Pest Control Index Increases 6 Percent in February

NEWTON, N.J. — The total U.S. pest control index increased 6.3 percent year-over-year in February, according to a report released in late March by PCO M&A Specialists and William Blair.

This increase marks an acceleration from January, which was up 5.1 percent year-over-year. The index declined 2.5 percent on a sequential basis, in line with normal seasonal trends (down 3.6 percent in February 2020 and 5.4 percent in February 2019). This index includes recurring and nonrecurring revenue for the residential pest, commercial pest and termite segments of the industry. It does not include residential door-to-door companies.

“We believe the U.S. pest control market remains poised for another strong year of growth, as higher penetration rates in the residential market persist in 2021 and are supplemented by a rebound in commercial pest sales,” said William Blair Equity Researchers Tim Mulrooney and Sam Kusswurm. “The swing factor appears to be the termite market, which tends to be highly variable from quarter to quarter and faces difficult comparisons in 2021.”

The residential index remained strong (up 12 percent), in line with the last several months. The work-from-home environment continues to support stronger residential volumes on a year-over-year basis.

Meanwhile, the commercial index accelerated in February, following a slowdown in January due to rising COVID-19 cases that prompted business closures in some areas of the country. The termite index decelerated sequentially for the second month in a row. It’s unclear what drove this deceleration, though researchers suspect it’s a combination of less favorable weather and more difficult year-over-year comparisons.

View the full February report and the archive of past reports at SellMyPCOBusiness.com.