The ultimate goal of any business owner is to scale the business to the point where it can operate without you. Unfortunately, there are only so many bugs and critters in a given service area. As a company grows, branching out into other services like pool cleaning or tree care is only natural. And you already have the truck(s), ladders, and personnel, so introducing new services can make a lot of sense.

But as you prepare to expand, be intentional about the services you’ll offer. Tacking on extra offerings just to make money can backfire. Consider the case of the pest control business owner who added wildlife removal, only to find she had to spend about five times as many hours on each job. With intense regulatory restrictions, training, and expertise required, she was soon operating at a loss.

Don’t fall into the trap. Use the list and tips below to find the best-fitting add-on services for your pest control business.

1. Wildlife service

If you don’t already offer it, wildlife exclusion through blocking entry routes and installing fencing is one of the easiest services for a pest control service to add. You already have the skills to do most of the work. Fencing may take a little study, but placing posts, pickets, rails, and gates isn’t SpaceX-level work.

Wildlife removal is a woodchuck of a different color. Like the business owner in our example above, you may find yourself struggling with a thicket of regulations, not to mention the challenge of building expertise. Another issue is that removing bats or possums isn’t as simple as spraying some Talstar P for ants or spiders. While a quick insect treatment can take under an hour, animal removal can take days or weeks. You can always set your prices accordingly, but justifying the cost to property owners is another matter.

2. Window cleaning

This one can slot into your off season, keeping your field service pros happy and employed when bugs go dormant. You only need to add some buckets, poles, and squeegees, though you can spend up to $5,000 for a residential window cleaning equipment package.

The hardest part of starting a window cleaning business is getting the customers. If you already have a solid base of pest control clients, start marketing to them in person when you show up for treatments or with fliers, emails, or text messages.

3. Lawn care

Lawn care and landscaping mesh well with pest control as add-on services since so many pests (spiders, mice, ticks, termites) start in the lawn and/or landscaping and make their way inside from there. You might begin by adding lawn weed control, such as spraying for dandelions and broadleaf plantain, and then add mowing and hedge trimming.

The average lawn care business owner makes over $127,000 a year, and you can add lawn care services with about $500 to $1,500 in equipment. If you already have a truck and trailer, you’ve got a head start, though a comfy zero-turn mower will set you back from $3,000 to $5,000.

4. Pool service

You can dip your toe into the pool service world in a small way by offering to take up slack for full-time pool companies near you in fall and early winter. You can also send out fliers offering to winterize pools at a discount. You can get into winterization with minimal equipment, such as a shop vac, though you may also need to offer pool pillows if the property owner doesn’t have one.

If you want to add full pool services, you’ll need a bit more training and equipment, but you won’t need to spend more than $2,000 to $3,000 in additional equipment per crew, plus chemicals. The biggest issue is the staffing since your pest control technicians will be tied up battling moles and mosquitoes.

5. Tree service

Trees and bushes get their fair share of browntail moths, ash beetles, tent caterpillars, or sawflies. You’re already set up to treat most of these infestations. If you don’t offer tree spraying yet as an extra pest control service, it can add significant income, especially in your off season.

Trimming, pruning, and tree and shrub removal are a bit more specialized and require added training and equipment. If you’re not a trained arborist, get trained. Better still, hire a certified arborist with at least two years of experience getting trees on the ground. They may have their own equipment, in which case they only need you to find the customers and manage the workflows for them.

6. Bin cleaning

Trash cans get dirty and also smelly, and most property owners don’t want anything to do with them. Consider going after restaurants, warehouses, offices, and multi-unit complexes, as well as single family homes. If you don’t have a pressure washer, you may need to buy one, but otherwise you’re already equipped. Hit up your existing customers with fliers any time of year advertising your new offering.

7. Junk removal

Have you ever moved into a new house and wondered how in the world you ever built up all the stuff clogging your old one? Or maybe you cleaned up your backyard treeline and you didn’t know what to do with the waste. Property owners need junk removal, and if you set up agreements with the local dump and a couple of contractors or pits in need of clean fill, you can be the go-to in your service area.

8. Home inspection

You’ll need some training for this one (take an 80+ hour course and do some on-the-job training) so you might be better off hiring licensed professionals. However, home inspection is a perfect add-on service for pest control, because it creates a built-in local marketing arm for your primary business. When someone buys a new home and wants to have it inspected, your inspector can point out any infestations and offer yearly or quarterly treatments.

9. Fencing

This goes hand-in-hand with wildlife exclusion, but ornamental or functional fence installation is another service you can add to your pest control company. Contact local big-box stores and ask about franchising opportunities, and get in touch with area carpenters and building contractors and offer your services. You can rent most of what you need, such as a gas-powered auger or pounder.

10. Pressure washing

If you’re tackling bin cleaning, you’ll already have what you need to offer pressure washing services. Get in with a few local painting businesses and take up their slack during busy times — most painters pressure wash as part of their prep. You can also clean up moldy decks and grungy cars, porches, and siding, especially in southern states or urban areas where structures and vehicles accumulate a lot of soot or mildew. Do your YouTube university first to learn how to wash without damaging paint or other surfaces. It’s not hard to learn, but there is a little skill involved.

Winter add-ons

If you just want to add enough extra work to carry you through the slow season, consider tacking on a few of the services below.

• Tree spraying: Treating trees and shrubs for ash borers or gypsy moths is good seasonal work for pest control pros. You can finish your busy season and then spray trees in two or three yards per crew daily.
• Christmas lights: Homeowners and businesses love holiday lighting but don’t love hanging it. Look into a local franchise opportunity to set you up with supplies and contracts.
• Yard cleanout: Junk removal can happen year-round, but yard cleanout is often autumn.
• Snow removal: A snowblower or plow blade on one or more of your trucks can provide solid work through the winter. Make sure you take enough time off to hit the slopes or put your toes in the sand.

See our article for more tips: Pest control: What to do in winter

Tips

Before you add any new service to your pest control business, do a little planning and head-scratching to figure out how hard it’ll be to implement. Ask yourself:

• Will I need to hire new personnel for this? How much will I have to pay them?
• Do I need more training? If so, how long will it take, and how much will it cost?
• How much will I spend on new equipment? Most pest control add-on services above will use your existing trucks and ladders, but you may need to buy pressure sprayers, mowers, or other gear.
• Look into any additional licensing or other requirements.
• Check your business insurance policy to make sure it covers the new offering.
• You have a built-in customer base for many of the services above. Marketing can be as easy as sending group messaging with new offers or mailing out bulk fliers.

Manage your new services better with pest control business software

As your pest control business grows into other service offerings, your management work will get more challenging. Spreadsheets and manually curated calendars will no longer work. To avoid spending more time running the business than serving customers, use the best pest control management software on the market: GorillaDesk.

GorillaDesk is the highest-rated pest control software on top software review sites like Capterra for a good reason. Our exemplary customer service is ready in an average of three minutes when you chat with us, and our interface is legendary for its ease of use and nitty gritty power. Call for a free demo today.