Vital Work

On average, bed bug work generated 12.7% of revenue at company locations in the past year, found the 2025 PCT State of the Bed Bug Control Market survey. Pest management professionals (PMPs) interviewed for this report said the service contributed less to the bottom line but was vital to meet customer needs.

Bed bugs are a priority pest in the Big Apple even though bed bug income decreased year over year at Standard Pest Management, Queens, N.Y., said President Gil Bloom.

The pests are everywhere and always top of mind. “They’re running for mayor now,” joked Bloom, who served on the city’s bed bug task force and has offered bed bug control services since the late ’90s.

“There is high demand for it, and it’s a new business revenue stream, but even more importantly, it reinforces existing revenue streams, because a good percent of our bed bug work is from existing customers and clients.” If he didn’t offer bed bug control, customers “would seek it elsewhere.”

Dennis Guinan, quality assurance manager, Green Pest Solutions, West Chester, Pa., agreed. “If you’re not offering a service line for a pest control problem that maybe the consumer expects to be underneath your umbrella of care, then you always risk that possibility of losing a customer,” he said.

Nearly one third (32%) of PMPs said bed bug control became a more significant portion of their business over the past five years, while 38% said there had been no change in impact.

Bed bug work accounts for about 2% of revenue at Cowleys Pest Services, Farmingdale, N.J. “We do offer the service, and we train hard on it, because it’s not an easy service. And we’re good at it. It’s just not a big part of our business, and I prefer it that way,” said co-owner Bill Cowley.

He’s found bed bug customers are hard to convert to a home protection or mosquito control program. “They’re more interested in solving their immediate problem. They’re not always interested in continuing service.” As such, bed bug control typically is one-time work. He prefers to pursue work that generates recurring revenue.

Availability dictates whether Apple’s Environmental Pest Management Solutions, Lebanon, Tenn., takes on bed bugs. “How we look at that is really based on how fast we can get out to do the inspection, and then how fast we would be able to perform that initial treatment,” said Andrew Reynolds, vice president of operations for the company. Bed bugs are a panic-inducing pest, and customers want an immediate response.

“It’s not fair to a customer to say, oh yeah, we can get out there, but it’s going to be four days. Or we can get out there tomorrow, but we know the initial treatment is not going to be until the next week,” he said. When time is an issue, he lets customers know “it probably would be beneficial for them to contact someone else.”

According to the PCT survey, 83% of pest control company locations offered bed bug control services.