[Market Watch]

Superior Pest Management

Ashburn, Va.

Business conditions for Superior Pest Management, Ashburn, Va., are the best they’ve been all year, according to Rusty Markland, general manager of the company.

"Business conditions in our areas of operation are great," Markland said. "It has been an odd year so far with little termite activity this spring and a slow May; however, June was an excellent month. We expect a strong pest season for the rest of the summer."

Although business started off slow in the first quarter, Markland said there is still a growing need for pest management services in his area of the country. With booming growth in population and home ownership, business conditions look promising for Superior Pest Management, he said.

"We expect market conditions to be good," Markland said. "In our area of operations, the housing market is still booming." Because of an increasing number of homeowners, Markland added there are more bugs to kill and more jobs to be done.

Superior Pest Management also has seen large growth in the accounts the company services for ant control. Markland named the odorous house ant as the most common problem. "We have a ‘love/hate’ relationship with these guys," he added.

Markland attributes a successful company to the focus on its customers and employees, saying, "You have to love your customers and your employees to be successful, because without them, there is no business."

B&B Exterminating Company

Jacksonville, Fla.

Despite Hurricane Dennis, Bob Mims, general manager, B&B Exterminating Company, Jacksonville, Fla., is confident that business will continue to boom as it has for the previous few months.

The company has seen steady growth in revenue the past few years, this year being no exception. With a booming industry in the state of Florida, Mims shared his confidence about where the company’s growth is headed.

"I would expect great results for the end of this year," Mims said. "The past few years, we’ve been experiencing tremendous growth and I would expect that trend to continue."

Mims also said customers had the most trouble with drywood termites and carpenter ants. Because of weather conditions lately — the temperature in Florida has reached over 100°F — these pests have generated more and more phone calls to the company.

While B&B Exterminating Company celebrates its 68th year in business, Mims said he doesn’t anticipate business declining anytime soon. "Our business has been growing at about a steady 30 percent," he said.

With the approach of the fourth quarter, Mims said B&B Exterminating Company will continue to grow as a team.

"We were just about 6 percent off last month because of the weather conditions," Mims said. "We’re in the middle of a building boom here in Florida, which is helping a lot of the PCOs out."

ACME Pest Control

Concord, N.C.

Market conditions for ACME Pest Control, Concord, N.C., seem to be on the rise along with the temperature. And as President John Horton said, business conditions are going "extremely well."

With a positive turnaround in the economy, conditions in Concord are promising. According to Horton, the rise in home sales, an increase in population and the growing demand for pest control services in Concord have attributed to the business’ growth in revenue and need for services.

Horton also said that three pests — termites, ants and millipedes — have caused his customers the most problems this year.

Horton said that he’s dedicated to his business and his company is committed to the pest control industry. "We’ve been in business for 50+ years," he said of the family-owned business. "Our reputation is very good. We’ve tried to continue to market ourselves to new homeowners. We’ve been successful in that."

Entering the third quarter, conditions seem just as promising as they’ve been all year, Horton said. He also commented on how his company has not only reached, but exceeded, its goals so far this year.

"We feel like we’re only going to go up," Horton said. "We have exceeded all of our goals so far this year. We’ve probably had anywhere from 8 to 15 percent growth for the past couple of years. We seem to be moving in the same direction (this year)."