Cascade Pest Control opens new headquarters, reflects on pandemic’s first year

Cascade Pest Control employees at the entrance of the new office. From left are: Bailey Luder, Amy Houston, Brittney Knauts and Kristin Miller. PHOTO: LORA PETERSON, CASCADE PEST CONTROL

Cascade Pest Control, headquartered in Bothell, Wash., has opened a new corporate office.

Founded on April Fool’s Day of 1979 (which goes along with Founder and President Kurt Treftz’s gentle sense of humor), the company provides pest control services to the greater Seattle area.

The facility was remodeled to the meet the company’s needs and accommodate its 30 employees. Cascade’s other offices are mainly service hubs.

“This new location is properly tailored for Cascade’s increase in number of employees and growth — a much more comfortable and rewarding place to work,” Treftz told PMP.

The new corporate headquarters were selected for location and visibility to traffic. The location also includes an outdoor area for employees as “a place to hold barbecues, or just to relax during breaks,” he said.

The move to the new office also served as an opportunity for Cascade to upgrade its internet services and computer network.

“It was incredibly challenging to move our headquarters while observing COVID-19 protocols,” Treftz said. “It took a lot more planning and effort, but we made it through.”

Gil Flores, a technician at Cascade Pest Control, stands in front of the residential care facility in Kirkland, Wash., where the COVID-19 pandemic first appeared in the U.S. PHOTO: ALEAH TREFTZ, CASCADE PEST CONTROL

The Pacific Northwest was one of the first areas impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic almost one year ago.

In March 2020, Gil Flores, a technician at Cascade, was working in the Kirkland, Wash., area when news of COVID-19 spreading to the U.S. was still an unknown.

“Everyone was watching developments in China, and anticipating the pandemic would spread to the United States,” Flores said. “Little did we know that it would break out in the very city and neighborhood I regularly service.

It has since been nearly one year since the initial COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. Cascade worked with other pest management companies so that pest control services would be deemed essential — which was granted last spring by officials in several states, as well as by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

“As it turns out, people’s pest control problems are important to them,” Flores said. “They know they don’t want just another problem to occur on top of all the COVID-related changes in their lives. In fact, with people spending more time at home they both notice signs of pests more, and they are more diligent to ensure their environment is clear of pests.”