Perimeter Service 'Add Ons'

Editor’s Note: This article was reprinted with permission from Pinto & Associates.

As a pest control technician, you are in a perfect position to identify additional, useful services to your customers. You visit the account regularly. During your perimeter inspections and treatments, you see problems that can contribute to pests. Many seasonal services can be offered at no charge as a benefit to your customers during your regular service. Other more intensive, often seasonal, services such as deck treatment or bird-proofing can be sold as "add-ons."

Want to really get a customer's attention? Offer at least one small service that is not pest-related, but instead is concerned simply with the safety and welfare of his family. Below are some suggestions for additional services that can be offered to customers in the spring months:

Moisture management - April showers bring May flowers, but they also bring wood decay and moisture-loving pests including carpenter ants and termites. Carry a moisture meter with you and do a quick check of areas that look suspiciously high in moisture. Point out leaks and drainage problems to your customer. Your company may repair wood damage, install vents to aerate crawlspaces and basements, or offer a waterproofing treatment.

Bird-proofing - The time to block birds from reusing nesting sites is early spring, before nest building begins. Screen vents, openings under soffits, and other areas where birds have nested in past years. Install physical barriers such as netting, pin & wire, or porcupine wire on building ledges and other sites where birds are roosting.

Deck check - In spring, people are sprucing up outside and getting their decks and patios ready to enjoy warm weather. As part of your outside inspection, check the deck. Look for carpenter bee holes, wood borers, and wet or rotting wood. Some pest control companies offer deck cleaning and wood protection as an add-on service.

Inflate bike tires - (Yes, that's what we said!) Customers are amazed and appreciative when you offer a benefit to protect their children. Carry a tire gauge and a small hand pump and check the kids' bicycle tires as you inspect the outside.

The authors are well-known industry consultants and co-owners of Pinto & Associates.