By the Templateez Team · Licensed Attorney · June 2026

Intake Forms for Pest Control and Extermination Companies: Inspection, Chemical Disclosure, and Recurring Service Documentation

Every service trade has its own intake requirements. A plumber needs to know pipe material and water pressure. An electrician needs panel capacity and wire gauge. But pest control occupies a category of its own because it involves introducing regulated chemical substances into spaces where people live, eat, sleep, and keep animals. The documentation obligations that follow from that reality — EPA compliance, chemical disclosure, state licensing verification, environmental impact — are more demanding than almost any other home service trade. And yet most pest control companies run on a service ticket that captures little more than a name, an address, and a checkbox for “ants” or “roaches.”

That gap between what gets documented and what should get documented is where complaints turn into claims, regulatory inquiries turn into fines, and customer relationships end after a single visit. A proper pest control intake form addresses all of it — from the initial inspection through chemical consent, recurring service terms, and the specialty protocols for termites, bed bugs, and wildlife. Here is what that documentation needs to cover and why each piece matters.

Initial inspection intake: what you need before you open the truck

The first visit to any property is an inspection, whether you call it that or not. Your technician is assessing conditions, identifying the pest, evaluating severity, and determining a treatment approach. Your intake form should be capturing the information that makes that inspection productive before your tech arrives.

Property type and construction. A single-family home on a concrete slab presents entirely different treatment challenges than a pier-and-beam structure with a crawlspace, or a multi-unit apartment building with shared wall voids. Your intake should capture: property type (residential, multi-family, commercial, restaurant, warehouse, agricultural), square footage, construction type (slab, crawlspace, basement, pier and beam), year built, and number of stories. Each of these details changes the treatment plan. A 1960s home with a crawlspace and original foundation vents has different rodent entry points than a 2015 slab-on-grade build. Square footage determines product quantity and pricing. Year built tells your tech how many settling cracks and worn weatherstripping gaps to expect.

Pest identification and severity. Customers describe what they are seeing, and those descriptions range from precise (“German cockroaches in the kitchen, mostly at night”) to vague (“some kind of bugs in the basement”). Your intake should capture: pest type identified or suspected, specific locations of activity (kitchen, bathroom, attic, exterior, multiple areas), duration of the problem (first noticed this week vs. ongoing for months), severity (occasional sightings, daily sightings, heavy infestation), and whether the customer has photos. Duration and severity together tell your tech whether this is a new incursion that a perimeter treatment will resolve or a deep harborage that requires a different strategy entirely.

Previous treatments attempted. This field is where professional intake separates from generic service forms. You need to know: has the customer used DIY products (store-bought sprays, foggers, bait stations, diatomaceous earth), has another pest control company treated the property before, what products were used (if known), and why the previous approach failed. Foggers are particularly important to document because they scatter pests deeper into wall voids, potentially creating a worse problem and complicating your treatment. A customer who has been spraying pyrethroids for six months may have created resistance in the pest population, which changes your product selection.

Access points observed. If the customer has noticed gaps around pipes, cracks in the foundation, damaged weather stripping, or openings around utility lines, capturing that at intake gives your technician a head start on the inspection. It also begins the documentation trail for exclusion work recommendations.

Chemical disclosure and consent: the fields most companies skip

This is where pest control intake diverges sharply from every other service trade. You are applying regulated substances in occupied spaces. The documentation requirements for regulated industries go well beyond what a standard service ticket captures.

Product identification. Your intake — or more precisely, the service record that flows from it — should document what products will be or were applied, including trade names, active ingredients, and EPA registration numbers. FIFRA (the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act) requires that pesticides be applied according to their label, and the label is the law. Your documentation proves compliance with label requirements.

Safety Data Sheets. Commercial accounts and many residential customers are entitled to know what chemicals are being applied in their space. Your intake process should include a mechanism for providing SDS information on request, and your form should note whether the customer requested or received SDS documents.

Re-entry intervals. Most professional pesticide products specify how long people and pets should stay out of the treated area. Some products require a two-hour re-entry interval. Others require four hours, or until the product dries completely. Your intake should document the re-entry interval communicated to the customer and how it was communicated (verbally, in writing, posted signage). When a customer claims they were never told to vacate, your documented re-entry notification is your defense.

Pet and child safety precautions. This is not a courtesy — it is a liability issue. Dogs and cats metabolize chemicals differently. Cats are especially vulnerable to pyrethroid-based products because they lack certain liver enzymes. Birds are sensitive to airborne chemicals. Fish and aquariums are extremely sensitive — many common insecticides are lethal to fish at concentrations that are harmless to mammals. Your intake must capture: what pets are in the home, species, number, location during treatment, whether they can be removed, and whether there are aquariums. It should also capture whether children under five are present, whether anyone in the home is pregnant, and whether elderly residents have respiratory conditions. These answers directly determine product selection and application method.

Food preparation area protocols. Treating a residential kitchen requires different products and application methods than treating a garage. Treating a commercial kitchen or food processing facility introduces an entirely separate layer of compliance (FDA, state health department, HACCP). Your intake should flag food preparation and storage areas so your technician selects appropriate products and application methods for those zones.

State licensing and regulatory fields

Pest control is licensed at the state level, and licensing requirements vary significantly. Most states require a pesticide applicator license. Many require a separate business license for pest control operations. Some states require specific certifications for termite work, fumigation, or wildlife control. Your intake form should include fields that document your own compliance for each service call.

Applicator license number. The technician performing the treatment should have their license number recorded on the service documentation. In states that require it, this is not optional — it is a regulatory requirement tied to each individual service event.

Business license and insurance certificate. Many states and municipalities require pest control companies to carry specific insurance minimums and to provide proof of coverage. Commercial accounts routinely require certificates of insurance before allowing treatment. Your intake should capture whether the customer has requested a COI and whether one was provided.

State-specific forms. Some states require specific forms for certain types of pest control work. Termite treatments and WDI (Wood Destroying Insect) inspections are the most common example — many states have their own mandated inspection report format that must be completed and filed. Your intake process should identify which state-specific documentation applies to each service call.

Integrated Pest Management documentation

IPM is not just a buzzword — it is the standard of care in modern pest management and an increasingly common requirement for commercial accounts, government contracts, schools, and healthcare facilities. An IPM approach treats chemical application as one tool among several, emphasizing inspection, identification, monitoring, and prevention. Your intake documentation should support this approach.

Inspection findings. What conditions contribute to pest activity? Moisture sources (leaking pipes, poor drainage, condensation), food sources (unsealed food storage, grease buildup, pet food left out), and entry points (foundation cracks, gaps around utility penetrations, damaged door sweeps, open soffit vents) should all be documented during the initial inspection and captured in a format that carries forward to future service visits.

Non-chemical recommendations. IPM documentation should record what environmental modifications were recommended: seal cracks, fix leaking faucet, trim vegetation away from foundation, store firewood away from the structure, install door sweeps, repair window screens. These recommendations are part of the treatment plan, and documenting them protects you when the customer calls back with a recurring problem after ignoring every recommendation you made.

Monitoring plan. For recurring service accounts, your intake should establish a monitoring baseline: where will monitoring devices (glue boards, bait stations, pheromone traps) be placed, what are the threshold levels that trigger treatment, and what is the inspection frequency? This documentation is especially important for commercial accounts where regulators or auditors review pest management records.

Termite inspection intake: a category unto itself

Termite work generates more documentation requirements than general pest control, and much of it is driven by real estate transactions. When a buyer's lender requires a WDI/WDO (Wood Destroying Insect / Wood Destroying Organism) inspection as a condition of closing, your intake needs to capture transaction-specific details that general pest intake does not.

WDI/WDO report requirements. Your intake should identify: is this inspection for a real estate transaction? If so, who ordered it (buyer, seller, real estate agent, lender)? What is the closing date? What state form is required? Many states have a specific WDI report form (NPMA-33 is the most widely used, but state variations exist). Missing the closing date or filing the wrong state form can delay or derail a transaction.

Treatment history and warranty status. Has the property been treated for termites before? When? By whom? Is there an existing warranty or service agreement? Is there an active bait monitoring system? Retreatment obligations under existing warranties can affect your treatment plan and your liability. If the property has a transferable warranty from another company, that creates contractual issues you need to understand before you bid the job.

Annual inspection scheduling. Most termite treatment warranties require annual inspections to remain valid. Your intake should establish the warranty start date, inspection interval, and renewal terms. This is the beginning of a long-term service relationship, and the documentation you capture now is what you will reference for years.

Recurring service contracts: what is covered and what is not

Pest control is fundamentally a subscription business. Monthly, quarterly, and annual service plans generate the recurring revenue that sustains most companies. But recurring service agreements require clear intake documentation about scope, and this is where customer disputes most commonly originate.

Service plan type. Monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, or annual. Interior only, exterior only, or both. Each configuration has different pricing and different customer expectations.

What is covered. A general pest plan typically covers common household pests: ants, cockroaches, spiders, silverfish, earwigs, centipedes, and similar. Your intake should clearly document which pests are included in the service plan.

What is excluded. This is the more important list. Termites are almost universally excluded from general pest plans and require a separate contract. Bed bugs are typically excluded. Wildlife (raccoons, squirrels, bats, birds) is excluded. Mosquitoes and ticks may or may not be included depending on the plan. German cockroach cleanouts (as distinct from maintenance treatment) are often excluded or priced separately. Documenting these exclusions at intake — and getting the customer to acknowledge them — prevents the call six months later where the customer says, “I thought my plan covered termites.”

Service guarantee terms. Most pest control companies offer some form of guarantee: if pests return between scheduled treatments, they will re-treat at no additional charge. But guarantees have conditions. The customer must allow access. The customer must follow preparation instructions. The customer must not apply their own products between treatments. Document these conditions at intake. The role intake forms play in setting client expectations is especially critical in a recurring service model where the relationship lasts months or years.

Bed bug intake: a specialized protocol

Bed bugs are not a general pest problem. They require specialized treatment protocols, specialized pricing, and specialized intake documentation.

Travel history. Where has the customer traveled recently? Bed bugs are almost always introduced through travel — hotels, Airbnbs, public transportation, secondhand furniture. Travel history helps confirm the diagnosis and may indicate the timeline of the infestation.

Multi-unit notification requirements. In apartments and condominiums, bed bugs migrate between units. Many jurisdictions require landlords to notify adjacent units when bed bugs are confirmed. Your intake should capture the property type and, for multi-unit properties, whether management has been notified and whether adjacent units will be inspected.

Preparation instructions. Bed bug treatment — whether chemical or heat — requires extensive customer preparation: laundering and bagging all clothing and linens, removing clutter from floors and closets, moving furniture away from walls. Your intake should document that preparation instructions were provided, when they were provided, and in what format. Incomplete preparation is the most common cause of treatment failure, and you need documentation showing the customer was informed.

Treatment method consent. Heat treatment and chemical treatment are fundamentally different approaches with different costs, different preparation requirements, and different efficacy profiles. Your intake should document which method was selected, why it was recommended, and that the customer consented to the approach. Heat treatment involves bringing a unit to 130–140°F for several hours, which can damage electronics, vinyl records, candles, and other heat-sensitive items. That risk needs to be disclosed and documented.

Re-inspection scheduling. Bed bug treatment almost always requires follow-up inspections at 7–14 days and again at 30 days. Your intake should establish the follow-up schedule and the customer's availability for those inspections.

Wildlife and exclusion work

Wildlife control — raccoons in the attic, squirrels in the soffit, bats in the eaves — has its own regulatory framework that is entirely separate from pesticide regulation.

Species-specific regulations. Many wildlife species are protected under state or federal law. Bats, for example, are protected in most states, and removal during maternity season (typically May through August) is prohibited. Migratory birds are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Your intake should identify the suspected species and trigger the appropriate regulatory checklist before your technician begins any removal or exclusion work.

Humane trapping documentation. Most states require that live traps be checked at specific intervals (typically every 24 hours) and that captured wildlife be relocated a minimum distance from the capture site. Your intake should document trap placement, check schedule, and relocation plan.

Exclusion work scope. Wildlife exclusion — sealing entry points after removal — is a construction activity as much as a pest management activity. Your intake should capture the scope of exclusion work (seal soffit gaps, install chimney caps, screen gable vents, repair fascia damage) as a defined scope of work separate from the trapping service. This protects you when the customer expects exclusion to be included in the trapping price, or when they claim that your exclusion work damaged their roofline. Scope documentation is a fundamental requirement in any trade where the work crosses into structural modification.

Property access and treatment preparation

Pest control technicians need access to areas that customers often do not think about: crawlspaces, attic hatches, behind appliances, inside utility closets, around the entire exterior perimeter including fenced yards and locked gates. Your intake should document:

• Who provides access — homeowner present, lockbox, gate code, property manager, tenant vs. landlord authorization.
• Preparation requirements — what the homeowner must do before treatment: cover or remove pet food and water bowls, cover fish tanks, clear items from under sinks, move items away from walls (for bed bug treatment), remove pets from the premises, and vacate during treatment if required by the product label.
• Re-entry timing — when the homeowner can return to the treated area. Document that this was communicated and acknowledged.
• Restricted areas — any rooms, zones, or surfaces the customer does not want treated. Document these restrictions to avoid disputes.

The pre-existing condition problem

Pest control companies are routinely blamed for damage they did not cause. A customer calls for a termite inspection, your inspector finds termite damage in the subfloor, and six months later the customer claims you caused the damage during treatment. Or a customer with an existing moisture problem in their crawlspace blames your treatment for wood rot that predated your first visit by years.

Your intake should document pre-existing conditions observed during the initial inspection: existing termite damage, moisture damage, wood rot, structural settling, previous repair work. Photographs are ideal. Narrative descriptions are acceptable. The point is to establish a baseline so that any subsequent damage claim can be compared against the documented condition at intake. This is the same principle that protects contractors across every trade, and the liability gap created by missing intake fields is especially costly in pest control where damage claims can run into tens of thousands of dollars for termite-related structural repairs.

Landlord-tenant pest situations

Pest control in rental properties introduces a layer of complexity that owner-occupied homes do not have. Your intake needs to address it directly.

Who is the client? The landlord may be paying for the service, but the tenant is occupying the space. Your intake should clearly identify who requested the service, who is authorizing treatment, and who is responsible for payment. In many jurisdictions, the landlord has a legal obligation to provide pest-free housing under implied warranty of habitability statutes. In others, the tenant bears responsibility for pest problems that arise after move-in.

Access coordination. If the landlord ordered the service, does the tenant know you are coming? Has the tenant been given adequate notice? Many states require 24–48 hours’ notice before a landlord or their agent enters a rental unit. Your intake should document how and when notice was provided.

Multi-unit treatment. In apartment buildings, treating one unit for roaches or bed bugs without treating adjacent units is often futile. Your intake should capture the building layout, number of affected units, and whether management has authorized treatment of common areas and adjacent units. This is also where your documentation intersects with bed bug notification requirements in jurisdictions that mandate them.

Habitability implications. If the pest situation is severe enough to affect habitability — a heavy roach infestation, bed bugs, rodent activity in living spaces — your documentation may end up as evidence in a landlord-tenant dispute. A thorough intake that records the severity of the infestation at the time of your first visit protects both you and the party that retained you.

Pulling it together: documentation as a competitive advantage

Most pest control companies think of intake paperwork as an administrative burden. It is not. It is the foundation of every customer relationship, every regulatory compliance record, every liability defense, and every recurring service contract you will manage. The company that captures detailed intake data on the first visit — property conditions, pest identification, chemical sensitivities, access instructions, treatment consent, service scope and exclusions — is the company that retains customers, avoids claims, passes regulatory audits, and operates efficiently on every subsequent visit.

The company that dispatches a technician with nothing more than an address and “bugs” is the company that discovers the customer has a fish tank after the spray is in the air.