Forest Pest Control Brings Together Family ‘Dream Team’

ORLANDO, Fla. – If you try to leave the pest control industry, it may just bring you right back. This was the case for Rodney Lackey, who, in 2017, along with co-owners Joe Patti and Steve Okros, sold Heron Lawn and Pest Control, Apopka, Fla., to a large national pest control company. Lackey ended up leaving the industry for five years before his nephews convinced him to return.

In 2001, Lackey, Patti and Orkros launched Heron Lawn and Pest Control. Under their leadership, along with Greg Clendenin (who served as CEO in the early years), Heron became a large and successful lawn and pest company in Central Florida, serving about 22,000 customers.

A New Era. By 2016, the Heron owners began getting approached to sell the company. While Lackey and Clendenin were attending PestWorld ‘16 in Seattle, they received interest from several large companies. Afterwards, the owners discussed and decided to move forward with one of those offers, which developed into the sale of Heron. Following the sale of Heron, Lackey said he, “stepped away and did some things outside the industry.”

Back to Work. Lackey’s two nephews, Jeremy (age 34) and Josh Lackey (29) — who had planned on playing college baseball prior to joining the industry — kept encouraging him to rejoin the pest control industry. During Jeremy and Josh’s first attempts to get their uncle back to work, Lackey said he wasn’t interested.

With his kids in school and his friends still working, Lackey grew bored of working on land in Georgia. He wanted something to focus on. Fast-forward to six-and-a-half years after Heron was sold and Forest Pest Control was launched.

“The company’s named after my dad [Forest],” Lackey said. “He worked for the power company for years — great guy, outdoorsman, hard worker, very honest, strong faith. The deer in our logo, the pinecones, it all ties back to land we have in Georgia. Everything about the brand is a tribute to him.”

Both Jeremy and Josh gained industry experience by working at Heron Lawn and Pest Control with Lackey. Jeremy had plans to become a firefighter but stayed at Heron Lawn and Pest Control until it was sold. Now, Jeremy and Josh are owners of Forest Pest Control, along with their uncle.

Jeremy and Josh talked about starting a pest control company for a long time before starting Forest Pest Control. Although they could’ve started a pest control company just the two of them, Jeremy and Josh knew they couldn’t go on that journey without their uncle.

“We wouldn’t have done this without him,” Jeremy said. “His experience, knowledge and relationships In Central Florida are invaluable. Seeing it firsthand is pretty incredible.”

Lackey, Jeremy and Josh call themselves the “dream team” because of their complementary individual strengths. Lackey brings comprehensive experience and skill to Forest Pest Control; Jeremy is great with the administrative roles and Josh is best out in the field.

“We each naturally fall into the roles where we’re most comfortable,” Josh said. “For example, I’m not great behind a computer, but Jeremy probably wouldn’t want to be crawling around in an attic. But we’ve all done every part of the job at some point, which helps a lot.”

Growth and a Different Approach. Although Lackey is an industry veteran, he isn’t running Forest Pest Control the same way he did Heron Lawn and Pest Control. While using his experience to grow Forest Pest Control, there are some differences in his approach to continuing the success of the company.

“I wore every hat at Heron — tech, admin, district manager, owner, corporate, staff, president. That experience gave us a massive head start,” Lackey said. “One of the biggest things helping us now is marketing and advertising experience. We transitioned from Yellow Pages to digital early, and that paid off big.”

With six full-time employees and one part-time employee, Lackey said Forest Pest Control was profitable from the beginning. “We hit our first million this year will all organic growth — no door-to-door, just great service,” he said. “That’s impressive in today’s world. We used to have to hit certain revenue before a branch turned profitable.”

The goal for Forest Pest Control is to hit $5 million within five years, Lackey said. And with a service-first approach, the company has doubled from last year to this year.

“Mid-sized companies giving great service are rare now — everything’s private equity, five-or seven-plans,” Lackey said. “We’re going the opposite direction: build a great, service-first, local company.”

Lackey also believes the company’s future is bright thanks to its depth of experience and commitment to continuous team member development. “By staying actively involved in the field, the leadership ensures a hands-on approach to growth,” he said. “As the company expands, there's a clear focus on building the most skilled and well-equipped team in the industry. Technicians are encouraged to pursue professional licensing, with all training costs fully covered by the company.”

Personally, for Lackey, being back in the industry has been, to put it simply, fun. Lackey has his nephews by his side and said team is dedicated to providing Lake, Orange, Seminole, Volusia and Osceola counties with detailed and quality pest control services.

“Now I’m back in the grind and actually doing sales every day,” Lackey said. “All the training I did over the years … it works. Our close rates are extremely high. And I still get the same satisfaction from closing a $500 sale as I did from a $5,000 job. We’re solving people’s problems, and that feels great.”

Lackey added, “At the heart of everything we do is pride; not just in delivering top-tier service, but in building a team that shares those same high standards. One customer, one home, one solution at a time, we’re committed to making a difference. For us, it’s personal — and every interaction is a chance to show just how much we care.”