Larger companies have corporate guidelines they follow. They have standardized practices, products, and policies. They view things as transactional – get in, spray this place down, get paid, and get out quickly. That isn’t at all how pest control should be handled. Local companies don’t have those same stringent rules. That allows them to diagnose the exact problem, survey the area they’re dealing with, and come up with a plan suited precisely to your property. They might employ a variety of techniques, all tailored to the challenges you are facing.

Those techniques might require a more significant time commitment, which smaller businesses are more capable of. They aren’t jam-packed, running around, and trying to get everything done as fast as possible the way some big companies handle things. It is volume as opposed to quality. Pest control operators at local companies have the luxury of working on schedules they craft themselves. If they think your home would benefit from an extra visit, they’ll tend to that and make sure everything is going smoothly. Those owners are your friends and neighbors, and their success in business is entirely dependent on the quality of their work. They rely on reviews, not name recognition, so everything has to be done well to succeed.

Local companies also tend to be much more environmentally friendly. Since small businesses purchase their products based solely on what they’ve found to be most effective, they’re more likely to have a wide variety of products that work best in different situations. Large corporations are all about convenience and will blast out whatever product they think can exterminate everything in sight. Local businesses are part of the same community they treat and wouldn’t risk polluting their own backyard. Small pest control companies are much more likely than corporate chains to choose sustainable, eco-friendly methods. 

Local pest control operators are also much easier to get a hold of. Big chain companies have set hours, and if you need something in the middle of the night, they likely won't be available. In contrast, local owners will often provide you with a cell phone number to reach them anytime—the business relationship shifts depending on what type of company you choose. With a larger company, you hire someone to come out every so often, and that’s it; small businesses in your local community work with and for you. They’re more willing to show up if a new problem arises or if you have questions. They’re part of your local community, and that means they’re judged based on how capable and willing they are to give back to that community. There is also a greater chance that you see the same technician time after time, as opposed to whomever is available for the big chain.

Your monetary investment also comes into play when choosing between a chain and a locally owned business. Studies show that for every dollar you spend with local business, 68 cents of that stays within the local community and feeds back into the local economy in a cycle. That’s 37% more than if you were to throw your money away to a chain. That money goes to people who pay taxes in your same community, which benefits your schools and roads. It’s spent in local restaurants, promoting business, and creating more jobs. The products local companies invest in also tend to come from smaller businesses, whereas corporate chains spend their money bulk-buying elsewhere.

Littoral Pest Solutions has been working day and night to keep pests away from homes and businesses for over 25 years. Local companies don’t survive that long if they don’t perform excellent work. We’re based out of Savannah, but we are willing to travel a bit to reach our clients elsewhere in Georgia and South Carolina. The only way we can know for sure our customers are getting quality, effective work from respectable and experienced technicians is by doing the job ourselves.