PCO News

Rose Pest Solutions is sponsoring the new Honey Bee Hideout exhibit at Kohl Children’s Museum in Glenview, Ill., where children can learn about the importance of honeybees through interactive play. A working beehive and a beekeeper have been added to the museum. The beehive is stationed outside, connected to a closed-circuit TV so children can see honeybees in action. “Everything at Kohl includes learning through play and interactivity,” said Stephanie Bynum, vice president of programs at Kohl. “The Honey Bee Hideout will include a larger-than-life honeycomb structure where kids can take colorful ‘pollen’ samples from a ‘flower’ and fly it to the hive.”

Dallas-based Sureguard Termite & Pest Services announced the merger and acquisition of First Mark Pest Control, a family-owned company serving the Dallas-Forth Worth area. Jessy Frasier, second-generation PCO and owner of First Mark, said, “My dad started in pest control around 1994. I went with Sureguard because they seemed to have the same values and concerns about customer service and care as my dad had instilled in me. The merger was much easier and quicker than I imagined. I assumed the transition would take months to complete, and we were done in just a couple days.” Sureguard is a third-generation pest management firm owned by the Houton family. First Mark is its 19th acquisition since 2015.

All U Need Pest Control, Fort Myers, Fla., and Native Pest Management, Margate, Fla., were named to the winning list of Nextdoor’s 6th Annual Neighborhood Favorites. Winners were determined based on the number of likes and recommendations a local business received on Nextdoor over the past year across various categories.

Kyle Selbach, All U Need Pest Control director of operations, said, “This honorary award came as a surprise to us, and we couldn’t be more pleased knowing our customers have referred us an excessive amount of times to their neighbors. An award like this proves that prioritizing customer service and high satisfaction is ideal in the consumers eyes. We couldn’t do this without the entire team. From the sales representatives to the service technicians and the customer service representatives, they all deserve to pat themselves on the back for this award.”

Luke Lewis, president of Native Pest Management, said, “Local communities are incredibly important to us. As a fairly new company — started in 2015 — it’s an honor for an established city like Margate to consider us a Neighborhood Favorite. We care about our customers, and we want them to know it.” Native Pest Management also ranked No. 1,568 on the annual Inc. 5000 list, a ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in the country. This is Native Pest Management’s second consecutive year making the list, with a three-year revenue growth of 278 percent. Native is No. 127 in Florida, No. 117 in Consumer Products & Services and No. 58 in the Miami area.