Specialty Consultants releases 2020 industry market report

The professional pest management industry increased total service revenue by 2.9 percent in 2020 over 2019, according to Specialty Consultants. The Jacksonville, Fla.-based firm reports that the United States has more than 18,800 structural pest control firms that generated an estimated $9.627 billion in total service revenue, vs. $9.359 billion measured in 2019.

The company’s latest report, A Strategic Analysis of the U.S. Structural Pest Control Industry, goes on to point out that the percentage increase this past year demonstrates the resilience of the professional pest management industry and its importance as an essential service as the 2020 U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decrease of -3.5 percent.

According to a Specialty Consultants press release, the 2020 season market report is the 21st edition of A Strategic Analysis of the U.S. Structural Pest Control Industry. Eight hundred owners or managers of pest control companies were surveyed for this study. The syndicated market report is available for purchase only by subscription, sold in its entirety. Other findings found in the release include:

• The total number of pest control firms decreased slightly from 19,000 in 2019 as a result of continued consolidation and attrition in the industry.
• Residential service revenue grew by high single digits. Recurring revenue accounted for 84.7 percent of the residential pest control service revenue. Specialty Consultants Partner Rich Kalik said, “Professional pest services to control mosquitos and ticks both grew by well more than 20 percent along with strong double-digit growth in services to control occasional invaders or exterior perimeter pests, as homeowners hunkered down as a defense against the COVID-19 pandemic.”
• Commercial service revenue declined by low single digits. Kalik noted, “the decline in commercial services revenue was not as bad as we first feared. Clearly, hospitality industries like restaurants and hotels suffered from closures and fear of travel, but that impact appears to have been offset somewhat by expanded services to grocery stores, food and beverage manufacturing, hospitals, and nursing homes.”
• The termite market segment benefited from a robust housing market delivering solid growth in the number of both pre-construction and post-construction jobs completed. This past year the number of post-construction termite treatments completed increased by high single digits. The growth in the number of termite jobs completed was complemented by a meaningful improvement in the average charge per job.