Should anyone spray an outdoor product inside my house?

No. EPA says an outdoor pesticide used indoors “can make your home dangerous and uninhabitable”. If it is offered, end the visit.

Does EPA recommend routine monthly spraying?

We found no EPA page that says so. EPA puts prevention first and tells consumers to ask any hired professional to find and fix the source of the problem before applying pesticides.

Why is the mosquito advice weekly?

Because of the growth window. CDC: “A mosquito egg takes 7–10 days to develop into an adult mosquito.” A week falls inside that window, and two weeks does not. Scrub containers too, because eggs stick above the waterline.

What size gap do I need to seal for mice?

A quarter inch. CDC: “Mice can fit through a hole the width of a pencil (1/4 inch or 6 millimeters in diameter).” We publish no rat figure, because CDC’s current page gives one only for mice. Sealing to the mouse size closes rat gaps too.

What is the difference between a retreatment and a repair guaranty?

One pays to treat again if termites return. The other also pays to repair damage, within stated limits. Georgia requires the contract to say which, inside a heavy black border. Ask which one you are being offered.

Is a termite inspection report a warranty?

No. North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says the report is “not a warranty as to the absence of wood-destroying insects; it is a report of the visible presence or absence of wood-destroying insects at the time of the inspection”.

How do I check that a pest control company is licensed?

Search your state regulator, usually the agriculture department or a structural pest control board. Licensing is a state job and there is no national register. Ask which license category covers your job.

Does HyrePest treat pests?

No. We do not treat, inspect, apply pesticides or sell contracts, and matching is not live yet. That is why these tools can say the answer is a tube of sealant rather than a quarterly plan.

HyrePest tools

Pest control tools and calculators

Ten free tools for when something turns up in your house, someone quotes you a price, or someone wants a signature. Each shows its math and sources. None asks for an email.

10 tools free, no email, math shown Every figure comes from a named source, or from math on numbers you type. HyrePest holds no price data and does not treat pests.

Pick the tool that matches what just happened. Three read the evidence in your house. Four do the math on a bid for termites, bed bugs, rodents or mosquitoes. Three help before you sign: plan versus one-time, license lookup and a seasonal calendar.

None names a species or publishes an average price.

Something is in the house right now

You have seen an insect, droppings or a mud tube. These tools say what the evidence fits and what to do before anyone sprays.

Pest identifierWhat does this evidence point to, and what do I do first?Open the tool Termite risk checklistDo the conditions around my house invite termites?Open the tool Pest risk checklistWhich of six common conditions should I fix?Open the tool

Someone has quoted you a price

We publish no average prices. These calculators do the math on the numbers from your own bid, and show what a complete quote should say.

Termite treatment costDoes this termite bid add up, foot by foot?Open the calculator Bed bug treatment costWhat am I paying per room, across how many visits?Open the calculator Rodent exclusion costHow much of this quote is sealing, and how much is traps?Open the calculator Mosquito treatment costWhat will a season of visits cost, and what is free?Open the calculator

You are being asked to sign

A pest plan is a contract that renews itself. Check the company, the terms and whether the month is a real reason to treat before you commit.

Recurring plan vs one-timeWhat does a year of this plan cost, and what does it do in month nine?Open the tool License lookup helperIs this company licensed for this job, and where do I check?Open the tool Seasonal pest calendarWhich pests are usually active this month where I live?Open the tool

Which pest tool do you need?

Pick the tool by your question. The last column says what each one will not do, so you know its limits.

Tool	The question it answers	What it will not do
Pest identifier	What does this evidence fit, and what do I do first?	Name a species. Your state extension service can.
Termite risk	Do the conditions around my house favor termites?	Say you have termites, or that you do not.
Pest risk checklist	Which conditions should I fix first?	Score you into buying a treatment.
Termite treatment cost	Does this termite bid add up?	Publish a rate per foot. We hold no termite invoices.
Bed bug treatment cost	What am I paying per room, over how many visits?	Suggest DIY heat. EPA says space heaters have burned down homes.
Rodent exclusion cost	How much of this quote is sealing?	Say it is safe to sweep droppings. It is not.
Mosquito treatment cost	What does a season of spraying cost?	Put spraying before emptying standing water.
Recurring plan vs one-time	What does a year cost, and what is month nine for?	Tell you to cancel.
License lookup helper	Is this company licensed, and where do I check?	Look the license up for you. There is no national register.
Seasonal pest calendar	What is usually active this month?	Forecast by ZIP code.

The label is the law

A pesticide label is not a suggestion. It is a legally binding document, and every label says so.

The sentence. “It is a violation of Federal law to use this product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling.” That is FIFRA § 12(a)(2)(G).

What it controls. EPA says a label carries “conditions, directions, and precautions that define who may use a pesticide, as well as where, how, how much, and how often it may be used”. How much and how often are not the technician’s choice.

A question worth asking. Which product, how much, and on which site named on the label? A careful company answers at once.

A common mix-up. “The bug is not named on the label” is usually not the violation. “The place is not named on the label” usually is. Anyone telling you the first is illegal has the rule backwards, and the distinction is worth carrying into a conversation with a technician.

What never to agree to. A product on a bed, furniture or clothing that the label does not allow, or an outdoor product used indoors, which EPA says “can make your home dangerous and uninhabitable”. End the visit. More on pesticide safety.

Prevention first: EPA’s order of steps

The agency that approves every pesticide puts prevention first and chemicals after.

EPA’s definition. “Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices.”

EPA frames prevention as a first line of pest control, describes preventive methods that present little to no risk to people or the environment, and treats chemical control as what follows when preventive measures have proved ineffective.

A caveat. The prevention examples on that EPA page are agricultural, such as crop rotation and resistant varieties. The hierarchy is EPA’s. Applying it to a house is HyrePest’s reading, and EPA’s consumer guidance below is the stronger source for a home.

The consumer rule. “If you hire any outside persons to help control pests, ask them to find and correct the source of the problem before applying pesticides.” When you hire someone, ask for diagnosis and repair before any spraying.

On amounts. “Always read and follow label directions. Using too much of a pesticide can endanger your family’s health.”

Why it matters for cost. A sealed gap stays sealed. A fixed gutter stays fixed. A spray fades, which is why it can be sold monthly. See integrated pest management and our pest control cost guide.

Six questions to ask before anyone treats

Each tool page goes deeper. These six apply to every job.

What is the product, and its EPA registration number?
The number lets you read the label the technician must follow.
What site on the label are you treating, and how much?
The answer should be a place the label names.
What is the source of the problem, and how will you fix it?
No plan for the source means you are buying suppression, not a fix.
What is your state license number, and in which category?
Check it on your state board with the license lookup helper.
Is this termite contract retreatment only, or retreatment and repair?
Ask to see the sentence in the contract. See pest control contracts.
Is this product labeled for use indoors?
An outdoor product used indoors is never acceptable. If one is offered, end the visit.

What these tools will and will not do

The math is on the page
Every calculator shows its formula and the source behind any fixed figure.
Nothing is emailed
The tools run in your browser. No email is needed to see a result.
No species diagnosis
Results say what the evidence is consistent with. Naming the species is an expert’s job.
No average price is shown as your quote
We hold no pest control invoices. Every dollar figure is a rate you typed times a quantity you typed, with the math shown.
They can tell you not to buy
Sometimes the answer is a tube of sealant, not a plan. These tools can say so.
No DIY pesticide instructions
This site never explains how to mix or apply a pesticide. It repeats EPA’s warnings instead.

What HyrePest is, and is not

What we do not do. HyrePest does not treat pests, inspect structures, apply pesticides, sell contracts or bond a house against termites. It does not rank pest control companies, and no company pays to appear in these tools.

We do not identify pests. Your state extension service identifies specimens. A licensed inspector reports on a building.

Matching is not live yet. If something is in your house tonight, a state board search and a few phone calls will serve you better than a form. Read how HyrePest works.

7 things we looked for and could not confirm

None of these appears as a claim anywhere on HyrePest.

The claim	What we found
A rat gap-size figure from a live CDC page	CDC’s current rodent-proofing page gives a size for mice only. The rat figures in circulation trace to an archived CDC page and to university extension pages that disagree with one another. No rat number is published on this site.
That bed bug pesticide resistance is widespread or increasing	EPA names resistance as a variable affecting whether a treatment works. We did not retrieve an EPA page stating that resistance is widespread, so this site does not say so.
That EPA says a single bed bug treatment cannot work	No such sentence exists on the EPA pages we retrieved. The verified substitute is EPA’s own: weeks to months, you may have to repeat the steps, and keep inspecting every seven days.
That EPA says routine monthly exterior spraying is wrong	No such sentence exists. What EPA publishes is a hierarchy that puts prevention first, and consumer guidance telling you to ask a hired professional to find and correct the source before applying pesticides. That is what this site says, and no more.
A state rule requiring pre-construction termite pre-treatment disclosure	We found Georgia’s contract and guaranty disclosure rule but no state rule mandating a pre-treatment disclosure, so this site claims none.
QualityPro accreditation criteria	Not retrieved. This site therefore makes no claim about what the accreditation requires.
Two license-lookup URLs	The California department-wide search at search.dca.ca.gov would not load for our automated check, and an older FDACS company-search address did not respond at all. Neither is published. The Board and portal addresses that did respond are used instead.

Questions about these tools

Is the pesticide label legally binding?: Yes. Every registered pesticide carries the sentence “It is a violation of Federal law to use this product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling.” That is FIFRA § 12(a)(2)(G). How much and how often are set by the label, not by the technician.
Can a company treat a pest that is not named on the label?: Often, yes. “The bug is not named on the label” is usually not the violation. “The place is not named on the label” usually is. Anyone telling you the first is illegal has the rule backwards, and the distinction is worth carrying into a conversation with a technician.
Should anyone spray an outdoor product inside my house?: No. EPA says an outdoor pesticide used indoors “can make your home dangerous and uninhabitable”. If it is offered, end the visit.
Does EPA recommend routine monthly spraying?: We found no EPA page that says so. EPA puts prevention first and tells consumers to ask any hired professional to find and fix the source of the problem before applying pesticides.
Why is the mosquito advice weekly?: Because of the growth window. CDC: “A mosquito egg takes 7–10 days to develop into an adult mosquito.” A week falls inside that window, and two weeks does not. Scrub containers too, because eggs stick above the waterline.
What size gap do I need to seal for mice?: A quarter inch. CDC: “Mice can fit through a hole the width of a pencil (1/4 inch or 6 millimeters in diameter).” We publish no rat figure, because CDC’s current page gives one only for mice. Sealing to the mouse size closes rat gaps too.
What is the difference between a retreatment and a repair guaranty?: One pays to treat again if termites return. The other also pays to repair damage, within stated limits. Georgia requires the contract to say which, inside a heavy black border. Ask which one you are being offered.
Is a termite inspection report a warranty?: No. North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says the report is “not a warranty as to the absence of wood-destroying insects; it is a report of the visible presence or absence of wood-destroying insects at the time of the inspection”.
How do I check that a pest control company is licensed?: Search your state regulator, usually the agriculture department or a structural pest control board. Licensing is a state job and there is no national register. Ask which license category covers your job.
Does HyrePest treat pests?: No. We do not treat, inspect, apply pesticides or sell contracts, and matching is not live yet. That is why these tools can say the answer is a tube of sealant rather than a quarterly plan.

Sources and methodology

Figures dated September 5, 2026. Last reviewed September 28, 2026.

Introduction to Pesticide Labels (US Environmental Protection Agency, retrieved September 5, 2026). The label is the law (FIFRA § 12(a)(2)(G)); label content set by 40 CFR Part 156.
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and Federal Facilities (US Environmental Protection Agency, retrieved September 5, 2026). The FIFRA § 2(ee) exception: an unnamed pest may be treated at a site the label names.
Introduction to Integrated Pest Management (US Environmental Protection Agency, retrieved September 5, 2026). EPA’s definition of IPM and its prevention-first order.
Do’s and Don’ts of Pest Control (US Environmental Protection Agency, retrieved September 5, 2026). Ask a hired professional to find and fix the source before applying pesticides.
Controlling Wild Rodent Infestations, and Seal Up! Trap Up! Clean Up! (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, retrieved September 5, 2026). The quarter-inch mouse gap and sealing materials.
Mosquito Control at Home, and Life Cycle of Aedes Mosquitoes (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, retrieved September 5, 2026). The weekly empty-and-scrub rule and the 7–10 day egg-to-adult window.
Stay Legal and Safe in Treating for Bed Bugs; Do-it-yourself Bed Bug Control (US Environmental Protection Agency, retrieved September 5, 2026). Weeks to months, repeat visits, seven-day monitoring, and home-remedy hazards.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 620-6-.02 (Contracts) (Georgia Secretary of State, Rules of the Georgia Structural Pest Control Commission, retrieved September 5, 2026). The two guaranty statements in heavy black borders. Binds Georgia licensees.
Homeowner’s Guide to the Wood Destroying Insect Report (North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, retrieved September 5, 2026). A wood destroying insect report is not a warranty.
Structural Pest Control Board licensing (Structural Pest Control Board, Department of Consumer Affairs, retrieved September 5, 2026). California license lookup.
AES Licensing Portal and Business Search (Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), retrieved September 5, 2026). Florida license lookup.
Structural Pest Control Service: licensing and current licenses (Texas Department of Agriculture, Structural Pest Control Service, retrieved September 5, 2026). The 7 Texas license categories.
NPMA programs (National Pest Management Association, retrieved September 5, 2026). Cited only on its own programs. Accreditation criteria were not retrieved.

Pest control cost guide What drives a price, and how to compare quotes.
Editorial policy How these pages are written, sourced and corrected.

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