Orkin Pest & Termite Control

UPDATE: The branch manager followed up with me last night and this morning. He provided information about what specific pesticides were used. His emails were concise, clear, and polite. Although I am still concerned about the use of imidacloprid in such close proximity to pregnant women only separated by a sliding door, that the room the three other pregnant women and I were in during treatment was not cleaned thoroughly, per the MSDS, and how the business I was in during the treatment communicated so much misinformation to me, I appreciate the Orkin branch manager’s honesty and transparency about the services rendered. If we need home pest services in the future Orkin will be our first call.
Old Review:
«I’ve been given the runaround for three days with Orkin. I was in a building on Monday morning with three other pregnant women while they were doing termite treatment in the room next door with zero ventilation. The room we were in for an hour and a half had been treated earlier and, at the beginning of the class, had two quarter-​sized droplets of frothy white liquid and termite frass on the floor. Either the business owners, the individuals responsible for the treatment, or the specialist I talked to were, at best, sorely misinformed about the product. The business owners claimed that a virus treats the termite infestation. They said that the spot treatment was contained to the beams, which it evidently was not.
The representative I spoke to said they do not use any products in conjunction with a virus, but said that she would not reveal what treatments were administered.
I was finally given direct contact information from the business for someone at Orkin who sent over four MSDS: Alpine (Dinotefuran and Diatomaceous Earth), Termidor (Fipronil), Timbor (Disodium Octaborate Tetrahydrate), and Premise (Imidacloprid). Although I doubt all four of these were used, I looked up the risks for pregnant women and fetuses.
Fipronil causes delays in reflex development, is implicated in stillbirth, and may alter the endocrine system (
;
;
)
Imidacloprid has been shown to cause neurobehavioral deficits (
).
Dinotefuran and Diatamaceous Earth and Disodium Octaborate Tetrahydrate are more benign. Disodium Octaborate Tetrahydrate causes fetal weight loss in very high doses that would be difficult to achieve from a single exposure (
). If the chemical used was Dinotefuran they certainly did not follow the procedures of leaving doors and windows open to ventilate the area (
)
I’m not a particularly litigious person, but I am deeply concerned about the misinformation and lack of transparency, especially when spraying pesticides near pregnant women and their unborn children. All pesticides carry a risk, depending on the exposure. For the Orkin employee administering the treatment to say that the treatment was „so safe you can rub it on your skin“ is misleading for some pesticides and blatantly incorrect for other pesticides. Although some pesticides may be more safe than others, transdermally, the primary route of exposure for employees and clients in a building is inhalation. Furthermore, they should not have been administering treatment during class in a room that is only separated by sliding doors, and they should have given the room time to air out.
I will be contacting Orkin for the fifth time tomorrow. I will also be contacting the business for the third time to tell them that Orkin did not specify which of these four chemicals were used or if, indeed, all four were used, which seems highly unlikely.»

We have had cerby as our tech for the past year and he is amazing! Thank you Orkin for keeping us insect free for the past year. We have now referred our neighbors to them too. I just wish you guys did gophers.

Awesome customer service! I called them last minute for my Mom’s shop that got closed down. The people from Orkin came down right away and did everything they could for us to reopen the business right away. Mr. Frank and his team went above and beyond our expectations. He came back many time to check if everything was ok and continued following with us. A ++++

Poor customer service after initial visit however they stepped up and finished well. Luis did excellent follow up, hope the bugs are gone forever

Alan H. came to our house and summarily eradicated our ant problem. He thoroughly cleared the exterior and interior of our home. Alan was extremely knowledgeable and kind. He also educated me on problem areas and how I could head them off at the pass. I completely recommend Alan and Orkin. Nice work, thank you.

Wow, what TERRIBLE customer service from the office. The FIELD SERVICE was wonderful. But once I cancelled my monthly service, I continued to get billed. By the way, they offered to reduce my rate once I wanted to cancel. I should have received the lowest rate before I wanted to leave. After repeated requests for explaination; I finally received my reply; pay up, or you go to collections, but no response. I will never use or recommend Orkin. Beware as the bill you pay will go on and on after you cancel. Yes, I had the names of everyone I spoke with, but to no avail.

Call orkin office, got quoted, they didn’t show up on first scheduled visit, call them back, came again, told me my price can’t be accepted, that this is too little (cheap). Managers name is Paul Abragano and he was very rude and unprofessional. They tell you how much is the service, then show up at your house telling you pay 2 and halt time more or we leaving you with your rats! Not cool Orkin. where is the satisfactory customer service. I know economy is bad, but this is just not nice.

I had some ants outside my house for a couple of months. They didn’t bother me until they came inside because of the heat. I called Orkin around 11:30 am and Albert arrived at 4:00 that afternoon.
I did not want to spend a fortune taking care of the ants. I could buy ant traps and do it myself if the price was too much from Orkin. when I called Orkin they told me all of the different plans they had. I could have called another company but I wanted the big name of Orkin because they have so many guarantees on their product.
Albert was very nice and well informed. He explained the process and made sure I understood the 30 day warranty. If I saw any ants after 5 days call him back and he would be there that day to take care of them.
Orkin takes their training very seriously and their staff have all the licenses imagined. I can cancel anytime and even get my money back if I am not happy with the service. So far I am happy. It has been 2 days and I haven’t seen an ant anywhere, inside or out. I could have paid less with a smaller company but if the ants came back I would have no guarentees that company would take care of them. I highly recommend Orkin and if you will be very happy if you get Albert.

Na, na, na, na, na, na, na… You got ant in your pants?!
Actually, they were all over the place. They were coming from everywhere. They were coming out of my electrical outlets, bathrooms, and obviously my kitchen… and I needed help, immediately. I could have called some kooky commercial but I chose to ask a neighbor. From past experiences, I found when a neighbor shares the same exterminator, discounts can be offered =)
After a simple phone call to the regional office (in Vista, CA) a message was dispatched to the south county technician. He arrived relatively quick, since he lived close. In approximately 30 minutes, he assessed and sprayed my entire property. He even swept away the cobwebs (how embarrassing).
Side note: I joking asked if he’d take down my neighbors Christmas lights… It’s freaking July, yo! At least, I got him to crack a smile =)
The technician also took into consideration my family’s concerns: no poison pellets (we have two boxers) or spraying of vegetables (wife’s garden). He accommodated. He was extremely professional.
Thank you, Orkin Pest Control. You’ve got another satisfied customer. If you need an exterminator and live in Chula Vista (E. Palomar) area, ask for Guillermo and tell them Chuck recommended you. You and I will get a discount =) Sharing is Caring!

I have ants in my condo. It’s always been there ever since I moved in.
One would say that it must be that I’m messy and I leave food out. I admit that I’m an organized mess and that I am scattered and a pack rat, but with food I am actually quite anal about putting things away, and bagging and sealing everything.
Yet I always have ants. I noticed that they especially come out when the weather changes in San Diego. While cute for oh ½ a second (oh look they make a design on the cupboard!), eventually they got annoying. And the Windex, though a great temporary solution didn’t stop them from coming back.
After a bad experience with Terminex, Orkin came to the rescue. After an initial appointment of him spraying every hole, crack and nook in my 3 bedroom condo he left. After that, every other month the guy would call me and let me know he was coming to spray the outside of the house, and if I wanted him to come inside, he could make an appointment for that. If there were ants in between visits he would come for no extra charge.
Problem solved.
They bill me too, and were nice when I didn’t open my mail for a year and just called to remind me to pay them.
Great customer service, and no more ants in my condo.
I canceled when I moved to Northern CA but just reinstated my contract today for my tenant living in the condo. She is a neat freak, and the fact that the ants still come clearly indicate it wasn’t my mess that got them there in the first place.
Either way, problem is now under control.