r/PestControlIndustry

I usually run 9 to 12 stops residential, each stop takes me about 30-45 minutes (attic, basement, garage, common areas, exterior rodent stations, exterior foundation treatment and granular on mulch beds) I usually drive between 20 to 40 minutes in between my stops and sometimes I don’t even have time to pee. When I ask other techs or my boss they say we’re too busy to take breaks… I’m getting tired. I service NH and MA I’m an hourly employee and my OT cuts off by my boss at 45 hours each week. I don’t get paid until I arrive my first stop and the drive back from my last stop.

I am wanting to leave doing apartment maintenance that I’ve been doing for almost 9 years now. It just sucks now, it’s stressful, and the on call all the time sucks. I am thinking about a career change into the pest control industry at the entry level. What can I expect starting/base pay to be. How is the day to day. Is it a laid back job. What are some of the cons? I am in the Greensboro North Carolina area so any tips for any of what I asked would be greatly appreciated from you guys. Thanks!

I recently switched in-house to a different company that is apart of the same umbrella same pay and everything .

Only difference is my job became way way easier. I for the past two months have been doing pretty Much only two jobs a day most of my time is spent driving and I get a full 8 hours or more a day. Each stop litterly only takes 30 to 45 minutes, And it's just checking traps.

I have never had a schedule this easy so im shocked. for most of my 10 years in pest control it has been non stop work .

Post what tool or equipment really made your job easier

I’m going to say a good Multi-Tool. I bought one from Amazon prime day and this thing has been great. I can’t believe I used to carry a screwdriver with different bits, pliers, wire cutters, and a knife in my tool pouch. Highly recommend one that comes in a holster.

So I’m starting a pest control company in AZ and I’m looking for any and all advice you guys can give me. Things you have learned over the years? Contracts vs no contracts? Price for a service? Products you love? Backpack sprayer vs tank and pump? I’m open to everything and I appreciate your time.

How do you get clients to give you google review?

What are some easy business industries or\\nCustomer types to offer pest control services, too? Also, any advices , on customers that are trying to get away from contracts or agreements?

I will start. I had a terrible narcissistic Owner that paid me 38k a year and was like that's plenty he criticize me for everything rather my fault or not and refuse to let me get any overtime.

I could of stayed miserable or taken a leap of faith and honestly I had zero to lose. Since I am not a salesman door to door sales was a no but I was determined I taught myself SEO I put together a in house website team together off upwork all from the Philippines and one of those 2 people is still with me today.

When I got jobs I made sure to ask for reviews, after getting a few great reviews I started advertising on Yelp and the rest is history.

I literally gone from being miserable to having the best years of my life after the age of 40!

Very very new (4 days), my company does a mosquito repellent spray from a gas powered blower, we use NyGard, Bifen, and a soapy type solution. I’ve noticed my lungs hurt and it feels hard to breathe, should I be using a cartridge respirator?

Hi all,I am looking into implementing PestPac for my pest control business. Before making the financial and time investment into onboarding, I wanted to get some honest feedback from people who use it daily.Pros/Cons: What do you love most, and what drives you crazy?Work Orders: How seamless is the process of generating, dispatching, and completing work orders? Is the mobile app user-friendly for techs in the field?I want to make sure it won't slow down our operations or overcomplicate things for my team. Appreciate any insights you can share!

Just got back from a week away in which I have been covered in bites and suspect bedbugs. Yesterday I found some specs of blood on my sheets and very concerned we have brought bugs back with us.

Pest control guy came round and said to prevent an infestation to spray the mattress with Cimetrol, so that any bugs that come out to eat will be killed, and I will be the bait.

Just wondering if it’s normal practice to spray the whole mattress with this chemical or if this would be dangerous? I also have a 4 month old baby

Thanks!

Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone has taken the Alberta pest control exam.

What are the main topics to focus on, and do you have any tips for preparing before the exam?

Also, did anyone claim those points in Express Entry and get results?
If you don’t want to share here, please let me know by DM—that would help a lot.

New house in Virginia, needed pest control, signed an annual contract. First visit was fine. Called for a re-visit in June because of an ant problem in the kitchen.

While the technician was re-treating, he asked if I'd paid. I said no — why is he asking me for payment? That's not his job.

He called the office and put "the lady" on the phone. She said something like, "well, since he's there..." I told her no, she needed to call me directly, I wasn't handing payment to the technician, and that collecting money isn't his role.

She said she'd call back later and hung up. I called the company president directly. He canceled my contract.

His reasoning: it's industry standard for technicians to collect payment on-site.

Looking back, I think the real issue is that this company's first-ever ask for payment came through a field technician — not an invoice, not an email, not even a phone call from the office. It felt off-putting and unprofessional, having a service worker put in that position. My guess is that's what actually led to the president canceling my contract — he didn't like that I called it out.

When I checked my email, the only thing on file was the signed quarterly service agreement — I was never sent an invoice.

Did I handle this wrong? Should I report this to the BBB, Nextdoor, Yelp, or somewhere else? I'm mortified to be treated this way. All I wanted was for them to understand my concerns about their unusual billing practices, and instead the president completely shut me out. It makes no sense to me.

Hey guys just wanted to ask you when exterminator treatments of 5 rounds were done 2 months ago, so why am I still seeing them and now I'm seeing more adults back around?

I've been working pest control on the east coast for about a month now, and as time has gone on, more and more of those Japanese beetles have been swarming me and my truck. I'm confused as to why; we use Ecovia MT, which is supposed to repel insects. I've even fogged my truck with it and Tekko Pro, and they got worse. I also have Bifen and Onslaught Fastcap on my truck that I've hit them with.

Something odd is that they'll land on my truck's toolboxes, and get pulled upside down, stay there for a bit, eventually roll over, and then fly away...only to come back at me or my vehicle.

If it matters, I don't wear perfume and my deodorant was coconut, but it's a crazy faint scent. I also started using men's deodorant today, with a "clean laundry" scent, and it's just as bad.

Does anyone know why they might be swarming me/my truck? And how to stop it?

Hi! I am helping run Google Ads and Google Business Profile for a local pest company, and I have noticed that we set quite a decent number of inspections, but only 58% of them end up completed. The other 42% are either missed by the technicians, canceled, or the customer is not home. Most of these inspections are scheduled within 1-2 days, some even same-day. I'd love to know if this is industry standard, or what others are seeing? I am debating if it's worth putting Google Ads budget towards these, if we're missing this many inspections, or if that is expected.

Thanks!

So this morning, I was called in by my manager and branch manager and was told that I will be transferring to a commercial only branch next week. The current branch I work at does mostly residential with some commercial, but this commercial branch is basically absorbing all of our commercial accounts and wants me to come be a tech at their branch. They said I will likely be put on production pay after the transfer and I am curious what being on production pay at a commercial only branch is like and basically what the work/life balance is like. Kinda mad I didn’t get a say in this decision but it is what it is, I’ll be working in Chicagoland and suburbs area.

We're in CA and considering going with a new program that allows pictures to be added to the WDO report. It's a big jump in monthly pricing for the program so we'd probably need to up our inspection fees. Owner feels as though we're already at the top for a complete inspection. But when looking at others I think that we're actually right in the average.

So, I thought I'd ask on a larger scale. Those in CA what do you charge for a complete WDO inspection?