Making Pets a Priority in Pest Management

This article was originally posted September 2023 in PCT Magazine and features our CEO, Billy Olesen and our PIC(Pup In Charge) Bruno. Full article can be found at https://www.pctonline.com/article/making-pets-a-priority-in-pest-management/ .

Peststop Vehicle Fmt — PestStop CEO Billy Olesen’s niece and nephew named his dog Bruno after the character you’re not supposed to talk about in the movie “Encanto.” PestStop’s Olympia, Wash., office is full of employees’ dogs, according to Olesen.
Courtesy of PestStop

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the print edition of PCT under the headline "All About Pets!" Watch the online extra with PestStop CEO Billy Olesen and his dog Bruno.

Americans’ love of pets goes back generations. But something notable has happened over the past three years to make pets more popular and a bigger part of the family.

“Early last year, I asked our office manager, Julie Haberkorn, what question customers ask her most frequently. Without hesitation, she answered, ‘Is it safe for my pets?’” said Billy Olesen of PestStop in Olympia, Wash. “That makes sense when you consider that pet owners have always been concerned about their pets and more people have pets today than even a few years ago.”

It’s true: 87 million American households — about two-thirds of all U.S. households — have a pet today, according to the 2023-24 American Pet Products Association (APPA) National Pet Owners Survey. Part of that hefty total is the result of pandemic adoptions. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) says that more than 23 million U.S. households — one in five — adopted a pet during the pandemic. Those pets were good company for people feeling isolated as their face-to-face interactions with people were limited by the COVID-19 pandemic. Perhaps even more than before, pets became family as they bonded during extended periods of time together.

In dollars and cents, pet owners have shown themselves to be quite willing to spend money on their pets — to the tune of $136.8 billion in 2022 expenditures, according to APPA. That figure represents an 11 percent increase over 2021, which reflects above-average year-over-year growth. The most dramatic recent spike happened between 2020 and 2021, when pet-related expenditures rose 19 percent, in line with the spike in pet adoptions.

A Brand’s Best Friend

Audrey Hall remembers the early days of running her business, when customer after customer would ask whether Eco Serve Pest Services’ treatments were safe for their pets. Things changed dramatically once Hall and her partner, Scott Hall, brought Theo, their black Labrador retriever, into their western New York state business. Theo started out as a comforting presence in the office but soon became the very face of Eco Serve. His caricature lights up the corporate logo and trucks, easing customer concerns immediately.

Courtesy of Eco Serve Pest Services

“The assumption now is that we’re family-friendly. Our market is parents with children, often younger children, who probably have animals at home. I’d say about 85 percent of our customers have pets, with 70 to 80 percent of those pets being dogs,” said Hall. “If anyone asks our office team about pet safety, they tell them, ‘Our owners have three Labs, and dogs are first priority for them, right behind kids.’ People relate to that and understand then that we’re family-oriented just like they are, and that we take our responsibility to them seriously.”

CONSISTENT BRAND-BUILDING. Theo’s influence on customers goes far beyond being the company mascot. They get to know him through Eco Serve’s social media accounts, where Hall shares posts of Theo being Theo, and through a variety of marketing efforts that help build the company’s brand. “Our brand messaging is dialed-in across the board. Our vehicles, website, literature, the way we communicate with our customers — it’s all consistent,” said Hall. “So, when customers are choosing a service provider, they’re thinking, This company gets it; they have my family’s best interests in mind. They feel secure in their decision to go with us.”

PET-SPECIFIC SERVICE TRAINING. From the time a candidate interviews with Eco Serve, it’s clear that getting along with pets is a priority. One of the first questions they’re asked is whether they like dogs. If the answer is “no,” or if it’s not something the interviewee has ever really thought about, they definitely need an open mind. There are frequently dogs around the office — not just Theo, but also Otis and Bailey, the Halls’ other two Labs. Sometimes other team members’ pets are there — and service specialists are expected to be friendly and respectful of pets at each account. They should always offer pet treats to their customers who have pets, for example, and they need to follow pet safety protocols.

“We do quite a bit of training specific to animals,” Hall shared. “We focus on minimizing any risk of exposure, educating our service specialists about the importance of draining water from pets’ water bowls and moving them away from the house, placing bait stations outside of fenced-in areas, using a pin stream spray rather than a fan application to avoid drift in yards with fish ponds, avoiding areas with bird activity, such as nests and hummingbird feeders, etc. They are required to include any of these special considerations in their account notes so they can reference them every time they service that home. Our tagline is ‘Pest control that’s personal,’ so we want each customer’s profile to accurately reflect their unique situation. Animals are often an important part of that.”

TLC ALL AROUND. Being compassionate toward — and careful around — pets is Eco Serve’s trademark, but the company doesn’t stop there. Hall explained, “Our entire team is deeply committed to protecting animals and their owners. For example, Patty, one of our customer care representatives, handwrites and sends a sympathy card on behalf of our team any time we find out that a customer lost a pet. We’ve had customers call us crying and thanking us for this gesture. It’s a powerful exchange that speaks to just how much pets mean to people. They are family! Pest control needs to be personal, and I can’t think of anything more personal than our team going out of their way to make sure a customer understands we care.”

What all of this means to pest management companies is that pets are a customer priority. It is critical to have protocols in place for treating homes with pets. Your service technicians need to be able to talk with customers about the products they’re using and their strict adherence to the labels when applying them. They need to understand how to walk a property to assess the presence of pets and create a strategy for treating the pests while protecting the pets. In short, your team needs to know how to provide special care that assures your customers and protects your brand.

EMPATHY IS A BIG PLUS. “At PestStop, we have an office full of dogs,” Olesen said. “This can sometimes present a challenge when their playing gets too loud, but the smiles our pets bring to team members’ faces as they come in from their stops make it so worth it. Our pet-friendly culture also lends us the ability to walk the talk with our customers by being able to say, ‘We’ve got dogs ourselves, and we won’t do anything around your house that we don’t do around ours.’”

According to PCT research (Readex Research, January 2021), PMPs are more likely to have pets than the general population. Whether they bring their dogs to the office or keep them at home, 79 percent of PMPs are pet owners, compared with 66 percent of the broader population. When these pet owners connect with customers who own pets, they can relate, said Bill Haynes of Haynes Exterminating in Buford, Ga.

“I have a couple of dogs myself, and there’s no doubt that makes you more sensitive to customers’ concerns about their pets,” Haynes said. “When you go out on calls, you also need to be sensitive to people’s connections with their pets in generational terms. When I was growing up in the ’70s, pets were more often an animal in your yard than a member of the family, as they’ve become in recent years. It’s important to treat people’s pets with as much care as you would their children.”

man with puppy — Olesen (pictured here with Bruno) credits PestStop’s pet-friendly culture with the company’s ability to handle clients who are concerned with how pest control services might affect their four-legged friends.
Courtesy of PestStop

TRAINING IS VITAL. Most PMPs realize the need for specialized technician training: 89 percent told PCT that they provide training on how to apply pest control products to ensure pets aren’t harmed (Readex Research, January 2021).

How that training takes shape depends in part on the types of pests you treat in your market and the products you use, and it should always specifically address each type of pet.

“In addition to recognizing the importance of always reading and following the pesticide label, service technicians need to know how to communicate effectively with customers,” Olesen said. “For any type of pet, we want to eliminate or, at a minimum, limit their direct contact with any products we use. Technicians must ensure there’s a clear understanding with everyone in the household, whether pet owners or pet sitters, that the pet(s) should be removed from the premises or confined to a safe area while products are being applied, and afterward for the time period specified on the label. It’s important to communicate this in writing and have the appropriate party sign off on it.”

Olesen shares some additional points his management team covers in PestStop training efforts, specific to the type of pet encountered:

Dogs and cats. Walk around the house and property looking for toys and water dishes. Remove them from the treatment area and tip the bowls upside down, then rinse them out after product application has been completed. Also, be sure not to spray outside faucets, since those are likely to be the source of the pet’s water.
Hamsters, gerbils and other small animals. Remember the equation Time + Exposure = Toxicity. If you can eliminate exposure by having these pets removed from the application area until the product is dry, you’ve broken that equation because the product is inaccessible to them. They are usually easy to relocate since they tend to live in portable enclosures.
Reptiles, birds and fish. These pets are more vulnerable to pesticides, so suggest that customers consult their veterinarians if they’d like their advice prior to treatment. Offer the customer a list of ingredients that will be applied so they can share that with the vet. As with other small animals, recommend moving birds or reptiles to the garage or another location for four to six hours. In the case of fish tanks, make sure any filters are turned off and cover the tank with plastic wrap during the treatment period.
Arachnids and non-target insects. These more unusual pets present a heightened challenge. Of course, they must be removed from the treatment area to avoid pesticide exposure, but secondary poisoning can also be a concern — for example, you treat ants in the house that are then eaten by a pet spider. Make the customer fully aware of the risks and be sure to get their written sign-off.

Olesen said his advice to get consent in writing is well-advised from a liability standpoint. “In my experience, the pest management company is the first one blamed when a pet becomes sick,” he said. “I personally take those calls and get the customer anything they need. In fact, we have a file with product and vet information that can be sent to them in a matter of seconds. So far, we have never been the cause of the animal being sick, but you don’t even want that to become a question.”

Haynes’ training team encourages technicians to build a rapport with their customers that includes letting them know if something goes amiss during the service call. “We tell our technicians that we all make mistakes now and then; it’s how you react to a mistake that counts. If you inadvertently sprayed a water bowl, clean it off, tip it over and let the customer know what happened. This is part of communicating, ‘We love your pets like you love your pets. Just clean the bowl and you’ll be fine,’ or whatever message needs to be conveyed.”

MARKETING BUILDS BUSINESS. If you’re pet-friendly, let it show! That’s the philosophy of some pest management companies as they realize the power of appealing to the two-thirds of American households with pets. Eco Serve Pest Services in western New York state has built their entire brand around its owners’ black Labrador Theo, whose presence provides assurance to customers seeking a family- and pet-friendly service provider.

PestStop believes in incorporating pet-related images and messaging in their marketing. “We feature pets whenever possible, not so much as a strategy as just an opportunity to share something we’re passionate about,” Olesen said. “Most of our pet-related messaging is about protecting your four-legged family members and their food bowls from odorous house ants and protecting their environment from fleas and wildlife that may carry diseases.”

Haynes Exterminating features pet images in some of their marketing materials, too. “When we do mosquito marketing, we tend to include a photo of a dog, because one of the reasons people get mosquito control is to prevent their pets from bites that can cause heartworm or other diseases,” said Haynes. “By including Rover, we remind customers that our services are protecting not only the people in their home but also their pets.”

Winning the Rat Race in the Remote Monitoring Era

The ability to collect real-time data about rodent activity is changing pest control. Driving higher efficiency and better results, electronic remote monitoring (ERM) is powering the growth of forward-minded PCOs. Are you set up to compete? Read about why ERM is key to your future, and what to look for.

The author is a regular contributor to PCT.

Ask Dr. Cat

A seasoned veterinarian offers her take on pests that pester pets, and how vets and PMPs can work together to keep them under control.

Dr. Catherine Stoner is a partner of Fredericktown Veterinary Clinic in Fredericktown, Ohio, a practice that had already been growing steadily when the surge in pet ownership hit during the pandemic. “We have felt it, for sure!” said the vet known to her colleagues and clientele as Dr. Cat. “In fact, we expanded our practice to a second location in April 2022 to accommodate the growing demand.”

Stoner believes that PMPs and vets should work together to manage pest issues that affect pets and says that pest management technicians should never hesitate to reach out to a vet to ask a question. We caught up with her for a quick Q&A.

Dr. Catherine Stoner

Q. Which pests are most likely to pose a risk to my customers’ pets?

A. The type and incidence of pests varies by geographic region and climate. Here in the Midwest, fleas and ticks are far and away the most common pests we see causing issues for pets. Mosquitoes can be problematic as well, although they tend to fly under pet owners’ radar until their pet becomes sick. Mice and rats can be dangerous for the diseases they carry, but even more often for the potential harm that can be done when pets have access to [rodenticides] intended for these rodents.

The pest pressure you see really depends on where you live and how the climate may be changing there. In Ohio, for example, we used to tell pet owners to keep their pets on flea and tick prevention from March through November. The past few years, though, our winters have become warmer and so we recommend year-round prevention; likewise with heartworm prevention, because mosquitoes are surviving the winter, too. We don’t get a break from pests like we used to.

Q. Do people come to you and ask, “We’re having our house treated for pests. How should we protect our pet?”

A. Not often. Usually, it’s the other way around: We’ll be examining a pet that’s infested with fleas and explain to the pet owner that there’s a high likelihood their house is also full of fleas. We usually prescribe an at-home treatment and, if the infestation persists, we recommend they seek out pest control services. Then we give them advice for keeping their pets safe throughout that process.

Q. How can PMPs collaborate with veterinarians to eliminate or control pests?

A. Treating pets and treating the home go hand-in-hand. On our side, we know that, too often, pet owners buy over-the-counter collars and topicals that just aren’t effective anymore due to resistance that’s built up over the years. Newer prescription products are much more effective while still being safe. Pet owners need to come to us to get those effective treatments. So just as vets tell pet owners to seek pest management services, pest control experts need to suggest that customers consult their veterinarian — not only because their pets are precious but also because that’s the only way to prevent reinfestation.

Q. What questions should a pest management service technician ask their customers related to pets?

A. Service technicians should ask any question that may have a bearing on the products they choose and where they will apply them. For example: Do you have any pets? What kind? Where in the house do they spend most of their time? Can you remove them from your home for X amount of time?

Special care should be taken in any home with a pet, but even more stringent protection should be put into place for homes with birds, fish and reptiles, because they are particularly sensitive to pest control products.

Q. What questions can a service technician expect a pet owner to ask?

A. Pet owners want reassurances that their pets will be safe. Technicians should be prepared to answer questions such as: Are the products you’ll be using safe for my pet? How do those products work? Do I need to keep my pet out of the treated area? For how long after application? Is it safe for my pet to walk on the carpet or grass after you’ve treated them? What side effects may be possible if my pet accidentally comes into contact with the treatment before they should? What should I do if that happens?

It’s also a great idea to leave the customer printed information that covers all of the answers to these questions so they can refer to them if they have any concerns later.

Q. Any final thoughts about pest management in homes with pets?

A. Thankfully, I haven’t seen many issues in terms of accidental exposure when people have their houses serviced by professionals. Most of the issues I’ve seen involve people buying and using do-it- yourself products. Pest control professionals know which products are safe to use, and they know safe protocols for application. The one additional step they need to take is to communicate clearly with the pet owner, sharing what they’re using, how they’re using it and any precautions. They should also recommend, in the case of pet-related pests, that the pet owner seek the advice of their veterinarian. That goes for pest management professionals, too: If you have a question, call a vet. We’re always happy to help protect those pets!

https://www.pctonline.com/article/making-pets-a-priority-in-pest-management/