Orkin Acquires Lester Humphrey Pest Control

ATLANTA – Orkin announced its recent acquisition of the assets of Lester Humphrey Pest Control. The purchase was finalized on Jan. 4.

Headquartered in Abilene, Texas, Lester Humphrey Pest Control has been a family-owned pest control company for 62 years, servicing west Texas with two additional branches in San Angelo and Odessa. The company was founded by Lester Humphrey in 1944, and he expanded into west Texas to avoid the Dallas competition. Lester Humphrey Pest Control was most recently run by Pat Humphrey Wicker, a 25-year industry veteran and a member of the National Pest Management Association Board, who will remain with Orkin to oversee the integration and manage the Lester Humphrey branches. The company will continue to operate as Lester Humphrey Pest Control, using their own logo, uniforms, vehicle decals and advertising.

Orkin President Glen Rollins said, “Lester Humphrey Pest Control is a very strong name in west Texas with an excellent reputation for quality service.  By adding Lester Humphrey’s assets to our company, we have continued our efforts to acquire quality companies that add overall value, customers, employees and an excellent reputation to our company. We are very pleased that Pat Wicker will join us to help manage these top-quality branches.”

Orkin representatives consider multiple issues when exploring potential acquisitions, such as the customer base (commercial versus residential), average pricing, age and size of the company, tenure and pay of employees and operational methods. 

“Orkin implements a strategy of growth through the acquisition of quality companies like Lester Humphrey Pest Control, and we look forward to future growth” said Orkin, Inc. Director of Acquistions Bob Hines.