How Many Pests Should You Cover?

One of the biggest questions asked when starting up a pest control business is what pests should you work with?

To some, the immediate answer would be “As many as possible,” but other pest controllers may ebb on the side of caution with covering too many pests.

While you are ensuring you have the most coverage across the board with pests which opens you to as many customers as possible, is it always the best practice to cover all or just focus on those you do best or are most in demand?

Below we take a look at both sides and the pros and cons of both approaches.

Cover All Pests

Pros:

Ensures you have more potential clients

Covering every pest under the sun can only open the door to more clients. Beyond the heavy hitter pests such as rodents, bed bugs and cockroaches, you also avail yourself to all customers needs. This can ensure even in the slow seasons you will possibly be getting business as each pest has its own “season”.

Makes you an invaluable resource for the community

Having the most coverage means you will also be looked at as a reputable source for your coverage area. The more phone calls and happy customers you get, the more you will be able to stand out from the competition in your area due to your extensive coverage. This is a feather in your cap is you can do it correctly and efficiently.

Cons:

A Jack of All Trades, Master of None

While doing everything can work to your benefit, if you only know the basics for all pests then you aren’t much of an asset. Customers call because you are the professionals, but if you aren’t as comfortable with some pests as others, then it may not be beneficial to cover them. It’s better to be great at what you do then mediocre in anything.

Overhead Costs

Needless the say, the more pests you cover, the most costs it will accrue. While someone could potentially cover all pests on their own if they are an expert, you most likely will need multiple workers, vans, and products to keep you covered. More so, some pests are more prevalent than others so you may use your rodent products quite frequently while your Silverfish products (if different) sit and collect dust.

Covering Less Pests

Pros:

Being known for a specific pest or treatment

This works really well in areas where a certain pest is abundant. For example, if you are an expert Scorpion controller in Arizona, then you will probably be getting more calls than other pest control companies due to your abilities or different offerings. Another niche is offering eco-friendly pest control which not every company does offer. This sets you apart from the rest and can give you a specific market.

Less overhead costs

The opposite of covering all pests is that you will obviously need less equipment, workers and materials if you cover less pests. This is a real cost saver as long as your business is doing well with what you do have to offer and the money not spent on trying to cover all pests can be used to perfect your business.

Cons:

Less pests can be affected by weather

Every pest has a season that they are abundant in. If you happen to only focus on pests that come out in the summer, then you really will not have much business in the other seasons. While this could be a time to re-group and get ready for the next season, it also means a lot less money–so hopefully your busy season nets enough profit to keep you operating.

A more specific demographic

A more specific demographic can help in many cases, but it can also hinder. This is more of a long-term concern, but sometimes your old demographic moves onto a new area and a new demographic comes in. For many big cities, the demographics have changed to a younger crowd with different needs than the crowd 10 or 20 years ago. Demographics for many places are constantly changing, so if you plan to be niche, you need to keep up with the trends.

There is no real set right or wrong to how you approach your pest control company and it really depends on you, your finances, staff and other components to make either style work.