If you've been in the pest control industry for a while, you’ve likely dealt with the fallout from aggressive door-to-door sales tactics. These "door knocker" pest control companies often rely on pressure sales and misleading claims to win over unsuspecting customers. The result? Confused, skeptical homeowners and businesses who may already be under contract with your company—or worse, ready to cancel based on false information.
It’s frustrating, but here’s the good news: your team can become your most effective line of defense against this misinformation. With the right training, both your technicians and customer service reps (CSRs) can turn these situations into opportunities to build trust, reinforce your brand, and keep customers loyal.
Start by training your team on the most common tactics used by door knockers. These might include telling homeowners their current provider "doesn’t treat for certain pests," claiming to be "taking over routes" in the area, or offering steep discounts "only available today." The first give-away of an unreputable business is no clearly marked service vehicle with a professional company logo.
When your team knows what kinds of misinformation are out there, they can speak confidently and calmly to correct it—not with panic or defensiveness, but with professionalism and facts.
Next, invest in soft skills training for both techs and CSRs. Your frontline employees should be skilled in active listening, validating customer concerns, and calmly offering evidence-based responses. For example: “I understand why that might be confusing. Actually, we do treat for that pest—here’s how our service plan handles it.” A well-informed, confident answer can instantly dissolve the credibility of a door knocker’s claims.
Consistency is also key. Create a communication playbook or set of talking points that your staff can refer to when handling common objections or misinformation. Role-playing scenarios during training sessions can help reinforce these skills, giving your team the confidence to handle real-time objections without freezing up or sounding confrontational.
Make sure your CSRs are equipped to document and follow up on these interactions. If a customer calls in after a door knocker visit, your team should know how to reassure them, offer additional documentation, or escalate the call if needed. A friendly, solution-oriented tone can be the difference between a canceled account and a renewed contract.
Lastly, reinforce company pride. Door knockers might be loud, but your quiet consistency, quality service, and educated team speak volumes over time. Let your customers know they can always reach a real person—someone who knows their home, understands their concerns, and truly values their business. That kind of relationship can’t be sold in a five-minute pitch on the porch.
Corteva Agriscience, a valued partner-sponsor of TPCA, discusses 3 problems in the pest management/control industry and offer their solutions.
Corteva Agriscience™ (NYSE: CTVA) is a leading global agriculture company dedicated to enriching the lives of those who produce and consume, ensuring progress for generations to come. Established as an independent entity in 2019 following its separation from DowDuPont, Corteva combines industry-leading innovation, customer engagement, and operational execution to address the world's most pressing agricultural challenges.
The company's diverse portfolio includes advanced seed technologies, crop protection solutions, and digital services, all aimed at maximizing productivity for farmers worldwide. With a commitment to sustainability and innovation, Corteva continues to develop solutions that support both agricultural productivity and environmental stewardship.
The Sentricon System
Developed by Corteva, the Sentricon® System is a scientifically designed termite baiting solution that targets and eliminates entire subterranean termite colonies, including the queen. Introduced in 1995, Sentricon® has become the No. 1 brand in termite protection, safeguarding nearly 5 million structures across the United States.
Key Features:
Notably, Sentricon has been trusted to protect national landmarks such as the White House, the U.S. Capitol, and the Statue of Liberty, demonstrating its reliability and effectiveness in termite control.
For more information about Corteva Agriscience and the Sentricon System, please visit www.corteva.com and www.sentricon.com.
1. Customer Retention and Revenue Stability
Challenge: High cancellation rates can hinder a company's success, leading to lost opportunities and increased acquisition costs.
Sentricon’s Solution:
2. Bundling and Cross-Selling Services
Challenge: Bundling services is an effective strategy to increase revenue and customer satisfaction. By combining multiple pest control services into one package, companies can offer comprehensive solutions that appeal to customers seeking convenience and cost savings.
Sentricon's Solution:
3. Employee Retention and Engagement
Challenge: The pest control industry faces significant challenges in retaining skilled technicians and fostering a motivated workforce. High turnover rates can disrupt service continuity and increase recruitment and training costs.
By addressing these key challenges—customer retention, service bundling, and employee engagement—Corteva Agriscience and the Sentricon® System provide comprehensive solutions that support the growth and success of pest management professionals.
Written by Bob Williamson, pest & lawn director for the M&A advisory firm Cetane Associates. This article was originally posted on PMP Pest Management Professional
As a kid, I would play "10 Questions" to meet new friends. I discovered it was a great way to learn more about people I didn't know.
I meet pest management professionals (PMPs) often, and they will ask me for a value multiple for their business. My professional answer is "It depends — please let me ask you a few questions." What follow are 10 questions I would expect them to know the answers to and readily share.
1. What are your yearly gross sales?
2. What percentage of renewable services do you provide?
Let's define renewable. My best and very liberal definition is any service that is routinely scheduled by the company, as compared to waiting for the customer to call. There are many gradients to this answer, with the gold standard being automatic monthly credit card payments for quarterly or bi-monthly service based on geographic region.
3. When was your last price increase?
Few customers care when you wait three years and then increase to try and catch up. Your employees care, however, when they don't see routine increases.
4. What do you charge for a residential quarterly or bi-monthly service?
This is the easiest way to determine relative price. Commercial and one-time services are tricky and difficult to compare. An obtuse answer here is scary. This rate will help determine your value to the buyer. New owners will avoid any significant price increases for at least six months to minimize disruption.
5. What is your commercial vs. residential ratio?
This answer will have a very different impact for each buyer. Residential is more often better, but not exclusively so. Multi-family housing can be a deal killer for some buyers and acceptable to others. Unlike the other nine questions, though, nearly all sellers know this number.
6. Do you do any bid work for municipalities or school districts?
Bid work almost always goes to the lowest bidder, and some contracts have stayed the same for more than 10 years. This is not a good model to run your business.
7. What software do you use to run your business?
Not as bad as it sounds – They still hand route or use an index card system. This will require manual data entry for the new owner. I have done several deals for firms like this, however, and sometimes I can pull better notes from the cards than what they may have otherwise entered into a software application.
8. What vehicles do you use?
Vehicles are an important part of running a pest control business. A good business will have a practice in place to replace vehicles routinely.
9. Are you an active member of your state pest association?
This speaks volumes about the owner's commitment to running a growing, professional business.
10. How many employees do you have?
I try to correlate answers back to revenue to get some idea of the efficiency and scale. Many firms are currently under their desired staff count. Depending on the magnitude, this will need to be clarified to assess the impact. I like to hear positive personal endorsements of staff, because it speaks to the owner's engagement in the business.
Of the 200+ types of mosquitoes in the U.S., twelve carry the West Nile and Zika viruses. More than simply being annoying, mosquitoes can be dangerous, yet they are an important part of the world's ecosystem
Michael Benard, associate professor and chair of Case Western Reserve University's Department of Biology, focuses research on how to control mosquito populations while maintaining environmental stability. Specifically emphasizing how changing environments affect organisms' abundances, traits and ecological interactions. Benard says to first look to amphibians.
In an article from Case Western Reserve Universiy's The Daily, Benard states: "Amphibians provide an important ecological service in insect control and are a sensitive indicator of environmental change that might directly harm humans."
In a survey of wetlands across various habitats, biologists in Switzerland associated high numbers of mosquitoes in wetlands that were modified by humans. Specifically, areas with low amphibian populations had higher numbers of mosquitoes.
Insecticides have been used to effectively control both the flying adult mosquitos and the aquatic larval mosquitoes. However, some insecticides may have negatively effect fish, amphibians and other animals.
Eco-friendly methods of mosquito control employed by pest control companies, such as trapping, larviciding, and IPM, can help restore the ecological balance tipped by heavy insecticide usage.
The question remains: Why are mosquitoes important? They are an important food source for animals. In particular, mosquitoes are the cuisine of choice in the diets of over 70% of the little brown bats sampled in the midwestern U.S. Also, the aquatic larvae of mosquitoes are the preferred prey of many salamanders. An individual salamander can consume over 800 mosquito larvae per day.
Therefore, if mosquitoes disappear, many animals will lose an important food source. It is important to maintain healthy, balanced ecosystems that benefits creatures great and small (even if they are annoying). Let's not forget that mosquitoes are the unsung pollinators.
A targeted approach that uses multiple methods based on the local environment can be an effective way to control mosquitos while limiting negative effects on other species. This ultimately has a positive impact on us humans.
We recently caught up with David Johnson, North Central Region Manager of AP&G Co./ Catchmaster, Inc. a leading manufacturer of Intelligent Pest Management solutions. AP&G is a family-owned company with a proud history of making quality glue-based pest control products that are trusted by the pros. Additionally, Catchmaster is a valued partner-sponsor of TPCA. David shared three concerns that face the pest control industry.
Spotted Lanternfly (SLF)
A native of China, the insect was discovered in Pennsylvania in 2014 and has since spread to 13 other states. Though beautiful as an adult, the insect is a voracious eater that feeds on woody and ornamental trees as well as a wide variety of crops and plants. Left unchecked, Pennsylvania alone could lose hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of jobs. Oddly enough, USDA scientists have discovered that the SLF is attracted to vibrations and are exploring how these methods may be applicable to controlling SLF populations.
With tree farms and vineyards being especially vulnerable to SLF, Catchmaster has a key product to help monitor their activity. Their effective tree banding glue can easily be applied to vineyard end posts, fence posts and even on trees themselves.
Glue boards for rodent management
Catchmaster's glue is unique as it is designed to target the specific need for your rodent management program. Just be sure to monitor them constantly to account for dust or other conditions that could negatively affect the trap's performance. If you find that rodent sticky traps are not working, consider changing locations, replacing your traps with new clean ones, or using larger traps. The more the merrier when it comes to using multiple traps. Be sure to place them in different directions in order to maximize your catch and make trapping easier. Just be sure not to overwhelm small spaces with too many traps.
Another concern with glue traps is the cold weather. Catchmaster's Cold Weather Glue Trays are made with AP&G's legendary, non-toxic glue formula and are the only cold weather glue trays on the market to work in temperature down to 0 degrees Fahrenheit. They are also a great option for locations that are damp and/or humid, where glue boards and other traps may not hold up.
EPA 15-year cycle
Catchmaster is watching the Pesticide Interim Decision (PID) that is still upcoming on the 13 actives targeting our industry's SG anticoagulated rodenticides. Although Catchmaster does not have any SG anticoagulant products in this arena, it is still a concern as they are a much-needed tool for our industry.
Our glue is our bond
Backed with 65+ years of know-how, Catchmaster utilizes a science-based approach to create high-quality products for rodent, insect & mosquito management. Their products are field-tested under the harshest conditions to ensure maximum reliability for any level of pest control expert. With the firm belief that monitoring is a cornerstone to Intelligent Pest Management, Catchmaster's products allow you to monitor rodents, insects & mosquitoes with confidence.
No matter if you are needing glue trays to aid in cold environments or if you are needing to capture female mosquitos, Catchmaster has the formulation that will do the job with confidence!
David Johnson
75 East 2nd Street Bayonne, NJ 07002
AP&G Co./ Catchmaster, Inc.
djohnson@catchmasterpro.com
As digital technologies continue to evolve, pest control fleets will face both opportunities and challenges in adapting to these advancements. By focusing on fundamental practices, such as fleet maintenance and safety policies, owners and operators can safeguard their businesses against emerging challenges while preparing for future growth.
Problem: Commercial Auto Accidents & High Vehicle Maintenance Costs
Distracted driving remains a leading cause of commercial auto accidents, but telematics and GPS tracking provide tools to mitigate risks by identifying unsafe driving behaviors and training needs. Despite rising costs and supply chain challenges, cutting back on vehicle maintenance, safety training, or insurance can exponentially increase risk exposure. Instead, fostering a culture of safety—with regular maintenance, driver training, and enforced fleet policies—helps prevent claims, control premiums, and ensure business continuity.
Problem: Growing Business - Growing Costs
The pest control market is projected to thrive in 2025, driven by urbanization and increased awareness of health risks associated with pests. However, rising operational costs of critical resources — including labor, fuel and vehicles — and an uncertain economy will push PMPs to optimize efficiency and ROI. Companies that adopt AI-powered tools and intelligent automation, will gain a competitive edge by enhancing productivity, improving customer service, and boosting profitability despite resource constraints.
Problem: Distressing MVR's
Hiring drivers with clean motor vehicle records (MVRs) and sufficient experience is crucial, even in today's challenging labor market. Regularly checking MVRs, at least twice a year, can help prevent coverage exclusions by insurers due to accidents or violations. To further mitigate risks, consider installing cameras and telematics in your fleet, hiring a fleet manager to oversee driving behavior, and addressing issues with problem drivers through coaching or, if necessary, termination. Proactive measures like these are essential to navigating the current fleet market effectively.
Business owners and insurance providers must stay informed about industry changes to effectively address risk management and vehicle safety. Prioritizing essential practices like fleet maintenance and robust safety policies enables owners and operators to protect their businesses from evolving challenges and build a strong foundation for sustained growth.
The lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum) has long been associated with alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), the red meat allergy that has become increasingly prevalent. However, the latest issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases from the CDC reveals that the lone star tick is not the lone suspect.
What is AGS?
The steady stream of saliva released by the A. americanum tick bite, to keep its prey's blood flowing, contains a sugar molecule called alpha-gal. Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) is not caused by a bacterium or virus like lyme disease or the heartland virus. The syndrome is instead an immune reaction to alpha-gal, a sugar found in almost all non primate animals, such as cows, horses and deer. The tick bite triggers an immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody response in the body. People who mount this response develop an allergy to red meat. AGS was discovered in 2009, and the emergence of food allergies, following the tick bite, varies from hours to months after eating red meat. Researchers continue to study and unlock the perplexities of AGS.
Currently, the CDC shows high concentrations of AGS in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
The new tick in town
Cases of AGS in Washington and Maine have emerged, which is outside the territory of the lone star tick (predominately in the southern, midwestern, and mid-Atlantic regions). The CDC article links these cases of AGS to Ixodes scapularis, also called black-legged or deer ticks.
TPCA is in the business of improving your business
As a valued member of TPCA, you have access to valuable educational resources that not only keep you informed about the latest pest control techniques and regulations, but also growing your business.
Business growth is not always measured in expanded territories or profits. It can be measured in the overall health and vitality of your company. This can be acquired by better business practices, such as emphasizing employee development.
Why is employee development important?
Investing in employee development programs lead to higher employee satisfaction, better retention rates, and a competitive edge in the market. Employee development involves continuous learning and skill enhancement that aligns with both individual career growth and company goals.
Employees who perceive growth opportunities are more likely to be engaged and committed to your company. Additionally, well-rounded development programs address gaps in skills and knowledge, while equipping employees to meet the evolving demands of their roles. This leads to increased efficiency, innovation, and productivity within teams.
Individual employee growth drives the company's growth
Professional growth can significantly benefit both your employee's career and your company. Professional growth efforts in the workplace include:
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