If you are having problems with rodents or other pests in your attic, and looking for a service that will hopefully be of assistance, I hope this review will be of benefit to you in making the decision whether or not to call ABC H&CS to address your problem. My experience past and present:
After hearing some apparent rodent movement in our attic a few weeks ago, my first inclination was to call ABC Home and Commercial Services/Pest Management, based on my prior past experience.
Past: A few years ago when we resided in another location, I requested a rodent inspection from 3 different companies. I was absolutely impressed with the professionalism and thoroughness of the inspector from ABC -- which was far superior to the other two. It was mid-summer, extremely hot in the attic, yet the inspector traversed through areas of the ENTIRE attic, including those areas that appeared to be inaccessible. He then got on the roof, albeit a very high pitch (not unlike our current home), and traversed the entire roof, identifying all areas of possible rodent penetration -- mapping/diagramming out all such areas. Subsequent to his very thorough inspection, he provided me with his initial assessment, and then stated he would be providing a detailed plan of action, along with the associated pricing for the work. As promised, he provided a detailed schematic of our home layout, identifying all potential penetration points that required sealing, along with the specific method of seal to be applied (i.e., wire, silicone, etc.). Again, incredibly thorough and professional, and I thus readily entered into an agreement with ABC for the work completion. And subsequently per the inspectors written plan of action, it was precisely executed by the follow-on workers who properly sealed all areas as were noted on the plan. I had no further rodent problems after the completion of their work.
Present: Although I expected no less on the current inspection than what had been provided in the past by ABC, the recent "inspection" of my home was absolutely inconsistent with the past inspection in both the level of effort and detail. The interior inspection of the attic was no more than a "peek-in" overlook of the area with a flashlight, and only in areas where access was clear and visible. I.e., there was no venturing beyond the areas readily accessible to all. The exterior evaluation was an even bigger disappointment, since it was incredulously only just a walk-around the house, combined with a subsequent google-earth computer view "inspection" of my roof -- never any actual roof access to visibly examine potential entry points first hand. The final "inspection report" I received, in stark contrast to what I had received in the past with detailed mapping of entry points and recommended sealant fixes, provided nothing more than a short paragraph narrative stating that they would essentially do the work, with a price tag of $1050. This appeared to be a highly inflated ADVANCE charge, for work that was essentially UNKNOWN -- until the workers actually traverse the areas needed and locate the potential points of entry themselves, and thus the specific seals to be effected. I.e., there may be one, or there may be many; however, I was being charged -- in advance -- with the assumption that there are many -- without any such evidence since no actual inspection of the potential areas was ever completed.
I am extremely disappointed in ABC's new pseudo-inspection protocol, combined with a clearly generic pricing structure that's based on nothing more than a walk-around the property and an online area computer topography with a view of the home's roof.
This broad stroke pricing application to an undetermined effort is highly questionable at best. And although I realize I'm repeating myself, I believe it important to emphasize that one is agreeing in advance to pay for a level of work that may or may not be necessary, since no true evaluation of what's needed will actually be made until the workers go into the attic and/or on the roof to find/seal the offending access points.
And to add insult to injury, in addition to the pseudo-inspection I was surprised to see an additional proposal that was attached to my "report", stating it was "a proposal for additional services we discussed". We in fact discussed NO additional services, and therefore I had no idea of their their specifics, other than what was listed out on the form, along with the multitude of additional prices for those services.
Bottom line: I would personally pass on this company. There are far too many other companies that provide the same services with a far clearer understanding of exactly what is being purchased.
I must also note that per his website, B. Jenkins the ABC owner, solicits reviews and/or personal email contact. I thus emailed him twice, prior to this review, requesting his comment to the above -- with no response.
