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Insects can be beneficial to the garden but that doesn’t mean they are a welcome site crawling around the house. Having an exterminator on call for bigger issues such as a termite infestation can be smart, but for many homeowners, a DIY approach to pest control can be effective and affordable.
Sunday Pest Control offers a subscription pest control package similar to their top-rated DIY lawn care program and subscription, aimed at targeting common household and garden pests with eco-friendly, non-toxic ingredients. Packages are customized based on the type of pests and can be purchased individually or as a subscription-based delivery..
I’ve used Sunday’s lawn care products for the last couple of years with great success (you can read more about my experience in my Sunday Lawn Care review), so I was curious about their approach to pest control. I don’t use chemical pest control at all in my home or garden, but I’ve been battling some issues over the last couple of years and was hoping Sunday pest control could help. Here’s what happened.
At a Glance
Sunday Lawn Care’s Pest Control
Our Verdict: Sunday Pest Control offers customers convenient pest control delivered right to their door. Customers can opt for a single subscription box with enough products to last a year or purchase individual products for use as needed. The simple diagnostic quiz on the website helps customers determine which products or plans to purchase. The frequency of application varies based on the products purchased, but as with everything Sunday offers, easy-to-follow instructions and application recommendations are included in every package. All of Sunday’s products, from lawn care to pest control, are non-toxic and safe to use indoors and out. Overall, if a customer is battling annoying household pests (that are not compromising the structure of a home or the health of its inhabitants), this is a logical choice to combat pests without a costly service or a chemical-heavy alternative.
Specs
- Types of pests treated: Insects
- Active ingredients: Pyrethrin, canola oil, cedar oil, lemongrass oil, spinosad
- Plan customization parameters: By needs and location
- Cost: $72, $112, or $187.20 per year for Total Home Pest Protection Plan
Pros
- Streamlined yet comprehensive online subscription process
- Custom plans determined by customer’s unique needs and location
- Relatively low-risk active ingredients
- Relatively affordable cost
- Individual products available for purchase
Cons
- Annual commitment required for all plans
Sunday Lawn Care’s Pest Control Plan Review: Claims
Sunday Pest Control claims to offer easy, effective pest control solutions minus the toxic ingredients, chemicals, or costly professionals. They also claim their products can protect your home from dozens of pests including ants, mosquitos, ticks, cockroaches, and fleas without harming pets or humans. Regardless of the products ordered, they arrive with how-to application instructions and the necessary tools for application. Sunday also offers pointers on how to control pests via their blog, The Shed.
How It Works
Similar to Sunday’s lawn care, customers answer a series of questions to determine what their greatest pest control product needs are. The website’s algorithm will recommend a plan, taking into account yard use, location, and biggest pest problems. Potential customers should know that they will need to create an account or enter their email to get their plan.
If opting for a subscription, be aware that all the products are delivered in one box, annually, directly to the customer’s home. The pest plans arrive shortly after being ordered and are ready to be applied immediately, assuming weather and conditions are right. If opting for a kit or individual products, items are shipped immediately and are ready to be applied. Application instructions are included on the product label, as well as in the box. By logging into their account, customers can also look up their plan and suggested application rates.
Some products, such as the Bug Doom indoor insect control, are ready-to-use in a 32-ounce spray bottle. The outdoor Bug Doom Home Insect Barrier comes in a one-gallon container. The motorized (battery-powered) application wand that’s included is used to apply the products. The larger kit includes a back-up application wand. Nix Ticks and Mosquito Deleto both have a built-in hose-end sprayer as these products are meant to be use to apply the products on grass and around the yard.
Pest Plans and Products
Sunday Pest Control products target a variety of insects, from flying to crawling to biting. These products include Ant Adios, Mosquito Deleto, Bug Doom, and Nix Ticks. Products can be obtained via subscription plans, kits, or as individual products. All products come ready to apply and the motorized wand sprayer is included, if it’s needed.
Subscription plans are delivered once annually and can save some money. The subscription options include Total Home Pest Protection; Mosquito Protection; and Tick Protection. Each plan comes in three sizes: small, medium and large. The Total Home Pest Protection Plan includes Bug Doom outdoor insect spray and Bug Doom indoor insect spray. The Total Home Pest Protection large plan also includes Ant Adios. Other than Ant Adios, the primary difference between the plans is quantity of product.
Mosquito Protection includes Mosquito Deleto yard spray; Mosquito dunks that target larvae in standing water; and a Sunday citronella candle. The largest Mosquito Protection kit also includes personal insect repellent. The Tick Protection plans include Nix Ticks—a plant-based, tick repellent yard spray. The primary difference in the Tick Protection plans is quantity of product. If a customer prefers not to subscribe there are bundles and kits available that combine specific products. For example, mosquito and tick can be combined, or mosquito and ant, etc. And of course, each product can be purchased individually as needed.
Pest Control Product Ingredients
Sunday Pest Control products all contain ingredients that are safer for the environment: pyrethrin, spinosad, cedar oil and lemongrass oil. These ingredients are either plant-derived or naturally occurring insecticides that biodegrade.
Specifically, Sunday’s Bug Doom contains pyrethrin. Pyrethrin is a naturally occurring insect repellent derived from chrysanthemum flowers, so it is pet-safe and biodegradable. It works by attacking insect nervous systems. If opting for the plan that contains Ants Adios, you’ll find the primary ingredient is spinosad. Spinosad is produced by soil bacterium, so is considered a biopesticide. This naturally occurring substance has a neurotoxin that can affect insects such as ants, mosquitos, thrips, leafminers and more. It is non-toxic to pets.
Mosquito Deleto and Nix Ticks both contain cedar oil—or cedarwood oil—which is an essential oil extracted from sawdust and woodchips of trees in the pine family through steam distillation. These trees are often pine, cedar or cypress. Cedar oil is a natural pest repellent against mosquitoes, ticks, and moths as well as a fungicide with low environmental impact and low toxicity to mammals. Mosquito Deleto also contains lemongrass oil. Derived from the edible plant lemongrass and the oil’s active ingredient, citral, it has a repelling effect on mosquitos.
Quotes and Cost
After taking the online quiz, including entering their name and email address, customers are prompted to choose between three different yearly subscription plans: small, medium, and large. Unlike Sunday’s lawn care subscription, which comes in four shipments and is timed with the seasons, the Sunday Pest Control plan arrives in one box, in one shipment.
Pricing for the smallest Total Home Protection plan starts at $72 for the year. This includes two bottles of the Bug Doom product (one indoor 32-ounce bottle and one outdoor 1-gallon bottle) and the application wand. Costs can go up from there, depending on the plan. The medium Total Home Protection Plan is $112 (one indoor 32-ounce bottle and two one-gallon bottles of Bug Doom). The large Total Home Protection plan costs $187.20 and includes 32-ounce indoor 32-bottle of indoor and two one-gallon bottles of Bug Doom. Prices will depend on the exact products chosen. I tested the medium Total Home Pest Protection plan.
Guarantee and Customer Service
Sunday offers a guarantee that their products will work for you and your home. If a product or application tool is faulty they will replace it immediately. In addition to an extensive online resource section, including frequently asked questions, the company offers responsive customer service 7 days a week during business hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. MST). Outside of business hours, the typical response time is within 24 hours.
Customized pest control plans are not refundable once they have shipped. However, cancellations prior to shipping are eligible for refunds. Similarly, one-time purchases of products can be refunded if the order is canceled before shipping occurs.
Putting Sunday’s Pest Control Plan To the Test
I’ve used Sunday’s lawn care products for the last couple of years with great success, and I appreciate the products arriving right at my door so that I don’t have to go out of my way to get what I need. I can just apply products when I have the time. Though I was not looking for pest control in my garden, I was curious about their pest control plan, in light of two very specific issues.
First, my house is a 1981 split-level. This means half of my house is below ground level. Since moving here several years ago, I’ve battled with an ongoing infestation of centipedes, beetles, worms, and other insects that seem to—quite literally—crawl out of the walls. Tired of vacuuming up beetle carcasses and scooping up creepy crawlies, I thought that Sunday’s Bug Doom Insect Barrier would be a good fit for treating the perimeter of my home.
The second issue I had was a horrifying moth infestation in my only food pantry, a small closet near the kitchen. I’d seen moths around the house—the kind that eat your sweaters—but over the last few months, I noticed them going in and out of the pantry. I decided to pull everything out and that’s when I discovered an entire breeding ground for moths in the ceiling of the pantry. It was disgusting!
Could Sunday help me with these two different, but equally horrifying, issues? I wanted to know. After reading some Sunday pest control reviews online, I decided to give it a try.
Signing Up for Sunday Lawn Care’s Pest Control Plan
The sign-up process for Sunday’s pest control plan is incredibly easy. First, you take a 9-question quiz on the website that asks you questions about your issue and home, such as the type of insect bothering you the most, and if you have kids or pets that use the lawn frequently. Because I had an existing Sunday lawn care subscription and account, I simply logged in and took the quiz. A custom plan was suggested: in my case, the medium Home Protection Plan fit the bill. The Bug Doom perimeter spray looked promising to treat the exterior perimeter of my home and the indoor spray could potentially treat the moth infestation. After that, I checked out and received notification my order had shipped the next day. It arrived in just over one week from the date of checkout.
Unboxing My First Sunday Lawn Care Pest Plan Order
Sunday’s pest plan arrived in a sturdy cardboard box right on my front stoop. Inside were the three products that were part of my plan, all neatly packed: two 1-gallon containers of outdoor Bug Doom and one 32-ounce bottle of indoor Bug Doom. There was also a box containing the motorized spray wand, with a battery already included. There were paper instructions as well as a scannable QR code that took you to a step-by-step application checklist on Sunday’s website. Beyond this, packaging was minimal. Most of the interior had cardboard supports to keep the bottles from shifting and paper packaging materials. I appreciated how easy it was to recycle, but the box is strong enough to last if you choose to store your unused product in it.
Because I am generally sensitive to smells and chemicals, I opened one of the Bug Doom containers to smell it. Though I wouldn’t describe the smell as pleasant, it wasn’t particularly strong. In fact, it smelled much like the aisle at the retail nursery I used to work at where we kept bug sprays that contain pyrethrin.
Using Sunday Lawn Care’s Pest Plan
I wanted to first tackle the moth problem in my pantry. Sunday recommends wearing long sleeves, pants, and protective eyewear when applying its products. Gloves and a mask are also wise. Because I was spraying directly over my head at the ceiling in a tight confined space, I also covered my hair with a scarf and wore a mask to avoid inhaling too much of the scent. After removing everything from my pantry including the shelves, I used the indoor Bug Doom sprayer. I aimed it directly at the places where the moth larvae were festering, which was where the ceiling met the wall—and sprayed liberally. I let it sit and dry for about ten minutes.
Armed with a thick stack of paper towels and an old toothbrush, I proceeded to wipe and scrub away any bugs (dead or alive) from the areas that had been saturated with the Bug Doom. After removing any signs of bugs, I reapplied the spray one more time for good measure. I closed the closet door and allowed everything to dry, then vacuumed up any remaining mess and carcasses. I was initially concerned about putting food back into the pantry with the smell of the Bug Doom lingering, but after airing the cupboard out for 24 hours (with the door open) and ventilating my house, I no longer noticed the smell and was able to restock my pantry. Though the Bug Doom is pet safe, I kept my dogs out of the house during application and away from the area. The cats were indifferent and stayed in their respective lairs. No one in my family complained of the smell, but they probably knew better than to poke around the area, for fear of seeing something truly gross.
To tackle the basement bug issue, Sunday recommended using the outdoor Bug Doom as a barrier spray around the perimeter of the home and then using the indoor spray to target areas where bugs may enter the home, such as doors, windowsills and along baseboards. I chose not to spray inside in my basement because I have an older cat who is difficult to relocate and I did not want him directly exposed to the spray, even though it is non-toxic to pets. My cat has respiratory issues and I wasn’t comfortable spraying in his preferred lounge areas. I was also just curious to see if the Bug Doom would work well enough as a perimeter spray alone.
The outdoor application of Bug Doom was very simple. I did a quick walk around my house to make sure there was nothing leaning against the house or in the way of where I wanted to spray. Sunday advises against spraying directly where there are plants or in areas where pollinators live. If you must spray near the garden, they suggest evening or early mornings when pollinators are less active. At the time of the first application, I had very little plant growth as I live in Minnesota and it was early May.
After opening the one-gallon container, I installed the sprayer wand in mere seconds by dropping one end into the container and screwing the lid on. I did a quick driveway test to gauge the width of the spray—it’s about one foot. The sprayer doesn’t require any pumping or hose attachment; just click the switch and go. I moved slowly around the perimeter of my house spraying per the manufacturer’s instructions: a foot out and up from the base of the foundation. It took me less than 20 minutes to spray the approximately 200-foot perimeter of my house. The sprayer is very easy to control and there was little mess. Out of an abundance of caution, I did not allow my dogs outside for several hours, even though the area they have access to had very little spraying. I also cautioned my son to avoid those areas for the rest of the day.
Having worked with these types of products in my nursery days, and having used Sunday’s products in the past, I felt confident that they were non-toxic. But the smell can get irritating and it’s not still safe to ingest, so keeping pets and kids away is just common sense.
But Did It Work?
I’m happy to report that after three months, the moths in the pantry have not returned, nor have I needed reapplied the indoor Bug Doom. I do have plenty of product left in the bottle at the ready should I notice a re-infestation.
As for the basement, I followed Sunday’s advice to reapply every four weeks (I have applied 3 treatments total). Within a week of the first application I noticed a dramatic decrease in bugs in the lower level of my home. Typically, I would vacuum up a dozen or more dead bugs every week, especially in the downstairs bedroom. By the end of the first week there were only three or four. After a month, there were even fewer. In fact, I’ve only seen one bug in my basement along the floor, floorboards or windowsills combined. I am curious about what will happen in the fall as the weather changes, as we generally get an increase in bugs around this time.
All to say—both treatments worked wonders on my bug problems.
Will I Continue to Use Sunday Lawn Care’s Pest Plan?
Given the favorable results with the Bug Doom both indoors and outside, I do see myself using this in the future. However, I may reconsider a subscription and choose instead to order individual products or kits as needed. I am also considering stopping the use of the product for a month or two to see if it the bugs return, and if so, how quickly.
My primary concern with using the Bug Doom is the impact on spiders. This may not be a popular opinion, but I love spiders. While I’ve never had a lot of spiders in my home, I consider them good omens for my garden and I never kill them. After all, they eat the bugs that eat plants and annoy you at the dinner table, like flies and gnats. So, I was concerned that the Bug Doom would reduce a spider population. For this reason, I was very careful when spraying anywhere near my plants or garden especially as the seasons progressed. I haven’t noticed an increase or decrease of the number of spiders outside, but if I go the rest of the summer and fall without seeing any, I may stop using the Bug Doom and go back to living with the centipedes and beetles. The moths, however, are doomed if they come back!
I am also very interested in trying some of the other products such as the Mosquito Deleto and the Ant Adios. I just noticed a rather large ant hill forming in a crack in my driveway so I may well order the Ant Adios next.
Get Sunday Pest Control Plan: Reviews by Customers
While there are quite a few reviews for Sunday lawn care, Sunday pest control reviews are not as frequent. This may be because the company is still just a few years old and the pest control line is newer than their line of lawn care products. Trustpilot gives Sunday a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars. While there are several negative reviews, these are specific to lawn care products and skew more toward faulty sprayers or shipping issues. ConsumersAdvocate.org rates Sunday pest control in their review as ‘excellent’ with 4.1 out of 5 stars. However, it does not provide any specific reviews to show how it reached that rating.
Mosquito Deleto and Ant Adios both are available at Target and as a result there are Sunday pest control reviews for these products on the Target website. Ant Adios receives an overall rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars, with most customers being happy with the environmental friendliness and effectiveness of this product. A minority of customers say that the Ant Adios did not work for them at all. The Mosquito Deleto gets a customer rating of 4.5 stars out of 5, with just a small minority of users saying the product is not effective. Sunday Bug Doom is currently available at Target with no customer reviews, but Sunday’s site shows that customers rate the Bug Doom at 4.5 out of 5 stars. Most of these are favorable, highlighting that Bug Doom was helping control bugs in their home, from ants to beetles and beyond. Amazon customers rate the Bug Doom highly but there were numerous complaints about the wand not functioning. I did not have any issues with the wand myself but this does seem to be a common complaint.
Of course, no product is going to work perfectly 100 percent of the time. But Sunday’s customer ratings are so constantly high that they’re a testament to how well their pest control products can work for most people.
How Sunday’s Pest Plan Stacks Up to the Competition
Overall, Sunday pest control reviews tend to edge out the other DIY pest control competition such as Pestie and Do My Own (Sunday actually tops our list of the best DIY pest control subscription services). This is for four primary reasons: customization, eco-friendly ingredients, streamlined service, and affordability. Sunday pest control can be customized not only by climate and location, but by specific pest problems, whereas Pestie only takes location into account. Do My Own factors in location and home size. Sunday’s pest products all have low-risk ingredients that won’t cause major environmental or ecological damage, a big bonus for many consumers. Competitors such as Pestie or Do My Own do not have naturally derived ingredients. Do My Own does not offer any indoor solutions, whereas both Pestie and Sunday do.
The online diagnostic and checkout process, as well as library of information and how-tos, is another plus for Sunday. And finally, compared to other DIY pest control plans or home application services, Get Sunday pest control is affordable.
Should You Use Sunday Lawn Care’s DIY Pest Control Plan?
Customers with moderate pest problems and a do-it-yourself attitude are excellent candidates for Sunday pest control plans. Convenience and low-risk ingredients make these products easier to use than many other toxic options. However, customers need to be aware that as with any more natural product, reapplication is key. Customers who want to spray once and be done may not find the product as effective—even the Mosquito Deleto requires a bumper spray after a month. But this is a small price to pay for an otherwise excellent product that’s easy to apply, relatively affordable, and overall quite effective. However, customers who see signs of high-risk infestations such as carpenter ants and termites may want to skip Sunday and call in the pros, as this type of insect invasion can cause structural damage to a home.
Taking the quiz on the site may be the best way for customers to determine if Sunday pest control products are right for them. Because products can be purchased individually, this is an excellent option to test out the products without committing to the yearly subscription.
Overall, Sunday’s pest control products and plans are comparable to their highly-rated lawn care products and plans. Choosing Sunday is a no-brainer for anyone looking to get rid of a pesky pest problem with minimal effort and little risk to the planet and your loved ones.
We independently reviewed this service by weighing the company’s claims against first-hand experience with its products. However, due to factors such as franchising, human error, and more, please note that experiences with this company may vary.