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What Today’s Homeowners Expect From Pest Control and How to Deliver

Published Jun 19, 2025

The pest control industry is changing and fast. In the recent PCT Magazine webinar, Homeowner Expectations in 2025, Scorpion’s Kirby Oscar and Sarah Bailey shared new findings from Scorpion’s 2025 Consumer Survey. Their research reveals the shifting expectations of today’s homeowners and what pest control operators must do to stay competitive.

Alongside them was Ralph Citarella Jr., President of Bayonne Exterminating, who brought a boots-on-the-ground perspective to the data, offering tactical advice that every PCO can put into practice.

Here are the must-know takeaways plus actionable steps you can take to grow your business.

Homeowners move fast. Pest control businesses have to move faster.

54% of homeowners choose a provider in under four hours, and 90% expect a response within 24 hours. That means if you're not responsive, you’re losing business plain and simple. That means your team, from front desk to field techs, needs to be ready to capture that lead when it comes in. If you're not responding within the hour, you're likely being skipped over.

Kirby Oscar put it bluntly:

“You need to be responding in real time… You leave the site, shut down that chat feature, and move on with your day and you kind of lose that customer engagement from that point forward.”

Action Steps:

  • Implement real-time chat or AI-powered texting on your website.
  • Set a goal to respond to all online inquiries within one hour.
  • Leverage tools like Scorpion’s AI Chat to engage prospects 24/7 and reduce lead leakage.

pest control connect ai chat

Reputation Is More Than Your Star Rating

A 4-star rating might get you in the door, but how you show up in local Facebook groups or handle a one-star review can make or break your brand. Your future customer is sizing you up before ever clicking "submit" on a form. Your reviews and reputation, social media mentions, and neighborhood referrals are today’s word of mouth.

Ralph Citarella said it best:

"Your reputation is not just your Google stars. It's what people say when you're not in the room."

Action Steps:

  • Monitor community groups like Facebook and Nextdoor for brand mentions.
  • Turn negative reviews into brand-builders by responding with empathy and accountability.
  • Automate review requests and responses using tools like Scorpion + FieldRoutes.

90% of homeowners expect a response to their inquiry within 24 hours, and many want it same-day.

Homeowners Want Flexible, Modern Communication

Today’s customers want to engage on their terms whether that’s by text, web chat, or even social media. And younger homeowners, especially, often avoid the phone entirely.

Kirby Oscar explained:

“If you’re not offering text or chat, that’s going to be a big challenge over the next five years.”

Action Steps:

  • Offer multiple ways to communicate: text, web chat, email, and phone.
  • Use tools that integrate directly with your CRM (like FieldRoutes) for seamless engagement.
  • Invest in user-friendly websites and digital scheduling tools.

Meet homeowners where they are. Offer modern communication channels like texting and web chat.

Your Biggest Competitor? DIY

More than half of homeowners still handle pest issues themselves. That means the biggest share of the market hasn’t been captured yet. But DIY doesn’t always go well. When homeowners realize they’re in over their heads, the provider who educated them first—the one who shows up in a search with helpful content often wins the business. Be the expert they trust before they ever need to call.

More than half of homeowners (54%) still handle pest issues themselves, and only 10–14% are on recurring service plans.

This is your biggest opportunity.

Kirby Oscar made it clear:

“DIY is the number one reason someone doesn’t have a pest control provider. That’s the biggest addressable market.”

Action Steps:

  • Position yourself as a trusted expert, not just a service provider.
  • Create educational content that highlights the risks of DIY.
  • Follow up with one-time customers to convert them to recurring service (within 30 days is best).

Recurring Revenue Is Still Undervalued

Even though recurring services are a proven driver of revenue, many homeowners haven’t opted in. That’s a gap you can fill.

Sarah Bailey advised:

“Following up the next month, or again the following month, is so important. You’re much more likely to convert that person to a recurring service.”

Action Steps:

  • Audit your recurring service plans, are they easy to understand? Priced competitively?
  • Train your team to position recurring treatments as preventative maintenance.
  • Automate post-service follow-ups and reminders using integrated marketing tools.

Don’t Add Services Unless You’re All-In

Bundling is a growing expectation, 83% of homeowners want pest, termite, and mosquito services from the same provider. But Ralph warns: don’t expand unless you can deliver.

“If you’re going to offer wildlife or termite or mosquito, make sure you’re really doing it… because if you mess it up, it affects your brand across everything.”

Action Steps:

  • Evaluate your market demand and technician skillsets before expanding.
  • Build strong referral relationships when you don’t offer a service yourself.
  • Prioritize services that complement your existing routes for better efficiency.

Think beyond the one-time job. Build systems to convert single services into recurring plans or offer bundled services.

Ready to Get Started? Book a consultation with one of our pest control marketing experts!

Technology That Connects It All

Tools like Scorpion + FieldRoutes offer PCOs the ability to see exactly which marketing strategies are working and automate what used to be manual work from lead capture to follow-up.

Ralph Citarella summed it up:

“The transparency of lead generation is one of the things I like most about working with Scorpion… I can actually see where things are coming from.”

Action Steps:

Final Thoughts from the Field

As Ralph said during the webinar:

“We may be planting trees we’ll never taste the fruit from, but as a third-generation guy—if my kids can eat the fruit, then I’ll plant the tree.”

Future-proofing your pest control business means investing in modern communication, earning homeowner trust, and leveraging data to work smarter.

Bonus Insights: 2025 Consumer Trends at a Glance

  • 54% of consumers pick a pest provider in less than 4 hours.
  • 64% won’t consider you if you have less than 4 stars.
  • 67% check at least three review sources before making a decision.
  • Only 10–14% of homeowners subscribe to recurring pest control.
  • Businesses using Scorpion’s Chat AI see a 16% boost in conversion rates.
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