Cleveland Chemical Pest Control celebrates 120 years

The exterior of Cleveland Chemical Pest Control’s building. PHOTO: CLEVELAND CHEMICAL PEST CONTROL

Cleveland Chemical Pest Control celebrates 120 years in business this year after it was purchased by the Kirchner family in 1929.

“Most Americans remember 1929 as a year of devastation, as the stock market crash and subsequent Great Depression brought the nation to its knees,” according to the news release. The Kirchner family also remembers 1929 as a time of promise since it was the year William E. Kirchner and his wife, Lucile, purchased a pest control business in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Kirchners acquired what was then known as Cleveland Chemical Co., founded in 1903, in 1929 for $2,500 (paid in $100 monthly installments). In the century since, the Kirchner family has built Cleveland Chemical Pest Control Inc. into a thriving business that serves residential and commercial customers across Northeast Ohio through four divisions: Cleveland Chemical Pest Control, Lake Wildlife Services, Glenridge Pest Control and Avalon Pest Control.

“My family’s commitment has never wavered: We provide, and have always provided, the highest level of service to every customer who trusts us with their pest management needs,” said Bill Kirchner, ACE, president of Cleveland Chemical Pest Control since 1986, and grandson of William and Lucile. “Our primary goal is to protect our customers’ health and property, as well as the environment. Over the years, we have advanced our approach to incorporate integrated pest management (IPM) techniques.”

In the eight years prior to taking the reins of Cleveland Chemical Pest Control, Kirchner was a technical sales representative for Southern Mill Creek Products of Ohio, a Cleveland-based pest control supply company owned by his father and uncle before being acquired by pest supply management giant Univar — now known as Veseris — in 2010. Their success in building that company is further testament to the Kirchner family’s dedication to the pest management industry, Kirchner said.

Kirchner himself has a 37-year streak of entrepreneurial success going, with achievements including multiple acquisitions of smaller local companies over the past three decades. “We attribute our success to the dedication of every person who works here,” he says. “We are all committed to serving Northeast Ohio and continuing to build our company to serve generations to come.”

In the industry, Kirchner is the treasurer and a past president of the Greater Cleveland Pest Control Association; a member and past president of the Ohio Pest Management Association; and a longstanding member of the National Pest Management Association. In the community, he is a member of the Greater Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, Cuyahoga County Bed Bug Task Force and various other professional business associations. Cleveland Chemical Pest Control is also a member of the Ohio Environmental Health Association.