Pest control in Chester County, PA: ticks, newer homes and what to check
Updated · KeystoneProGuide editorial team
What stands out about pest control in Chester County?
The yard as much as the house. The Chester County Health Department describes the county as rural and suburban, which it calls prime habitat for deer ticks, the ticks that carry Lyme disease. Many of the pest questions here start outdoors: ticks at the edge of a lawn, mosquitoes in standing water, and carpenter ants or termites in wood near the house.
Should you pay to spray the yard for ticks?
Spraying is one tool, and the health agencies are careful about it. The CDC says pesticides can reduce the number of ticks in treated parts of a yard, but that you should not rely on spraying to reduce your risk of infection. Before any application, it suggests checking with local health or agricultural officials about timing, the type of product and the rules for residential spraying.
Both the CDC and the county health department recommend changes to the yard. The county's advice is to keep grass mowed and trees trimmed, remove brush and leaf piles around stone walls and wood piles, and make a woodchip or mulch barrier between woods and the yard, with play equipment kept in mulched areas away from the woodland edge. The state Department of Health says ticks in Pennsylvania are most active from April to August and again in October and November, and that a tick must stay attached for at least 36 to 48 hours to pass on the Lyme bacteria, which is why the department tells people to check themselves, their children and pets for ticks after time outdoors and remove any they find quickly.
If you do hire a company for yard spraying, ask which product it will use, how long to keep children and pets off the lawn, and to see the applicator's certification card.
Does the county control mosquitoes?
Yes. The health department's Mosquito-Borne Disease Program treats standing water to kill larvae, treats adult mosquitoes only when other methods do not work, and notifies residents, municipalities, beekeepers and sensitive groups at least 48 hours before spraying. Its advice to homeowners is to dump standing water, keep gutters clear, change birdbath water every 3 to 5 days and fit tight screens. It also says not to rely on citronella, coils, plants or zappers, which it says do not work well.
Anyone in the county who reacts badly to pesticides can also join the state's hypersensitivity registry. Businesses must then give notice before applying pesticides within 500 feet of a listed home, workplace or school.
Do newer homes still get termites?
Eventually, they can. Chester County has more new housing than its neighbors: the Census Bureau estimates 10.7 percent of its 212,491 housing units were built since 2010, against 6.1 percent statewide, and the county planning commission says around 1,500 new units have been added in most years since 2010.
Penn State Extension says termite problems usually appear 10 years or more after construction, and that many Pennsylvania houses are built in ways that resist infestation. A newer home is therefore not immune, but the risk builds over time and depends on maintenance: wood touching the soil, firewood stacked against the house, and water that does not drain away from the foundation.
At the other end, 12.6 percent of the county's housing units were first built in 1939 or earlier, so farmhouses and older town homes sit beside new subdivisions.
How do you check a company here?
Use the Department of Agriculture's business license lookup, which can be filtered by county. Penn State Extension advises checking the BU number on the company's vehicles and the technician's certification card, and choosing a company that will identify the pest before treating. About 75.1 percent of occupied homes in the county are owner-occupied, so most households make this choice themselves.
Complaints about how a pesticide was applied go to the Department of Agriculture, which Penn State lists at 1-717-772-5231 for licensing, enforcement and pesticide complaints.
The state licensing rules are in Pennsylvania's rules for exterminators, and companies serving the county are on the Chester County pest control page.
Sources
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Chester County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- Housing Report - Units By Type, Chester County Planning Commission
- Lyme Disease, Chester County Health Department
- Mosquito-Borne Diseases, Chester County Health Department
- Preventing Tick Bites, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Learn More About Ticks, Pennsylvania Department of Health
- Eastern Subterranean Termites, Penn State Extension
- Pesticide Application Businesses, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
- Choosing a Qualified Pest Management or Lawn Care Company, Penn State Extension
- Pesticide Hypersensitivity Registry, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture