Hear from Our Customers
Bed bugs don’t stay in one place. They spread through wall voids, behind baseboards, inside furniture joints — and in a home built before World War II, there are more of those spaces than any inspector can manually check. What you get after a proper treatment isn’t just fewer bugs. It’s the certainty that the infestation was actually found before it was treated.
That distinction matters more in Morrice than most people realize. Many of the homes in this village have aged plaster walls, settled framing, and layered renovations that create hidden voids where bugs can live for months completely undetected. Human inspection alone finds bed bugs in roughly 17 to 40 percent of the places they actually are. Canine detection pushes that to 90 to 98 percent. The outcome you’re looking for — a home that’s genuinely clear — starts with knowing where every bug actually is.
And because Morrice residents commute regularly to Owosso, Lansing, and beyond, re-exposure is a real and ongoing risk. The right treatment plan accounts for that. You shouldn’t have to start over every time you come home from a work trip or a holiday visit.
We founded First Choice Pest Control on May 31, 2005 — twenty years of solving pest problems for Michigan homeowners, including families throughout Shiawassee County and here in Morrice. Roger, our owner, has 26 years of hands-on experience in this field. We built this company around a straightforward idea: the same trained technician comes to your home every time. Not whoever’s available. Not a rotating crew. The same person, who knows your property and your history.
In a village like Morrice — where fewer than a thousand people live and most of them have known each other for years — that kind of accountability means something. You’re not getting a stranger at your door. You’re getting a professional who treats your home the way someone should when they know they’ll be coming back.
We hold Integrated Pest Management credentials, have earned recognition from Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor, and offer discounts for seniors, veterans, and first responders. No long-term contracts. And if you find a reasonable competitor rate, we’ll match it.
The first thing that happens is a thorough inspection — and for most Morrice homes, that means deploying a certified detection dog. This is where our process separates itself from what most companies offer. The dog isn’t a gimmick. It’s a trained detection tool that can locate live bugs and viable eggs behind walls, under flooring, and inside furniture that no human inspector would physically reach. We’re one of fewer than 100 companies in the entire country with this certification.
Once the inspection is complete and the scope of the infestation is clearly mapped, treatment begins. The specific approach depends on what was found and where — IPM methodology means the treatment is targeted, not a blanket spray of whatever’s available. Because bed bug eggs survive initial chemical application, treatment isn’t a one-visit situation. You should expect two to four visits over three to six weeks, timed to catch newly hatched bugs before they reach reproductive age. That follow-up structure is what actually eliminates the infestation rather than just reducing it temporarily.
After treatment is complete, your technician walks you through what to watch for and what re-exposure risks look like — particularly relevant if you’re commuting regularly into Lansing or Owosso, or if you’ve recently had overnight guests from out of the area.
Ready to get started?
Our bed bug control services cover both residential and commercial properties in the Morrice area and throughout Perry Township. Whether you’re a homeowner on Main Street, a landlord managing rental units, or a business owner in the surrounding Shiawassee County area, our service is built around your specific situation — not a one-size-fits-all package.
Every service starts with the certified canine inspection. From there, treatment is tailored based on what the inspection reveals: the extent of the infestation, the age and layout of the structure, and the areas affected. Older Morrice homes often require more attention to wall voids and original flooring than newer construction would — and that’s accounted for in how the treatment plan is structured, not charged as an add-on surprise.
Follow-up visits are a standard part of the process, not an upsell. Because bed bug eggs are resistant to initial treatment, the follow-up schedule is what closes the gap between a reduced infestation and an eliminated one. We also offer price matching for reasonable competitor rates, so if you’ve already gotten a quote, bring it. Seniors, veterans, and first responders in the Morrice community receive a discount — no hoops, no fine print. We maintain current Michigan MDARD licensing and full insurance.
Yes — and this is one of the most common misconceptions that leads people to wait too long. Bed bugs are indoor pests. They don’t respond to outdoor temperature the way mosquitoes or wasps do. As long as your home is heated, which it will be through every Morrice winter, bed bugs have everything they need to survive and reproduce year-round. Cold outdoor temperatures do nothing to an infestation living inside your walls or mattress.
This is worth understanding because some homeowners assume a Michigan winter will take care of the problem naturally. It won’t. Bed bugs in a heated home in January are just as active as they are in July. If anything, the infestation grows during the months when you’re spending more time indoors and less time noticing the early signs. Don’t wait for a season change — it’s not coming for them.
The most reliable early signs are small rust-colored stains on your sheets or mattress seams, tiny dark specks along baseboards or behind headboards, and a sweet or musty odor in the bedroom that wasn’t there before. Bites alone aren’t a reliable indicator — they look similar to mosquito or flea bites and not everyone reacts to them the same way.
What makes identification harder in older Morrice homes is that there are simply more places for bugs to hide before you’d ever see them directly. Aged baseboards, original plaster walls, and settled flooring all create gaps that a visual inspection won’t catch. If you’re seeing the staining or the specks but can’t find a live bug, that doesn’t mean they’re not there. It usually means they’re in a place you’re not looking. That’s exactly the situation where our canine detection changes the outcome — the dog finds what the eye misses.
Our treatment approach is guided by Integrated Pest Management methodology, which means chemical application is targeted — not broadcast throughout the home. You’ll be given specific preparation instructions before the visit and clear guidance on when it’s safe to return to treated areas. For most treatments, that means being out of the home for a few hours, not days.
If you have young children, elderly family members, or pets, those specifics matter and your technician will walk through them with you directly before anything is applied. The goal of IPM is to use the minimum effective intervention, which keeps unnecessary chemical exposure low while still eliminating the infestation. All products we use comply with Michigan MDARD requirements for licensed commercial pesticide application. If you have specific health concerns or sensitivities in your household, bring them up when you schedule — it affects how the plan is structured, and it’s better to know upfront.
A trained human inspector doing a visual check finds bed bugs in roughly 17 to 40 percent of the locations they’re actually present. A certified detection dog pushes that accuracy to 90 to 98 percent. That gap isn’t a small margin — it’s the difference between treating a confirmed infestation and treating a guess.
Bed bugs hide in places that are physically inaccessible to a visual inspection: inside wall voids, beneath flooring, deep inside furniture joints, behind electrical outlet plates. In a Morrice home built in the late 1800s or early 1900s, those hiding spaces multiply significantly. Aged construction means more settled gaps, more original materials, and more accumulated voids than any newer build would have. The dog doesn’t need to see the bug — it detects the scent of live bugs and viable eggs regardless of where they’re concealed. We’re one of fewer than 100 companies in the United States with this certification, and it’s available to homeowners right here in Morrice.
Most infestations require two to four visits over a three to six week period. The reason isn’t that the first treatment fails — it’s that bed bug eggs are resistant to chemical application. The eggs that survive the initial treatment will hatch, and that second generation needs to be treated before it reaches reproductive age. If you skip the follow-up visits, you’re not finishing the job.
The exact number of visits depends on how advanced the infestation is when it’s found, how many areas of the home are affected, and how the structure is built. A smaller, earlier-stage infestation in a single room is a different scope than a multi-room infestation that’s been spreading for several months — which is often what happens when DIY treatments have been attempted first. We build follow-up visits into the treatment plan as a standard part of the process, not an add-on. You’ll know the schedule before anything starts.
Yes. We offer discounts for seniors, veterans, and first responders. In a community like Morrice — where a meaningful portion of residents are long-term homeowners on fixed incomes, and where military service and community roles are genuinely part of the local fabric — these discounts reflect who actually lives here and what matters to them. They’re applied straightforwardly when you call and mention that you qualify.
Beyond the discounts, we also match reasonable competitor rates. If you’ve already gotten a quote from another company and you’re trying to figure out whether the price difference justifies the difference in capability — bring the quote. Our price-matching guarantee means you don’t have to trade quality for cost. And because there are no long-term contracts, your continued business is something that has to be earned on every visit, not locked in on the first one.
Local Resources
Useful Links
