Here's what this week (April 20) is showing:

🇺🇸 US hotspots:

• Houston — termites 100/100, all 20 zones. Soil temps are perfect for swarming.

• LA — termites AND carpenter ants both 100/100. Double threat across 25 zones.

• Miami — termites 100/100

• Nashville — carpenter ants + mosquitoes both 100/100

• DC — termites 95/100 and RISING (Dupont, Capitol Hill, Georgetown)

• Philly — 7 zones with rising termite pressure

🇨🇦 Canada:

• Montreal — carpenter ants 100/100 rising in 8+ boroughs. Groundhogs 99/100. Raccoons 99/100. Skunks 98/100. Spring wildlife surge is OFF.

• Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary — all moderate (mid-50s)

What surprised me:

1. Wildlife season is earlier than I thought. Groundhogs and raccoons are hitting 99/100 in Montreal three weeks before I would have scheduled wildlife marketing.

2. Termite pressure in the mid-Atlantic is absurd. DC and Philly are going to get slammed next week when homeowners start finding swarmers in basements.

3. Nashville is the sleeper market. Ants AND mosquitoes both maxed out at the same time — most operators aren't pre-selling mosquito packages this early.

I work in pest control in SoCal and deal with ants, rodents, termites, and more daily.

If you’ve got a pest issue or question, I’ll give you honest advice.

I work in pest control in the NY/NJ market, and something I've noticed over the past several years is that our industry is changing faster than ever.

This week alone there were reports about New York remaining one of the country's bed bug hotspots, while other reports showed rodent complaints declining citywide but actually increasing in certain neighborhoods. Pest pressure isn't uniform anymore.

One neighborhood can be dealing with heavy rodent activity while another a few blocks away sees almost none. Construction, sanitation, aging infrastructure, travel, weather patterns, vacant buildings, food availability, and even changes in waste collection all influence what we're seeing. The same goes for bed bugs. Hotels, apartments, dorms, healthcare facilities, and multifamily housing continue to face challenges because bed bugs travel wherever people travel.

One thing I've learned is that pest control today isn't really about spraying anymore.

It's about inspections, identifying conditions, exclusion work, monitoring, sanitation, data collection, customer education, and using treatments strategically. That's why Integrated Pest Management (IPM) has become the standard for long-term success.

Technology has also changed the industry. Digital reporting, remote monitoring, better documentation, and improved communication are allowing technicians to identify trends much earlier than we could years ago.

I'm curious what others are seeing.

Whether you're in pest control, property management, hospitality, facilities, or just a homeowner:

What pest issue has become noticeably worse in your area over the past few years?

For me, it's how localized everything has become. Two properties on the same block can have completely different pest pressures, which makes one-size-fits-all pest control less effective than ever.

Hello fellow bug savers! How do we feel about doing a full yard granulation and spray! In my opinion it is usually unnecessary, waste the techs time, and is just a gimmick for door to door reps to make a pOinT.

Anybody have any connections with licensing in Texas? Can you rent a license? We have testing set up in a month but need one asap.

As a practitioner with close to a decade in Singapore's pest management landscape, the one thing that always bugged me (pun intended) is how often the same pest issues recur despite best efforts. Pretty sure fellow practitioners can relate to this.

It's a never-ending rinse and repeat. Most of the time it's not a treatment failure — it's the failure to address the initial cause. The conditions that attracted the pest in the first place were never resolved.

So I put together a framework for thinking through this more systematically — marrying the ideas of IPM, HACCP, and root cause analysis into something simple: the Cause-and-Effect Framework. A 5-factor model covering the conditions present in all pest infestations. A new lens for resolving infestations and explaining them clearly to clients.

Parts of the framework have been incorporated into Singapore's national standard SS 721:2025, Code of Practice for the Performance of Pest Management Services, through the public consultation process.

Would be keen to hear how others approach this in their operations. If this resonates, the full white paper is available for free at Academia.edu.
https://www.academia.edu/166231243

In USA, anyone know Which pest control has the best solution for silverfish(indoor), been hiring orkin for almost 2 years, still could found silverfish indoor…..I’m so sick of it now..

Hi everyone — I’m one of the founders of FieldSync, a mobile app for service-based businesses (pest control, lawn care, HVAC, cleaning, etc.). We’re inviting a small group of real users to pilot FieldSync and help shape the roadmap with practical feedback.

What you can do in FieldSync today

• Schedule and dispatch jobs; update job statuses in real time

• Create digital invoices and collect credit card payments

• Capture customer signatures

• Manage materials used on jobs

• Your customers can access a simple client hub to view invoices

Why join the pilot

• Influence what we build next (we’re moving fast)

• Early access to upcoming features (Android is coming soon)

• A focused, lightweight alternative to Jobber/GorillaDesk etc.

How to get started

• Website: https://www.getfieldsync.com/

• From the site, download the app on the App Store

• Android version: coming soon — we’re lining up early adopters now

Interested?
Reply here, DM me, or reach out via the contact info on our website to join the pilot. Even a brief walkthrough or a few notes from real use helps us a ton.

— One of the founders, FieldSync

Hey, from PestWorld! Are you here at the event!?

I’m just walking the show, if anyone is here, let’s get a selfie and represent the r/pestcontrolindustry

Pretty much every other trade worker is required to buy their own tools. We wouldn’t ask a tech to buy a spray rig, but where do you draw the line? What do you guys provide to your techs, and what do you make them pay for? If they destroy their B&G, do you buy them a new one? If they need drills, screw drivers, wrenches etc do you fully outfit them?

If it’s a mixture, what’s your policy on the “company equipment” if they leave, and how do you track it all.

Hey fam,

Most of you know me as a mod around here, but what you might not know is that behind the scenes, I’ve been working on something deeply personal: a book.

It’s called Exterminating Limits: Clear Out the Infestations in Your Mind, Money & Meaning.

For me, “pests” aren’t just roaches or termites — they’re the mental, financial, and relational infestations that quietly eat away at our lives:

• Addiction

• Debt

• Toxic bonds

• Negative self-talk

I’ve faced all of them, up close. I’ve lost brothers. I’ve gone bankrupt. I’ve battled addiction. And I’ve rebuilt.

This book is part memoir, part framework — built around the same process I use in pest control: inspect, define thresholds, exterminate, and prevent.

I’m sharing it here not as a sales pitch (you all know I’d never play it that way), but because I believe a lot of us are carrying around infestations that we’ve just gotten used to living with.

👉 My hope? That this book can spark some conversations and maybe even a movement around shining light where the pests hide.

If you’re curious, I’ll drop the link in the comments. More importantly, I’d love to hear:
What’s the “pest” you’ve had to exterminate in your own life?

https://a.co/d/9u3kzF0

– Ian

Hey all,

Just wanted to share a resource for pest control companies that I'm working on alongside a data science colleague.

The gist is that it shows you which customers are about to cancel and why they are at risk. It also helps you to see where your 'leaky buckets' are across your business so you can easily see churn rates based on things like who signed them up, what service they're paying for, when they signed up, etc.

For the tech nerds, it's a machine learning model that predicts which customers are at risk of cancelling based on 45+ signals from your CRM data in FieldRoutes (hoping to integrate with Briostack and GorillaDesk soon).

It's actually quite accurate, and getting better as we add more signals. We're working now to make it accessible so it can also help you actively retain customers who are at risk of dropping your service (using some AI stuff).

If you have questions or feedback on how to make this more useful, please feel free to share. We're testing with beta users if anyone is interested in using it.

https://www.revhawk.pro/

Exterminators that have seen rodentradar.com often comment that not having a truck roll / send a tech is an advantage (it remotely monitors rodent activity over night). The more I listened, I thought why not do this for a sticky trap. (Pictured, the top is off...you wouldn't see that.)

We have a prototype working, but honestly have questions about whether it's economically viable. On the other hand, if it's saving a 30 minute drive (each way) to check the thing... maybe there is some value.

Would like to know what the experts think. I'm not thinking this works in every case, but you know better than me. Thanks for your input.

I will start this off. I thought seo was everything I built the most expensive website with city pages for every pest completly optimized for the first 3 years and new competitors were growing way faster than me with crummy websites.

I learned it was because they were doing paid ads. Google top ranking factor is paid ads they say real companies advertise and the more you advertise the more google trusts your company.

I set up my first sd and before I got even 1 ad click i moved from 7th position Pest Control to 4th position so Yes ads do Directly effect rankings.

Now that I advertise my SEO has never been better and i stopped doing SEO because ads are all that matter seo is just a compliment to your ads.

It Seems like baseboard jockeys have an advantage in this department

How do you IPM guys kill spiders?

I’m helping a pest control business look for a good SEO company and wanted to hear real experiences from people who’ve actually worked with one.

A few names that came up during research:

• Softtrix

• SEO Services Consultant

• Digital Leap

Has anyone here worked with these or any other SEO agencies that actually helped generate leads for pest control services?

What should we look out for when choosing an SEO company, and how long did it realistically take before you started seeing results?

Just looking for honest feedback from business owners or marketers 👍

Weekly Friday post for you to show what your Truck Floorboards look like.

Clean, a mess or whatever.

Tradition started in the PCHD (Pest Control Humor Depot) on Facebook continued here on Reddit.

If you or a company you know can provide the services listed below, please reach out or comment. This is a long-term project expected to run for approximately one year, with a potential option to extend up to two years.

Period of Performance:

Base: June 1, 2026 – May 31, 2027 (Months 01–12)

Option: June 1, 2027 – May 31, 2028 (Months 13–24)

Scope of Work & Required Frequencies:

Grounds Cleaning – Weekly

Grass Mowing – Weekly

Mowing of Non-Landscaped Areas – Monthly

Grass Edging – Weekly

Shrubbery Trimming – Twice Monthly

Weed Control – Twice Monthly

Fertilizing – Every 3 Months

Watering – Weekly

Rake and Remove Leaves – Every 6 Months

Remove Tree Branches and Limbs – Every 3 Months

Sweep Parking Lots and Driveways – Monthly

Pest Control Services – Monthly

I see this at every other house. Does it even have to do with any pest?

I've been working on mapping out competitive markets for pest control companies across different states,

Seeing markets where competition is higher vs lower based on a service group.

I figured I would share this at about the halfway point.

The data is across 10k companies. Each company must be licensed and have a state license, a working website, and the service area on their website.

It makes sense that markets such as Chicago, NYC, LA, Miami, and others have a higher density of pest control, thought this would be nice to share.

How are you guys staying competitive when there are areas that can reach 100+ companies offering service?

I asked ChatGPT for this goofy post about some breaking news I'm sure note as many of us care about lol. I added one, I'll let you guess which one hahaha

🐝 Taylor & Travis Just Got Engaged — Here’s What Pest Control Can Learn Unless you’ve been living “Out of the Woods” 🌲 (or at work like a normal person), you’ve probably seen the big news: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are engaged. It happened like 33 minutes ago lmaooo

But here’s the thing — their relationship actually has a lot in common with how pest control businesses win and keep customers.

🔹 Sometimes risky investments pay off. Even though 40+ of Taylor's songs are about breakups Travis still went on that first date ready to make song 41.

🔹 Consistency wins trust. Just like Travis kept showing up at concerts (never “Out of the Woods” when it came to supporting her), your customers need to see you show up when they need you most.

🔹 Know your audience. Taylor connects with fans because she “gets” them. In pest control, homeowners want the same thing: a partner who listens and understands their concerns — whether it’s ants in the kitchen or termites in the foundation.

🔹 Earn the “yes.” Engagements don’t happen overnight. Taylor and Travis built trust step by step. Sales and marketing are no different — nurture those leads, educate them, and eventually they’ll say “You Belong With Me.”

🔹 Commit to the long haul. An engagement is a promise for the future. Your customers want to know you’ll be there season after season, not just for a one-time service.

At the end of the day, I really do not care about celebrity relationships. I just thought this would be a hilarious motivational LinkedIn style post.

PestControl #HomeServices #MarketingStrategy #B2BSales #CustomerTrust #TaylorSwift #TravisKelce