Omega resolved our sudden problem with rats in the house by getting rid of them and then taking steps to prevent future rodent visitations.
Earlier this year, we suddenly discovered rat droppings in our house shortly after we cleaned out a rarely used tool shed in the backyard. We found the droppings in the living room, kitchen, and dining room initially, and believed we had mice. I thought I could take care of the problem myself so I bought and set some traps in those rooms. Over the next couple of weeks, I solicited advice from family, friends, and salespeople from different hardware stores regarding a variety of traps and bait. I also researched online, reading hundreds of product reviews and general suggestions about eradicating rodents. Nothing I tried made any difference, and the situation grew more frustrating and unpleasant as the food bait even disappeared but no rodents were caught. In the mornings, we saw partially shredded chair cushions, tablecloth, carpet mats, etc., and even woke up several nights hearing the rat or rats gnawing on our closed bedroom doors. In desperation, I checked out Angie's List for exterminators, read the various reviews, and chose Omega in Oakland to come to the rescue.
And that's just what they did! I called and spoke to Matt, who told me they were temporarily short-handed but he would have one of his techs get back to me soon and hopefully someone could come out within the next week. In light of past experiences with other contractors and bearing in mind that he'd said they were short-handed, I didn't expect to actually hear back "soon." But I did. Matt called the next day just to touch base, and the following day, Jeremy called. Again due to prior experiences with other companies, I braced myself for the news that nobody could come out for another week or even more. Wrong again. Jeremy came out the next day, even though we live on the Peninsula. And he was great! He was not only punctual, he was early. He was informative, thorough, and generally very helpful, not to mention polite, pleasant, and often funny. We made the necessary arrangements and scheduled his weekly visits. He surveyed the situation, both indoors and outside, suggested preventive measures, offered advice about the various types of traps (including all the things I'd done wrong in my misguided efforts to do the job myself), explained some of the habits of rats and mice, and generally provided reassurance. And to top things off, that very day he caught and killed a rat that he'd flushed out while setting traps -- using nothing more than a flashlight! I'm pretty sure that particular service isn't generally offered by exterminators, but Jeremy saw a chance to get the job done, at least partially, and didn't hesitate. I knew then we were in good hands.
To try to prevent future problems, Jeremy sealed one of the rats' means of entry and suggested other things I could do to keep them out. Since I couldn't afford to have everything done by Omega, and was unwilling to trust any other company, my brother later helped me implement some of Jeremy's advice. I really appreciated that Jeremy didn't try to talk me into spending more than I could afford but was willing to point out areas of concern. That kind of helpfulness seems more and more rare these days, particularly in the current economic environment.
To sum up, we soon were rat-free and still are. It was an incredible relief to my family and me, and we owe it all to Omega. I highly recommend the company, and would like to thank Matt and especially Jeremy for taking good care of us. (I apologize for taking so long to write my evaluation, but my life became quite chaotic for awhile. I never forgot, though, and finally found the time to sit down and really explain what an excellent job Omega did for us.) Great company, great job, guys!
