Everything’s Coming Up Cockroaches

For every pest management professional (PMP) who has ever lost patience in the throes of a stubborn cockroach infestation, we offer this word of encouragement: Cha-ching! Cockroaches may be frustratingly crafty, elusive and generally difficult to control, but they also provide one of the steadiest sources of revenue a pest management company could ask for.

Nearly all of the PMPs PCT surveyed for this 2024 State of the Cockroach Control Market report (95 percent) said their company offers cockroach control services; just over two-thirds of those (68 percent) told PCT that cockroaches are a year-round pest in their markets.

“Pressure is high and consistent,” said Mark Peterson of Absolute Pest Control in Kansas City, Mo., whose team treats cockroaches primarily in multi-unit properties. “We service a lot of apartment complexes and senior-living facilities, and find that many of these customers simply aren’t aware that they could prevent infestations by following good sanitation practices. We educate them and offer to speak to groups of tenants, but until people start to really understand the role they can play in managing this pest, calls will continue to pour in.”

Demand is consistent in Florida, too, where both German and peridomestic cockroach species thrive. “German roaches are definitely a year-round pest here, with clients calling about infestations in their kitchens and bathrooms. With peridomestic roaches, some seasons are heavier than others, but we get calls year-round for them as well. For those accounts, we’re just trying to stop the pests from going into the home. Quarterly pest control is the best solution for keeping them at bay,” said Denise Trad-Wartan of Trad’s Pest Control in Jacksonville.

As revenues go, well over half (58 percent) of those who offer cockroach services said they expect those revenues to increase over the next year, with another 40 percent expecting consistent year-over-year sales. That’s a more optimistic outlook than a year ago, when 48 percent expected an increase and 47 percent expected sales to remain the same. It’s also notable that only 2 percent of PMPs said they expect to see a decline in 2024 cockroach revenue.

With such strong business potential, it pays to keep up with the latest strategies for managing cockroaches. The following pages feature some of those strategies, along with more findings from PCT’s annual cockroach research report.