Pest control scams to avoid: door-to-door deals, contracts and termite warranties

Updated November 10, 2026 · KeystoneProGuide editorial team

What is the most common pest control scam?

The door-to-door sale. Minnesota's Attorney General, in a 2025 warning, described sellers who show up offering what seems a great deal and then fail to deliver the promised service, add hidden fees, or lock people into long-term contracts they did not mean to agree to. The office said this happens especially in summer. Its list of warning signs:

• high-pressure tactics asking for an immediate decision;
• a "special deal" said to be offered to your neighborhood;
• contracts with hidden fees, including high cancellation fees;
• attempts to renew a contract automatically.

The office described a pattern worth watching for: you agree to four sprayings over a year, the year ends, and another charge appears, or a technician turns up to spray without being asked. Its advice is to ask yourself whether you really need the service, read the fine print, and keep copies of everything.

These are warnings from other states, used here because no Pennsylvania release on pest control could be opened for this guide.

What have regulators found in pest control contracts?

• Undisclosed termination fees. In July 2026, Delaware's Attorney General filed a settlement asking the court to award the state $600,000 against a door-to-door pest control company. The state said the company used high-pressure pitches, misrepresented its contracts and failed to disclose key terms, including a contract termination fee, and that customers signed on a tablet often given no opportunity to review the contract. Its advice: beware of any salesperson who asks you to agree to a fee to cancel, and it is always appropriate to say you are not interested and close the door.
• Cancellation rights written away. Michigan's Attorney General told a door-to-door pest company in 2024 to stop using contracts that allegedly tried to waive the three-day cancellation right by citing an emergency, and that lacked the required cancellation form.

Both releases name the companies; this guide does not.

Can you cancel a pest control contract signed at your door?

Often, yes. The Federal Trade Commission's Cooling-Off Rule gives you until midnight of the third business day to cancel many sales made at your home for a full refund, and Saturday counts as a business day. You do not need a reason. The seller must tell you about the right at the time of sale and give you two copies of a cancellation form and a dated contract or receipt with its name and address. To cancel, sign and send one copy of the form, or a letter if you were given none, by certified mail. The seller then has 10 days to refund you.

The rule does not cover sales under $25 at home, sales needed to meet an emergency, or a visit you asked for to repair or maintain your property, though anything sold beyond that request is covered. The FTC adds that some state laws give more rights. The Michigan case above turned on exactly that exception: the contracts allegedly invoked an emergency to waive the right.

What claims should make you suspicious?

Penn State Extension's guide to choosing a qualified company lists them:

• A secret formula or a more potent pesticide. All pesticides must be registered by the EPA. The EPA warns that illegal, unregistered pesticides are sold and can pose risks to you and your family.
• Endorsement by a university, the EPA or the Department of Agriculture. Penn State lists this claim as a warning sign.
• Scare tactics. Pressure to treat immediately without explaining why the timing matters.
• Identification over the phone. Penn State says correct identification typically requires a visit.
• No license number on the truck and an unlisted phone number. Pennsylvania's pesticide regulation requires a licensed business to show its license number on both sides of every vehicle used for pesticide work.

What are the termite traps?

Termite work costs more than most pest control, and two problems recur.

Products that do not protect the house. The EPA says products that only claim to kill termites have not shown they protect structures; they kill only termites that touch them. Ask for the label: if it lacks directions for controlling termites and protecting the structure, it should not be used for that.

Warranties that cover less than you think. Penn State Extension's termite fact sheet says a subterranean termite warranty does not extend to other wood-destroying insects, that companies limit liability where the soil by the foundation has been disturbed or additions were not treated, and that repair of damage after treatment is the hardest part of coverage. It advises a thorough inspection with a written account of current and past activity before treatment, and a damage replacement clause wherever possible. It also says a yearly renewal fee of 10% of the original price is common, so ask what the warranty will cost to keep.

Take your time: Penn State notes termite damage is usually the result of years of infestation, not something that will bring a house down in days.

How do you check a seller at the door?

• Ask for the company's state pesticide business license number and check it on the Department of Agriculture's business license lookup.
• Ask to see the technician's certification card.
• Get a written estimate and compare it with at least one other company, as the National Pesticide Information Center and Delaware's Attorney General both suggest.
• Do not sign on a screen you cannot read in full.

Where do you complain?

Pesticide misuse and unlicensed application go to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture; Penn State lists 1-717-772-5231 for licensing, enforcement and complaints. Sales and contract problems can be reported to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to the Pennsylvania Attorney General. The checks to run before hiring are in how to choose a pest control company, and the questions to put to any seller are in questions to ask an exterminator.

Sources

1. Choosing a Qualified Pest Management or Lawn Care Company, Penn State Extension
2. SCAM STOPPER: Attorney General Ellison warns Minnesotans about door-to-door pest-control scams, Minnesota Attorney General's Office
3. AG Jennings obtains court order protecting Delaware consumers against pest control company, Delaware Department of Justice
4. AG Nessel Issues Cease and Desist Order to Pest Control Business for Alleged Consumer Protection Violations, Michigan Department of Attorney General
5. Buyer's Remorse: The FTC's Cooling-Off Rule May Help, U.S. Federal Trade Commission
6. Pesticides Must be Registered with EPA, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
7. Termites: How to Identify and Control Them, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
8. Eastern Subterranean Termites, Penn State Extension
9. 7 Pa. Code Chapter 128. Pesticides, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Code)
10. Selecting a Pest Control Company, National Pesticide Information Center
11. Pesticide Application Businesses, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture