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Pest control blog: page 17

Identification guides, what treatments cost, and what the public records say about pests and the companies that deal with them.

Articles

Quiet office desk by a window with a closed laptop and a plain notebook in early morning lightOriginal data

The Pest Control Quarterly Index: US Establishments, Employment and Wages

17,933 US pest control establishments in 2026 Q1, up 2.4% year over year. Wages up 5.9% against 1.9% employment growth. Updated quarterly from BLS QCEW data.

September 25, 2026Empty suburban street of modest single family homes under flat overcast lightOriginal data

Is Pest Control Recession-Proof? 25 Years of US Industry Revenue Data

US pest control revenue rose every year from 1998 to 2022. Real revenue grew 0.8% through the 2007-09 recession while landscaping fell 16.1%. Census data.

September 25, 2026Row of pale stucco bungalows on a dry California street under strong afternoon sunOriginal data

What Structural Pest Control Actually Applies: 3.9 Million Pounds of California Data

California pest control applied 3,907,203 lb of active ingredient across 18.3 million applications in 2022. One fumigant is 67% of the weight and 0.5% of applications.

September 25, 2026Barn owl perched on a weathered fence post at dusk in open grasslandOriginal data

Anticoagulant Rodenticides in California Wildlife: What the State’s 2022 Testing Found

128 of 158 wild animals tested by California's wildlife lab in 2022 had rodenticide residues. Exposure is not poisoning: 56.7% of exposed birds, none of 12...

September 25, 2026Shallow stream running through farmland under flat grey light with a visible gravel bedOriginal data

Insecticides in American Streams: Detection Rates for Five Pest Control Active Ingredients

Imidacloprid is in 41.6% of US stream water samples (2015-2025), fipronil 17.0%, bifenthrin 2.6%. 119,264 samples, hidden non-detects corrected.

September 25, 2026Plain government office counter with a closed service window and empty waiting chairsFor Property Owners

Who Regulates Pest Control in Every State, and How to Complain

Forty states regulate through the agriculture department and only two have a dedicated board. Eight publish enforcement records. No state runs a recovery fund.

September 23, 2026Row of identical unmarked white service vans parked in a depot yard at dawnOriginal data

Who Owns the Pest Control Industry: The Roll-Up Map

Rollins made 26 acquisitions in 2025 and Rentokil kept about 30 North American brands after buying Terminix for $6.7bn. The local name is often not a...

September 23, 2026Aerial view of a flat sprawling sunbelt suburb with palm trees, canals and pale rooftopsOriginal data

The Most Pest-Control-Intensive Metros in America

Punta Gorda has nearly six times the pest control employment its size predicts, and eight of the top ten metros are in Florida. Where density is...

September 23, 2026Facade of an older multi-storey brick apartment building with fire escapes on an overcast dayOriginal data

The Buildings Cited for Pests Year After Year

The 31 per cent of buildings cited in three or more years account for 78.3 per cent of all pest violations, and 3,590 were cited in...

September 23, 2026Apartment kitchen mid-repair with a base cabinet removed and tools resting on the counterFor Property Owners

How Long a Landlord Takes to Fix a Pest Violation

A median of 102 days, with 72.6 per cent over 90 days and 22.2 per cent over a year. Almost nothing clears inside 88 days, which...

September 23, 2026Basement service corridor of an older apartment building with exposed pipes and a bare bulbOriginal data

How Often a City Inspection Actually Finds Rats

New York ran 144,314 initial rodent inspections in 2025 and found rat activity at 17.8 per cent, down from 23.7 per cent in 2023. Queens fails...

September 23, 2026Rubbish bags and flattened cardboard piled at a city kerb outside brick row houses in early morningRats and mice

Does Trash Predict Rats? New York Complaints by Zip Code

Trash and rat complaints correlate at 0.73 across 153 zip codes, but total complaint volume correlates more. Strip that out and the trash effect falls to...

September 23, 2026