Customer ReviewsforBarnes Wildlife Control South

About 3 years ago, I heard raccoons scrambling around up in the attic. I called Barnes and paid them the initial fee. Short version: they caught the raccoon, and in fact, their worker went to heroic efforts, hanging over the side of the roof to close up the entrance gap created by a bad contractor. Longer version: when they caught the raccoon, they left the poor thing trapped in a cage in boiling hot weather on my deck where it cried piteously for hours until my neighbor set it free, putting both me and it out of our misery. But Barnes did such a good job of closing up the gap that it couldn't re-enter. Then came last autumn. The scrambling I heard in the attic was way too tiny for a raccoon. Mice? A handsome, forceful young man did a thorough check of the attic, then said he found bat guano. He was ADAMENT! Those bats would ruin my attic! (Something was definitely in that attic.) I'd already paid the initial fee, so I had Barnes put mouse poison stations at corners of the house. He rambled on about the dangers of mice, then noted, the cut in my garage door seal could let in mice. I pointed out the cut was there for the garden hose. He said he could get me a new seal for $245. I asked what about the garden hose? He said he could cut me a new opening! (What???) (Oh. It's a big house. I'm a widow. Did that make me a target?) His price for the bat problem: $5,000. *FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS!* Three other companies later checked for bats. All said I had no bats. One bats-only company said my attic had a tiny amount of very old bat guano, like a bat had visited once, then left. I've had no more noises - one dose of mouse poison was enough. Barnes kept calling to offer me additional refills, for $100 per quarter but I said no thanks. After a period of poor health on my part, I tried to call Barnes' owner to talk about his overly enthusiastic worker, but we didn't make contact. Next time, I'll go to somebody else. Better companies with no initial fee are out there.

Good afternoon, Ms. R***. After your technician's initial inspection on 11/01/2022, you were provided inspection photographs of your attic space sent to your email on 11/02/2022 at 10:14pm. Amongst these photographs showed areas of entry that were of concern for animal access as well as photographs of guano (bat droppings) littered throughout the insulation in your attic space. The inspection of the attic also showed evidence of tunneling in the insulation as well (please refer to your inspection photographs). As a part of this estimate and treatment plan, your technician had educated you that it is recommended that the bait stations should be serviced at least once every three months and provided the pricing information for this visit. On December 19th our staff reached out to you via email to let you know that your three-month check of the bait stations was approaching. Your response at 12:25pm that afternoon was, "No visit needed, thanks". At 12:26pm the customer service representative replied, "I will delete this refill and reach out when the next one is due. Thank you!" At 12:57pm, you replied, "Great, thanks!" In keeping true to our word, our office reached out again on March 20th at 11:02am to let you know that it was time for another quarterly visit for your bait stations and to confirm if you wanted a technician to come out to your residence for that service. We did not receive any correspondence from you as we did before via email. On March 22, you contacted our office and left a voicemail asking to speak with our owner. Your message was returned that evening by our owner at 5:49pm and you chose not to return his call. We have tried to be transparent with our team's inspection findings and our communication with you about upcoming services. Your request to be contacted by our owner was fulfilled the same day.

Still no more scratching or scrambling overhead. Saved $5000. So glad the photos did not "educate" me. Seems likely it was mice who made the tunnel/ hole in the insulation. If mouse survivors of the poison are still up there, they have learned to be very quiet. Good little mice. (Quiet bats, too.) Oh, and I'm glad I did not spend $245 for the young man to replace my old garage door seal, then slice it the same way it had already been sliced or coil up my garden hose and leave it in the garage. The garage floor is about a foot lower than the walking surface inside the (well-built) house, which was built just 25 years ago. I'm sure some mice live in the garage, but it's not infested, and I don't have rats. The young man spoke very confidently and forcefully about the likelihood of mice and rats entering my house. Perhaps a 1940s house would be that vulnerable. My house is doing okay. Or else I have very well behaved rats and mice. The other bat experts were quite thorough and knowledgeable and they disagreed with the forceful young salesman. I'm glad I listened to them. Your guys did good on repairs to keep out raccoons. It was a tough repair, hanging off the side of the roof 30 or 40 feet off the ground. Who knows? The gutsy repairs may have been done by the confident young man. But whoever the guy was who showed me a picture of a tunnel hole in my insulation was overly forceful and unconvincing about rats and bats. He scared me (note: widow here, worried about paying $5,000). But he didn't completely convince me. And I'm glad. Other folks - bat experts - concurred.