Alterra Pest Control

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We have a contract with Alterra.  I have left dealing with this problem to my husband and it's probably a good thing I did or we would not be using this company based on their reviews.  I was shocked to see so many negative reviews. I had an ant problem, we got it treated and it did not get better.  I called for another treatment about 8 days after the initial service to tell them that now I had dying ants all over the house.  I got Seymour on the phone.  He was very surprised that I was still seeing ants in the house.  I told him, if anything, I had more of them.  He thought that dying and dead ants were much better than live ants.  I disagreed loudly.  No bugs, dead or alive are acceptable in my house.  I did not know that Seymour was the GM of the Worthington office.  I was really unhappy with his sarcasm but scheduled an appointment for 6 days later.  He arrived very punctually.  He couldn't have been more on time if he tried.  I was not thrilled with him because of how lightly he had taken my problem when I scheduled the appointment.  He came in and I told him where the previous technician thought the ants were coming from and that they were field ants.  He looked behind my love seat and found a number of dead ants that he could look at.  Seymour told me that these were not field ants but carpenter ants.  I know that carpenter ants can destroy a house from a previous home out in the country.  So, I immediately became a little alarmed, simply due to the shear number of ants.  I also wasn't sure this guy knew what he was talking about.  While he said he wanted to go outside and in the garage to look around.  I immediately jumped online looking up the difference between field and carpenter ants.  He was correct, they are very difficult to tell apart and Wikipedia gave me more information than I ever really wanted.  He spent almost 2 1/2 hours at my home that day.  He found the nest.  He was trying to figure out where the sliding glass door was above in the basement and I told him it wasn't.  That area of the house is cantilevered off the house.  I told him he could get under the concrete steps as that area was open underneath the house, behind the steps.  It is a bump out on the house.  Anyway, he spent a good amount of time out there and looking around the sliding glass door.  He treated the heck out of that area and after a few minutes ants came pouring out of the area (outside) and he had found our nest.  He treated it with multiple things that day and told me they would be back two more times in the next couple of weeks to make sure that they killed it off completely.  I have never seen a technician (manager or not) spend almost 2 1/2 hours on an ant problem.  Usually, they spray a little and tell you to call if you have a problem.  That was on a Thursday.  We had a few more ants on Friday gasping their last breath inside the house.  After we did a little caulking on Saturday we never saw another ant inside the house.  I haven't seen the Alterra technicians but I am sure they have been here to treat.  So, I wanted to let Angie's List know how pleased I was with Alterra's dedication to eliminating my ant problem.  I couldn't be happier and I rest a lot easier knowing that if I have a problem, all I have to do is call them and they will be out to take care of it.  I went from 20-30 ants a day to 0 overnight.  I will give them a call next week to make sure they think they got the whole nest.

Would not recommend this service to anyone. I think that they are just
out to make money off of people. We had had an increase in spiders and
ants, so when they went door to door a year ago seemed like a good
service and my neighbors were utilizing them. I didn't really see them
do much after the initial service. The guy walked around with a round
brush and wiped down webs but didn't notice the spider nests that were
in around my window trim. Too expensive for the service received. I
tried to cancel my service to start after my last treatment of my
commitment but was told they couldn't do that till after the service. I
think it's so you forget to call them and they re-enroll you for another
year.

Technician stood on my porch and alternatively rang the doorbell and knocked on the door for 10 minutes. Is that necessary? Thanks for scaring my kids and their mother who works 20 minutes away.

I pay $75 per treatment. They could be more thorough. They generally only do the outside unless you call and specifically ask for something inside. Their response to a phone call is great. They will come out right away, but I just hate the fact that their regular service only covers the outside. Most of the time, I need it inside too.

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I've been with this company for over a year.  Generally speaking their service works.  We have had a reduction in the amount of insects we see in our home.  I typically have to call them out for a re-treatment between scheduled visits.  They came out for a re-treatment both outdoors and indoors.  The indoor treatment they used a "puffer" canister that deposits a brown powder when applied.  The technician that came out treated every room in all the "nooks and crannies" with the powder.  I did not follow him around while he did it, but after he left I started noticing it.  He was extrememly sloppy with the powder, it was on our walls, on our doors, on curtains, even on the dogs bed.  
As the days have gone on, I've noticed it in more and more places.  A complete mess.  I would have attached pics, but my wife spent over an hour going room to room cleaning up the mess.  I could deal with litte mess, but this honestly looked like a tablespoon of powder dumped in multiple areas.  
I called and complained, but obviously the damage was done.  To their credit, the did apologize and indicated they would coach the technician. I will be canceling my service in the coming days.

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The first treatment was great. We called a few weeks later because of all the June rain, unsure if it had diluted the treatment. They did come out at no cost and did a treatment. Last week we received a text that we would her quarterly treatment that day. We did not. My husband called them Monday, with no response. We've called 2 more times since then, again no response. We have not been charged for the quarterly treatment either which is an automatic deduction. Not sure what their story is now. Seemed like a good thing st first.

We quit using them for a number of reasons. They missed our last appointment, it was a scheduled appointment. We were on a yearly contract. I won't use them again.

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A 'Route Manager' came to my door stating that one of my 'neighbors' was using their services the next day and they were running a special.  He asked me several times if I would be at my house the next day, which I did not answer.  He said that they were running a special price due to already being in the neighborhood.  I stated that I wanted to discuss this with my husband and he stated again that it was just a special price and wouldn't apply after the next day.  He said that he had an 'agricultural essence'-- I have no idea what that means, but he felt that I should be impressed- I wasn't.  After again asking for a business card so that I could discuss this with my husband, he asked when my husband would arrive home.  I did not give him a clear answer to this either, but told him that IF we were interested, we would call him.  He then asked for my husband's phone number so he could talk to him directly, which I did not give.  I told him more forcefully that if we were interested, we would let him know.  Besides being extremely pushy, I am mostly concerned with the type of questions I was asked.  It is not appropriate to ask someone if they will be home on a certain day, nor is it appropriate to ask when my husband arrives home.  I am keeping his card, because if something happens (robbery, etc.) this will be the first name I give to the police.  Now that being said, I am sure that this company trained this person to ask these questions-- I would never use this company due to their inappropriate questions and high pressure sales tactics.

After he asked to use my bathroom , he started to say something and I just closed the door. This company needs not to go door to door, try marketing their business another way. And if this is the only way supply a car so that ur sales people can go to a public restroom when needed. Requesting to use a complete strangers bathroom is very unprofessional.

The people you name aren't actually my neighbors, and I will never buy services from someone soliciting at my door. 

It was the salesman that turned me off to your company forever. This young short haired blond haired guy showed up while I was doing yardwork and told me who he was with and that several of my neighbors had signed up for your service and that he wanted to help me get rid of my pest problem. I asked which neighbors and he gave me names...I said which houses and he said they were on other streets...so they are not my neighbors(first lie)... I then told him I did not want it and he continued trying to sell me, I interrupted him and said I do not want it more sternly...He continued with his sales pitch. I told him to leave and he said everyone has bugs...That right there really p***** me off and I said see ya, get out! On his way over to the neighbors house he said I will see you later on with an evil type of a tone and pointing at me. I then told him I am going to call in on him. I called Alterra and left a message on their phone and I am writing this review on here as well. I then went to all of my neighbors on my street and explained to each one how he acted and they all said they did not care for him either and they all felt he was pressuring them to get something they didn't want.

He was very unprofessional and I will never use your company.

A dark haired man appeared at my door around 7:00 p.m. He had an Alterra logo on his shirt, and when I answered the door, he explained that several of my neighbors had contracted with them to fight a "very bad bug problem." He stated that because he was in the neighborhood, he could offer me a special price ($199) to eliminate my "problem." I explained to him that I formerly was in charge of the Columbus Health Department's Vector Control Program, and was still a licensed pest control operator through the Ohio Department of Agriculture. When I said that, he pointed to a Daddy Longlegs spider on my front porch, and said "what are you going to do about that brown recluse spider on your porch."  At which point I laughed and closed the door on him and said "no thanks." If this is the level of professional training this young man has, I have grave doubts about the training this company provided him. First, because he should have talked about Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies, and not general pesticide application. Exclusion, habitat reduction, biological controls and mechanical controls should be discussed first. And yes, an old fashioned broom can eliminate some problems. Next, reducing the pest's food source, and other targeted habitat strategies such as caulking, sealing, and applying repellents should be considered. Then, if the problems persist, targeted pest removal by traps, biologic controls,  or exclusion agents. Finally, application of species specific pesticides that are effective but have minimal effects on the environment and do not harm people or animals if applied at the proper concentrations and at the recommended application rate as specified on the label are used. It should not be a "spray first, ask questions later" process.
This $199 special sounds pretty expensive if it is done four times a year as one review stated. So, because I did not observe this man doing his job, I can only rate them on price,  responsiveness (see Daddy Longlegs comment), punctuality (7:00 p.m. is really late to be banging on my door), and professionalism (see my comments about IPM).  Because this rating system only allows you to post a review if you give an overall evaluation, I am going to give them a Bad rating. That may not be a fair evaluation of this company, and may be a problem of only one employee. Let me point out again that I did not see them in action doing pest control. So they may very well be an excellent operator.
However, the first impression was not encouraging. If he is just a sales person, he should still be trained to respond appropriately.

Guy was rude when I said we don't have a spider problem.  Said 2 others in the neighborhood did and 15 folks were already signed up for treatment.  He asked who we used for treatment, I said a "Broom".

At first I thought they were coming too much but they were saying that they needed to do that to get rid of the eggs and stuff.  Now they are coming quarterly.  As far as I know they are reliable and I did not have to call them, they come and when they do come they come to the door and let me know that they are here.  Usually they call ahead and tell that they are going to come so that I could make sure that the gates are unlocked.  They also let us know that the pets should not be out for a certain length of time after they leave so they have been reliable that way.  Price wise I have not compared it with other companies.

First, Jeff Roseberry from Alterra was very prompt. He actually showed up a little early and after explaining what he would be doing, got right to work. He removed an old wasp's nest, sprayed for spiders in the garage, around the house, and in the basements. He also sprayed for ants (recent problem) in the kitchen area. He even got rid of all the existing spider webs. He explained that he would be back in 30 days to take care of all the recently hatched insects. The annual plan requires 4 treatments to be done about once per quarter. Payment is due when each treatment is complete. If we have any issues with pests between treatments, they will come and take care of them. Jeff was very thorough and answered all questions in a professional manner. We plan to continue to use Alterra for as long as we live in our house and highly recommend them for anyone with pest problems.