General Pest Control in Columbus, Ohio

A general plan is a licensed technician treating the outside of your house, and the inside where needed, on a schedule. In Columbus that schedule follows the weather. Our NOAA record for John Glenn airport shows 216 days a year with a daily mean of 50F or warmer, the usual line for insect activity, and almost none of them fall in December to February.

Insect-active days per month in Columbus (daily mean 50°F or warmer)

If you already know what you are seeing, the quickest start is a free inspection and a written price.

What a general plan usually covers

Most residential plans are built around pests that walk in from the yard and the foundation. In a Columbus house that list looks like this:

• Ants, mostly odorous house ants and pavement ants, plus carpenter ants on some plans (see our ant control page)
• Spiders and house centipedes, plus camel crickets and millipedes in basements
• Fall invaders: brown marmorated stink bugs, multicolored Asian lady beetles and boxelder bugs
• Occasional mice, if the plan includes rodent stations (ask, because many do not)

Our guide to common Ohio house bugs covers which of these you can handle yourself.

What it usually leaves out

Ask about these by name, because a low monthly price often means they are excluded:

• Bed bugs. Ohio State University Extension's 2025 bed bug fact sheet notes they resist many common insecticide classes and recommends hiring a company licensed by the Ohio Department of Agriculture. That is its own treatment plan. See bed bug treatment.
• Termites. OSU entomologists wrote in 2024 that control of subterranean termites "requires certified professionals," and Ohio licenses termite work as its own applicator category, 10b, separate from general pest control, 10a. See termite inspection and treatment.
• Raccoons and squirrels in the attic, or a bat in the house. That is trapping and exclusion work. See wildlife removal.
• German cockroaches, which need a baiting program and follow-ups. See cockroach treatment.

What the first visit looks like

A good first visit is mostly inspection. The technician should walk the outside of the house and look at the foundation and door sweeps, the window wells and utility lines, and anywhere mulch or soil sits against siding. Inside, expect a look at the basement and the plumbing under sinks, plus the attic access if you have rodent signs. OSU's fact sheet on choosing a pest management company says the technician should discuss the problems found and give you a treatment proposal, and it lists a company "unwilling to show you the pest or signs of the pest infestation" as a red flag.

The treatment itself is mostly outside. Expect a band of residual product around the foundation and at entry points. Baits or dusts go into cracks indoors where a pest is active. Ask whether the first visit is priced differently from the later ones, and get both numbers in writing.

Interior vs exterior treatment

For most Columbus pests the outside treatment does the work. OSU Extension fact sheets say this species by species:

• Stink bugs: "Insecticides should not be used inside houses after the insects have gained access."
• Boxelder bugs: indoor insecticide control is "impractical and difficult" because the bugs are scattered through the house.
• House centipedes: indoor spot treatments are generally not recommended; a perimeter band 18 to 36 inches wide around the foundation is the chemical option, after sealing.
• Ants: OSU says never to treat whole walls and floors. Products belong in cracks and crevices or in bait stations.

I would be wary of any plan that sprays baseboards in every room on every visit. That is more product in your living space for little added effect. Ask what goes inside and where it goes.

Lady beetles and stink bugs move in from early September through October, so the exterior visit that matters for them is late summer, before they get in. OSU's lady beetle fact sheet says exterior residual treatments in late September or early October may help prevent entry.

Is a quarterly plan worth it?

For a house with ants every spring and stink bugs every fall, a few exterior treatments a year can be reasonable value. For a house where you saw one centipede, it is not. I would rather pay for one visit plus sealing work than sign a year of service for a problem that a door sweep fixes. Our one-time vs quarterly guide walks through the math.

On price, This Old House (updated March 12, 2026) publishes a national range of $50 to $500 for a one-time general treatment, with an average of $171. Its roach cost page (updated March 16, 2026) lists $50 to $100 per visit on a monthly or quarterly plan. These are national figures, not our quotes. Our Columbus cost guide has more.

If you want a plan priced against what is actually in your house, ask for the inspection first and the price in writing.

How to choose a company

Start with the license. Ohio law says "No person shall own or operate a pesticide business without obtaining a license from the director of agriculture" and requires at least one licensed commercial applicator for each business location (ORC 921.09). The Ohio Department of Agriculture's public applicator search lists 1,085 commercial applicators with a Franklin County address, 290 of them licensed in category 10a general pest control (as of October 26, 2026). Our license lookup guide shows how to check a name in two minutes.

After that, OSU's fact sheet on choosing a company gives practical rules I agree with:

• Get at least three bids, and compare the services, not only the price.
• Walk away from anyone who cannot show proof of ODA licensing.
• Walk away from scare tactics or pressure to sign on the spot. Most pest problems can wait a few days while you decide.

The National Pesticide Information Center suggests asking whether a company requires a long-term contract, and if so, what it costs over the full term.

If someone sells you a pest plan at your front door, the FTC Cooling-Off Rule gives you until midnight of the third business day to cancel most sales of $25 or more made at your home, and the seller must give you a cancellation form. I would not sign a multi-year agreement on a porch. Take the paperwork, check the license, and decide later.

We only refer companies that hold an Ohio Department of Agriculture pesticide business license and send licensed commercial applicators.

Kids and pets

NPIC's guidance for families is plain: keep children out of treated areas while products are applied and until they are dry, and let the house air out before everyone comes back. It also says to keep ant and rodent baits in locked stations or out of children's reach. The same applies to dogs and cats. Ask the technician which products went where, and ask for the label or the product name if you want to look it up.

Not sure what you have? A clear photo is the fastest way to find out before anyone treats.