PestBossPro Blog — Tech App

Before-and-After Photos in the Pest Control App: Activity, Entry Points and Bait Stations

Pest control has a proof problem. A well-done perimeter treatment looks exactly like a lawn and a foundation. The customer cannot see the product, often cannot see the pests, and may not have been home. When they call to ask whether anyone came, the best answer is a photo taken at the stop, with the date and the technician attached.

Photos Live With the Stop

Mixes and loading are covered in Product Mixes in the Pest Control App: Loading the Truck and Logging the Tank. This article covers the camera.

In the PestBossPro tech app, technicians take before-and-after photos right from the stop. The photos are saved with the stop, next to the notes and the application record, not in the technician's personal camera roll. The office can see them as soon as the stop is completed, and they stay with the account for the next visit.

What to Photograph: Activity

Activity photos show the customer what you found and give the next technician a reference point:

• Ant trails. Along a slab edge, a window sill or a kitchen threshold.
• Wasp and hornet nests. Before removal and the empty eave after.
• Rodent signs. Droppings, rub marks, gnawing and burrows near the foundation.
• Termite signs. Mud tubes on a foundation wall or damaged wood, during an inspection.
• Spider webbing. Heavy webbing at eaves and light fixtures before de-webbing.

A before photo of a wasp nest over the front door and an after photo of a clean eave tell the whole story without a word.

What to Photograph: Entry Points

Entry points are where pest control advice turns into customer action. A photo makes the problem real:

• Gaps under doors and garage weatherstripping.
• Utility penetrations where pipes and cables enter the house.
• Torn crawlspace vent screens and foundation cracks.
• Gaps at the roofline, soffits and fascia.

These photos do the selling for exclusion work too, if you offer it. Entry-point photos get their own guide next: Photographing Entry Points So the Pest Control Customer Sees the Problem Too.

What to Photograph: Bait Stations

Rodent programs live on bait-station checks, and photos are the clearest record of each check:

• Station open. The bait inside, showing whether it was eaten, partly eaten or untouched.
• Station secured. Locked and in place after service.
• Damaged or moved stations. Before you replace or reset them.
• Placement. A wide shot showing where the station sits against the wall or fence.

Over a few quarters, bait-station photos show the customer whether rodent pressure is going up or down. The routine is covered in Rodent Bait-Station Check Routines and How to Record Them in the Pest Control App.

Taking Photos That Actually Help

A blurry photo of a foundation is not proof of anything. A few habits make photos useful:

• Get close, then wide. One close shot of the activity, one wide shot that shows where on the house it is.
• Same angle before and after. Stand in the same place for both.
• Light. Use the phone flashlight in crawlspaces, garages and under sinks.
• Pair with a note. “Photo 2: gap under garage door, north corner.” The photo shows what, the note says where.
• Do not overdo it. Three or four good photos beat twenty random ones. Photos upload over the data connection, so a dozen on a weak signal can slow the next stop.

Respect the customer's home. Interior photos should be of the problem, not of the family photos on the wall. Keep faces and personal items out of the frame.

How the Office Uses Photos

Photos pay off long after the stop. When a customer calls three weeks later about ants, the office opens the account and sees what the technician found and treated. When a customer disputes a charge, a dated photo from the stop settles it. When a new technician takes over a route, photos from past visits show where the bait stations are and what the problem areas look like.

They also help sell. A photo of a cluster of mud tubes from an inspection is a strong reason for a customer to approve a termite estimate.

Photos help inside the company too. An owner reviewing a new technician's first weeks can look at their photos and see how they inspect: whether they check the eaves, open every bait station and look under the sink, or just spray the foundation and leave. That is a coaching conversation you cannot have from a paper ticket.

Proof That Fits in a Pocket

Before-and-after photos take a few seconds at each stop and answer a lot of questions later. To see how photos fit with the rest of the technician's phone, visit the PestBossPro pest control app page.