Restaurant owners
How to choose a commercial pest control company
Choose a licensed, insured company that services restaurants, visits often enough for your kitchen, comes back between visits at no extra charge when you see activity, and leaves a written service report and an up-to-date logbook after every visit. The paperwork is what you show an inspector.
Five things to check first
- License and insurance. Florida licenses every pest control business location and requires insurance. Ask for the license number and a certificate of insurance before the first visit.
- Restaurant experience. Commercial kitchens are different from homes. Ask how many restaurants they service and which pests they handle most in your area.
- A plan for your kitchen, in writing. A walk-through before a quote, then a written plan: what they will treat, where bait stations and traps go, and what they need you to fix.
- Callbacks between visits. If staff see activity between scheduled visits, does the company come back, how fast, and at what cost?
- Paperwork after every visit. A service report you keep, and a logbook that is up to date when the inspector asks.
Contract terms to read before you sign
Service frequency
How many scheduled visits a month, and whether frequency increases while there is active activity. Monthly service is a common baseline for restaurants; kitchens with a current problem often need more.
Pests covered
Roaches, rodents and flies should be named. Check what is excluded, such as termites, birds or bed bugs, and what extra services cost.
Callbacks
Whether service calls between scheduled visits are included, and the response time the company commits to.
Term, renewal and cancellation
The length of the agreement, whether it renews automatically, and how much notice you must give to cancel.
Your responsibilities
What the company expects from you: sanitation, repairs, storage. Good providers put these in writing after each visit.
Price and what changes it
The monthly price, the setup or initial cleanout fee, and what can raise the price during the term.
What a good provider leaves on file
Keep these in one binder or shared folder that any manager can find during an inspection:
- The service agreement
- A service report for every visit
- A pest sighting log for staff to fill in
- A map of bait stations, traps and monitors
- Labels and safety data sheets for products used
- The company's license and certificate of insurance
- Written recommendations, and what you did about them
- Trend notes: which areas and pests are recurring
Signs it is time to switch
- The same pest keeps showing up on reports or in your own log.
- Visits are short, and nobody looks behind equipment or in storage.
- Service reports are blank, generic or missing.
- Nobody tells you why the problem keeps coming back.
- You were cited or closed and your provider could not come the same day.
If any of these sound familiar, you can get quotes from up to 3 licensed companies that serve your county. Compare their written plans side by side before you choose.
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Get quotes from up to 3 licensed pest control companies
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Questions people ask
How often should a restaurant have pest control service?
It depends on the size of the kitchen, the building and the history. Monthly service is a common starting point for restaurants, and many kitchens need visits twice a month or more while an active problem is being fixed. A good provider explains the frequency it recommends and why.
Does a pest control company in Florida need a license?
Yes. Florida licenses each pest control business location and requires the business to carry insurance. Ask for the license and a certificate of insurance, and check them with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Should I sign a long contract?
Read the term, the renewal and the cancellation clause before you sign. Many restaurant agreements renew automatically. Prefer an agreement you can leave on reasonable notice if the service does not solve the problem.
What should be in a pest control service report?
The date, the technician, the areas inspected and treated, what was found, the products used and where, recommendations for you (repairs, sanitation, storage), and when the next visit is.
Sources
The laws and codes this page explains. Rules change; your inspector's report and your local office have the final word.
- Florida Statutes 2025, chapter 482 (pest control), The Florida Senate
- Florida Statutes 2025, section 482.071 (business licenses and required insurance), The Florida Senate
- FDA Food Code 2022, section 6-501.111 (controlling pests), U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Related
Cited for pests on a restaurant inspection: what happens next
What a Florida pest citation (violation code 35) means, how warnings, call-back visits, administrative complaints and fines work, and what to do this week.
Preparing for your re-inspection
A checklist for the day before a Florida restaurant call-back inspection after a pest citation or closure: treatment, cleanup, sealing, paperwork and staff.
Closed for roaches or rodents: how to reopen fast
Your Florida restaurant was closed by emergency order for pests. What the order means, the order of work that gets a passing call back, and how to ask for it.
Questions restaurant owners ask
Short answers for Florida restaurant owners about pest citations, violation code 35, warnings, closures, re-inspections, fines and getting pest control quotes.