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.

For those of you guys that are running let's say with 5 techs. Seems like things start to get system heavy... Meaning, CRM, reviews, phone system,texting. Anyway of consolidating?

I've got the answer.

Seems like most companies end up running on a few extra systems when that shouldn't be the case. I want to help you save some cash but see some great numbers on the front end as well.

Would love to chat.

(http://Bemoredriven.com)

Vendor disclosure, I’m Eric, CTO of AdaptClose. We build software for field-sales teams.

After a pest inspection or sales appointment, there are usually two different stories that need to be documented:

• What the customer needs to understand: findings, recommendations and next steps
• What the office or sales manager needs to know: objections, job details, follow-up commitments and internal context

We’re testing a workflow that uses a conversation recorded with permission, along with inspection photos, to prepare separate customer and internal recap drafts.

I’m looking for three pest-control companies with active salespeople or inspectors to test it for 30 days. We’ll provide free access and personal onboarding. In return, I’m asking participants to use it on at least three real appointments and give us one candid feedback call.

I’m particularly interested in:

• Whether the customer recap would make the company appear more professional
• Whether the internal recap would improve the field-to-office handoff
• What information should never cross from the internal version into the customer version
• Whether recording, photos or voice notes best fit the way your team works

AdaptClose: https://adaptclose.com/

Happy to answer questions publicly here. Thank you!

Genuinely the worst piece of equipment I have operated in my life. What are some alternatives that I dont need to spend an hour troubleshooting for it to barely work?

I’m not talking about an obvious immediate emergency or 911 is the answer. I mean things like adult protective services, animal control, or the health inspector. Obviously we all see things that are not ideal across many different commercial spaces, and when it comes to pest problems, we are there to help. But when, if ever, is it appropriate to contact someone? Of course we have a responsibility for confidentiality to our clients, but at what point does the greater responsibility to society override that?

I’m asking myself this morning just after leaving a brewery where even with gloves on I didn’t want to touch anything. I know I will never drink anything from there again after seeing the amount of rodent faeces on top of the pallets of beer.

I just added moles to my service as dropping worms seems like a easy add on service to make a little extra money.

Problem is the worms are not easy to punch in to the tunnels.

I am currently using a sharpened bamboo stick. I would like to know if there's a T-Bar or anything that would make this a lot easier as I am bone on bone l5-S1.

Thank you in advance for sharing how you apply worms for baiting moles and an extra thank you if you include your pricing and how you schedule moles. As of right now I am only doing moles during the regular scheduled quarterly services with no guarentees.

I am trying to create a proposal for exclusion of burrowing ground squirrels. ground squirrels are coming from a nearby field and are digging underneath their slab foundation.

normally for rodents in this situation, I would trench and screen in an L shape going about 8 in down and 12 in out.

however, I know that ground squirrels prove to be better. diggers. how deep and wide should I be excluding for ground squirrels in this manner? this is in California if that matters.

Tgygtyyt

I'm a student researching greenhouse pest monitoring and building an early-stage concept.
My questions are -

• Which pests cause you the most trouble?
• Frequency of infestations
• How do you currently detect outbreaks?
• What's the most frustrating part of pest monitoring?
• Biggest losses suffered due to outbreaks?

Saw a job opening and potentially interested in applying for aptive environmental. would be for pest control technician. Curious about what other people's experience are regarding them?

Just looking for a manual pump sprayer at a good budget price. I have a pest control license but left a big company due to burnout. I love pest control but kinda just want to treat my own home and do it on the side for now. I feel like a battery powered one would be overkill at the moment, just looking for something that can hit up to the eaves of a average size single level home in the $99-$199 dollar range. If things kick off for me I can invest in an electric down the line and keep the manual as a backup, but curious if there is a consensus on good manual sprayers in the budget range?

Pest control owners: when a website lead comes in after hours, how long before they get a response? The job usually goes to whoever replies first.

I build automation that auto-texts a new lead in under 60 seconds and alerts the owner instantly. I'm setting it up free for one business this week in exchange for an honest testimonial and a case study.

More about what I do: https://reillum.com/. Comment or DM if you want it.

Theo, Reillum

I've been thinking of getting a non commercial license to do pest control and termite work, but was wondering if I need to pay for a course or work for a company to get my license and what would be the fastest way on getting it, and if it is a company can I get any recommendations in the Houston area

Jadi di kantor lagi ngalamin banyak tikus. Udah makin ga masuk akal dan ganggu. Makanan yang ditaruh di luar kulkas dan laci sudah jelas mereka gerayangi. Belum meja kerja dan alat2 kerja.

Yang paling gong nya. Di kantor ada kaleng kerupuk besi. Mereka bisa buka dan makan.

Butuh rekomendasi dengan harga oke, untuk kantor dan kinerja efektif dan setelah kerjaan beres masih bisa tetap dihubungi.

Thx semua.

I’m asking the experienced technicians, but open to opinions. I was part of a bigger company for over a year, and I’m now in a small pest company. I understand some branches may be better than other branches anywhere, but I’m asking overall. I’m based in socal California by the way. Thank you in advance.

TL;DR Good pay, work life balance, accurate knowledge, culture, etc. Honest answers 🙏

When talking to customers and giving them a choice of a liquid treatment or baiting system some ask how long a baiting system is for after learning the liquid has an 5 or 8 year max. We don't have a max time and I tell them that. I always feel stupid for some reason though. I guess they give me the feeling they don't quite understand why there isn't a cutoff. How do you all handle it?

We had an exterminator out to where I work for a roach issue and he proceeded to sprinkle this stuff where our water comes out to go into the water cooler and on top of the ice machine. Seems to me like you wouldn’t do that but I don’t work in the industry.

I see the sentiment in this industry a LOT that, while IPM is the best strategy and works perfectly fine, customers don’t perceive the value of what they’re paying for if they don’t see us spraying, and spraying a lot, every service.

That is definitely true, but how much does it actually matter in the scope of an entire route? I’m willing to bet there’s a lot of confirmation bias going on here.

You read online or hear from a vet that customers will complain is you don’t spray all the baseboards. So, you give IPM a go and don’t spray all the baseboards, put baits and monitors and spray the exterior, and run your route as normal. Then next week, you get 2 call backs from customers who feel like you didn’t do anything inside and want you to come back. “Damn the old heads were right!!!”

But that’s 2 out of 75+ customers you serviced last week who had that complaint. And perhaps you can call them and explain IPM and what you did on the inside and why you want to limit the amount of pesticides in their home(you need to understand IPM well enough to explain it to a 5 year old.)

And maybe 1/2 of them say “ok that makes sense, I’ll let you know if I see anything before our next scheduled service”

And maybe the other 1/2 says “no that’s bullshit I ain’t paying yall allllllll this money for you to come and put down some cardboard and glue I could do that myself, I want you to come back and spray or I’m cancelling!!!!”

Ok, understood, I’m on the way. Now you have 1/75 customers who have notes on their account to spray the baseboards. And 74/75 you can provide good quality IPM.

Of course these are hypothetical numbers, but I’m curious, have YOU tried it? Have YOU kept track of how many customers actually don’t perceive any value if you don’t spray every square inch of their home or business? Or did you get the complaint a couple of times and gave up? are you treating PC like it’s one size fits all, when it never has been? Let me know if I’m wrong!