[Market Watch]

HomeTeam Pest Defense

Dallas, Texas

HomeTeam Pest Defense has had a strong year in all its markets, said Jerry Gahlhoff, technical director. This includes areas in the West, Southwest, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions, as well as Florida. Growth has been strong each of the past two years. The company acquired Garden Plus in California in 2004, and that was beneficial because in the process it inherited a strong management staff and quality-oriented employees, Gahlhoff said. The company is seeking to acquire additional pest control companies throughout the country. "We are a rapidly growing company that takes pride in our unique culture," Gahlhoff said. The most popular pests vary according to the company’s different market areas. Earwigs are a big pest in parts of Florida, the Southeast and Texas. Caribbean crazy ants are increasing in southeast Florida, and odorous house ants are the primary pest in the Southeast, in addition to earwigs. In the Mid-Atlantic, bee and wasp problems have more than doubled over previous years, and odorous house ants and Argentine ants are also big. Texas also is popular with odorous house ants. In California, Argentine ants are dominating the suburban areas, while web-building spiders are troublesome in Northern California, Gahlhoff reports.

Resiserv Pest Protection

Boise, Idaho

Resiserv Pest Protection operates in the Intermountain West and Pacific Northwest. The year was somewhat up and down weather-wise, according to Todd Sawyer, president of the company. "Business has been strong overall this year," he said. "Based on our documentation, demand was up and thus sales were also up in the double digit percentages." Economic recovery is taking place in the area and Resiserv is finding a much more willing and capable buyer for our services. However, with high fuel prices and unemployment dropping, there has been an impact on costs.

The primary pest remains ants, with carpenter ants and odorous house ants topping the list. The area awaited the arrival of West Nile Virus all summer. "The first human cases in Idaho showed up right around Labor Day," Sawyer said. "Interest from consumers concerning mosquitoes has increased since that date." Resiserv has enjoyed strong growth in all of its markets in both "good" and "bad" economies, according to Sawyer. "We believe that the valuable services we provide will always be in demand, as long as we perform in a way that creates confidence and improves the lives of our clients," he added.

While Syngenta Professional Products is the corporate sponsor of the Market Watch department, the opinions and market observations expressed by PCOs featured in the department are solely their own.