed. It's normal.

Pest control outdoors is generally pretty successful (speaking as a single family homeowner), but some still get through. That's what the inside spraying is for.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:39 AM on May 25, 2021

We told management who said they would contact their biweekly pest control company, but looked incredulous when I suggested they check out our unit specifically.

My guess is that management has a contract with the pest company to do a routine, general inspection/treatment, which would not include inspecting and treating specific units. There's probably an additional charge for specifically going into your place.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:27 AM on May 25, 2021

NYC - Our building is seen by pest control on a monthly basis and you can sign up to have them visit your specific unit for no charge. (If you don't sign up they don't come by, they mostly just hit the basement and outside.)
posted by Wretch729 at 5:30 PM on May 25, 2021

In my experience it's the landlords job to do quarterly inspections to discover where the problem tenant is then kindly ask them to reverse their activities. Cardboard, paper bags, food in sleeping and common areas are the biggest attractions for pests like bed bugs and roaches. Once the problem has been minimized then the pest control can keep what's left at bay. If there is a tenant causing or bringing the pests out then it doesnt matter how much you exterminate there will always be bugs. I'd talk to the manager about doing inspections.
posted by The_imp_inimpossible at 12:11 AM on May 26, 2021