Pest control in Montgomery County, PA: mosquito spraying, notices and checks
Updated · KeystoneProGuide editorial team
What is particular about pest control in Montgomery County?
A public program already works on the mosquito problem before any private company is involved. The Montgomery County Office of Public Health runs an Integrated Mosquito Management program: it educates the public, reduces breeding sites, responds to resident complaints, and controls mosquitoes as larvae and as adults. A private company working at your home needs the same state pesticide license as anywhere in Pennsylvania.
How does the county decide to spray?
By testing, not by complaint alone. The office says its emphasis is on controlling immature mosquitoes. Technicians collect larvae from standing water in tree holes, ditches, tires and birdbaths, and traps catch adult mosquitoes for counting and virus testing. Adult spraying follows only when mosquito numbers, virus activity, species and site history show an imminent threat to health, and every application is made by trained, certified applicators.
In 2026 the office announced sprays in Windlestrae Park in Montgomery Township on August 31, parts of Lower Merion Township on September 2, and parts of Norristown Borough on September 15.
How are residents told about a spray?
The county lists four ways. Press releases go out at least 48 hours ahead. Municipalities in the spray zone receive details. Residents can sign up for ReadyMontco alerts by phone or email. And people on the Pennsylvania Pesticide Hypersensitivity Registry, along with registered beekeepers, within 500 feet are notified personally.
That registry applies to private companies too. The state Department of Agriculture's registry lists people whose sensitivity to pesticides has been verified by a physician, and the state's pesticide regulation requires a business to notify a listed person between 12 and 72 hours before applying pesticides within 500 feet of their home or listed workplace or school, with the product names and its license number. If someone in your household reacts to pesticides, joining the registry is the way to be told about a neighbor's treatment as well as the county's.
Should you hire a company to spray the yard for mosquitoes?
Think about what the county already does first. Its advice is to fix screens, remove standing water, and empty plant containers, birdbaths and toys after rain, noting that mosquitoes can breed in as little as a bottle cap of water. For timed misting systems sold to homeowners, the EPA says they have not been studied enough to document that they control mosquitoes, nor proven to prevent West Nile virus, and that the products used can kill bees and butterflies. The county takes resident complaints about mosquito problems at 610-278-5117.
What does the county's housing mean for pests?
Montgomery has 350,351 housing units, the most of the four suburban counties around Philadelphia, according to the Census Bureau. Of those, 16.0 percent were first built in 1939 or earlier and 8.1 percent since 2010; 26.1 percent are in buildings with more than one unit, and 28.6 percent of occupied homes are rented.
That share of apartment buildings makes one state rule worth knowing. Under the state regulation, the owner of an apartment building of four or more units, or an employee, who applies any pesticide other than a disinfectant must be a certified applicator, unless they live there and treat only their own unit with general use products. A tenant who sees building staff spraying can ask whether they are certified. For the older houses, Penn State Extension's termite advice is to keep wood off the soil, where possible at least 18 inches above it, and to direct water away from the foundation.
How do you check a company here?
Use the Department of Agriculture's business license lookup, which can be filtered by county, and check for the BU license number that Penn State says must be on both sides of every vehicle used for pesticide work. Ask the technician for a certification card and check the category: 11 for household pests, 12 for termites. Complaints about how a pesticide was applied go to the Department of Agriculture, which Penn State lists at 1-717-772-5231.
The state rules are in Pennsylvania's rules for exterminators, and companies serving the county are on the Montgomery County pest control page.
Sources
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- Mosquitoes, Montgomery County Office of Public Health
- Mosquito Control and Surveillance, Montgomery County Office of Public Health
- Pesticide Hypersensitivity Registry, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
- 7 Pa. Code Chapter 128. Pesticides, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Code)
- Mosquito Misting Systems, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- 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