The Great Dead Tree Saga
BACKGROUND
We worked with the pest control side of Bugnappers for several years. They were adequate: they provided a decent price, reduced (but did not eliminate) insects around the house, and did not lock us into a contract. However, they never let us know they were coming so we could keep the dog inside, even though we asked. I'd rate their pest control as a three-star service.
In April 2017, when they offered their lawn treatment service, I figured I'd give them a try. Bugnappers applied an herbicide/fertilizer mix to the lawn. A week after the treatment, I noticed the leaves on my 30-year-old locust tree curling and falling off. Large brown patches appeared in the lawn. Even the leaves on the nearby roses and hedges started to curl. I Googled the symptoms, and they pointed to a misapplication of herbicides.
DENIALS
Over the next six weeks, I called Bugnappers a number of times, looking for advice on how to save my plants and asking for a technician to come take a look. They repeatedly denied their treatment had damaged the yard and refused to send a technician. They told me I should probably be watering more. I asked to speak with the manager several times, and I was told that the manager was too busy. They took my number with a promise to have the manager call me, but she never did.
Finally, I called J&J Nursery in Layton. They were helpful and friendly, forwarding me to their herbicide specialist. She asked me to bring in samples of the dying plants, and she confirmed my suspicions. Watering more had actually damaged my yard further because it increased the amount of poison the plants had absorbed. She referred me to the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food for laboratory testing.
I called Bugnappers back, explained what J&J Nursery had said, and told Bugnappers I expected them to pay for the damages. I got more flat-out denials. So I told them I was going to report them to UDAF. At last, I got a call back from the manager. She was rude and defensive, saying that she was "on a first-name basis" with the people at UDAF and that I'd be wasting everyone's time if I filed a report.
GOVERNMENT TESTING
I reported them anyway. A UDAF specialist took samples of the damaged plants and sent them to their lab. It turns out that misapplication of herbicide is against the law in Utah. Because three months had passed by then, they could only test the larger plants, not the lawn. The test for the tree (which was completely dead) came back positive.
I told Bugnappers about the test results and asked to speak to the manager. She would not accept or return my calls. Finally, one of the people I spoke with passed on a message from the manager that she had to see the test results before she'd consider paying to replace the tree. She would not call her "friends" at UDAF herself.
It took six months before the full report and written results were available from UDAF. While I waited, I received several collection calls from Bugnappers. I explained each time that we were in the middle of a dispute, and that I was not willing to pay them for killing my tree. In December, Bugnappers called one last time, in her words, "to give you a chance to clear your debts before the new year." I refused to pay, so she "did me a favor" and wrote off the bill.
TREE REPLACEMENT
I received a copy of the full UDAF report the beginning of May 2018. In it was an email from the manager at Bugnappers promising that, if the test results were positive, she would replace the tree. I forwarded the report to Bugnappers and called to follow up. Once again, the manager was not available to speak on the phone, and they said she would call me.
Instead of calling, she sent a tree removal company to give her an estimate without notifying me he would be coming. Then more weeks passed. Finally, she called my husband: one of her technicians had seen a couple stumps from trees we removed ourselves ten years ago. She didn't think she should have to pay for stump removal if we already had other stumps on our property.
My husband made it clear that we expected Bugnappers to remove the stump and provide the largest replacement tree available. It would take 30 years to replace the shade over our driveway, and we felt that a good-faith effort would minimize the time as much as possible.
Nearly 14 months after Bugnappers killed our tree, the tree removers showed up (once again with no notice). A week later, they removed the stump. We waited for the new tree, but it didn't arrive. Several days later, I found the tree: it was a tiny, skinny thing that someone had left behind the hedge opposite our front door where it couldn't be seen.
I'm tired of fighting with them. We're going to plant the twig and wait 30 years. If Bugnappers continues its horrible communication and customer service, I don't expect they'll be around to see it. read more