General pest control in California: notices, service plans and your rights
Inspections before treatment, the pesticide notice under Bus. & Prof. Code 8538, cancelling contracts signed at home, subcontracting and questions to ask.
Most Californians who hire a pest control company never need a termite report or a tent. They need someone to deal with ants in the kitchen, roof rats in the attic, cockroaches, spiders or wasps, usually on a recurring service plan. This is Branch 2, general pest control, and the Structural Pest Control Act gives customers specific rights here too.
An inspection comes first
Section 8514(a) of the Business and Professions Code says a Branch 2 or Branch 3 registered company "shall not commence work on a contract, or sign, issue, or deliver any documents expressing an opinion or statement relating to the control of household pests" until it has completed an inspection. A price quoted over the phone for an unseen problem is not a substitute. The person inspecting must be licensed: section 8550 forbids an unlicensed salesperson from identifying pests, inspecting or recommending treatment, even when soliciting for a registered company.
The pesticide notice you must receive
Before any application, section 8538 requires the company to give the owner (or owner's agent) and the tenant a clear written notice containing:
- the pest to be controlled;
- the pesticide or pesticides proposed and their active ingredients;
- the state's required caution statement, which begins "CAUTION—PESTICIDES ARE TOXIC CHEMICALS", explains how pesticides are registered by the Department of Pesticide Regulation and the U.S. EPA, and advises you to contact your physician or poison control center and your pest control company if you develop flu-like symptoms within 24 hours of an application;
- phone numbers for the company, the county health department, the county agricultural commissioner and the Structural Pest Control Board; and
- if you have a contract for periodic service, how often the treatment will be done.
For Branch 2 and Branch 3 work the notice must be given no later than the start of the application. Under a periodic service contract the notice is required only at the initial treatment, but a new notice is required whenever the pesticide changes. A company that violates section 8538 commits a misdemeanor.
Service plans and contracts signed at home
Recurring service plans are common: monthly, every other month or quarterly. Read how the plan renews, what it costs to cancel, and whether "re-service" visits between scheduled treatments are free. If you sign at your home, for example with a door-to-door salesperson, the contract is generally a home solicitation contract and Civil Code section 1689.6 lets you cancel until midnight of the third business day after you sign (the fifth business day for senior citizens), by written notice to the address or email in the agreement. Section 8514(g) confirms these rules apply to pest control home solicitation contracts.
Subcontracting
A registered company may subcontract work to another company registered in the right branch, in writing, and remains answerable for the subcontractor's acts under section 8514. Ask whether the technician who arrives works for the company you hired. Section 8514(f) also bars a company from advertising or holding itself out as able to do work in a branch, or by a method, for which it is not registered, with a narrow exception that lets Branch 2 and 3 companies advertise fumigation they subcontract under the consent rules. If an advert promises a service, check that the company's registration covers it.
Questions worth asking
- What pest do you think this is, and what made you conclude that?
- Which product will you use, where, and what is the active ingredient? (You are entitled to this in writing.)
- Do you use baits, traps, exclusion or sealing entry points instead of, or in addition to, sprays? Integrated pest management that removes food, water and entry points often reduces the need for repeat treatments.
- What should children and pets avoid, and for how long?
- Is your company registered for Branch 2 at the office that will service my home, and what is the technician's license number?
Rodents
Rats and mice are household pests within Branch 2 (section 8505 defines household pests to include rodents, vermin and insects). Rodent work often includes exclusion: sealing gaps, screening vents and trimming vegetation. If the work involves structural repairs, ask whether the company is doing it under its pest control registration or through a licensed contractor; section 8514(d) allows either the company or you to contract with a licensed contractor for that work.
Keep your paperwork
Keep the inspection findings, the pesticide notice, the contract and every invoice or service ticket. If a problem keeps coming back, those records show what was used and when, which helps a second company choose a different approach and helps the board if you complain. If you rent, give copies of any notice you receive to your landlord, and ask your landlord for the notice if a company treats your unit; section 8538 requires the tenant to receive it too.
Bonds, insurance and registration
Every registered company must keep a $12,500 surety bond (section 8697) and liability insurance of at least $500,000 per loss for bodily injury and $500,000 for property damage (section 8692). Each office must have a licensed branch supervisor whose license is displayed there (section 8611). You can confirm a company's registration and its branches on this site and on the DCA License Search.
If there is a problem
Talk to the company first and keep every notice and invoice. The Structural Pest Control Board takes complaints about unlicensed activity, poor workmanship, failure to complete work, false or misleading advertising and fraud, within two years of the act (four years for fraud, gross negligence or misrepresentation) under section 8621. Pesticide misuse that harms people, pets or neighbors can also be reported to your county agricultural commissioner, whose number is on the notice you received.
General information only, current as of the date above. The information on California Pest Check is not a recommendation or a guarantee of anyone's work. A license record shows registration status on the date shown, not workmanship, insurance coverage at the time of your job, or suitability for your project. Confirm license, insurance and permits directly before you hire. Rules and programs change; check the official sources linked in this guide.