Have you had any any dealings with this company, in particular ‘Wasp Control Pakenham’? If so, would you kindly share your experience. Thank you.
I presume you mean this company?
While I have no experience with them I do have problems with their ‘over the top’ web site. You may notice that it seems to self-fill in response to a search phrase, like ‘wasp control pakenham’ with services such as ‘wasp control melbourne’. Best guess is they are a booking site that gets a commission for referrals, not a service company per se.
In many places it refers to itself as ‘Pestly Pest Control Melbourne’ reinforcing how it seems to respond to searches. Scroll to the bottom of a page and see how they fit ‘Melbourne’ into all their services. Might be a good company but I am not impressed by their presentation that in most ways seems a bit over the top.
Best you also look on their facebook page, linked at the bottom of their web page. The FB page is over a year since their last post and shows the following without any response from them.
ASIC does not return a business registration for a Pestly Pest Control although does for a Pest Control Melbourne. It is unclear if it is the same company; Pestly Pest Control Melbourne could be a trading name but if I were you I would look elsewhere.
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Thank you for your replies. My daughter used this service and $180 was added to the price for European Wasp treatment. In her haste to protect her children she failed to check the company out. They also demanded instant payment (before treatment started) and she declined. They went away and came back 20 mins later saying that their 'office had agreed to a 7 day account. She realises that she’s been conned, but doesn’t think think she can do anything about it as she signed for the work.
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So I’ve just emailed Pestly Pest Control Melb to ask them to confirm that Wasp Control Pakenham is one of their agents (although the ‘Word of Mouth’ site does give the same type of reviews to Pestly - especially the additional charges over the quoted price. Be interesting to see how widespread this practice is. Quite horrible and I feel for anyone who has been put in this situation and had to respond under duress.
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I agree with your assessment, especially considering a demand of pre-payment. The best she can do is put reviews on the net to warn others to research first and only engage the business second.
It is important to always keep reviews factual and dispassionate to avoid possible defamation proceedings.
All that being written, I had wasps take up residence in an exterior brick veneer wall 10-15 years back. The total cost for treatment was $110. With inflation and allowances for the scope of work $180 might not be unreasonable, although noting you implied it was more. Was there also a call-out fee? That would be unusual for pest control in my limited experience although a basic fee is usually quoted that only covers a minimum treatment.
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Thank you, Phil. The original quote was $200-$250 (over the phone - sigh) and the $180 was added on site.
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Her experience reads like an unfortunate and expensive education 
Unfortunately this would not be the first business of which I am aware that uses a similar sales tactic.
Was the original quote for European wasps or wasps in general?
Treatment of say paper/mud wasps and European wasps are different and could be reason for the additional charge when they visited the property in question - discovering the wasps were European wasps.
They told her that the extra charge was because the wasps were on a retaining wall. This wall is about 1200 high and made from railway sleepers. There was no deconstruction of the wall undertaken - it was sprayed and powder applied.
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Indeed - if she had checked the creds of the business got a written quote… however, there is a current Choice campaign about honesty in business and, if there are any more negative experiences listed here here, I won’t be letting this matter lie.
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A good point to raise.
Is there any evidence the treatment needs are sufficiently different to justify the added cost?
Yates recommend the one product for Paper and European wasps. Not that expensive, despite being in a high cost small volume spray can. The products used are effective irrespective of the varieties of paper wasp. They are from the same genus.
European paper wasps more commonly nest in the ground. Permethrin Dust which is one recommended control wholesales at around $20 per kg.
How to Get Rid Of Wasps – Easypestsupplies.
Understandably many home owners will prefer to use a professional service rather than DIY. Whether there is a genuine premium to treat European Paper Wasps?
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Further to this, the invoice does not mention Pestly Pest Control or Wasp Control Pakenham. The payee is ‘Clean & Fix It Specialists’ ABN 69635280246. Wonder if I can find out if they are licensed… ah, the Vic Dept of Health has a searchable site for this. The name of the operator who performed the work is not on the database.
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Well spotted. There are exemptions and double negatives in the Vic legislation. One would hope the opening statement assures the average home owner and consumer some protection. Better left for someone familiar with the industry to clarify how the legislation applies in your instance. Assume the responsible Vic Govt department had a public contact line and service staff who could provide clarity and check the business details?
‘Pest control legislation and licensing
Some useful advice and Govt/Industry contacts?
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Their website says they are licensed and ‘they do work according to legislation’.
I couldn’t find a licence number. Licence number might not be provided as licences are issued to qualified technicians and trainees (individuals) and not a business. Some businesses could have numerous licence holders/numbers, which could change if staff change. Likewise if they also use subcontractors. An individual subcontractor who is a qualified technicians would have their own licence numbers.
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Not uncommon these days.
The operators details should be provided on the invoice as evidence of the service and licence compliance. Any omission suggests the services may not have been provided as required. If @clrintas or family member were further concerned, per my prior link one option for follow up with those who should be able to provide an authoritative response:
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This isn’t a mandated requirement, and licensing is different to say licensing under building work. Licenced qualified technicians must to keep records about chemical use, location etc, but there isn’t any requirements to put licence numbers or names of qualified technicians on tax invoices. The records kept must be made available to authorised government department personnel, when requested.
If one expect that a tax invoice should have the pest operator’s licence number, there should be an expectation that Uber/taxi drivers provide their drivers licence on their tax invoice or a delivery driver provides their heavy vehicle licence numbers on the delivery dockets. The licences are about being able to do something under legislation, not about providing details on tax invoices or such like.
Licensing is about the use of chemicals which are regulated by the Victorian Ag Chemical legislation. Pest controllers don’t need licensing if they use methods or treatments not regulated by legislation.
It is possible that some treatments used by the company don’t need to he applied by licensed personnel. This could be the case as their website states ‘Instead of harsh chemicals, we use odourless and organic ways of pest control.’.
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Thank you, gentlemen, for your kind assistance and the useful information provided. The person who applied the spray was suited up, including respirator, although the tick boxes on the invoice declare no risk to anything, including fish…
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PPE will be a requirement of the safety plan. It is likely that their safety plan states that they must wear PPE when they spray or during treatment activities, irrespective of what they spray/treatment methods. This is to take the decision making away from the operator in when PPE should or shouldn’t be worn.
However, the type spray is only one reason to wear PPE…wearing PPE is also important with European wasps as they are vicious little insects when their nest is disturbed. I have been bitten a couple of times in Tassie (once when treating an underground nest and the other time it was in my gumboots) and their stings are definitely something to be avoided. Many websites about how European wasps can be controlled suggest the wearing of clothing/PPE to avoid being stung. The Victorian Government website states ‘When dealing with European wasps it is important to wear protective clothing and a bee veil’.
No risk to anything suggests that they have…’ Instead of harsh chemicals, we use odourless and organic ways of pest control.
It would be interesting to know what treatment they used.
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Very interesting. Generally organic preparations must be derived from living or once living materials. One example of an organic insecticide is the extract from the pyrethrum flower, a kind of chrysanthemum. Another is rotenone from certain types of beans. You can make the same or very similar substances in a factory much cheaper but then it is not organic. I wonder what they use?
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Other pest control treatments can include heat (flame/hotwater), salts, powders (such as lime or ash), oils, fluids, predatory species, gas (such as CO2), physical removal (such as removing a nest by hand) and sealing access points. Some of these require direct contact with the pest and may require ongoing regular repeated treatment to have long term success.
