Quotes for pest control

What to put in your request

A supplier can only price what they can see. Answer these and the quotes come back for the same job, which is the only way they can be compared.

1. 1The pest, where you have seen it, and for how long. Photographs help.
2. 2The premises: what they are used for, the floor area, the number of buildings, and outside areas such as yards, drains and refuse areas.
3. 3Whether food is prepared, stored or packed there. Food premises must take effective measures against pests under the national food hygiene regulations, and the treatment has to suit food areas.
4. 4A once-off treatment, or a contract with regular visits, and how often.
5. 5When treatment can happen. Where practicable, a building should be treated while it is empty, so say when that is.
6. 6Anything on site that limits what can be used: people who cannot leave, animals, sensitive equipment or stock.
7. 7Whether you are audited (food safety, a retailer or a certification body), and what the auditor expects to see from your pest control.
8. 8For termites or wood borer: the building or timber affected, and whether it is new construction or existing.

What to compare when the quotes come back

The lowest total is where comparing starts, not where it ends.

• What a visit includes: how many bait stations, traps or monitors, where they go, and what is checked each time.
• Whether call-outs between scheduled visits are included, and how quickly they come.
• The products and methods proposed, and whether they suit food or occupied areas. Ask for the product names and their registration numbers.
• How long people must stay out of a treated area afterwards, and what that means for your operations.
• The guarantee: re-treatment if the pest comes back, and for how long. For termites, what the guarantee covers and for how many years.
• The reporting: a service report after each visit, a map of the bait stations, and trend reports if your auditor wants them.

On SupScope every quote arrives with the same three figures: the total, the lead time and the deposit. The first comparison is done before you open anything. The rest of this list is what to read in each supplier's notes and documents.

Paperwork worth asking for

The pest control operator's registration certificate

Anyone hired to apply pesticides must be registered as a pest control operator under Act 36 of 1947, with the national Department of Agriculture, in the field they work in: structural pest control for buildings, fumigation for fumigation, and so on. Registration is renewed every three years, so check the date. A technician who is not registered may only apply pesticides with a registered operator physically present.

A treatment notice before each application

The Pest Control Operator Regulations require a notice before any application, naming the area, the pest, the product with its active ingredient and registration number, the dates, the operator's name and registration number, the hazards and the precautions, including how long to stay out of the treated area.

Registered products, and their safety data sheets

Only products registered under Act 36 may be used, and only as their label directs. Each has an L registration number. Ask for a list of the products used on your premises, with their registration numbers and safety data sheets.

A report of every treatment

The operator must keep a detailed record of each application: where, which product and how much, the method, the steps taken to protect people nearby, and the advice given to you, including when it is safe to go back in. Ask for a copy after every visit. On food premises it is also your evidence of the measures the hygiene regulations require.

And from any supplier

A SARS Tax Compliance Status PIN

It replaced the old tax clearance certificate. Checking it on eFiling shows the supplier's status on the day you check, not the day it was issued.

A B-BBEE certificate or sworn affidavit

Only if your own scorecard counts it. Small suppliers (turnover up to R10 million) may use an affidavit instead of a verified certificate.

Company registration and a bank confirmation letter

Worth having before the first payment, so the account you pay is the company you chose.

General guidance, not legal advice. Regulations change, and some depend on your municipality or the job, so confirm anything you rely on with the authority concerned.

How this works on SupScope

1. Step 1

   Post it once

   Describe the job and choose Pest Control and your province.

2. Step 2

   It reaches the right suppliers

   Only suppliers who work in this trade and cover your province see it.

3. Step 3

   Compare and award

   Quotes arrive side by side. Accept one and the others are told.