Pest Control Frequently Asked Questions

Q36 Pest Control proudly serves a large portion of East Tennessee. We're based in the Knoxville area, but our service area stretches well beyond Knoxville.

We serve Knoxville and the surrounding communities and travel north all the way to La Follette and Oneida, west to Wartburg, Kingston, and Harriman, south down to Sweetwater and Tellico Plains, east into Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, over toward Morristown, and north into Tazewell and Maynardville—along with many of the communities in between.

East Tennessee covers a lot of ground, and so do we.

If you don't see your town listed, don't assume you're outside our service area. Give us a call. There's a good chance we already have a technician working somewhere near you.

For our general pest control service, there is no timed contract. You're not signing an agreement that locks you into service for a set number of months or years.

We do have a service agreement that explains the service we're providing, what you can expect from Q36, and any responsibilities or terms associated with that service.

Different specialty services may have different service agreements or requirements depending on the type of work being performed. We'll explain those requirements before you agree to the service.

We want you to understand what you're signing and what you're paying for. If you have a question, ask us. Good communication should start before we ever treat your home.

Pricing depends on the individual situation, including the size of the property and the level of pest activity we're seeing.

A smaller property with very little activity is different from a large property dealing with a significant pest problem, so we take those factors into consideration when determining pricing.

We'll talk with you about what's going on and recommend the service that makes sense for your property.

Our goal isn't to sell you more pest control than you need. It's to help solve the problem and keep your home protected.

Oftentimes, we can provide same-day service or help with an emergency pest issue, depending on our schedule.

We're a small, local company, so we do have limitations. There will be days when our schedule simply won't allow us to get someone there immediately.

But we do our best to help when our clients are in need.

If you have something happening that needs quick attention, call us. We'll look at our schedule and see what we can do to help.

Yes. Our treatments are extremely safe for kids and pets when used as directed.

We also have a completely green treatment option that we can utilize when needed for interior or exterior pest control.

Your family's safety is incredibly important to us. When we service a home, we remember that someone's children and pets live there. If you have concerns about a treatment or would prefer to discuss our green option, just let us know. We're happy to talk through the options with you.

One of our clients' favorite parts of our regular pest control service is something called de-webbing.

Our technician knocks down accessible spider webs around the exterior of your home, which not only helps your home look better but is also part of controlling spider activity around the structure.

We also apply an exterior perimeter barrier treatment around the home to help keep pests where they belong—outside.

While we're there, we're paying attention to pest activity and conditions around the property that may be contributing to a problem.

If you're seeing something unusual, tell your technician. The more information we have, the better we can help.

Our general pest control service covers many of the everyday creepy crawlers we deal with here in East Tennessee, including things like:

• Spiders
• Millipedes
• Centipedes
• Ants
• Wasps
• And plenty of the other fun creepy crawly things that decide they'd like to move into your home without being invited.

Some pests require specialized services and aren't handled the same way as general household pests. Termites, bed bugs, mosquitoes, and rodents may require a separate treatment plan.

If you're not sure what you're looking at, take a picture if you can and give us a call. We'll help you figure it out.

For regular residential pest control, service is usually performed on a quarterly basis.

Regular quarterly treatments allow us to maintain the exterior barrier around your home, address seasonal pest pressure, de-web the exterior, and keep an eye on activity around the property.

And remember, if you're seeing pest activity between those visits, call us. We'll come back out at no charge to address the activity.

No. You usually do not need to be home for your regular quarterly pest control service.

We can service the exterior of the property, maintain your perimeter treatment, de-web the home, and complete the regular exterior portion of your service while you're away.

If you're experiencing an active pest issue inside the home, we'll coordinate with you so we can access and properly treat that area.

For a routine quarterly pest control visit, you generally don't need to do much.

Since we can perform your regular exterior service without you being home, there's no need to turn the house upside down before we arrive.

If you're having an active issue inside or your particular treatment requires special preparation, we'll let you know what needs to be done.

One of the most helpful things you can do is tell us what you're seeing, where you're seeing it, and when you're seeing it.

Sometimes those little details tell our technicians a lot.

The best way to know whether you have termites is to let one of our trained technicians inspect the property.

Termites can be hidden in places homeowners would never think to look. We've even found termite activity inside the interior of homes where the homeowner didn't realize what was happening.

That's why we perform a thorough termite inspection. We look everywhere we can reasonably access—including the interior, attic, basement, crawl space, and other areas of the property where termite activity or conducive conditions may be present.

Termites can do a lot of work quietly. If you suspect something, we'd much rather inspect it than have you guess.

A termite inspection is when we come to the property and look for signs of termite activity as well as conducive conditions—conditions around the property that may contribute to or encourage termite activity.

A termite treatment is when we actively treat the property to eliminate and control termites.

The inspection tells us what's happening and where the concerns are. The treatment is what we use to address the termite problem and protect the property.

At Q36, we use termite bait stations.

We believe bait stations offer one of the most transparent ways to treat and monitor for termites. When our technician returns to check the stations, we can physically inspect them and see whether we're finding termite activity and where that activity is occurring.

With a traditional liquid barrier, you don't always know whether that barrier has been disrupted over time or exactly where termite activity may be occurring.

Bait stations allow us to treat and monitor, which is one of the reasons we believe they're an elevated approach to termite protection.

Oftentimes, a termite or Wood Destroying Organism inspection may be required by a lender or underwriter when someone is purchasing a home.

Q36 can come out and perform a Wood Destroying Organism (WDO) inspection and provide the appropriate letter for the real estate transaction.

We'll inspect the property for signs of wood-destroying organisms and the conditions we're required to report so that you, your lender, and the other professionals involved in the transaction have the information needed.

We typically check our termite bait stations once a year.

If termite activity is found, we may return more frequently so we can monitor the activity and make sure the treatment is doing what it's supposed to do.

That's one of the things we like about bait stations—we aren't just treating termites; we have a way to go back and actually monitor what's happening.

Q36 uses the In2Care Mosquito System.

Instead of relying solely on broad spraying, In2Care uses strategically placed mosquito stations. Female mosquitoes are attracted to the stations, where they pick up the treatment and can carry it to other mosquito breeding areas.

The treatment specifically targets female mosquitoes and mosquito larvae, helping interrupt the mosquito life cycle.

It's a smart, targeted approach that allows the mosquitoes themselves to help carry the treatment into breeding areas we may never be able to physically locate or reach.

Yes. One of the reasons we like the In2Care system is how targeted it is.

The system is safe to use around gardens, pollinators, edible plants, children, and pets when used according to its label.

Rather than broadly treating everything on the property, we're using strategically placed stations designed specifically around the mosquito life cycle.

That gives us an effective mosquito-control option while allowing families to continue enjoying their yards.

Our mosquito treatment generally provides protection for approximately 30 to 45 days.

Weather, mosquito pressure, standing water, and other conditions around the property can influence mosquito activity, which is why ongoing mosquito management during the active season can provide the best results.

Yes, we can treat for ticks when needed.

Tick control requires a different strategy from our mosquito program, so we'll want to take a look at the property first.

We want to understand the property, where you're seeing tick activity, the surrounding vegetation and conditions, and then determine the best way to treat it.

The best way to know is to let our technician take a look.

Bed bugs can be confused with other insects, and bites alone aren't always enough to tell you what you're dealing with.

If you're finding bugs, you can also bag a few of the insects you find and save them for us. When we come out for the inspection, our technician can identify them and determine whether you're actually dealing with bed bugs or something else.

Correct identification comes first. There's no sense treating for bed bugs if bed bugs aren't actually the problem.

Our bed bug treatment usually takes one treatment visit, with possible follow-up visits to make sure the infestation has been completely treated.

We'll evaluate the property first so we understand the extent of the activity and can explain exactly what you should expect.

Q36 provides commercial pest control for a variety of businesses and facilities throughout our East Tennessee service area.

We service properties including:

• Warehouses
• Professional offices
• Doctor's offices and medical offices
• Entire office complexes
• Small businesses
• And other commercial properties

Every commercial property is a little different, so we want to understand the facility, how it's being used, and what type of pest activity you're experiencing before recommending a service plan.

Whether you're responsible for one small office or an entire complex, we want to make pest control one less thing you have to worry about.

Yes, whenever reasonably possible.

We're there to solve a problem, not become another one.

We'll work with you to establish a service schedule that minimizes disruption to your customers, employees, patients, and normal business operations.

Tell us about customer-facing hours, patient schedules, restricted areas, access requirements, or anything else we need to know.

The better we understand your business, the better we can serve it.

Yes. We treat wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, and other stinging insects.

The first step is identifying what you're dealing with and where the nest or activity is located. Different stinging insects can require different treatment strategies, particularly depending on where they've decided to build their nest.

And if there's an active nest, we'd much rather you call us than find out exactly how fast you can run.

Some experiments just aren't worth conducting.

Yes. We treat for mice and rats.

Good rodent control starts with figuring out what's actually happening—not just putting out a few traps and hoping for the best.

Our technicians work to determine where the rodents are getting into the property, how they're moving around the home or building, and where activity is occurring.

Once we understand those things, we can determine the proper way to treat the property for the rodent problem you're experiencing.

The goal isn't simply to deal with the mouse or rat you happened to see. We want to understand how and why it's getting into the property so we can properly address the problem.

Because we believe pest control is a service business first.

Yes, we kill bugs. That's part of the job.

But our responsibility doesn't stop there.

We're here to listen to you, educate you, communicate with you, protect your property responsibly, and do what's right even when nobody is looking.

We're a local East Tennessee company. We live here, raise our families here, and serve people in the same communities we call home.

When one of our technicians walks onto your property, we want them to remember something very simple: