The Ranking
Our top 7 pest control companies in Calgary
Calgary's pest calendar follows the weather. When the first hard frosts arrive in September and October, house mice and deer mice move into garages, wall cavities and basements, and fall is when most local firms get their busiest run of rodent calls. Deer mice matter for another reason: Alberta Health links them to hantavirus, so droppings in a garage, cabin or shed should be wetted down and cleaned with care rather than swept or vacuumed. Late summer brings yellowjacket nests under decks and eaves, and boxelder bugs cluster on sunny south walls in the fall. Lawns in newer communities on the city's edge often deal with pocket gophers, voles and ground squirrels, and bed bugs and cockroaches turn up most in apartments and other multi-unit buildings.
One pest you should not see is the Norway rat. Alberta has run a rat control program along its eastern border since 1950, and the province treats any rat sighting as something to report. If you think you have seen a rat in Calgary, call the province's rat line as well as a pest company. Termites are rarely a concern here either, so be wary of anyone selling termite protection for a Calgary house without showing you evidence.
Good pest control starts with an inspection. Look for a company that practises integrated pest management, meaning it finds how pests get in, recommends sealing gaps and fixing conditions, and uses pesticides where they are needed rather than spraying on a schedule. If you have children or pets, ask which products will be used indoors, how long everyone should stay off treated areas, and where bait stations will sit. Tamper resistant stations are the norm for exterior rodent work. Get the guarantee in writing, including how long it lasts and whether follow-up visits are included, and read the renewal terms on any plan before you sign.
In Alberta, people who apply pesticides for hire must hold a provincial pesticide applicator certificate, and companies that sell pest control services need a pesticide service registration with Alberta Environment and Protected Areas. Ask the company for its registration and ask the technician to show a certificate at the door. Every company on this list says its technicians are certified, and most name the associations they belong to, such as the Canadian Pest Management Association, the Alberta Pest Management Association or QualityPro.
We started with about 30 pest control listings from Google Maps. Several strong local firms run from homes in residential neighbourhoods, show only a mailbox suite, have a website that was down, or sit in Airdrie and other towns outside the city, and we excluded them. Rentokil's Calgary branch was left out because its website would not load for us to verify. The seven below passed every test.
