Hear from Our Customers
You stop finding droppings behind the stove. You stop hearing scratching in the walls at 2 a.m. You stop wondering if the ants coming through your kitchen are just the beginning of something bigger. That’s what a real fix looks like — and it’s worth knowing what stands between you and that outcome.
In Howell, pest pressure doesn’t follow a simple schedule. The rural-suburban mix of Livingston County means rodents that were living in the fields behind your subdivision start looking for warmth the moment October hits. Carpenter ants emerge in late March when the temperature climbs past 50 degrees and find their way into the aging wood of older homes near downtown Howell. Properties anywhere near Thompson Lake deal with mosquito pressure from May through September that backyard citronella candles simply cannot touch.
Getting the right exterminator in Howell means getting someone who understands these patterns — not someone reading from a generic service script. When the treatment is matched to what’s actually happening in your home and your yard, you’re not just solving today’s problem. You’re not calling back in three weeks.
We founded First Choice Pest Control on May 31, 2005 — which means this year marks 20 years of solving pest problems across southeast Michigan, including homes and businesses throughout Livingston County and Howell. Roger, our owner, has 26 years of hands-on pest control experience. He’s not a franchise manager reviewing reports from a distance. He built this company, and his name is attached to every job that goes out the door.
What that means for you is straightforward. You get a licensed exterminator — MDARD Pesticide Application Business License #250081 — who has seen the specific pest pressures that come with living near Howell’s rural edges, its older downtown housing stock, and the wildlife corridors that run through Howell Township. We hold a Nuisance Animal Control License, are IPM-trained, and have earned awards from both Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor through verified customer reviews. That track record wasn’t built on marketing — it was built on showing up and doing the job right.
It starts with a thorough inspection. Before any treatment goes down, your technician walks the property and identifies what’s present, where it’s coming from, and what conditions are allowing it to thrive. In Howell homes, that often means checking the garage entry points and crawl spaces common in early-2000s subdivision builds, looking at the wood-to-soil contact points that carpenter ants exploit in older neighborhoods, and assessing any standing water near the property that feeds mosquito breeding cycles.
From there, the treatment plan is built around what was actually found — not a one-size-fits-all spray-and-go approach. We use Integrated Pest Management methods, which means the least-toxic effective treatment is applied precisely where it’s needed. That matters when you have kids and pets in the house, and it matters for the water quality near Thompson Lake and the surrounding Livingston County greenspace that Howell residents care about.
After treatment, you’ll know what was done, why it was done, and what to watch for. If something comes back within the warranty window, so does your technician. The same one. Not a different person who has to start from scratch — the same professional who already knows your home and its history.
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We handle the full range of pest problems that Howell homeowners and business owners deal with year-round: ants, rodents, mosquitoes, stinging insects, bed bugs, spiders, fleas, ticks, moles, and wildlife including raccoons, bats, and squirrels. Bat removal in Michigan requires a licensed wildlife control operator — we hold that license and know the legal removal process that protects both your home and the regulated species involved.
Our mosquito control program includes flea and tick treatment at no extra charge. That’s not a bundled upsell — it’s a practical decision for Livingston County, where deer ticks in the greenspace near Kensington Metropark and Island Lake Recreation Area pose a real Lyme disease risk for families who spend time outdoors. One program, three covered pests, all summer long.
For bed bug concerns, we’re one of fewer than 100 companies in the entire United States offering certified canine K-9 bed bug detection — achieving 90 to 98 percent accuracy in finding infestations that human inspection misses. In a community that draws thousands of visitors for events like the Michigan Challenge Balloonfest and the Howell Melon Festival, that capability matters. We also offer price matching for reasonable competitor rates and provide discounts for seniors, veterans, and first responders — because Howell is a community built by exactly those people.
Howell’s mix of older downtown homes, early-2000s subdivisions, and rural-adjacent properties in Howell Township creates a wide range of pest pressure depending on the season. Carpenter ants are one of the most common calls we receive in spring — they emerge when temperatures stay above 50 degrees and target the moisture-damaged or aging wood that’s common in homes built before the 1990s throughout our service area. Rodents — primarily Norway rats and house mice — become a major issue in fall as they seek warmth and find entry points through garage gaps, foundation cracks, and utility penetrations.
Summer brings mosquitoes, especially for properties near Thompson Lake or any standing water, along with yellow jackets, hornets, and deer ticks. Pennsylvania wood cockroaches and stink bugs are documented local pests in Howell as well, with stink bugs invading homes in large numbers each fall. Bed bugs are a year-round concern in any community with significant visitor traffic, and Howell draws thousands of people annually for events like the Balloonfest and the Melon Festival. Knowing which pest you’re dealing with — and when — is the first step toward treating it correctly.
The honest answer is that store-bought treatments work for very light, surface-level pest activity — a few ants near a door, a single wasp nest you can reach safely. Once the problem is inside the structure, recurring despite treatment, or involves a regulated species like bats, you need a licensed professional. In Michigan, bat removal specifically requires a MDARD Nuisance Animal Control License. Attempting to seal bats out of your home without proper exclusion timing can trap them inside the structure or violate state wildlife regulations.
For rodents, DIY trapping often catches a few mice while missing the entry points that are letting more in. For bed bugs, over-the-counter sprays rarely penetrate the harborage sites where eggs are laid, which means the infestation rebounds within weeks. A licensed exterminator can identify the source, treat it correctly, and back the work with a warranty. That’s the difference between solving the problem and managing it indefinitely.
Mosquito season in Howell typically runs from May through September, with peak activity in July and August when humidity is highest and standing water from rain events is most common. Our professional mosquito control program targets the areas where mosquitoes rest and breed — shrubs, ground cover, wood lines, and any standing water features on the property — rather than just treating open air.
Our mosquito program includes flea and tick treatment at no additional charge, which is particularly relevant for Howell-area families. Deer ticks in Livingston County are a documented Lyme disease risk, especially for households near wooded edges, greenspace, or properties backing up to Howell Township’s rural corridors. A single program covers all three outdoor pests through the season. Treatments are typically applied on a recurring schedule — every three to four weeks during peak season — to maintain effective coverage as product breaks down from rain and UV exposure.
Yes — and the detection method we use is one that very few companies anywhere in the country offer. We’re one of fewer than 100 companies in the United States with certified canine K-9 bed bug detection. Trained detection dogs locate bed bugs with 90 to 98 percent accuracy, finding them in wall voids, electrical outlets, mattress seams, and furniture crevices that a visual inspection would miss entirely. That level of precision matters because treating for bed bugs in areas where they aren’t — or missing the areas where they are — leads to failed treatments and repeat infestations.
For Howell residents, this is especially relevant given the volume of visitors the city draws for events like the Michigan Challenge Balloonfest at Howell High School and the Howell Melon Festival. Bed bugs travel with people, and any home that has hosted guests, purchased used furniture, or had family members return from travel has a potential exposure pathway. Canine detection removes the guesswork and gives you a definitive answer before treatment begins.
Pest control pricing in Howell varies based on the type of pest, the size of the property, and whether you need a one-time treatment or an ongoing program. A standard interior and exterior treatment for common household pests — ants, spiders, rodents — typically ranges from $150 to $350 for a single visit, with recurring quarterly or monthly programs running less per visit. Mosquito control programs are generally priced per application, with seasonal packages available.
More specialized services like bed bug treatment, wildlife exclusion, or termite control carry higher costs depending on the scope of the infestation and the size of the home. We offer price matching for reasonable competitor rates, so if you’ve received a quote from another licensed exterminator serving Howell, bring it to the conversation. We also offer discounts for seniors, veterans, and first responders. The goal is to remove the price barrier between you and a qualified professional — not to be the cheapest option on the list, but to be the most straightforward one.
We do. We offer discounts for seniors, veterans, and first responders — and in a community like Howell, that reflects something real about who lives here and who built this place. Livingston County has a strong veteran and first responder presence, and Howell’s identity as a county seat with deep community roots means these aren’t abstract categories — they’re your neighbors, the people working at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, the ones responding to calls across the county.
When you call to schedule service, just mention that you qualify and ask about the current discount. There’s no complicated verification process or fine print designed to make it difficult. We’re a family-owned business that has served southeast Michigan for 20 years, and the discount is one straightforward way we give back to the people who show up for this community every day. It applies to both one-time services and ongoing pest control programs.
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