Pest control in McKinney

Fire ants in McKinney yards

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension prefers the Two-Step Method: broadcast fire ant bait across the yard, then treat individual problem mounds. Spring and fall are the best times for bait. In hot, dry summer months the ants are less active and mounds are harder to see, so ask a company proposing a July bait treatment why it wants to go then.

Mosquitoes and West Nile near McKinney

DSHS reported 42 West Nile disease cases and 7 deaths in Texas in 2022, and says mosquitoes stay active in much of the state into November and December. Its advice: use EPA-registered repellent and empty standing water from toys, tires, buckets, clogged gutters and plant pots. Ask the city whether it or Collin County sprays your neighborhood before you pay for a private barrier treatment.

Scorpions around McKinney homes

The striped bark scorpion is the only one of Texas's 18 species found statewide. It hides under rocks, boards and debris near houses, and AgriLife says stings usually cause only moderate reactions, though a stung person should be watched for allergic signs. Moving boards and debris away from the house takes away the cover AgriLife says it uses.

HomeGuide's national ranges give a yardstick for McKinney quotes.

The general pest and mosquito figures come from a page dated January 9, 2026; the termite figures from November 21, 2025. Read the contract for how often the company returns between scheduled visits. The longer Texas guide is on our pest control page.

Structural pest control for hire in Texas needs a license under the Structural Pest Control Act, administered by TDA. TDA licenses by category, so a company licensed for general pest control is not automatically licensed for termites or for lawn and ornamental work.

• Search TDA's pest control company search by zip code or address, and check the applicator's license on TDA's active-license lists.
• Ask for proof of insurance. A business license applicant must carry at least $500,000 of bodily injury and property damage coverage, with a $1,000,000 aggregate minimum, and the policy must cover property in the company's care, custody or control.
• For an indoor treatment in a home you own and live in, the technician must make TDA's consumer information sheet available to you. TDA provides it in English and Spanish.

If you rent in a McKinney complex of five or more units, residents in or next to the treatment area must get at least 48 hours' notice of each planned indoor treatment, by a posted sign or a notice at each unit.

Termite and wood-destroying insect reports for Texas real estate deals must use TDA's prescribed form, unaltered, and come from a licensed applicator or technician in the termite category. The inspection covers visible, accessible areas only; hollow walls, inaccessible attics and spaces behind built-ins don't have to be examined. A treatment can be recommended only with visible evidence of an active infestation, or of a past one with no sign of prior treatment.

Your task before listing: ask the inspector which areas they could not reach, and get that in the report. Pair it with our McKinney real estate agents page, and see pest control in Frisco for the neighboring city. Utility and permit notes are on the McKinney hub.