Labor Days

Labor is the biggest single expense when it comes to running a pest management company.

A 2015 survey by PCT and the National Pest Management Association found wages, salaries and bonuses accounted for 34.2 percent of company operating expenses on average.

That percentage may be higher today. According to the Department of Labor, average hourly earnings grew 5.2 percent for all workers in August 2022 from the year prior. For nonsupervisory workers in service-providing industries, earnings grew 6.1 percent.

Pest control companies have raised pay to compete for employees. They’re also spending more on fuel, service vehicles, products and materials. To maintain healthy profit margins, improving productivity is essential.

“Gas is out of your control, that’s doubled,” said Bob Wiemer, executive general manager of Pestco Professional Services in Pittsburgh, Pa., and Enviro-Master industrial hygiene services in Pittsburgh and Cleveland, Ohio. “Products have doubled. [Productivity has] always been important, but now, it’s one of the few things you can actually control. It is literally going to be whether you make money or not.”

Pest management professionals are taking steps to increase productivity. According to a recent PCT survey, 61 percent of pest control company owners, executives and technical directors said productivity and efficiency increased at their locations in the past 12 months. The survey was conducted in July 2022 and compiled by Readex Research, an independent market research company based in Stillwater, Minn.

“Improving productivity is all about being efficient. It’s about paying attention to details,” said Carl Braun, owner of Quality Pest Control, Omaha, Neb. “At the end of the day, we want to stay profitable, so we have dollars to reward our team, invest in growth and, of course, pay the tax man.”

The PCT 2022 Guide to Labor Savings report, which is sponsored by FieldRoutes, explores how PMPs are successfully doing this.