The AI receptionist for residential pest control companies
Nobody calls pest control calmly. They just found droppings in the pantry or wasps coming in a bedroom window, and they want to hear that someone is on it. She asks what, where and how long, books the inspection — and when a sting is swelling somebody’s face, she sends them to 911 before anything else.
- Answers the anxious calls the moment the pests show up
- Hears carpenter ants, swarmers, mud tubes, droppings and bait stations
- Books inspections and captures the recurring plan on the first call
Every call answered. Every one.
A reaction comes first
A sting swelling someone’s face or throat, or a bite from a bat or a snake, is a 911 or doctor call — before any booking.
Inspections, booked
What, where and how long — the three answers your technician needs — then a real time on the calendar.
Plans that renew
Quarterly and monthly protection plans captured on the first call, so a one-off job becomes a customer.
Three steps. Zero voicemails.
She answers and gets the address
First ring, day or night, in a calm voice that knows pest control work. The address comes first, because every other part of the job depends on it.
She sorts it by your rules
By default, an emergency is bees, wasps or hornets inside or stinging people, a bat, snake or wild animal loose inside the house, or rodents in a kitchen or nursery. You change that during setup — it is your company.
She books it or your phone rings
Routine work goes onto your real schedule. An emergency rings your cell with the job and she can put the customer straight through.
That comes first: trouble breathing or a snake bite, call 911 now; any other bite, or a bat in the bedroom, see a doctor today. Keep everyone away from the nest or the animal.
The questions your tech wishes got asked
After the caller picks a time, she asks the one or two that change what the pest control technician brings — and skips anything they already said. The same questions as your Book Online page.
Ants
- Where are you seeing them?Inside the House · Outside / Around the House · Both
- How long has it been going on?Just Noticed · A Few Weeks · Months or Longer
Spiders
- Where are you seeing them?Inside the House · Outside / Around the House · Both
- How long has it been going on?Just Noticed · A Few Weeks · Months or Longer
Cockroaches
- Where are you seeing them?Inside the House · Outside / Around the House · Both
- How long has it been going on?Just Noticed · A Few Weeks · Months or Longer
Mice or Rats
- What have you noticed?Droppings · Noises in the Walls or Attic · Saw One · Chewed Food or Wires
- Where are you seeing them?Inside the House · Outside / Around the House · Both
- How long has it been going on?Just Noticed · A Few Weeks · Months or Longer
Termites
- What did you notice?Winged Swarmers · Mud Tubes · Damaged Wood · Inspection for a Home Sale
Wasps, Bees or Hornets
- Where is the nest?On the House or Eaves · In the Ground · In a Tree or Bush
Bed Bugs
- How many rooms?One Room · Several Rooms
Wildlife (Raccoons, Squirrels, Bats)
- Where is it?In the Attic · In the Walls · Under a Deck or Crawl Space · In the Yard
Ongoing Pest Protection Plan
- How often would you like service?Every Quarter · Every Month · Not sure — advise me
This isn't a hunch. It's the most measured problem in the trades.
Three figures, each with the study it came from. No vendor surveys of eighty businesses.
Magpie vs. an answering service for pest control
What changes when the phone is answered by something that knows your trade and can put work on your schedule.
| Magpie | Typical answering service | Voicemail | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Picks up every call, nights and weekends | Every call, the first time | Usually, with hold queues at peak | Nobody picks up |
| Knows your trade’s words | Primed on the parts and faults of your trade | A general script | — |
| Books the job straight into your software | ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, or your diary | Takes a message | — |
| Emergency: your phone rings with the address | And she can put the customer through | Some patch calls through | You find out later |
| Safety first on gas, CO and burning smells | Gets them out before anything else | Depends on the operator | — |
| Callers who hang up get a call back | Once per enquiry, never pestered | Rarely | Most never leave a message |
| When you can’t make it, the customer is rung with real times | From your live openings | — | — |
| Every job on your phone to accept or decline | Crew board, pinged to your lock screen | Emails or messages | — |
| Priced | Flat monthly | Often per minute | Free — and it costs you the job |
Answering services vary; this is what a contractor should expect from a typical one, not a claim about any named company.
Where a missed pest control call hurts
Wasps coming into a bedroom
Stinging insects inside the house ring your cell with the address. Kids and pets kept clear, and nobody knocks the nest down.
Termite report for a home sale
Inspection booked with the closing date noted, so the report is ready before the deadline.
“Is the spray safe for my kids?”
She doesn’t guess. The technician explains the products on site — and the inspection still gets booked.
Pest Control questions, answered
What does she do if someone has been stung?
When someone stung is struggling to breathe or swelling in the face or throat, someone was bitten by a bat, snake or wild animal, or a bat was in a room where someone slept, she tells them: That comes first: trouble breathing or a snake bite, call 911 now; any other bite, or a bat in the bedroom, see a doctor today. Keep everyone away from the nest or the animal.
Will she tell people a treatment is safe?
No. Never say a treatment is safe for kids, pets or a pregnancy — the technician explains the products on site.
Which pest calls ring my cell?
You set that during setup. By default: bees, wasps or hornets inside or stinging people, a bat, snake or wild animal loose inside the house, or rodents in a kitchen or nursery.
What does she tell a caller while they wait?
The one safe thing: keep kids and pets away, do not spray or knock down a nest, and shut the door on a room with something loose in it.
Explore Magpie for other trades
Garage Door Repair
Broken springs and stuck doors booked fast, a trapped car flagged — and nobody told to touch a spring.
View industry page
Plumbing
Burst pipes, backed-up drains and dead water heaters — answered on the first ring, booked, or put straight through to you.
View industry page
HVAC
No heat, no cooling, tune-ups and replacements — and a gas smell is a get-out call, never a booking.
View industry page
Electrical
Outages, tripping breakers, panels and EV chargers — with safety-first intake on anything that smells like burning.
View industry pageReady to hire the receptionist that never misses a call?
Hear her answer as your shop in your browser right now — no signup, no card. Or book fifteen minutes with Tom and get a straight answer on whether it's worth it for you.