How to Get Pest Control Customers

Pest control has a strange sales problem.

Nobody thinks about it for months.

Then they find a scorpion in the bathtub, and they want someone today.

So getting customers comes down to two jobs:

Be the name they find in that moment. And win the businesses that can’t wait for a bad day.

Two kinds of customers, two different games

Homes and businesses buy pest control in completely different ways.

Homeowners come looking.

Businesses rarely go looking.

So the companies that grow work both sides: get found by homes, go out and get the accounts.

step 1Win the “near me” search

When someone sees roaches at 9 pm, they type “pest control near me.”

The companies that show up first get the calls. That’s your Google Business Profile — and it’s free.

• Pick “Pest control service” as your main category
• Add every city and neighborhood you really cover
• List each service on its own: general pest, scorpions, termites, rodents, bed bugs, mosquitoes
• Use real photos: your trucks, your techs in uniform, a finished job
• Keep your real business name — adding “Best Pest Control Phoenix” to it can get the profile suspended
• Run the business from home? Hide your home address and show a service area instead

Then the part that wins the job:

Answer every web request in minutes. The person with the scorpion is writing to more than one company.

step 2Work the street you’re already on

Every home you treat has neighbors with the same bugs.

Same scorpions. Same block wall behind the houses.

That’s why so many pest control companies leave door hangers. You don’t need to be pushy about it:

• Leave a hanger on the houses next to and across from each job
• Say the street, never the customer: “We were on Saguaro Lane today”
• Offer a free inspection, not a hard sell
• Check your city’s rules first — many require a permit for door-to-door sales

This step is yours. An AI team doesn’t knock on doors.

But it can write the hanger, the Nextdoor post and the reply to every neighbor who writes in.

step 3Make a list of the businesses that need you every month

Now the other side.

These are the businesses that need regular service whether or not they’ve seen a bug this week:

• Restaurants and bars — especially ones about to open
• Apartment complexes — turnovers and tenant complaints all year
• HOAs — pools, clubhouses, common areas
• Daycares and schools — careful, scheduled service
• Warehouses and food storage — they have audits
• Senior living communities — many buildings, many residents

Put them in a list. Name, type, why they need you, how to reach them:

You find them on Google Maps, in apartment association directories and in local “coming soon” restaurant news.

Or your AI team builds it — it checks every website and writes down why each one needs you.

step 4Write to them with one real detail

A restaurant owner isn’t searching for pest control this week.

But a short, useful email in the right week can get an answer.

Short enough to read between lunch and dinner service.

Now the apartment complex with roach complaints in its reviews.

Don’t quote their reviews back at them. Use the reviews to decide who to write to — then offer to inspect the units with problems, and let them bring it up.

step 5Follow up — managers are busy, not saying no

Don’t expect a reply to the first email.

The manager has 220 units and a broken pool gate. Follow up, short and polite:

1. Day 0First email

   One real detail, one offer, one question.

2. Day 4Quick bump

   “Happy to walk the property before summer — 20 minutes.”

3. Day 10Something useful

   A one-page checklist: where scorpions get into ground-floor units.

4. Day 21Last note

   “I’ll stop here. If you ever need a second opinion after an inspection, I’m one email away.”

Then stop. A manager who didn’t answer four useful emails isn’t ready yet — and that’s fine.

The useful one on day 10 matters most. It proves you know their problem before they’ve paid you a dollar.

step 6Partner with the people who see the problem first

Some people find pest problems for a living.

Home inspectors spot termite damage. Real estate agents need a wood-destroying insect report before many home sales close. Property managers hear every tenant complaint.

One good partner can send you work every week.

Termite referralsWorking

Find home inspectors and real estate agents around Phoenix and Scottsdale who could send us termite inspections for home sales.

Find inspectors and agents with recent reviews28/28

28 found — 11 home inspectors and 17 agents with active listings. None of the 11 inspectors offers termite inspections on their own website.

I drafted a short intro to each, offering your 48-hour turnaround on termite reports. Should I start with the inspectors? I’ll wait for your OK before sending.

Phoenix termite partners — 28 contacts.csvSpreadsheet

Tell your agent what to do…

The inspectors who don’t do termite work themselves are the best place to start.

They need someone to hand it to.

step 7Ask every customer for a review

Pest control reviews lag for a simple reason.

Once the bugs are gone, nobody thinks about you. So ask while the relief is fresh — the day after the treatment:

Google’s rules on asking are specific:

• Paying, discounting or giving a free service for a review
• Asking only the customers you know are happy — Google doesn’t allow picking
• Asking customers to mention a tech by name or use certain words
• Asking your techs to collect a set number of reviews

Ask every customer, in the same words. Text only customers who gave you their number and agreed to texts.

What to do this week

Start with the steps that pay off before the busy season:

1. 01
   Fix your Google profile

   Category, service areas, every pest listed, real photos.

2. 02
   Pick 40 businesses

   Restaurants opening soon, apartments, HOAs, daycares.

3. 03
   Send 10 emails a day

   One real detail. One offer. One question.

4. 04
   Follow up on day 4 and day 10

   Then stop on day 21.

5. 05
   Ask every customer for a review

   Same words, every customer, no rewards.

Or hand the list, the emails and the follow-ups to your AI team — and keep the trucks on the road.

Once they’re customers, keeping them on a plan is its own job. Here’s what an AI team does for pest control companies after the first visit.

Questions