Pest Control in West Chester, PA: The Borough and 8 Surrounding Townships

How pest control in West Chester works today

Pest control in West Chester is inspection-first work: identify the pest, find why it is getting into the building, and treat where it lives. C.R. Davis III & Sons serves West Chester and the surrounding townships from our Chester County base in Phoenixville, about 16 road miles north of the borough. A West Chester location is coming soon. Until it opens, every appointment is booked through (610) 935-9130.

Every job follows The Davis Inspection Standard. We identify the species before applying anything, name the conducive conditions such as moisture, wood-to-soil contact and entry gaps, place treatment where the pest lives according to the label, and set a follow-up with re-entry and prep instructions given up front.

3,137 historic buildings and what they mean for pests

The West Chester Downtown Historic District was listed on the National Register in 1985 and expanded in 2005. It counts 3,137 contributing buildings put up between 1789 and the 1930s. Census estimates show 42.6% of all homes in the borough were built before 1940, the median home dates to 1954, and 31.5% are single-family attached twins and rows.

Buildings that old share a set of weak points. Wood sill plates rest on stone or brick foundations, mortar joints open up, and additions sit on newer footings with gaps where they meet the original house. Penn State Extension notes that eastern subterranean termite infestations usually begin at the basement mudsill and joists, which is where we start in any borough rowhouse. Mice use the same openings each fall, and in a row of attached homes they move along the party walls.

Carpenter bees begin drilling into bare or weathered softwood in April and May, and Penn State Extension describes the round holes and sawdust they leave. Painted or stained trim resists them far better than raw wood, so we point out the boards worth sealing. Read how we approach termite inspection and treatment and mouse and rat control in older homes.

Rentals, converted houses and shared walls

Census estimates put 64.6% of occupied homes in the Borough of West Chester as renter-occupied. That is a very different market from the townships around it, where most homes are owner-occupied, and it changes how a pest job runs.

West Chester University of Pennsylvania, the largest of the 10 state-owned universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, has its north campus partly inside the borough and partly in West Goshen Township. Student rentals near campus get the same shared-wall approach described below.

In apartments and converted houses, a pest problem rarely stays in one unit. German cockroaches follow plumbing chases and shared kitchens. Bed bugs travel with furniture and luggage when tenants move in and out. When we inspect one unit we ask about the units beside, above and below it, and we tell the landlord or property manager when the evidence points past the door we were called to.

We give written prep lists before bed bug treatment and cockroach control, and we schedule follow-ups in advance so the whole building stays on the same timeline. Owners of multi-unit properties can set up recurring service through our commercial pest control program.

East and West Goshen, Westtown and the Bradford Townships: newer houses on wooded lots

Outside the borough line the housing is newer. The Chester County townships around West Chester, including the Goshens (East and West Goshen Townships), Westtown Township and West and East Bradford Townships, were built mostly after 1960, and most homes are owner-occupied. Many back onto woods, creek bottoms or open fields.

Penn State Extension notes that termite damage typically shows up 10 or more years after a house is built, so a lot of 1980s and 1990s homes in Westtown, East Goshen and West Bradford are old enough to show it. Wooded lots bring stink bugs looking for overwintering spots in September and October, carpenter ants in damp deck framing, and paper wasps building under eaves in May. Mulch beds piled against foundations give termites and ants cover right at the sill.

Chester County facts that affect pest work around West Chester

CDC county counts show 934 Lyme disease cases in Chester County in 2023, about 174.8 per 100,000 residents, the highest rate of Chester County, Montgomery County and Delaware County. Lyme disease is spread by the blacklegged tick, and the PA Department of Environmental Protection says most Lyme transmission in Pennsylvania happens in June and July. The same department reported 81 West Nile virus positive mosquito samples and 2 human cases in the county during the 2025 season. Those numbers are useful context for anyone with a wooded or wet yard in Pocopson Township or Birmingham Township, Chester County.

All of Chester County has been inside the Pennsylvania spotted lanternfly quarantine since November 2017. Adults appear in early July and lay egg masses from September on. Our spotted lanternfly guidance covers identification and egg mass scraping, and we handle the pests that follow fall into the house through our stink bug and fall invader service.

Farther south, Kennett and New Garden Townships have been under a Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture quarantine order since January 30, 2025, over phorid flies from mushroom operations. If you live in that part of the county, see our Kennett Square fly control page. More county-wide detail is on the Chester County pest control page.

What we see around West Chester through the year

A few species account for most calls here, each in its own season (timing from Penn State Extension). Each gets integrated pest management: confirm the species, fix what drew it in, and treat where it lives.

• February to June: eastern subterranean termites (Reticulitermes flavipes). Swarmers appear after a warm rain, and workers build mud tubes up basement walls to the sill plate. See termite inspection and treatment.
• Spring and early summer: carpenter ant swarmers (Camponotus). Indoors, the best clue is frass, the coarse wood shavings pushed out below trim near damp wood. See carpenter ant control.
• September and October: brown marmorated stink bugs (Halyomorpha halys) push into gaps around windows and siding, and Penn State notes homes next to woods see more of them. See stink bug control.
• September through November: house mice (Mus musculus) move indoors as nights cool. A mouse can use a gap about 1/4 inch wide, so sealing matters as much as trapping. Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) usually burrow along the foundation first. See mouse and rat control.

Pest control services for West Chester homes and businesses

The services below cover the pests we see in borough rowhouses and on wooded township lots. Each link opens a full page on the pest and our approach.

• Real estate WDI inspections for sales in the borough and townships, where old sills and finished basements both matter.
• Home pest control plans with scheduled exterior and interior visits through the year.
• Carpenter ant control for damp decks, porch columns and wooded-lot homes.
• Carpenter bee control for fascia, pergolas and weathered trim on older houses.
• Wasp, hornet and yellow jacket nest removal from soffits, shutters and ground nests.
• Ant control for pavement and odorous house ants in kitchens.
• Spider control and camel cricket, centipede and silverfish control for basements and stone cellars.
• Flea control and pantry pest control for problems that start inside the home.

Real estate termite reports around West Chester

Home sales in the borough and townships often call for a wood-destroying insect report. NPMA guidance states that the NPMA-33 form must be used for HUD and VA backed transactions and is typically used on conventional ones. The inspector reports visible evidence only, so a finished basement or a covered sill can limit what is seen, and the report says so.

We inspect the foundation perimeter, sills, joists, porches and garages, and we note conducive conditions such as wood-to-soil contact alongside any evidence of termites, carpenter ants or other wood-destroying insects. Details are on our WDI inspection page.

Towns we serve in the West Chester area, by county

All of the towns below are served from our Phoenixville base until the West Chester location opens. The borough and its eight neighboring townships are covered on this page. Larger clusters have their own pages.

Chester County, West Chester and neighbors. Borough of West Chester, West Goshen Township, East Goshen Township, Westtown Township, East Bradford Township, West Bradford Township (Marshallton), Thornbury Township, Birmingham Township (Dilworthtown) and Pocopson Township.

Chester County, Exton, Malvern and Main Line west. West Whiteland Township (Exton), Uwchlan Township (Lionville and Eagleview), Malvern Borough, East Whiteland Township (Frazer), Willistown Township (Paoli), Tredyffrin Township (Chesterbrook) and Easttown Township (Berwyn and Devon).

Chester County, Downingtown area. Downingtown Borough, East Caln Township, Caln Township (Thorndale), East Brandywine Township, West Brandywine Township, Wallace Township (Glenmoore), Honey Brook Borough and Honey Brook Township.

Chester County, Coatesville and the western townships. Coatesville, South Coatesville, Valley Township, East Fallowfield Township, Modena Borough, Sadsbury Township, West Caln Township, Parkesburg, Highland Township, West Sadsbury Township, Atglen, West Fallowfield Township (Cochranville) and Londonderry Township.

Chester County, Kennett Square and the south. Kennett Square Borough, Kennett Township, East Marlborough Township (Unionville), New Garden Township (Toughkenamon), West Marlborough Township, Newlin Township, Pennsbury Township, Avondale, West Grove, London Grove Township, Penn Township, New London Township, Franklin Township, Oxford Borough and Upper Oxford Township.

Delaware County, Media and the western townships. Media Borough, Middletown Township (Lima), Upper Providence Township, Nether Providence Township, Rose Valley, Edgmont Township, Thornbury Township (Delaware County), Concord Township, Bethel Township, Chadds Ford Township and Chester Heights.

Delaware County, Newtown Square to Upper Darby. Newtown Township, Marple Township (Broomall), Radnor Township (Wayne, St. Davids and Villanova), Haverford Township, Springfield Township, Upper Darby Township (Drexel Hill), Lansdowne, East Lansdowne, Millbourne, Clifton Heights, Aldan, Morton, Rutledge and Swarthmore.

Delaware County, Ridley to Marcus Hook. Ridley Township (Folsom and Woodlyn), Ridley Park, Prospect Park, Norwood, Glenolden, Collingdale, Darby Borough, Darby Township, Sharon Hill, Colwyn, Folcroft, Eddystone, Aston Township, Upper Chichester Township (Boothwyn), Lower Chichester Township (Linwood), Brookhaven, Chester Township, the City of Chester (Delaware County), Parkside, Upland, Trainer and Marcus Hook. The Delaware County pest control page covers the whole county.

Montgomery County. Lower Merion Township (Ardmore, Bala Cynwyd, Bryn Mawr, Merion Station, Penn Wynne and Rosemont) and Narberth Borough. See the Montgomery County pest control page.

What to expect before the West Chester location opens

C.R. Davis III & Sons Pest Control is family owned and operated, a Pennsylvania family corporation since 2003, licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture in the Household and Health Related and Wood Destroying Pests categories, and insured. Details are on our licensing and insurance page.

There is no West Chester address to visit yet, and we will not list one until the location is open. Call (610) 935-9130 or use the contact form, tell us your street and township, and we will schedule from our Phoenixville base.

Treatment also has limits in an old borough house. A downspout emptying against a stone foundation, a porch floor rotting where it meets the siding, or firewood stacked on the sill will keep drawing termites, carpenter ants and crickets. We write those conditions down so you or your contractor can repair them.