Pest Control Treatment Prep Checklist: What to Do Before and After an Interior or Exterior Service

Most general pest treatments take under an hour and need about fifteen minutes of preparation. The prep is what lets the product go where the pests actually live, cracks, voids and the edges of rooms, instead of onto your things. Here is the checklist we send customers before an interior or exterior visit, and what to expect afterward.

Before an interior treatment

• Clear the edges. Pull small items away from baseboards and out from under the kitchen and bathroom sinks so we can reach the cabinet floors and plumbing gaps.
• Counters and food. Put away food, dishes, cutting boards and pet bowls that are sitting out. Items inside closed cabinets and the fridge can stay.
• Pets. Dogs and cats leave with you. Cover aquariums and terrariums and switch off the air pump until treated areas are dry; birds and reptiles go to another room or out of the house.
• Kids and anyone with breathing sensitivities out of the house for the visit and until treated areas are dry, which for our interior service we plan at around two hours.
• Access. Unlock the garage, side gates and any room you want treated. Tell us about alarm codes and where the pets are.
• Show us the evidence. Leave droppings, dead insects or damage where you found them and point them out. They tell us where to work.

Before an exterior perimeter treatment

• Bring in outdoor pet bowls, toys and children's items from along the foundation.
• Move trash cans and potted plants a foot or two off the wall so the base of the house is reachable.
• Close windows on the ground floor and keep pets inside until the exterior is dry.
• Turn off sprinklers for the day. Water washes a fresh perimeter treatment off before it sets.

After the treatment

• Return when we tell you the treated areas are dry and any product-label waiting period has passed. The two-hour figure is a planning estimate, not a guarantee; drying conditions and the product used can change it.
• Do not mop or wipe down treated baseboards, cabinet edges and door thresholds for the period on your service note; that is where the product keeps working.
• Expect to see more activity for a few days. Baits and non-repellent treatments work by letting pests carry product back to the nest, so a brief increase is normal and dying insects are a good sign.
• Ventilate if you notice an odor. Modern products have little smell, but opening windows for an hour is fine.

What we will not do

We do not fog rooms, broadcast-spray countertops, or treat where children or pets could contact wet product. Placement is targeted, the label is followed, and you get the re-entry instructions in writing. The EPA's household guidance says the same thing in plainer words: read the label, keep people and pets out until it is dry, and fix the conditions that attract pests.

Termite and fumigation prep is different

A localized termite treatment needs access to the affected wood and little else. Whole-structure fumigation is a multi-day event with its own list; our fumigation prep checklist covers that day by day.

Sources

• EPA: Do's and Don'ts of Pest Control
• California Structural Pest Control Board