‘Answering a Call’ to Become an Owner

Editor’s note: Throughout Black History Month, PCT is sharing the stories of Black-led pest control companies. These leaders are finding success in the pest control industry all while giving back to their communities. In this feature, Mike Neville shares how he “answered the call” to launch N&N Consulting & Pest Control, a business that has found a niche serving the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Virginia areas. 

Mike Neville has been working in the world of pest control since 1975 — most of that time for a national pest control company. But in 2006, everything changed. Neville was diagnosed with an abdominal aortic aneurysm, a life-threatening medical condition where the aorta, the body’s main blood vessel, becomes enlarged near the abdomen.

A four-hour surgery turned into a nine-and-a-half-hour surgery. And a three-month recovery followed. During that time, his long-time employer ended up cutting down his route and giving his client to others, leaving Neville to contemplate his next steps. “God had another calling on my life,” recalled Neville. “And that was to give me an opportunity to open my own business.”

So later that year Neville and his wife, Angela, started N&N Consulting & Pest Control in the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Virginia areas. And 16 years later, Neville’s company is not only known for its quality service using eco-friendly and non-pesticide solutions, it has also become a relationship between him and his 240 “partners.”

“When you meet people and they assume that they’re your customer, they react as a customer,” explained Neville. “But when I sell someone a contract or a service, I say, ‘Thank you. I’m glad that I’m now your partner.’ When you’re a partner, you do more. You put yourself out there more because that’s your name and reputation. And it’s a partnership you want to be in for a very long time.”

N&N Consulting & Pest Control works mostly with commercial partners, including senior citizen homes and restaurants. And it’s important for Neville and his team to educate everyone on the products they use and ensure they’re comfortable with the process. “For a lot of senior citizens, they may be afraid to leave their apartment or venture outside their comfort zone,” said Neville. “The most important thing to do is to give them information on the materials that we use, which will make them comfortable being in the house with it. We can explain how our green products are used, we can show it to them and walk them through it.”

It’s also a partnership between him and his six employees (Angela serves as the company’s CEO and his daughter, Tracy, serves as president). “I have two strong females that are not only intelligent, but they’re dangerous in their own field,” he said. “They have my respect. When we have to deal with a situation, we’re covered. We give it to the person that’s good in that situation.”

And having quarterly team meetings with his technicians helps them all learn from each other. “We can help each other with the attitude that we can learn from each other,” said Neville. “We have good long-term technicians. We sit down and express what’s not good, what’s not bad, what’s not working. It’s an attitude that we all care about each other. It’s not just one person thinking they know it all.”

And that positive, willing-to-learn approach and commitment helps when it comes to attracting and retaining partners — especially when N&N Consulting & Pest Control is up against national competitors who can charge less. “We’re a small company,” said Neville. “You’ve got these companies with big money, pushing their name out. We don’t even have that. We just have a good attitude and a desire to be the best.”

And part of being the best to Neville includes how N&N Consulting & Pest Control is seen out in the community. “I have a problem with my trucks looking dirty,” he said. “If you see a clean truck, you think that person cares about what he does. And most of our customers are calling because they saw our truck and our technicians, who look neat. We try to represent the brand and have the brand represent us.”

While there’s been plenty of highlights throughout his almost 50-year career in pest control, there’s also been some challenges. Neville said that business originally slowed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but he’s seeing his sales numbers return to their pre-pandemic levels. 

He’s upping the company’s social media game, as well as working on becoming a Certified Business Enterprise (CBE). And he credits his mentor, Wayne Golden, who works with Black Ownership Matters, for being a constant source of inspiration and leadership. “He’s been my guardian angel,” said Neville. 

Most recently, N&N Consulting & Pest Control signed a five-year contract with Metrobus, operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority — and Neville sees it as a sign of great things to come. 

“I want to take the company to another level. We’re in a good place, but now we’re trying to get that steam going again,” he said. “In five years, I hope to triple what where we’re doing right now.