---
title: "Defend Pest Solutions Review"
description: "Defend Pest Solutions has a Handshake Score of 8.0 out of 10, ranking #52 of 164 in the West. It has 824 Google reviews averaging 4.9."
url: "https://handshakereviews.com/companies/defend-pest-solutions"
markdown_url: "https://handshakereviews.com/companies/defend-pest-solutions.md"
updated: "2026-11-05"
site: "Handshake D2D News & Reviews"
---

# Defend Pest Solutions Review

By [Uri Mittelman](https://handshakereviews.com/authors/uri-mittelman.md), Editor · Research and verification: Handshake Research Desk · Updated November 5, 2026 · Verified October 27, 2026

Review · [Is it legit?](https://handshakereviews.com/companies/defend-pest-solutions/legit.md) · [Compare](https://handshakereviews.com/compare/plunketts-pest-control-vs-defend-pest-solutions.md)

Defend Pest Solutions ranks #52 of 164 in the West, with a Handshake Score of 8.0 out of 10. The score is provisional because its confidence rating is Low; what holds it back is under “What we couldn’t verify.”

This page draws on 19 public sources retrieved between October 27, 2026 and November 2, 2026, and the record was verified on October 27, 2026. The sources are listed at the end.

## At a glance

- Rank and score: #52 of 164 in the West, Handshake Score 8.0 out of 10 (provisional: its confidence rating is Low); data confidence low.
- Door-to-door selling: not found in our research (badge “N/A”; this is not proof the company never sells door to door).
- Ownership: independent.
- Headquarters: Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
- Founded: 2022.
- Services on its record: general pest, rodents, mosquito and tick, stinging pests, bats, commercial.
- Record verified October 27, 2026.
- Legal name: Defend Pest Solutions, LLC.
- Website: https://defendpestsolutions.net

## How we scored it

Handshake Score: 8.0 out of 10, #52 of 164 in the West (provisional). Each factor is scored from 0 to 10; every point added or taken away is listed with the fact behind it.

- Customer satisfaction (weight 46.67%, nominal 35%): 9.6/10
  - Google 4.90 across 824 West reviews
  - Blended 4.90/5
- Complaint record (weight 13.33%, nominal 10%): 10.0/10
  - 0 BBB complaints in 3 yrs ÷ 824 (West (home region) Google review total for both Defend listings: Sioux Falls South Dakota 347 + Fargo North Dakota 477 = 824. The single BBB file (Sioux Falls) is the company’s only BBB file, as for Kodiak, Aimvo, Elevate, PCI and Axiom) = 0.0 per 1,000 → 10
- Sales and contract fairness (weight 15%): not scored
  - Sales & contract factor not scored: no contract terms or sales-conduct findings in the record; remaining weights renormalized
- Licensing and compliance (weight 20%, nominal 15%): 10.0/10
- Legal and regulatory record (weight 20%, nominal 15%): 10.0/10
- Workplace score (weight 10%): not scored (< 20 employee reviews)

- Weighted average of the factors above: 9.8/10.
- Review volume −0.8: 824 of 5,000 Google reviews.
- Verification depth −0.4: 0 of 250 other reviews · 0 of 20 employee reviews.
- Locations −0.6: 3 of 10 locations.
- Handshake Score: 8.0/10.

Not scored for lack of records: sales and contract fairness. The remaining weights were rescaled.

## What customers say

- Defend Pest Solutions has 824 Google reviews across 2 West listings, averaging 4.9.
- BBB (Sioux Falls, South Dakota (BBB of Midwest Plains profile)): rating not shown, 0 reviews, retrieved November 2, 2026

## Better Business Bureau

- Its BBB profiles show 0 complaints in the last three years; grades vary by branch.
- Not BBB accredited.
- BBB customer reviews: No reviews.
- Retrieved November 2, 2026.

## Contracts and sales practices

- Door-to-door badge: N/A.
- Sales notes: No door-to-door evidence found: no sales-rep job posts or recruiting site located, and the company is not on the North Dakota Attorney General transient-merchant licensee list (PDF text, 19 pages, searched for Defend/Dotson/Ewell: no match). The negative is weak (SD has no public permit list; Sioux Falls peddler permits not published). One search-result summary snippet mentioned a door-to-door warning but it was a rewritten summary with no page evidence, so it is not used.
- No pricing, minimum term, auto-renewal, cancellation fee, cancellation method or arbitration terms are published on the company website (home, about, services, residential, rodent and bat pages read).

## Licensing and registrations

- Status and expiry are as the issuing agency’s record showed them on the date retrieved.
- South Dakota · South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources · Commercial applicator (individual license; SD issues no company pest-control license) · status: Company roster (Company search “Defend”): 9 people tied to Defend Pest Solutions; current license for Steven Johnson (No. 50896, exp. Mar 31 2028, categories G,8,9). Owner Gordon Dotson (No. 21873) and Steven Ewell (No. 21871) show EXPIRED; Peyton Cambier (22384) EXPIRED; Jacob Kampmann (51386, categories G,8) has no expiration shown; others have no current license. · expires individual licenses expire Mar 31
- South Dakota · South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources · Commercial applicator, owner Gordon Dotson (individual) · no. 21873 · status: EXPIRED
- South Dakota · South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources · Commercial applicator, “Ewell, Steven” (likely owner Tyler Ewell, North Dakota record is Steven Tyler Ewell; individual) · no. 21871 · status: EXPIRED
- South Dakota · South Dakota Secretary of State · Business registry · status: Not verified (search blocked by reCAPTCHA)
- North Dakota · North Dakota State University Extension Pesticide Certification and Training Program (certifies; North Dakota Department of Agriculture enforces) · Commercial applicator certificate, owner Gordon Harrison Dotson (individual; ND has no company license) · no. 10173428 · status: Active; CORE, HOME-INDUSTRIAL, PUBLIC HEALTH, VERTEBRATE certified 06/05/2024 · expires April 1st, 2027
- North Dakota · North Dakota State University Extension Pesticide Certification and Training Program (certifies; North Dakota Department of Agriculture enforces) · Commercial applicator certificate, owner Steven Tyler Ewell (individual) · no. 10173430 · status: Active; CORE, HOME-INDUSTRIAL, PUBLIC HEALTH, VERTEBRATE certified 06/05/2024 · expires April 1st, 2027
- North Dakota · North Dakota Secretary of State · Foreign LLC registration (Defend Pest Solutions LLC, formed in South Dakota) · no. 0006685997 · status: Active, Good Standing; initial filing 05/29/2024; AR due 11/16/2026

## Legal and regulatory record

- Only resolved government actions count toward the score. Summaries are our researchers’ wording of the source.
- [Not counted in the legal score] November 2, 2026 · North Dakota · enforcement: North Dakota Attorney General cease-and-desist orders page: no entry for Defend Pest Solutions, Dotson or Ewell (list covers 2018-2023 entries as displayed).
- [Not counted in the legal score] November 2, 2026 · North Dakota · permit: North Dakota AG transient merchant (door-to-door) licensee list: no entry for Defend Pest Solutions, Dotson or Ewell.
- [LAWSUIT OR ALLEGATION, claims are allegations unless the summary states an outcome; not counted in the legal score] November 2, 2026 · federal · lawsuit: CourtListener opinions search (default published-opinions results) for “Defend Pest Solutions”: no results. Docket and state-court records not searched.
- [COMPLAINT RECORD, a count or summary of complaints, not findings; not counted in the legal score] November 2, 2026 · South Dakota · complaint-summary: BBB profile (BBB of Midwest Plains) shows 0 complaints and 0 customer reviews; business not BBB accredited; BBB rating “Not Rated”. File opened 9/1/2022.

## On Reddit

- Reddit hasn’t been searched for this company yet.

## Locations

- States with a location on file: North Dakota and South Dakota.
- Cities: Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Fargo, North Dakota, West Fargo, North Dakota.

## What we couldn’t verify

Overall confidence in this score: Low (provisional), 2 of 11 points. [How confidence is set](https://handshakereviews.com/how-we-review#confidence).

What keeps it from rating higher:

- 824 western US Google reviews behind customer satisfaction (3,000 or more earns a point; 10,000 or more earns full points).
- 8 independent websites cited (25 or more earns a point).
- 4 of 5 factors scored (not scored: sales and contract fairness).
- Too few independent non-Google reviews to blend in (Google only).
- Verifier rated the customer reviews medium (high earns a point).
- Verifier rated the licensing medium (high earns a point).
- Verifier rated the legal and regulatory record medium (high earns a point).

Verifier’s confidence by section: Identity high; Licensing medium; Legal and regulatory medium; Customer reviews medium; BBB high; Employee reviews low; Mentions low; Sales model low.

### Gaps in the record

- Live Google pages not opened. Fargo listing first seen September 24, 2026.
- Fargo listing address (6719 Belding Dr S, Fargo, North Dakota 58104) differs from the website office (2480 5th St. W, Unit B, West Fargo, North Dakota 58078); not resolved. Phone on the listing (701-929-6560) matches the site, the raw record carries domain defendpestsolutions.net, not closed, and Ewell’s ND certificate shows Fargo 58104. Verified identity of the listing; the street difference is left open.
- South Dakota Secretary of State search blocked by reCAPTCHA; South Dakota LLC status/registered agent not verified (BBB says incorporated 1/5/2022; North Dakota foreign filing says formed in South Dakota).
- SD civil court records (paid/mail request) and ND district-court case search (popup app) not checked; federal CourtListener search returned no results. OSHA establishment search returned HTTP 405 (blocked), so workplace-safety records not verified.
- No DANR (South Dakota) or NDDA (North Dakota) public enforcement list exists; pesticide discipline not checkable beyond what is public.
- Yelp, Facebook, Indeed, Glassdoor not opened. Angi, HomeAdvisor, Thumbtack, Nextdoor, Trustpilot company pages not located by search; Angi Sioux Falls pest-control list page was fetched but no Defend entry was seen. Aggregator pages that mirror Google reviews (pestrox.com, mapquest, pestcontrol-companies.com) were not used.
- Employee reviews: none verified. A search result suggested a salary page listing a technician and a sales role; source not opened, so not recorded.
- No contract terms, pricing, minimum term, cancellation fee or arbitration clause published on the company site; the terms are unknown.
- Door-to-door status unknown: no job posts or recruiting pages found; North Dakota AG transient-merchant list negative (weak).
- SD DANR roster: Jacob Kampmann (51386) shows categories G,8 but no expiration date; recorded as shown. “Ewell, Steven” (SD 21871) is assumed to be owner Tyler Ewell (North Dakota record is Steven Tyler Ewell); same company name, same city, but the South Dakota record does not show a middle name.
- Ratings/identity of North Dakota business registry owner not shown because foreign LLC records do not list members.
- SD individual licenses: owners Dotson (21873) and Ewell (21871) show EXPIRED on the DANR roster re-run November 2, 2026, while Steven Johnson 50896 (to Mar 31 2028, G,8,9) is current and Kampmann 51386 shows categories but no expiry. SD issues no company license, so nothing is scored (individual operator entries do not count; Pfitzer and Kodiak handled the same way). Whether the owners still apply pesticide in SD is not known.
- Both were researched. The Iowa and Minnesota pulls in the raw records are category searches that returned the same two listings, not Iowa or Minnesota locations.

### Open questions

- Is the Fargo listing (6719 Belding Dr S) a separate office or the West Fargo operation at another address?
- Are the owners still applying pesticide in South Dakota (their South Dakota licenses show EXPIRED)?
- South Dakota Secretary of State record not checkable (reCAPTCHA).

## Head-to-head comparisons

- [Insight Pest Solutions vs. Defend Pest Solutions](https://handshakereviews.com/compare/insight-pest-solutions-vs-defend-pest-solutions.md)
- [Plunkett's Pest Control vs. Defend Pest Solutions](https://handshakereviews.com/compare/plunketts-pest-control-vs-defend-pest-solutions.md)
- [Defend Pest Solutions vs. Orkin](https://handshakereviews.com/compare/defend-pest-solutions-vs-orkin.md)
- [Presto-X Pest Control vs. Defend Pest Solutions](https://handshakereviews.com/compare/presto-x-pest-control-vs-defend-pest-solutions.md)
- [Pfitzer Pest Control vs. Defend Pest Solutions](https://handshakereviews.com/compare/pfitzer-pest-control-vs-defend-pest-solutions.md)

## Common questions about Defend Pest Solutions

### Is Defend Pest Solutions licensed?

Defend Pest Solutions has locations on file only in North Dakota and South Dakota, which license individual applicators, not companies. Statuses are as each state agency showed them on the date retrieved.

[Licensing record](https://handshakereviews.com/companies/defend-pest-solutions.md) · [Is Defend Pest Solutions legit?](https://handshakereviews.com/companies/defend-pest-solutions/legit.md)

### Does Defend Pest Solutions sell door to door?

Our research didn’t establish that Defend Pest Solutions sells door to door. That isn’t proof that it never knocks.

[Sales evidence](https://handshakereviews.com/companies/defend-pest-solutions.md)

### What is Defend Pest Solutions’ BBB rating?

Defend Pest Solutions’ BBB profiles show 0 complaints in the last three years; grades vary by branch.

[BBB record](https://handshakereviews.com/companies/defend-pest-solutions.md)

### Does Defend Pest Solutions charge a cancellation fee?

Our record has no confirmed cancellation fee amount.

[Contract terms](https://handshakereviews.com/companies/defend-pest-solutions.md)

### How does Defend Pest Solutions rank?

Defend Pest Solutions ranks #52 of 164 in the West, with a Handshake Score of 8.0 out of 10 (Low confidence). Strongest: licensing and compliance (10.0/10). Weakest: customer satisfaction (9.6/10). Sales and contract fairness: N/A.

[How we scored it](https://handshakereviews.com/companies/defend-pest-solutions.md) · [Full rankings](https://handshakereviews.com/rankings/pest-control-west.md) · [Insight Pest Solutions vs. Defend Pest Solutions](https://handshakereviews.com/compare/insight-pest-solutions-vs-defend-pest-solutions.md) · [Plunkett's Pest Control vs. Defend Pest Solutions](https://handshakereviews.com/compare/plunketts-pest-control-vs-defend-pest-solutions.md)

### Has Defend Pest Solutions faced government actions?

No resolved government actions count against Defend Pest Solutions in our scoring. Two other lawsuit or regulatory records are listed but not scored; pending cases and allegations are not findings.

[Legal and regulatory record](https://handshakereviews.com/companies/defend-pest-solutions.md)

### Where does Defend Pest Solutions have locations?

Our record lists 3 locations for Defend Pest Solutions in North Dakota and South Dakota. It appears in our area rankings for Sioux Falls.

[Locations](https://handshakereviews.com/companies/defend-pest-solutions.md) · [Best pest control in the Sioux Falls area](https://handshakereviews.com/pest-control/sioux-falls.md)

## Pest control in South Dakota

- [#2 of 7 in South Dakota](https://handshakereviews.com/rankings/pest-control-south-dakota.md): [Sioux Falls area](https://handshakereviews.com/pest-control/sioux-falls.md)

## Similar companies in South Dakota

- [Pfitzer Pest Control](https://handshakereviews.com/companies/pfitzer-pest-control.md) · #1 of 7 · State Score 9.6 · [Is it legit? (Pfitzer Pest Control)](https://handshakereviews.com/companies/pfitzer-pest-control/legit.md)
- [Presto-X Pest Control](https://handshakereviews.com/companies/presto-x-pest-control.md) · #3 of 7 · State Score 9.0 · [Is it legit? (Presto-X Pest Control)](https://handshakereviews.com/companies/presto-x-pest-control/legit.md)
- [Fenix Pest Control](https://handshakereviews.com/companies/fenix-pest-control.md) · #4 of 7 · State Score 8.0 · [Is it legit? (Fenix Pest Control)](https://handshakereviews.com/companies/fenix-pest-control/legit.md)
- [Fox Pest Control](https://handshakereviews.com/companies/fox-pest-control.md) · #5 of 7 · State Score 7.4 · [Is it legit? (Fox Pest Control)](https://handshakereviews.com/companies/fox-pest-control/legit.md)

## Sources

19 distinct pages, numbered in the order they appear in the record. Dates are when our researchers retrieved each page.

1. [Company website](https://defendpestsolutions.net) — defendpestsolutions.net · Company facts · retrieved November 2, 2026
2. [bbb.org](https://www.bbb.org/us/sd/sioux-falls/profile/pest-control/defend-pest-solutions-llc-0714-300290626) — Company facts · retrieved November 2, 2026
3. [firststop.sos.nd.gov](https://firststop.sos.nd.gov/search/business#Defend%20Pest%20Solutions) — Company facts · retrieved November 2, 2026
4. [defendpestsolutions.net](https://www.defendpestsolutions.net/about-us) — Company facts · retrieved November 2, 2026
5. [attorneygeneral.nd.gov](https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Licensees-TransientMerchants.pdf) — Contracts and sales · retrieved November 2, 2026
6. [defendpestsolutions.net](https://www.defendpestsolutions.net/residential-commercial) — Contracts and sales · retrieved November 2, 2026
7. [Google — Sioux Falls, South Dakota](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=14177557213228708221) — google.com · Customer reviews · retrieved October 27, 2026
8. [Google — Fargo, North Dakota](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=13032486982070369436) — google.com · Customer reviews · retrieved October 27, 2026
9. [BBB — Sioux Falls, South Dakota (BBB of Midwest Plains profile)](https://www.bbb.org/us/sd/sioux-falls/profile/pest-control/defend-pest-solutions-llc-0714-300290626/customer-reviews) — bbb.org · Customer reviews · retrieved November 2, 2026
10. [BBB](https://www.bbb.org/search?find_country=USA&find_text=Defend+Pest+Solutions&find_loc=Sioux+Falls%2C+SD&page=1) — bbb.org · BBB · retrieved November 2, 2026
11. [South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources](https://apps.sd.gov/doa/cat/commercialsearch.aspx#Company=Defend) — apps.sd.gov · Licensing and registrations · retrieved November 2, 2026
12. [South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources](https://apps.sd.gov/doa/cat/commercialsearch.aspx#LastName=Dotson) — apps.sd.gov · Licensing and registrations · retrieved November 2, 2026
13. [South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources](https://apps.sd.gov/doa/cat/commercialsearch.aspx#LastName=Ewell) — apps.sd.gov · Licensing and registrations · retrieved November 2, 2026
14. [North Dakota State University Extension Pesticide Certification and Training Program (certifies; North Dakota Department of Agriculture enforces)](https://pesticide.ndsu.nodak.edu/BlazorPest/Applicators#LastName=Dotson) — pesticide.ndsu.nodak.edu · Licensing and registrations · retrieved November 2, 2026
15. [North Dakota State University Extension Pesticide Certification and Training Program (certifies; North Dakota Department of Agriculture enforces)](https://pesticide.ndsu.nodak.edu/BlazorPest/Applicators#LastName=Ewell) — pesticide.ndsu.nodak.edu · Licensing and registrations · retrieved November 2, 2026
16. [South Dakota](https://www.bbb.org/us/sd/sioux-falls/profile/pest-control/defend-pest-solutions-llc-0714-300290626/complaints) — bbb.org · Legal and regulatory · retrieved November 2, 2026
17. [North Dakota](https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/consumer-resources/enforcement-actions/) — attorneygeneral.nd.gov · Legal and regulatory · retrieved November 2, 2026
18. [federal](https://www.courtlistener.com/?q=%22Defend+Pest+Solutions%22) — courtlistener.com · Legal and regulatory · retrieved November 2, 2026
19. [Sioux Falls, South Dakota location](https://www.defendpestsolutions.net/services) — defendpestsolutions.net · Locations · retrieved November 2, 2026

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