Provider Evaluation Checklist

Step 1

Compare What's Reported

Start with a short list. In the WeedGunners directory you can search by state and project type. For each provider, note:

• Service area. The states they list as current work, and where they're based. Distance affects mobilization cost and how quickly they can return.
• Project types. Whether they list your kind of work, such as rights-of-way, pasture and rangeland, or habitat and conservation.
• Services. Broad-acre spraying, spot spraying, seeding and similar, in their own words.

Listings show one of three labels. None of them is a credential check.

• Unclaimed: built from public business information; the operator hasn't confirmed it yet, so no contact details are shown.
• Operator confirmed: the operator reviewed the listing and stands behind the information. Contact details are shown.
• Featured: a paid listing that appears first. It is placement, not an endorsement or a quality rating.

What a provider reports is a starting point. Steps 2 and 3 are where you confirm it.

Step 3

Check Project Fit

A qualified provider still has to be the right fit for your job. Talk through each item below with your short list.

• Site type and scale. They've worked on sites like yours, at a similar size.
• Terrain and obstacles. They've seen your terrain, power lines, towers, trees or structures, or asked for maps and photos.
• Access. They know how they'll reach the site, where they'll stage and refill, and who arranges gates or landowner contact.
• Timing and capacity. They can do the work inside your treatment window, with a plan for weather delays.
• Product handling. It's clear who supplies the product, and how it will be stored, mixed and handled on site.
• Records format. They can deliver records and maps in the format you need, such as PDF, KML or shapefile.
• Sensitive areas. They've reviewed the water, crops, homes or habitat near your site and explained how they'll protect them.
• Subcontracting. They've told you whether any part of the work will be done by someone else, and who.
• Where drones don't fit. They'll tell you if part of the site is better treated another way, such as by ground crew or conventional aircraft.

0 of 9 checked

Not sure drones fit your project at all? See what it takes to spray vegetation with drones and plan the work.

Step 4

Compare Providers Side by Side

Enter up to three providers and tick what you've received or confirmed. Nothing you enter is saved or sent anywhere; it clears when you leave the page. Print it to keep a copy.

Swipe the table sideways to see all three providers.

Before You Sign

Things That Deserve a Second Look

None of these alone means a provider is wrong for the job. Each is worth a follow-up question.

• The provider can't produce a document you asked for, or keeps saying it's coming.
• The license category doesn't match your site, such as an agricultural license for right-of-way work.
• One quote is much lower than the others and, on a closer read, covers less: fewer acres, no records or no follow-up.
• There's no plan to give you written records after the application.
• You're encouraged to skip the paperwork to save time or money.

Providers who prepare for commercial work usually have these documents ready. Operators can see how providers prepare.