Pest Posse TV offers alternative to typical training

Pest Posse TV is doing its part to ensure pest management professionals (PMPs) have options when it comes to training and learning.

Co-owners Culley Christensen and Foster Brusca are PMPs and content creators who began making pest control-related training videos as The Pest Posse in 2017. Two years later, they launched Pest Posse TV, a television network for PMPs that houses their content.

Getting started

The Pest Posse came about when Christensen, a manager at a pest control company, realized the next generation of PMPs wanted videos, not books, for training.

“At the time, the pest control-related content on YouTube was created by manufacturers primarily to promote their products; it was not teaching the fundamentals of pest control,” recalls Brusca. “Culley knew there had to be something better to help the young PMPs he supervised learn about pest control.”

As colleagues at a large family-owned and -operated pest control company, they discussed the problem one day in early 2017. That’s when Christensen asked Brusca point blank: “What do you think about starting a YouTube channel?” They decided to give it a go, meeting regularly after work to choose topics and figure out how to produce videos. By Labor Day 2017, they launched their first episode. Then, they devised a plan and decided to post new content every week.

The training videos they created consisted of a five- to 10-minute-long lesson, then a quiz, and then another five- to 10-minute-long lesson. Clocking in at only 20 to 30 minutes long each, the training approach — known as “microlearning,” unbeknownst to them — was a hit.

Maintaining consistency

In 2021, The Pest Posse had an issue with YouTube and left the video-sharing platform to launch Pest Posse TV. The move was for the best.

Today’s videos cover topics ranging from technical information to business and sales tips. “We have a lot of free content, but the beauty of Pest Posse TV is the subscription that unlocks the full power of the platform,” Brusca says. The subscription service includes video training, live training, and access to a vibrant community of PMPs who subscribe, too. A partnership program provides discounts on products and services from pest control companies.

“We’re not owned and managed by a manufacturer or media company,” he points out. “Yes, episodes are sponsored because it takes money to rent an office, access the internet, and host content on a platform. But we are truly independent.”

Pest Posse TV is also available via a mobile app PMPs can access on Apple’s App Store and Google Play.

“We were the first to offer video-based pest control training, even though the video quality might not have been that great,” Brusca says with a chuckle. “We made it happen, and we’re still making it happen.”