PestBossPro Blog — Tech App

Gate Codes, Pets and Locked Sheds: Access Notes in the Pest Control Tech App

An exterior pest control service goes all the way around the house. The front is easy. The back is behind a fence with a gate, the gate has a code or a latch or a dog behind it, and the shed with the rodent activity is locked. If the technician cannot get back there, the customer is paying for half a perimeter.

Access Lives on the Address

Getting to the driveway is covered in One-Tap Navigation: From the Pest Control App to the Next Driveway. Access notes cover what happens after the truck parks.

In PestBossPro, access notes are stored on the address and shown on the technician's phone every time that address is on the route. A quarterly account serviced four times a year shows the same gate code each visit without anyone resending it. If the code changes, the office updates the address once, and every future visit shows the new one.

Gate Codes

A good gate note says which gate, what code, and anything odd about it:

• “Left side gate, keypad 4417, push after it clicks.”
• “Back gate latch is on the inside, reach over at the top.”
• “Community gate: vendor code 2290 at the Maple Ave entrance.”

Add what to do if the code fails: “If code fails, treat front and sides, skip back with a note.” That saves the technician from standing at the gate deciding whether to call the customer, call the office or climb. Climbing a fence with a backpack sprayer is never the answer.

Pets

Pets matter more in pest control than in most trades because of what the technician is applying. A pet note should answer a few questions:

• Is there a pet, and where? “Large dog in back yard during the day.”
• Is it friendly? “Friendly lab, will follow you” is different from “Do not enter if dog is out.”
• Can it get out? “Escape artist. Keep gate shut at all times.”
• Indoor pets? “Two cats inside, keep doors closed, fish tank in the living room.”
• What if it is out? “If dog is in the yard, text the office, customer will bring it in.”

Pets and treated areas do not mix until the product is dry, so follow the label for re-entry. The automatic post-treatment instruction email can remind the customer to keep kids and pets off treated areas until dry. The night-before and on-the-way texts help too: a customer who knows the truck is coming can bring the dog in before the technician arrives.

Locked Sheds, Garages and Crawlspaces

Pest control often means getting into places the customer does not use every day. Those need notes:

• Sheds. “Shed key on the hook inside the garage side door.”
• Garages. “Garage keypad 8812. Close it when you leave.”
• Crawlspaces. “Crawlspace hatch on the north side behind the AC unit, screws not latches.”
• Attics. “Attic access in the master closet, customer must be home.”
• Commercial. “Dumpster enclosure lock combo with the kitchen manager.”

Rodent programs in particular depend on these notes, since exterior bait stations are often behind fences, along sheds and next to garages. More on that in Rodent Bait-Station Check Routines and How to Record Them in the Pest Control App.

Interior Access

Interior services need their own kind of note: which door, whether anybody will be home, and anything the technician should know before walking in.

• “Use the side door. Shoes off or booties.”
• “Customer works nights, sleeping until noon. Interior after 12 only.”
• “Alarm code given on the day by text. Do not enter without it.”

Keep alarm codes and house keys out of the notes unless the customer has asked you to store them, and treat them with care. When in doubt, have the office text the customer on the day.

When Access Fails, and Getting Off the Group Text

Codes change and dogs get let out. When the technician cannot get in, the right move is to do what can be done, then tap Skip or note what was missed and why: “Back gate code 4417 failed, treated front and sides.” A photo of the locked gate helps. The office sees the note, texts the customer for the new code, updates the address and schedules a return.

Plenty of pest control companies keep gate codes in a group text or on a printed sheet on the dash. Group texts get long, old codes never go away, and former employees keep every code they were ever sent. A code stored on the address and shown only to technicians signed in with a personal PIN is better on every count. When someone leaves, turning off their PIN turns off their access. To see how access notes fit with everything else on the technician's phone, visit the PestBossPro pest control app page.