New Home Pest Control in Media and Delaware County, PA

New home pest control in PA: what you inherit from the last owner

A home inspection for a sale looks at the roof, wiring and plumbing, not usually at the mice living behind the dishwasher. Pests that were tolerated, or hidden by furniture and boxes, become yours at closing.

In older Delaware County homes, the usual suspects are mice in basement sill plates, German cockroaches behind kitchen appliances, carpenter ants in damp porch framing and silverfish in bathrooms. A house that sat empty for months adds another problem: dried-out drain traps let in sewer odors and drain flies, and quiet rooms let mice spread out.

Pest treatment before moving in: why the empty house helps

With no furniture, we can reach behind baseboards, inside every cabinet, along closet floors and into the corners of the basement without moving a thing. Crack-and-crevice treatment and bait placement go faster and reach places that would be blocked once you unpack.

It also helps with timing. Re-entry intervals are easy to honor when nobody is living there yet, and sealing work, such as closing gaps around pipes, can be done before boxes are stacked in front of it.

Empty rooms also reveal what furniture hid. Look for droppings at the back of bare cabinets, dead insects collected on windowsills, chewed corners on closet doors, grease marks along basement walls where mice ran, and small piles of sawdust under porch steps. In Delaware County houses near Darby, Crum or Chester Creek, a musty basement with damp sill wood is another cause we look for, because it draws carpenter ants and camel crickets.

Papers to gather at closing

Ask the seller or your agent for any pest records that came with the house. The most useful are the wood-destroying insect report from the sale, which commonly uses the NPMA-33 form and which lenders such as FHA or VA may require; receipts or notes from past pest treatments; and any termite service agreement, along with whether it transfers to you.

Bring those to the inspection. If a past termite treatment was done, its date and location tell us where to look first. If you still need a report for your own purchase, our WDI inspection report page explains what the lender is looking for.

What a move-in pest check covers

• Kitchen: behind and under appliances, inside every cabinet, under the sink
• Bathrooms: drain traps, vanity bases and gaps around supply pipes
• Basement or crawl space: sill plates, foundation cracks, moisture and droppings
• Attic: insulation, eaves and vents for nests and rodent signs
• Exterior: wood-to-soil contact, mulch depth, gaps around utility lines
• Garage: door seals and the shared wall with the house

How a move-in visit works

1. 1

   Book before move-in day

   Call once you have a closing date; a visit a few days before the truck arrives gives treatments time to settle.

2. 2

   Free inspection of the empty house

   We go room by room, top to bottom, while every surface is clear.

3. 3

   Written quote

   You get a written quote for what we found, from a single targeted treatment to sealing and follow-up.

4. 4

   Treatment while empty

   Baits, gels and dusts go into cabinets, voids and baseboards, and exterior work goes along the foundation.

5. 5

   Re-entry time and notes

   We tell you when the movers and your family can come in and leave notes on what was applied where.

6. 6

   Optional check after you settle

   If mice or roaches were active, a follow-up a few weeks after move-in confirms the problem is gone.

Pennsylvania disclosure law, WDI reports and pest licensing at closing

Pennsylvania’s Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law requires sellers to disclose known material defects, and the standard disclosure form asks about wood-destroying insect damage and past treatment. Read that section before your move-in inspection and bring it with you.

A wood-destroying insect report, usually on the NPMA-33 form, must come from a properly licensed inspector. More broadly, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) licenses pest control businesses under the Pesticide Control Act of 1973, so you can ask whoever treats your new house for its PDA license number. This is general information, not legal advice.

Is new construction free of pests?

Not entirely. Census (ACS) estimates show newer housing in places like Edgmont (median build year 1991), Bethel Township (1995) and Concord Township (1997). Building on former farmland and wooded lots disturbs soil and pushes field mice, ants and ticks toward the new houses.

Fresh mulch beds, stacked lumber left by the builder and irrigation along the foundation also attract pests. Southeastern Pennsylvania lies in a moderate-to-heavy subterranean termite zone, so ask your builder whether a soil treatment was applied; our pre-construction termite treatment page explains what that involves.

What affects the cost of a move-in treatment?

The quote depends mostly on what the inspection finds. A clean house may only need a preventive crack-and-crevice treatment and a few sealed gaps, while one with active mice or German cockroaches needs a fuller treatment and at least one follow-up after you unpack.

House age plays a large part. A 1940s twin with a fieldstone basement and a long sill line takes more sealing than a 1990s house on a poured foundation. A home that sat vacant through a winter often has more rodent activity to clear. Every item and visit is written into the quote before work starts:

• Size of the house and whether it has a basement, crawl space or attic
• Pests found during the inspection, if any
• How long the house sat empty and how many gaps need sealing
• Whether follow-up visits are needed after you move in
• Exterior work such as foundation treatment or mulch-line adjustments

Timing it around closing and the moving truck

Aim for a visit two to five days before move-in. We are open 7 days, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., so a weekend between closing and moving day often works. If the house is already full of boxes, we can still treat, it just takes a little more moving things around.

Once you are settled, ongoing care looks like any other home; our residential pest control page covers what that involves. If Spanish is easier for your family, our exterminador en español page has the details.