Is This Pest Control Quote Fair? What to Check Before You Sign

The fear behind most of these questions is the same: an upsell you did not need, or a contract you cannot get out of. The fix is to slow down and get it in writing. Ask for a free inspection and a written price before any treatment.

Start with written findings

A price without a diagnosis is a guess. Before you compare two quotes, check that each one answers these questions on paper:

• What pest did they find, and where in the house or yard?
• What will they do, with which method, and over how many visits?
• What does each line cost on its own?
• Is this one job, or a contract that renews? For how long, and how do you end it?
• What is guaranteed, for how long, and is that written down?

If two quotes differ by hundreds or thousands of dollars, set the line items side by side. The gap is usually scope: one company is pricing a perimeter spray, the other an inside treatment with follow-up visits and sealing gaps. Know which one you are buying. Published national price ranges are in our Clarksville pest control cost guide.

Tennessee law gives you something to point to if the salesperson oversells. The Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977 makes it unlawful to represent that a service or repair is needed when it is not, under T.C.A. 47-18-104(b)(13). It also bars misstating the rights a contract or a warranty gives you, under 47-18-104(b)(12) and (b)(19).

What a fair termite quote looks like in Tennessee

Termite work is where the big numbers and the long contracts live, and Tennessee has specific rules for it. The Tennessee Department of Agriculture summarizes them in its charter FAQ, citing its rule 0080-09-04-.08:

• A written contract has to be signed, in duplicate, before any termiticide goes down.
• The contract needs the inspection date and a graph (a drawing) of the property showing where live termites or damage were seen.
• It has to give a unique contract number and say how it transfers to a later owner or renter during its term.
• Any termite contract must include a one-year warranty for retreatment.
• A guarantee that pays for damage is optional. A contract without one has to say so in letters one-half inch tall on the front.
• Under contract, the company must inspect once a year and record the date. If it finds new activity, it has to treat and redraw the graph. You can ask for copies of the inspection and treatment records, and the company has 48 hours to provide them.
• If the company proposes less than a complete treatment, it has to explain the possible outcomes. The contract must note your acceptance in bold, you initial it, and the graph marks where the treatment stops.

So when you compare termite contracts, often called bonds, the first question is whether it carries a damage guarantee or only the required retreatment warranty. Look for the half-inch notice on the front. This Old House (June 2026) says a bond adds $500 to $2,000. A retreatment-only bond is fine if you know that is what you bought. It is a poor deal if the salesperson implied it covers repairs.

Ask too about the renewal fee after year one and what happens to the bond if you sell. For a home sale, the buyer's lender may want a wood destroying insect report; our VA loan termite inspection guide covers that letter. More on treatment methods is on our termite page.

Upsells to question

• A year-long plan sold before anyone looked at the house. A plan for a pest you may not have is a plan for nothing.
• A termite treatment with no graph showing where termites or damage were found.
• A price that is only good if you sign today. Termite damage builds slowly; a day to think costs you little.
• Monthly service for a single wasp nest or a few spiders. A one-time visit covers those.
• Add-ons with no line price, such as a "mosquito package" or "attic sanitizing" bundled into one number.

If you are unsure what the pest even is, a photo can settle it before you pay for anything.

Door-to-door sales in new subdivisions

Summer sales crews work new neighborhoods because new owners have not picked a company yet. Clarksville has a lot of those: about 28% of homes in the city's ZIP codes were built in 2010 or later, per Census figures on our pest data page. A seller at your door may work for a properly chartered company. You can check in two minutes. Just do not sign on the porch.

1. Ask for the company name and the seller's own name. Tennessee requires every chartered company to register its solicitors with the Department of Agriculture, and each registered solicitor must hold commercial certification in the service categories offered (T.C.A. 62-21-109). The Department now offers solicitor cards that can be added to a phone wallet, so asking to see one is normal.
2. Look up the company on the Department's public charter search. Our license verification guide walks through it.
3. Get the price, the visit schedule, the contract length and the cancellation terms on paper.
4. Ask what pest they found at your house.

Under T.C.A. 62-21-109(d), a registered solicitor may not knowingly use false information or a deceptive representation to sell pest control services.

What Clarksville homeowners keep running into

Local threads and pest control forums come back to the same few problems. Most are settled by reading the paper before you sign.

• A quarterly plan where the visits stop. People sign, get the first treatment, and then nobody comes back on schedule. Get the visit schedule in writing, and ask what happens to your bill if a visit is missed.
• A one-time inspection that turns into a contract. A termite inspection ordered for a refinance or a sale is a one-time job. If a renewal agreement shows up at the same visit, take it home and decide later.
• Flying ants sold as termites. Swarming ants and swarming termites look alike to most people, and forum posts include homeowners who signed a termite plan for what turned out to be ants. Keep a few of the insects, ask the inspector to show you what makes them termites, and get a second inspection before a large termite contract. Our swarm season guide shows how to tell them apart.
• Bait stations you don't own. If termite bait stations go in as part of a service agreement, ask in writing whether they stay with the house or leave with the company if you cancel.
• A product nobody will name. Ask for the product name and a copy of the label before treatment. I would skip a company that won't tell you what it plans to apply.

Your three-day right to cancel

Two laws give you a cooling-off period on a contract signed at your home. This is general information, not legal advice.

The federal rule

The FTC's Cooling-Off Rule, 16 CFR Part 429, covers a sale of $25 or more made at your residence (16 CFR 429.0(a)). You can cancel until midnight of the third business day after the sale, and the seller has to tell you about that right out loud and give you a written Notice of Cancellation (16 CFR 429.1). A business day is any calendar day except Sunday or a federal holiday, so Saturday counts (16 CFR 429.0(f)). After you cancel, the seller has 10 business days to refund your payments (16 CFR 429.1).

One exclusion matters for pest control. The rule does not cover a visit you asked for: if you called the company and specifically asked it to come to your home for a repair or maintenance job, the rule does not apply to that work. It still applies to additional goods or services sold to you during the visit beyond what you asked for (16 CFR 429.0(a)(5)).

Tennessee's Home Solicitation Sales Act

Tennessee's own law is at T.C.A. 47-18-701 and following. It covers consumer sales of goods or services where the seller personally solicits the sale at your home, minus some exclusions such as cash sales under $25 and sales that follow earlier negotiations (47-18-702). The Attorney General's Division of Consumer Affairs describes it as covering sales over $25 made at your home, from the back of a truck, or anywhere other than the seller's place of business.

• You can cancel until midnight of the third business day after you sign (47-18-703). Tennessee's definition of business day also leaves out only Sundays and listed holidays (47-18-702).
• Cancel in writing to the address in the agreement. A mailed notice counts once it is properly addressed and in the mail with postage, and it does not need any special form (47-18-703).
• The agreement has to carry a "Buyer's Right to Cancel" notice. Until the seller gives you a compliant notice, you can cancel in any way you choose (47-18-704).
• Any waiver of the right is void, except in a real emergency you initiated where the seller has already started the work in good faith and you signed a dated waiver (47-18-703).
• The seller has 10 days to return your payments (47-18-705).

Mail it with proof of the mailing date and keep a copy.

Kentucky addresses

If you live in Oak Grove or Hopkinsville, Kentucky's home solicitation law is KRS 367.410 to 367.450. You can cancel until midnight of the third business day after signing, by written notice to the address in the agreement, and mailing counts once it is posted (KRS 367.420). Sales under $25 are excluded (KRS 367.450). The federal rule applies in Kentucky too.

Where to complain

• Sales and contract disputes in Tennessee: the Division of Consumer Affairs, part of the Tennessee Attorney General's office, takes complaints through an online form or a printable form sent by mail. It mediates complaints but cannot act as your lawyer.
• Pesticide or charter questions in Tennessee: the Department of Agriculture's Pesticide Section, (615) 837-5148.
• Kentucky: the Department of Agriculture's Structural Pest Control Branch takes complaints about a pest control company at 1-866-289-0001.

We only refer companies chartered by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (and licensed by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture for Kentucky addresses). For how often you need service at all, read one-time vs quarterly pest control.