Some people raise chickens as a natural way to control pests in the garden. Unfortunately, even the wild chickens roaming Ybor City can’t protect all the residents of Tampa from household pests. For that, you need a pest control company that’s been around the block, like Orkin in Tampa.
As one of the nation’s leading pest control services, Orkin will likely be able to handle your pest problems. They might not cover wild chickens (especially since they’re protected by city ordinances), but they do offer wildlife management services, lawn treatments, specialized insulation, and more.
This Orkin review covers everything you need to know about the Tampa Orkin branch’s services and customer experience. We did the research for you. Though Pest Gnome has an affiliate relationship with Orkin, this Orkin pest control review is fair and unbiased.
Orkin
- Same-day service
- Satisfaction guarantee
- Services the entire Tampa area
Orkin Tampa at a Glance
Pests They Treat
| Pest | Orkin Tampa |
| Ants | ✔ |
| Bed bugs | ✔ |
| Beetles | ✔ |
| Carpenter ants | ✔ |
| Centipedes and millipedes | ✔ |
| Cockroaches | ✔ |
| Crickets | ✔ |
| Earwigs | ✔ |
| Fleas | ✔ |
| Flies | ✔ |
| Mites | ✔ |
| Mosquitoes | ✔ |
| Moths | ✔ |
| Pantry pests | Pantry beetles only |
| Rodents (mice, rats, etc.) | ✔ |
| Scorpions | ✔ |
| Silverfish | ✔ |
| Spiders | ✔ |
| Stinging pests (bees, wasps, etc.) | ✔ |
| Stink bugs | ✔ |
| Termites | ✔ |
| Ticks | ✔ |
| Wildlife | ✔ |
Pricing
| Service | Orkin Tampa |
| Basic Pest Services | $45-$85 per month |
| Termite Treatment | $950-$1,550 |
| Bed Bug Treatment | $500-$1,500 |
| Single Treatment | $250-$600 |
Main Features
| Feature | Orkin Tampa |
| How many states do they serve? | 47 (Excluding AK, SD, WY) |
| Service Plans Offered | |
| One-time service? | ✔ |
| Monthly service? | ✔ |
| Quarterly service? | ✔ |
| Offers eco-friendly options? | ✔ |
| Does it serve commercial properties? | ✔ |
| Customer Service | |
| Gives instant quotes online? | ✘ (only on the phone) |
| Has an online portal for scheduling, billing, etc.? | ✔ |
| 24/7 customer support? | ✔ |
| Better Business Bureau rating | A+ |
| Additional Services Offered | |
| Attic insulation | ✓ |
| Moisture control | ✓ |
| Sanitation | ✓ |
| Gutter guards | ✓ |
| Lawn treatments for pests weeds, and diseases | ✓ |
Other Orkin Tampa Services
Beyond ordinary pest control, Orkin also provides these other services.
Attic Insulation
Your Orkin pro can install one of three types of their signature insulation in your attic, crawl space, or walls to deter common pests, mitigate energy loss, save money on heating and cooling, and protect items stored in your attic, garage, or crawl space.
Your options are OrkinTherm, Orkin ComfortZone, and Orkin’s rolled batting insulation.
- OrkinTherm is made with a naturally occurring compound that is lethal to pests, but safe for your family and your pets. OrkinTherm is the only pest control product that bears both an Energy Star label and EPA approval, and it’s made of 85% recycled materials. It is effective on the following common pests:
- Cockroaches
- Termites
- Ants
- Silverfish
- Earwigs
- Crickets
- Sowbugs
- Darkling beetles
- Millipedes
- Centipedes
- Booklice
- Orkin ComfortZone can save energy, extend the life of your HVAC system, and free up more storage space in your house.
- Rolled batting insulation can both control sound and improve air quality in your home. Plus, it’s made from at least 25% recycled materials.
Gutter Protection
Scaling a 20-foot ladder, removing the substance you find at the top – no, this isn’t a heist, it’s gutter cleaning day.
Cleaning your gutters is one of the more dangerous household chores, not to mention that standing water and debris in gutters create the perfect breeding conditions for mosquitoes or home for other pests and wildlife.
Orkin’s answer to dirty gutters, the Leaf Stopper, is “a specially treated open-cell, multipolymer insert.”
It can protect your gutters from pests, debris, and water damage that can lead to serious structural issues. Plus, it doesn’t dent, break, or rust, and gutter inspections are free.
Control Moisture
As residents of the most humid state in the nation, Floridians are no strangers to the problems created by excess moisture. It can lead to mold, termite damage, or even structural issues.
Orkin DryZone® is Orkin’s customized moisture control service. They offer free inspections to see if it is right for you.
Your Orkin technician will hunt down moisture wherever it hides during an inspection and bring it to justice – by creating a custom program to reduce humidity. This can increase your home’s energy efficiency and even extend the life of your pipes.
Wildlife Management
Hear a strange scratching sound inside the wall? Your house could be haunted, sure, but more likely is that a critter made its way into your walls and could be building a nest, having babies, and chewing through your wires.
Orkin’s wildlife management service can responsibly remove any little critters that have made a home in your garage, attic, or crawl space. They also will cover up possible entry points and install wildlife repellents to make sure that once the animals are out, they stay out.
Lawn Treatments
There are so many factors involved in getting a lawn to look its best. You’ll need your grass robust enough to thrive in the Tampa heat and sandy soil.
Orkin’s Tampa branch is one of the few locations across the country offering their comprehensive lawn treatment, which can help keep your lawn healthy by staving off pests, weeds, and diseases in three steps:
- Assess: An Orkin pro will check your lawn and shrubs for any current or potential problems and work to understand your specific landscaping needs, free of charge.
- Implement: Next, they’ll put your custom plan to work to provide nutrition and protection from disease and pests year round.
- Monitor: Following your first treatment, Orkin will keep an eye on your lawn and ensure that the pests are staying away.
This service involves six visits over the course of a year. If other visits are required between scheduled ones, they come at no extra charge.
Sanitation Service for Businesses
VitalClean is Orkin’s answer to workplace sanitation. This powerful disinfecting agent can completely wipe out viruses and bacteria on hard surfaces and sanitize soft surfaces. They offer a free consultation.
The EPA labels VitalClean as “practically non-toxic and not an irritant,” so it provides a way to safely assure your office’s cleanliness at a time when hygiene is more important than ever.
Mosquito Treatments
Mosquitoes can spread bacteria, parasites, and viruses through their bites. Since they’re such a big problem across the Sunshine State, Orkin has multiple ways to handle these pests:
- Vegetation Treatments: Orkin will identify vegetation mosquitoes use as a resting place and administer insecticides to the area.
- Water Treatments: Your pest control pro can apply insect growth regulators on water that mosquitoes use for nesting in order to prevent larvae from reaching maturity.
- Prevent Eggs From Hatching: Microbial insecticide products can be used in the water where mosquitoes lay their eggs to kill them before they hatch.
Orkin Tampa Highlights
Otto Orkin founded his pest control company in 1901 in Pennsylvania. After taking his services to Richmond, he decided to move his HQ to Atlanta and thereafter expanded his business throughout the southern United States.
Orkin now has more than 400 locations – four serving Tampa – and more than 8,000 team members. Together, they have served over 1.7 million customers around the world.
Orkin’s considerable experience has landed it a spot as an industry leader, and as such, it can provide many other services in addition to pest control.
The Orkin Guarantee
Orkin’s services include a 30-day money back guarantee. If you’re not satisfied, you can opt for 60 days of complementary service or a refund on their last visit.
Their motto is “We’re not happy, until you’re happy.”
Industry Leading Training
With more than 120 years of experience, Orkin has developed standardized training procedures that are some of the best in the field.
Every one of Orkin’s employees must pass 160 hours of training. Their state-of-the art facilities and curriculum regularly land them on Training magazine’s prestigious Top 125 list, in which they have also been featured as Editor’s Choice honorees.
Education and Public Health
Mosquitoes Don’t Deserve a Drop
Tampa is No. 11 on Orkin’s Top 50 Mosquito Cities list for 2023. The list is based on the number of mosquito treatments administered in each city.
Anyone who has spent a summer in Tampa knows that mosquitoes can be a big problem. Beyond specializing in mosquito management services, Orkin has turned mosquito season into a fundraiser with their “Mosquitoes Don’t Deserve a Drop” campaign.
Blood donations typically decrease in the summertime, so to help increase the nation’s blood supply, Orkin sponsors blood drives in cities with high mosquito activity. Since 2020, Orkin has donated over $220,000 as part of this initiative, which also strives to educate the public on the health hazards posed by mosquitoes.
Environmental Approach
Orkin takes measures to curb the effects of pest control on the environment.
Besides using pest control products that are approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, Orkin also curbs their impact on the environment around the office, too.
- The Environmental Stewardship Group consists of workers from various company departments. They review Orkin’s procedures to ensure that they remain environmentally conscious.
- Public transport and carpooling is encouraged by providing discounts to staff members who participate.
- In 2009, Orkin’s parent company, Rollins Inc., won the Buckhead Area Transportation Management Association’s “Best Overall Commuter Program” award.
- The National Pest Management Association’s Quality Pro program holds Orkin and its other member organizations to the highest ethical and operational standards for professional pest control technicians in the field.
Orkin also teamed up with Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (also known as H2E) to publish the H2E 10-Step Guide to Implementing an Integrated Pest Management Program. Its purpose is to educate health care staff on the advantages of IPM with the goal of helping them develop a greener mode of pest control that works for their own facilities.
How to Get an Instant Quote and Order Service Online
Interested or need to know more? Orkin does not offer instant quotes but they make it easy to schedule a callback for a free quote from a Tampa branch representative. All you have to do is enter some basic information.
Step 1. Start by clicking on “Get a Quote” or “Get a Free Quote” anywhere on Orkin’s website.
Step 2. Next, select the reason for your inquiry and input some basic contact information. Here, you have the option to select a date and time that best suits your schedule to receive your callback and quote.
It’s important to note that some services require an inspection to diagnose. The service representative who contacts you will likely ask what pest you are dealing with, how long the issue has been occurring, and how large your property is.
Orkin Tampa Customer Reviews
Hear what Orkin customers had to say about the Tampa offices:
Great service with a smile: “[Technician] came out today to treat subterranean termites. He was very thorough, helpful and kind. With a 🙂. Just as a technician should be. The manager at Orkin in Tampa has always been awesome. There was a little bit of a mixup this holiday with the scheduling and somebody not turning up, but they fixed it and came and got it done. They are very good.” – Louise F., Facebook
Technician didn’t show up and the roaches didn’t leave: “Had Orkin out several times due to a roach problem. They no-called, no-showed on my tenants twice, so I reported it to the manager. The manager was very nice and said he would like to start coming out monthly to work on the roach problem and there would be no more problems with someone not showing up. For the third time the Orkin guy no-showed last Saturday and the place still has live roaches around over three months of treatment. Horrible customer service, poor ability to fix the issue.” – Heather E., Yelp
New client turned loyal customer: “Switched over from another big-name company in 2020, as the other company’s reps stated they were doing treatments inside and outside the home, but were only doing the outside. Orkin resolved this concern of ours. Their rep was professional, timely, friendly, and knowledgeable. The consistency in the rep visiting our home helps to build confidence and loyalty with the brand. We trust our rep, and so we trust Orkin. Highly recommend Orkin to all over other big-name competitors.” – Falgoon P., Google
Pros:
- 100+ years of experience
- Same-day service
- Money-back guarantee
- Highly trained technicians
Cons:
- Costly inspections
- Customer service variations with a franchise model
- No instant quotes
Buyers Guide to Choosing a Pest Control Company in Tampa
When you’re looking at a pest control company that is a global player like Orkin, it’s important to know exactly which services your local office offers.
Your Location
Orkin has four locations servicing the Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater area.
- Orkin Tampa (residential & commercial)
5031 Savarese Circle
Tampa, FL
813-524-6499
- Orkin Tampa (residential only)
9629 Palm River Road
Tampa, FL
813-524-7825
- Orkin St. Petersburg (commercial only)
2840 Scherer Dr N Ste 430
St.Petersburg, FL
727-314-6826
- Orkin St. Petersburg (residential only)
3419 18th Ave, South
St. Petersburg, FL 33711
727-729-6487
Pests Covered
Orkin is equipped to deal with many types of pests. In Tampa, they focus on the most common pests in the area, including:
- Termites
- Roaches
- Ants
- Rodents
- Mosquitoes
- Stinging Pests
- Fleas
- Spiders
- Carpenter Ants
Eco-Friendly Options
Orkin operates sustainably in both pest control and other company operations.
The National Pest Management Association’s Quality Pro program holds Orkin to the highest ethical and operational standards in the industry. Orkin’s rigorous employee training assures that any chemicals are applied properly.
When it comes to such chemical products, Orkin chooses those that have been approved by the EPA.
Orkin’s modern approach to pest control focuses on integrated pest management, or IPM, which centers around prevention of the conditions that allow pests to become problematic in the first place, using chemical pesticides only when necessary.
These contemporary tools include:
- Fly lights, which use ultraviolet light to lure flying bugs onto sticky boards
- Pheromone traps, which use fake pheromones (the chemicals insects use to communicate with one another) to attract and trap pests.
- IGRs, or insect growth regulators, use synthetic insect hormones to inhibit the development of insects in their breeding grounds. They never reach maturity, and therefore cannot reproduce, limiting their population.
Customer Testimonials
Reviews of Orkin in Tampa are mostly positive. The customers who had negative experiences complained that their technicians never showed up and didn’t call to say they couldn’t be there. Some received apologies and quick service afterward, while others did not.
On the whole, though, Tampa residents were satisfied with Orkin’s service. Many reviews cite their attentive and thorough Orkin specialists who were willing to make extra visits or alter their normal schedules when necessary.
Other reviews claim that their exterminators were knowledgeable and polite, and that their service was effective and prompt.
Cost
Every pest problem is different, so treatment methods and cost will vary.
Orkin only provides quotes over the phone, and for infestations of bed bugs or termites (two treatments in which Orkin specializes), a technician will need to visit and assess the situation before you can get an accurate estimate.
The average cost for monthly pest control service ranges from $40-$70 a visit. Orkin in Tampa falls into the average category, at $45-$85 per month for basic pest services.
The average cost for a specialized service like termite treatment ranges from $275-$863. At Orkin, the cost is a bit higher, with a termite treatment plan costing between $950-$1,550. Most homeowners pay $917-$1,917 for bed bug treatment, but Orkin Tampa is considerably less at $500-$1,500.
FAQ About Pest Control
Unlike termites, carpenter ants don’t eat wood, they just make their nests in it. What’s more, they often create satellite nests inside your house, which can make them very difficult to exterminate.
A common way to treat carpenter ants is with bait traps. A sugary bait is placed near their trails, which the worker ants will carry back to their queen and the rest of the colony. They think it is a food source, but the sugary bait is actually poisonous to the ants.
Boric acid is a common DIY solution for these ants, but it must be done correctly in order to be effective on the entire colony. For this reason, some people would rather leave it to the professionals, who can use chemical and non-chemical solutions to put an end to a carpenter ant problem.
Not sure what type of ant you’re dealing with? This Pest Gnome guide on identifying (and exterminating) common types of ants might be helpful.
Different types of mosquitoes prefer living in different environments, but they all like to be near water, where they lay their eggs.
Some mosquitoes prefer permanent sources of water, choosing to deposit their eggs in ponds, swamps, or manmade containers that hold water. Others prefer to lay their eggs in moist soil or containers, where the eggs temporarily dry out until rainwater floods the area, when they hatch.
Being on the Gulf of Mexico means that Tampa is situated in a warm, wet environment perfect for mosquitoes. With an average of 51 inches of rain per year – much higher than the national average of 38 inches – there is no shortage of moist areas in which mosquitoes would love to raise a family.
The CDC has more info on the specific conditions preferred by different types of mosquitoes, and Sarasota County has an even more detailed breakdown of places where you might find mosquitoes around town and in the wild.
If you have a mosquito problem, you want to get rid of them so you can enjoy your yard. You can find out more about Orkin’s mosquito treatment.
As the old saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” The best way to avoid a roach problem is to make sure your home doesn’t provide them with favorable conditions.
There are two easy places to start.
Remove Sources of Sustenance
Ensure your kitchen is clean. Regularly clean behind and underneath appliances and make sure food is stored in sealed containers. If you have a pet, try cleaning up after it’s done eating, and make sure that you don’t leave any food residue on your own dishes for too long.
Cockroaches can live for a month without food, so it’s important to be consistent to cut their food source off for good.
Eliminate Points of Entry
The National Pesticide Information Center says that some common ways cockroaches enter homes are:
• Crawling through holes and cracks in buildings
• Sneaking inside of backpacks, suitcases, and other containers
• Coming through small openings near doors and windows
• Entering one apartment from another via pipes or holes in shared walls
Therefore, one way to keep the cockroaches away is to seal up these openings in your own home. And be sure to inspect bags and groceries when you bring them into your home. Being vigilant will make it easier to nip a small infestation in the bud before it becomes a big problem.
DIY Pest Control
Tampa is known as the “Lightning Capital of the World.” Lightning is a force of nature you can’t control, but pests, on the other hand, can be handled.
A good place to start is by making sure your property does not invite pests to stay. Store food so it’s inaccessible to pests, and keep your garage and attic clutter-free so they don’t have a nice place to hide.
Focusing on eliminating the conditions that are attractive to pests is known as integrated pest management, or IPM. This approach saves chemical solutions as a last resort.
Pest Gnome’s blog has a lot of tips on managing pests, especially those native to Tampa:
- Termite Control: How To Identify and Get Rid of Termites
- Cockroach Control: How to Get Rid of Cockroaches for Good
- How to Get Rid of Mice for Good
- How to Get Rid of Mosquitoes
- How to Get Rid of Wasps
- How To Get Rid of Fleas in Your Yard
- How to Get Rid of Spiders
- How to Get Rid of Ants in Your Home and Yard
Other National Pest Control Companies Serving Tampa
The Big Guava is home to many pests and, as a result, many pest control companies. If you want to learn about other Tampa pest control options, check out these reviews on some of the top companies serving the area:
When to Call a Pest Control Pro
When DIY methods aren’t enough to entirely eradicate a pest problem, it’s usually better to contact a pest control expert before the problem gets worse. It is easier to deal with a minor infestation than a major infestation, after all.
Want to check local pest control providers? Pest Gnome makes it easy to find the best pest control pros near you. With a few clicks, you’ll get quotes in minutes.
Pest Gnome participates in Orkin’s affiliate program and may earn revenue from connecting you to Orkin for pest control.
Main Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Canva Pro / License, with overlay created using Canva Pro
