Johnny Rat Pest Control Inc

The absolute best pest control company out there!!! We just moved in to a new house, and we started noticing lots of earwigs, water bugs and other creepy pests.... One call to this company and they were out within the same week (due to my scheduling they couldn't come sooner). John was our tech and he went above and beyond, he cleaned up the eaves, sprayed all areas and left us a note with instructions and specific locations he treated. The bonus, he also noted what he used to spray!!! If you're looking for a pest solution look no further, it's refreshing to have a company that loves what they do!!!

I’m writing this review to detail the regretful experience that I’ve had with Johnny Rat Exterminators. At the end of this experience, I knew who the rat was and it was Johnny. Last week, I contacted this company through Angie’s List for an estimate. I saw good reviews and they seemed to be highly recommended. We made an appointment for an inspection. This gentleman named Candelario came over. He seemed very professional. We walked around my property and he showed me things that he said was proof of rodent activity. I was already terrified and wanted the vermin inside my house gone. He tells me what he is going to do and it all sounded good. He quoted me $975. I must have lost my mind to agree with that but the image of professionalism along with my fear of rats, I agreed. The next day Candelario and another gentleman came by to do the job. It is raining. I am alerted that the job was finished. Candelario takes me around to show me the work done. We come to my backyard deck area. He showed me the area he said he would seal. He said that location was where the mice were coming in and out of the house. He shows me the crawlspace to point out a screen that he constructed to cover it. It was just your run of the mill window screen. There was a big pile of dirt to the side. I asked what he was going to do with the dirt. He said my gardener could disperse it around the back yard. What if I didn’t have a gardener?? He showed me the area where he sealed of a few holes with the largest being about 3” in diameter and the other two, 1” to 2”. He stapled some screen like material. I looked at them and marveled that this is something a handyman could have done. He said something about climbing the roof to seal a vent but it was raining and it would be dangerous. I was thinking why in the world would he go all the way up on that part of the roof just to put a piece of screen over it? It was a vent. I don’t think anything should be covering that area? They come through my garage to put traps in the house. He then asks me if I have any peanut butter to bait the traps! Mind you, I have the same type of traps in my garage. He places two traps in my day room. I already put a trap in the kitchen. He didn’t mention or discuss it. Candelario and the other guy went to put traps in my attic. They asked to use my ladder!! He told me the other day that my attic had rats. The other guy climbed the ladder and place in about 4-5 traps. No one went completely into the attic. They left. They arrived at 9:30 leaving at 12:30. Two men, 3 hours, $975. I started to feel very foolish after they left. I was a bit bewildered because for the amount of money that I paid and the time it took to complete the job, it felt like very little was done. I got up to look at the sealed crack. It looked like nothing was done. I just renovated my home; I know what patch work looks like. I ran my fingers down the crack and felt nothing. All I had was a dirty finger. I went to see about the pile of dirt that was left behind. Where could they have gotten that from? The dirt came from my crawlspace! I was led to believe that the dirt was moved to make room for the screen. I just had major plumbing work done at the bottom of my house. My plumbers had no problem getting in and out of the crawlspace. I focused on the broken ceramic gourd and this white cloth that looked like a torn t-shirt left behind. It was never mentioned nor was there apology. I read on YELP from another disappointed customer, where she felt that this company had no respect for her things. She had broken items as well. I wrote the company to share my concerns and asking what are they going to do about it. While waiting for a response, I checked the garage. I found that there were no traps put in the garage!! Oh wait, there were. Old broken traps I’ve had there for months. The garage is the main room I was scared about. The garage has extensive proof of rodent activity with gnawed on and shredded boxes in the storage area. No traps in the garage!!! Really??? $975!!! I then noticed that a metal ladder that I had hidden on the side of the house and a very dangerous broken window pane leaned up against it. Why were those items moved and not put back in its place? No work was done over there or at least he didn’t show me there was. One of their representatives, Marko, responded and what he had to say was not even close to satisfactory. It was insulting actually. I could tell these guys thought I was a sucker. I was. I am so embarrassed by how I’ve gotten myself into this that I haven’t been able to tell any friends or family. I told my gardener only because of the pile of dirt, apologetic that a mess was left behind for him. I seriously feel scammed. Instead of helping me, they took advantage of me. When they left, they were smiling. I bet they were laughing at me about how stupid I am. I also gave then the jar of almond butter to take with them. I’ve since told them that I didn’t want them on my property in the future. Would you? I have hired another company for maintenance. I will having the new company check that traps were actually put under the house and if rats were found in the attic. Obviously, I can’t trust Mr. Rat. The new company quoted me $330. This includes in house traps, two bait boxes outside with 4 consecutive visits, then $30/month for maintenance of the bait boxes. They also said that they would pick up any expired rat that I find in my house and they will come the next morning to retrieve it. Mr. Rat offered 3 consecutive visits and I would have to wait until the next weekly visit for anything to be picked up. As I said to Mr. Johnny Rat, fool me once! My mom would call this a bought lesson. I recommend that you avoid using this company. I’m amazed that they have those positive reviews. Research extensively, get those three quotes and ask lots of questions. Customers beware! What you see in the photos has been referenced throughout the review.

Caught a rat...even better. Service technician courteous, efficient and professional.

Johnny Rat is the best rodent and insect mitigation service I have ever used. They developed a safe yet effective plan unique to my property that has produced amazing results. They back up there work and are a pleasure to work with. Thank you John and Candelario for doing such a great job for me!

John is great. Problem solved. Nice guy, very thorough and the follow up is fantastic. Second time around with him. Highly recommended.

They did a great job at a fair price. I am thoroughly satisfied from both perspectives : what I got and what I paid. They even made a door for the crawlspace entrance to underneath my house.

He came out and inspected our home and found where the rats were entering under the eve and informed me about what they would do to catch the rats and stop future infestations. I told him I didn't want to spend that much so he told me about what I could do to stop them myself it I wanted to do the work. So I just paid for the inspection and I did the work myself and it took care of the rat problem. I'm very satisfied with the service.

Almost four years ago, I called Johnny Rat to deal with a growing rodent problem. John came out and figured out and showed me where all the rat and mice entries were into my house. He also advised me on what I needed to trim in my yards that was allowing the rats to climb up and into my house. He fit the entries to the crawl spaces with screens etc and set out some traps to catch the rats that had made it in. The rats were captured, new ones were kept out and since then we have not had any rat or mouse problems. He also did a follow up on my request at no extra charge. I highly recommend this company.

unknown

It went ok.

The treatment was effective.  They seemed responsive and it was reasonably easy to schedule service.

Now it's the end of August 2015 and it worked very well.  Johnny made sure the house was rat proofed by coming back to our house on a number of occasions.  He did it cheerfully and after a few weeks we got the last rat and it's been rat-free since then.  Very satisfied.  

Everything went great! We have not seen any problems since.

I think the "What did the provider do?" covers it thoroughly. 

It worked great.

They are always here when they say they will be, very responsive and very nice.  We've been using there services for several years.

unknown

Excellent service. Met all my needs. Very professional.

John @ Johnny Rat personally comes and performs / supervises the work.  They rat proofed our house, and although this is an ongoing battle (the determined little buggers), John and his crews work has lasted the longest and they are quick to come and search for any new entry points the rodents have found.  Always helpful, punctual, and professional, I would recommend them to any needing their particular services.

We had a bad rat infestation.  House is a mid-century modern in a canyon with sliding glass doors, indoor/outdoor flow, so no possibility of sealing entry points.  We found rat poop in the kitchen cabinets, in the oven, in the laundry room - NIGHTMARE!  Didn't know what to do because we couldn't use poison (we have dogs) and had a horrible experience with a trap years ago (it didn't kill the rat, but amputated its leg and we had to put it out of its misery with a shovel).  Found Johnny Rat on Angie's List and called them.  These guys really know their rats!  It was actually interesting to learn about rat behavior from them, and they were able to find exactly what routes and entry points were being used.  I opted for treatment with a garlic gel...smells disgusting and my house reeked for about a month, but it worked!  It took about three months and repeated visits, which they were very patient about. We now have them coming for once a month follow up, and the rat problem is completely gone.  This is the ONLY company I would use.

He was excellent. He was very conscientious. The price was reasonable. He was wonderful. He was very spiritual. I'm not a spiritual person, but he was. He really cared about what he was doing. He was on time and was very considerate of your budget.

We had a rat problem in the house with droppings everywhere in the kitchen and one bedroom. We set out traps and captured 4 rats, the last of which must have been the mother rat. In order to exterminate any possible rats left, we contacted Johnny Rat based on Angie's List member reviews. Johnny Rat was very courteous and prompt with setting up the appointment and coming for the inspection. The free inspection/estimate was thorough and they pointed out several areas of the house which had definite rat activity that we did not notice before. The quote: they did not pressure us into any type of recurring service or give us much of a sales pitch. The price seemed kind of steep for just sealing up any potential holes/entrances for pests, but after some research it appeared to be the going rate, plus they had located 23 areas that required attention. They were up on the roof and under the house, certainly things we'd rather have a professional do. They also quoted us for application of garlic gel which seemed high so we declined that service, but in the end they still applied some gel to key areas which was appreciated. They set up some traps inside the house and on two followup visits (included in price) there were no rats captured, so they must have excluded any rats from coming into the house. We have not noticed any rat activity since their services (1 month later).

I have renovated 3 properties and hired many contractors and
my experience with Johnny Rat is by far the worst experience with a company that I have had.
Before I hired them I was told that they would seal all entry points and solve the problem without using their garlic gel,
after the check that I wrote them had cleared, I was told that the gel is the only thing that will work.
Either the gel or I could have my contractor fix it, those were my choices.
.
It was a disaster from the start. the first guy arrived late and was running
late the day of the job. He was in a huge rush and said as soon as he arrived that he had 3.5 more
jobs to do that day. I told him that we should reschedule if he didn't have time to do the job but he said no.
.
An hour later he said he was done but almost nothing had been done. They hadn't even set traps
and there were many holes completely untouched!!
Everything I asked him about hadn't been done. Then he left to do another job
and came back to "finish" mine. He was rushing around and forgetting
to do things, not accomplishing much. I had to tell him what needed to
be done and remind him what needed to be done all day, It was exhausting.
After I wrote him the check he said " You don't have a problem, so don't worry
about it." Perhaps that accounts for his lame effort. After they left I
took another look around and saw that he missed a giant hole, roughly 3 feet long by 3
inches wide and more. I have a picture if you are interested. Also the traps that they
had placed were not set, they had peanut butter but they weren't armed.
.
I called the owner of the company to give him an opportunity to make it right.
He came out and sealed the holes and checked everything which I appreciated.
He said that he had to use the gel because the rats will just chew thru the wire
mesh they use. Exactly what I was told was not the case.
They had cashed my check so now I was stuck with the solution
that I had specifically said that I did not want and had been assured that I did not need.
Now he is telling me that the gel is the only thing that will work. 
I agreed to them using it because I was not offered an alternative.
There was one hole at the foundation of my house that they had laid wire mesh across and put gel on.
It made my entire house smell of very intense garlic. The animal that made the hole pulled the mesh and
garlic right out that night, no problem.
John said that he had buried the mesh 4 inches which was not possible  -
the mesh was barely 4 inches wide and the hole was almost four inches high, I
also have a picture of that as well if you are interested.
John came back to seal the hole back up and that's when I said no more gel, it
was making me sick- I was told that my choices were the gel or to have my
contractor fix it, that Johnny Rat's only solution was the gel. My contractor was not available so I took the only choice
offered. They put a ton of the gel in there, to the point that my eyes were
watering when I was inside my house from the smell. I tried to put up with it
but it really was way too much. Then I remembered that the week before John had
said that if the first patch didn't work that he would need to dig down deep
and put the mesh.
.
I called and told him that I wanted the gel removed and for him to do what he said he would do,
to dig down deep and put the mesh. After much back and forth he agreed to do that.
After he had finished He said "ok that's it -no more check backs and the warranty is
void on your house and we are not going to do any clean up."
He said that they had been here 4 times and that is all that the service covers.
He counted his visit to seal the 3 foot long hole that the first guy left as a "check back".
And that was it, they were done. They did not check the traps in the attic and
when I asked him to , he said " I guarantee they are empty" and would not check them.
They did not clean up the droppings like I had been assured would be done during the estimate.
Apparently the estimator didn't write that on the estimate so after telling me over and over that once there
was no more activity they would clean it out and spray something to sanitize it,
John says "No we are not going to do that, see it doesn't say it on the estimate"
Beware of trusting what they say, only trust what they write.
I sent John an email pointing out that what he was considering a "Check
back" was actually finishing the job and that I expected another check
back.
I didn't hear from him but a few days later I did receive a call from his office confirming
that he would be there for the final check back the next day between 10-12.
He never showed, no call, nothing.
They did seal my dryer vent which of course they shouldn't have and my dryer stopped
working.
I hired my contractor to seal the hole at the foundation with concrete because
John had said that the way that Johnny Rat had sealed it would not hold and was
not guaranteed because no gel.
Luckily my contractor was here when my clothes dryer stopped working and he was
able to figure out that it had stopped working because Johnny Rat had sealed my
dryer vent and it had become clogged with lint. Thankfully my contractor fixed
their mistake before it broke my dryer and also before I paid to have my dryer serviced!
.
John repeatedly complained that the job had been underbid. The bid was actually higher than
another company's bid, a company that I of course wish that I had gone with.
.
Do yourself a big favor and do not hire Johnny Rat.
.
Update - Another company was here doing termite inspection and pointed out to me that it appeared that I
had a rat problem and showed me entry points that need to be sealed - entry points that were here
when Johnny Rat was. For $1965 I got nothing but a migraine from Johnny Rat.
.
Worst contractor experience yet.

I have been pretty happy with him so far.  He seemed to do a good job.  They guarantee their work for a year, so they come back if rats come back.  They come back free of charge unless it is a new rat hole but if it is, the same hole that they packed up, then they will not charge.  They have more work to do next season when they come back, so I am hoping that we don’t have any more problems.

The Johnny Rat technician was early for the appointment.  He was very nice, and professional.  We talked about our recent problem and after surveying our property, he confirmed the points of entry.    He quickly sealed up the entry points, explained it was necessary to keep one hole open, to let any rats out.  He scheduled an appointment for the next day, and when he returned, he sealed the final entry point.  
The whole process was very easy.  I called, scheduled an appointment for the next day.  The technician was great and knew what he was doing.  He answered all our questions and solved our rat problem.  He also made suggestions on what we should do to minimize our rat problems, like keeping our trees trimmed away from the roof of the house, etc.  
We hope to not need their services again, but if we do, we will call Johnny Rat.