Pest control in Texas

The published prices below are national HomeGuide figures with no Texas breakdown. Use them to judge the quotes you collect, and ask each Texas company what its own price includes.

Comparing pest control quotes in Texas

Ask every company for three things in writing: the price per visit, how many visits a year, and the pests the plan covers. A quarterly plan and a monthly plan can't be compared on the per-visit price alone, so ask for the yearly total and compare that.

HomeGuide says mosquito control costs most in warm, humid places with long seasons, because more treatments are needed. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) said in July 2023 that mosquitoes stay active in much of Texas into November and December, so ask a mosquito company how many treatments its season price covers and when the season ends.

For termites, HomeGuide lists bait systems at $1,000 to $2,500 to treat the home plus $200 to $400 a year for monitoring. If a quote includes monitoring, ask whether that yearly fee renews automatically and how you stop it.

TDA administers the Structural Pest Control Act, Chapter 1951 of the Texas Occupations Code. The Act requires businesses and individuals that do structural pest control for hire to be licensed. TDA adds that anyone doing pest control at apartment buildings, day-care centers, hospitals, nursing homes, hotels, warehouses, food-processing plants or schools must also be licensed.

TDA separates a commercial applicator, who runs or works for a business offering pest control for hire, from a noncommercial applicator, who isn't part of a for-hire business but still has to be licensed for the pest control they do. It issues business licenses, certified applicator licenses, technician licenses and apprentice registrations, each on its own application.

The TDA pest control license categories

• Pest control: roaches, silverfish, ants, flies, mosquitoes, rats, mice and similar pests
• Termite control: termites, beetles and other wood-destroying organisms, by means other than fumigation
• Lawn and ornamental: pests of ornamental plants, trees and lawns
• Structural fumigation
• Commodity fumigation
• Weed control
• Wood preservation

Match the category to the job. A company you hire for ants should hold the pest control category; one treating termites should hold termite control; one spraying your trees or lawn should hold lawn and ornamental. Spraying trees for pests for hire falls in the lawn and ornamental category too, so ask a tree service that offers spraying for its TDA license.

Pest control insurance Texas requires

A Texas pest control business license applicant must file insurance of at least $500,000 for bodily injury and property damage, with a total aggregate of at least $1,000,000. TDA says the policy must cover damage to property in the company's care, custody or control, so the usual exclusion for that has to be removed.

Under 4 TAC §7.123, a commercial business must keep that coverage for the whole license period, with an insurer authorized by or registered with the Texas Department of Insurance, and the policy must give TDA at least 30 days' notice before it's canceled. Ask for a current certificate of insurance and check the dates.

TDA publishes its Structural Pest Control Reports for current licenses. They list every active commercial business, noncommercial business, applicator, technician and apprentice, as downloadable files, and the page has a search for pest control companies by zip code or address.

1. Get the company's legal business name and address from its estimate or contract.
2. Find the business in TDA's commercial business list or the zip code search.
3. Ask for the name of the certified applicator or technician who will treat your home, and find that person in the applicator or technician list.
4. Check that the license category matches the job: termite control for termites, lawn and ornamental for yards and trees.
5. Ask for the certificate of insurance and confirm it's current.

If a name doesn't appear, ask the company for its TDA license number and search again before any treatment starts. A company that can't give you a number is a reason to keep looking.

Texas has its own rules for the termite report in a home sale. Under 4 TAC §7.176, any report on termites or other wood-destroying insects issued in connection with a real estate transaction must be on TDA's prescribed form, with no changes to the form; photos can be attached as an addendum. A lender such as the VA may ask for its own form as well.

Under 4 TAC §7.175, that official Wood Destroying Insect Report must come from a licensed certified applicator or technician in the termite category. The inspection covers visible, accessible areas only. Inaccessible attics, the inside of hollow walls, spaces between floors and ceilings, and areas behind appliances, built-in cabinets, insulation and floor coverings don't have to be examined, and a hidden infestation can be missed.

On a real estate report, the inspector can recommend corrective treatment only if there's visible evidence of an active infestation, or of a past one with no evidence of prior treatment. If you're buying, read the report's findings rather than just the recommendation box, and see our real estate agents guide for how the rest of the sale works.

Formosan termites in Texas

Texas A&M's urban entomology program says Formosan termites were first found in Texas in 1956 near the Houston Ship Channel and have since been detected in 31 Texas counties, with more added each year. They swarm at night in late May and early June and are drawn to lights. A&M says they do the same kind of damage as other subterranean termites, only faster.

If you see swarmers around porch lights in early summer, save a few in a sealed bag and ask the termite company to identify the species before it quotes. HomeGuide's national range for Formosan treatment is $800 to $5,000 or more.

Fire ant control timing in Texas

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension's preferred fire ant control is the Two-Step Method: broadcast fire ant bait over the yard, then treat individual problem mounds, such as those in high-traffic spots. AgriLife entomologist Robert Puckett said in March 2024 that spring and fall are the best times to bait. In hot, dry summers the ants go deeper into the soil and mounds are harder to see. Ask a yard-treatment company when it baits and whether it treats mounds separately.

Mosquito control and West Nile in Texas

DSHS reported 42 West Nile disease cases and 7 deaths in Texas in 2022, and 485 cases and 65 deaths over the five years to then (figures from its July 2023 release). Its advice is to use an EPA-registered repellent and to empty standing water from toys, tires, buckets, clogged gutters and plant pots. A mosquito treatment works alongside that cleanup and doesn't replace it.

Scorpion pest control in Texas

AgriLife says Texas has 18 scorpion species, and only the striped bark scorpion is found statewide. It hides under rocks, boards and debris and around homes, and it comes out at night. AgriLife says stings from Texas scorpions usually cause only moderate reactions, but a stung person should be watched for adverse or allergic reactions. Since AgriLife says the striped bark scorpion hides under rocks, boards and debris, ask the company what it will do about those spots, and check the treatment plan names scorpions if that's what you're paying for.

TDA's consumer information sheet rule, 4 TAC §7.147, sets what you must be told. For an indoor treatment at an owner-occupied home, the applicator or technician must make TDA's consumer information sheet available to the homeowner. Companies must use TDA's own sheet, which comes in English and Spanish.

• Small rentals (fewer than five units): each resident can ask for the sheet at each indoor treatment.
• Apartment complexes (five or more units): residents in or next to the treatment area must be notified at least 48 hours before each planned indoor treatment, by a sign in a common area or a notice at each unit.
• Workplaces, hospitals, nursing homes, hotels, schools and day care centers: a sign goes up in a common area at least 48 hours before each planned indoor treatment.

The 48-hour notice can be skipped only for an emergency, defined as an imminent hazard to health, and only if the customer and the certified applicator sign a statement saying so. The sign itself must be at least 8.5 by 11 inches and list the National Pesticide Information Center hotline, 1-800-858-7378.

Pest control contracts, cancellation and complaints

Get the price, visit schedule, pests covered and any renewal terms in writing before the first treatment. If a seller comes to your home and you agree there to buy services over $25, Texas Business and Commerce Code Chapter 601 generally lets you cancel by midnight of the third business day after you sign. That right doesn't apply to service you book yourself by phone or online.

If a dispute doesn't resolve with the company, you can file a consumer complaint with the Texas Attorney General. The Attorney General's office says complaints are public under Texas law and that filing one doesn't mean it has opened a case.

1. Find the business in TDA's current license lists or zip code search.
2. Confirm the license category matches the job: pest control, termite control, or lawn and ornamental.
3. Ask who will treat your home and check that person's applicator or technician license.
4. Get a current certificate of insurance.
5. For indoor work, expect TDA's consumer information sheet, and ask for it if you don't get it.
6. For termites, ask for the species identification and, in a home sale, the report on TDA's form.
7. Get the per-visit price, visit count, pests covered and renewal terms in writing.
8. For fire ants, ask whether the plan follows AgriLife's bait-then-mound approach and when it baits.

Read our terms of service for how the city lists are ordered. The ranking doesn't check licenses, so run the TDA lookup yourself.

Each city page lists local pest control companies with their ratings, review counts and contact details, plus the local checks that apply there.

Pest control in Dallas-Fort Worth

• Dallas
• Fort Worth
• McKinney
• Plano
• Frisco
• Southlake
• Arlington
• Denton
• Garland
• Grand Prairie
• Irving
• Rockwall
• Weatherford
• Lewisville
• Mesquite
• Burleson
• Flower Mound
• Richardson
• Allen
• Carrollton
• North Richland Hills
• Prosper

Pest control in North Texas and Texoma

• Wichita Falls
• Sherman

Pest control in Houston and the Gulf Coast

• Houston
• Katy
• Conroe
• Pearland
• Baytown
• Sugar Land
• The Woodlands
• Cypress
• League City
• Pasadena
• Galveston
• Friendswood
• Texas City
• Alvin

Pest control in Southeast Texas

• Beaumont

Pest control in East Texas

• Longview
• Tyler

Pest control in Austin and the Hill Country corridor

• Austin
• Georgetown
• Round Rock
• Cedar Park
• San Marcos
• Kyle
• Pflugerville
• Buda

Pest control in Central Texas

• Killeen
• Waco

Pest control in San Antonio and the Hill Country

• San Antonio
• New Braunfels
• Boerne

Pest control in South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley

• Corpus Christi
• Laredo
• McAllen
• Brownsville
• Harlingen

Pest control in West Texas

• El Paso
• Midland
• Odessa
• San Angelo
• Abilene

Pest control in Panhandle and South Plains

• Lubbock
• Amarillo