Revenue: Small but Mighty

Small fly control is not a huge moneymaker for pest control companies, but it does lead to bigger opportunities.

Last year, 74 percent of company locations made $4,999 or less on small fly control services, which generated 3.8 percent of overall revenue on average, according to the 2022 PCT State of the Small Fly Control Market survey. The survey was sponsored by Nisus and compiled by Readex Research, an independent survey company.

Still, small flies “definitely play a part” when it comes to growing the business, said Victor Palermo, president of Ultra Safe Pest Management in Boston.

“It’s a calling card-type pest. Certain times of year, we definitely see those peak call volumes, and it opens the door to a lot of other opportunities. It’d be easy to put it on the back burner, but then you’d miss out on a lot of work and customer relationships,” he explained.

In fact, 42 percent of PMPs said their locations had converted small fly calls to recurring pest control service customers, found the PCT survey.

Robert Keef, owner of Bay Pest Solutions in Pleasanton, Calif., recently picked up a bar as a new client because the pest control company of record couldn’t solve a drain fly problem.

“They asked us to come in and take care of the flies and then (the client) will reevaluate from there,” said Keef. His team fixed the problem and Keef said he expects to pick up the rest of the account in the near future.

More than one third (34 percent) of PMPs said small fly control services became a more significant part of the business in the past five years at their location.

Summer was the busiest season for small fly control, reported 53 percent of pest management professionals. “Usually, the hotter it is, the worse it is,” said Scott Ballard, CEO of Ballard Pest Management in Opelika, Ala.