Services Ticking Up

To get an idea of how prevalent tick issues are becoming in the U.S., we need only look at this key takeaway from the 2024 PCT State of the Tick Control Market report: The number of pest management companies offering tick control services has increased 7 percent over 2023, now standing at 80 percent of all companies surveyed.

In the past, people may have thought of ticks as primarily a Northeastern U.S. problem, but those in other areas are discovering that they can infest their neighborhoods, homes and businesses, too. In addition to the Northeast, the upper Midwest and Northwest see a lot of tick pressure; in fact, all 50 states are home to ticks of one species or another. And while ticks tend to be particularly active from spring through fall, they are in some locations a year-round pest, which is why so many veterinarians now recommend continual preventative treatment for dogs and cats.

What all of this means to pest management companies is that the business potential of tick services is growing. More companies are getting into the tick control game because demand is on an upward trajectory.

Consider this: Nearly every pest management company (98 percent) that provides tick control services told PCT in our recent survey that they expect their tick services to maintain (54 percent) or exceed (44 percent) the percentage of revenue they now represent over the next year. About a third of respondents (32 percent) said tick services have become more significant to their businesses over the past five years.

WHAT PMPs ARE SEEING. As might be expected, the residential market accounts for the highest tick revenue for 92 percent of PMPs. Understanding why homes are attracting ticks is the first step in getting them under control. For example, Angie English, service manager, Vinx Pest Control, Virginia Beach, Va., attributes heavy tick pressure in her market to wildlife displacement. That calls for treatment measures that address not only the primary pest but also its hosts.

“About 20 percent of our calls last spring and summer involved ticks,” English explained. “In addition to the plentiful water and overgrowth here, we have a lot of construction going on that is pushing wildlife out of its habitats. As neighborhoods and businesses are being built, these animals will come right into people’s yards and make themselves at home. I expect many more calls from customers reporting not just ticks but rodents and other unwanted wildlife.”

In other areas, weather is the impetus behind burgeoning populations. Entomologist Michael Russell, who co-owns LifeSpace Pest Solutions, said of the Cape Cod region, “We’ve had no substantial winter — very few days of subfreezing weather —in two years, so there is no natural check on populations. Ticks continue to proliferate here, and customers are calling us to spray much earlier than in years past.”

COMMERCIAL ACCOUNTs. In Houston, Brad Hudson, area district manager of Environmental Coalition and Presto-X Pest Control, said his company, which overall services a 70:30 ratio of commercial to residential, encounters ticks in commercial settings as well as residential.

“The landscaping around office buildings can serve as harborage for ticks, and some of the warehouses we service are adjacent to fields where drought-tolerant grasses and weeds can grow very tall. That attracts rodent activity which, in turn, attracts ticks.”