How FieldRoutes Customers Are Adjusting in an Erratic Economy

General Environmental Services raised prices for customers to cover for numerous rising costs, including chemicals, while Champion Pest & Termite Control is offering discounts to customers considering cancellations.

Natural State Pest Control, in updating its fleet, will attempt to beat any tariff-induced increases in vehicle costs.

Elite Pest and Termite Control will make payments more manageable for customers with monthly billing and payments.

Pest control companies are no strangers to being scrappy and adaptable based on the latest weather or trends in pest activity, and the same holds true for the greater economic environment as well. They’re monitoring what the 2025 economy is delivering, making adjustments they believe are necessary and will work best in their markets, and using their business software to navigate the volatility. 

"It's important not to panic but to be vigilant," says Kendra Snyder, co-owner of Quest Termite & Pest Control in Hellertown, PA.

FieldRoutes surveyed Pathfinder Network members to ask their thoughts about how the economy and tariffs might be affecting their businesses. Among the findings:

• 73.3%: Consider current economic conditions somewhat impactful.

• 13.3%: Say current economic conditions are very impactful. 

• 46.7%: Believe tariffs are somewhat impactful.

• 40.0%: Are uncertain the impact tariffs could have.

• 13.3%: Don’t believe tariffs are having an impact. 

Forecasts for the U.S. economy in 2025 are being shaped by potential impacts of new tariffs on inflation and on international trade and by decreasing consumer confidence regarding household budgets. 

And for all of the attention that the Dow or NASDAQ or the rate of inflation receive—and they’re all vital, of course—it’s that decreasing customer confidence that will matter most to a pest control company.

"That's what you're more worried about,” says Dan Gordon, founder and managing member of PCO Bookkeepers & M&A Specialists and a FieldRoutes Marketplace partner.

Adjusting prices for customers strategically

Price increases for services are a direct way for pest control companies to generate more revenue and lead to greater profitability and stronger cash flow. If communicated well, price increases might help customers perceive greater value in the service a company provides.

Reliable Exterminators in Lafayette, IN, is watching product prices before raising their own. But General Environmental Services, based in Malden, MA, could no longer hold off in the current economy. 

“We raised all of our prices for services,” says Melanie Espinola, the operations manager. “We are a small business and hadn't raised prices in a long time but had to as costs of chemicals, wages, insurance, and gas increased.”

GES isn’t alone among Pathfinder Network members. For example, RIDD Pest Control in Utah and five southeastern states, Magic City Pest Control in Alabama, CAPE Pest Control in Arizona, and EcoGuard Pest Management in California are among companies responding similarly. 

Quest Termite & Pest Control is another. Quest measures factors such as the time of year, a residential customer's age or location, and the timing of a customer's previous price increase while trying to meet the company's financial goals.

"I have to be able to pay my technicians, and I have to be able to take care of everybody here," Snyder says. "Unfortunately, (price increases are) part of business, and we can't absorb it all because I have to keep my business healthy. It's not about big numbers or anything; it's just really about keeping the business healthy, keeping your employees happy."

Gordon, a former pest control company owner, is a believer in raising prices.

"Increases should be done annually, not once a year, but annually on the anniversary date of all service contracts," he says.

FieldRoutes^® software, meanwhile, enables pest control companies to raise the prices on subscriptions, by fixed amount or as a percentage of the recurring price, in bulk using the Customers Report.

“We were afraid that we might lose a lot of business with our price increases,” Espinola says, “but we did well. A lot of people understood.”

Countering economic headwinds in other ways

A pest control company’s labor force is not only its top asset but its biggest expense. So making sure the team operates as efficiently as possible is crucial.

RIDD Pest Control is even more mindful at getting its technicians to as many jobs as possible in a day.

“Since things are more expensive, and we have our busy season with the door-to-door reps out selling, we need to make sure our schedule is as efficient as possible,” says Dan Farah, RIDD’s chief administrative officer.

There’s more. Companies are buying more of their products in bulk and, like Quality Pest Control in Nebraska, paying closer attention to inventory management. They’re digging in, as Bill’s Termite & Pest Control in Arizona, is doing, with bundling services, which can generate more revenue for the company and perhaps include a discount for the customer. 

And they’re buying vehicles.

"We are looking to make our fleet update sooner to avoid potential tariff situations," says Amanda Ragar, co-owner of Natural State Pest Control in Lowell, AR.

Snyder and Quest are evaluating options across the country for buying new trucks, although for now that's driven more by the need to add staff than as a reaction to how tariffs could affect prices.

"Just monitoring it, keeping in contact with our friends in the automobile industry, and getting their pulse on what they anticipate is going to happen," she says of vehicle costs.

The economy is also prompting other adjustments, such as reassessing 2025 projections or reconsidering how they attract more dollars. “Longstanding customers have canceled recurring pest control to save a bit of money,” says Owen Littlewood, owner of Bust-A-Bug in the Tidewater region of Virginia. “We need to reassess our growth goals as it’s going to take more new sales to hit goals now.” Adds Robert Pittman, owner of Tuxedo Mosquito Control in Atlanta, GA: “We may need to spend more on marketing to achieve growth goals.”

Using the software to keep score

Besides tools that enable bulk price increases, bundling services, or streamline routing and scheduling, Pathfinder Network members are using multiple solutions in FieldRoutes software to help lessen the impact from the U.S. economy. Among them:

• Dashboard: FieldRoutes' dashboard displays specific reporting data through customizable widgets to help companies monitor technician performance, service efficiency, customer satisfaction, and financial health in real-time. Companies also can identify trends, optimize operations, improve service quality, and enhance overall profitability, leading to increased customer satisfaction and business growth.

• Convenience Payments: They offer flexibility for a company's customers to pre-pay a standard amount on their preferred frequency, such as monthly, and then have the invoice charge on each service automatically deducted from the balance, much like an escrow account on a home mortgage. They help customers fit payments into a regular budget, and a company wins because service charges are scheduled and made in advance of the appointments. 

• AutoPay: Use set-and-forget rules to submit designated AutoPay invoices for ACH or credit card payment automatically, with no manual work required. Payment information remains up to date when cards are lost, stolen, closed, or expired. Batching payments into groups quickens the process and cuts out manual work.

• Forecasts: The Forecast Report projects the next services and next recurring billing charges within the start and end dates, helping leaders see an evolving picture of what's coming so they can better know what to expect.

• Tracking cancellations: A Cancellation Report shows customer accounts that have been canceled, and the Cancellation Subscription Report shows customer subscriptions that have been canceled.

And they’ll keep watching the economy and watching customer sentiment. 

"The biggest thing for us is just mitigating customer's fears and also employee fears," says Thomas Harris, owner of Uinta Pest Solutions in Utah.

And though RIDD has seen costs rise and its prices in response, Farah strikes a similar tone to Snyder's no-panic approach regarding the U.S. economy in spring 2025.

"So far the economy hasn't changed much when it comes down to selling pest control and running our business," he says