Packaging Your Program for Profitability

As the demand for rodent services continues to rise, it’s important to evaluate your business model to ensure you’re providing these services as profitably as possible. How that plays out from one company to the next can be very different, depending on the type of accounts and infestations encountered.

For example, Logan Bourque’s team at Beyond Pest Services in New Bedford, Mass., does a lot of rodent control work, with a solid 40 percent of overall revenues attributable to these services. The company’s primarily commercial clients typically come to Beyond Pest Services when their current program isn’t getting the job done. Almost without exception, Bourque finds a lack of appropriate exclusion. That’s why he automatically includes exclusion services in his contracts.

“When I take over a rodent account, I review their current IPM plan and tell the customer frankly, ‘Look, you’re having a problem because of XYZ. Here’s how they’re getting in, and here’s what we need to do,’” Bourque said. “I provide them with an all-inclusive price, making sure they understand how important the exclusion is. I know in my heart of hearts that’s going to solve the problem best, so we get that work done, then deploy interior trapping or exterior baiting, depending on the pressure.”

To Bundle or Not to Bundle? Another factor that weighs into profitability is how rodent services are packaged: as part of, or separate from, recurring service programs.

Most PMPs (61 percent) reported they were flexible, including rodent in some of their general pest service contracts but marketing it as a standalone service in others. How they make that determination differs.

For example, Greg Bausch, American City Pest & Termite, considers the type of service. “If a customer is on a recurring service, we include interior rodent trapping, but exterior baiting programs are an add-on service,” he explained.

Bourque, on the other hand, considers the type of client. “Commercial accounts don’t get an option. They need to have rodents, roaches, flies and other pests controlled, so they automatically get the full program. Residentially, we’ll sometimes do a rodent package without general pest,” he said.

Shaun Graves, Havard Pest, does bundle rodent services as part of broader pest programs, but advises caution. “If rodent control is bundled into a program and then a big infestation develops, you may have to spend additional time at no additional cost. We train our technicians to do good inspections up front. Then we can anticipate the level of service that will be required and build that into the contract.”

The time-intensive nature of rodent work is something that should always be taken into account, Ted Brayton, Griggs & Browne, added. “The huge influx of rodent calls we’ve had over the past several years puts more pressure on our technicians and our pricing.

“Where an ant or a bee call might require a single visit, a mouse call is likely three or four, and each visit is much more time- consuming. You can raise the price somewhat to cover the additional labor and material costs, but at some point, that price may become prohibitive to the homeowner,” Brayton explained.