COVID-19: Is Pest Control an Essential Service?

The US PCO Industry has successfully petitioned to get pest control services noted as an essential service.   Through the NPMA?   I’ll need to investigate more.

But the point of this wasn’t to help the general good in the COVID fight, it’s mainly to keep a revenue stream.  But are you ready to forego charges for the month?

And who did they get the designation with?  Must be local or State health services.  Another investigation.

Is it really necessary though, when the majority of the commercial customers have shut their doors (not by choice) and the residential folks are hunkered down in their house under self-isolation?

I can understand in large commercial operations that haven’t closed that it would be business as usual.  But your average small restaurant, single owner, that has to shut down for a month, or two, has to give some very serious thought on where their savings is going to go.

Homeowners that have lived with ants or roaches for the past 2-3 weeks and are in fear of catching a fatal virus may decide to live with the bugs a few more weeks.  After all their pay checks are questionable.

The Industry can make the argument that it will be harder to control a population if there is no on-going service.  Or that millions of dollars of food product is at risk stored in these locked up establishments.

But if you have the choice of feeding your family, paying the rent, trying to keep staff on etc., there are going to be services that won’t take place and bills that won’t get paid.

Personally I think the Pest Control Industry is going to suffer a major hit while the self-isolation and the forced shutdown of commercial establishments is in place.  I’m not happy about it as it affects everyone in the Industry, but I think that’s the reality.

But it will rebound like the stock market (hopefully so I can retire one day) and when the world opens back up you may find you’re  swamped with jobs that were delayed, or clean up programs for your commercial customers.

If we get over this, and it’s not the Zombie Apocalypse!