Pest Control In Growth Phase In Australia

01 March, 2005

The pest control industry is growing in Australia - but not due to increasing numbers of pests.

“We are following the world trend towards more stringent requirements and greater auditing on pest controls,” says Mr. David Peterson, General Manager of Rentokil Pest Control, one of the largest pest control companies in Australia.

“We have doubled the commercial value of our business in the past nine years and we expect that growth to continue.”

“The audit trail is critical, either imposed by a government agency like AQIS or self-regulatory. Rentokil Pest Control has taken it a step further by providing an audit of its own services up to four times a year, reported back autonomously to its national technical manager,” Mr. Peterson said.

The growth in the industry is also being fuelled by environmental considerations, where in many situations, it is likely that chemicals will be a zero option – only organic treatments and better housekeeping will be allowed, which are higher cost options.

“We are already seeing this happening in Europe, so what this means is a changingrelationship between us and the client,” said Mr. Peterson.

“We must work closer with clients to reduce access and breeding sites, and more closely monitor activity. Particularly in any businesses involved with food, right along the supply chain, the requirements are getting tougher.”

Commercial clients spend from $2,000 a year to over $150,000, which is usually a very

small investment in terms of company turnover, but a vital spend to ensure safe and

efficient operations.

“The industry has to invest to secure its future – both in research and development and in its staff. Organic solutions are getting better to treat pest problems and other creative solutions are needed.”

For example Rentokil is about to launch Radar, a rodent trap which locks the mouse in a tunnel then using carbon dioxide it is put down, avoiding the need for baits or painful deaths in sticky traps, etc.

We led the way over a decade ago with our PestGuard reporting system, something which has become an industry essential for clients and a new era has begun with PestNet – an internet based reporting system which allows the client complete access to details including reports, trends and recommendations and is also interactive. This is ideal for major companies with plants or facilities in several locations around the country as all pest control operations can be controlled from the one site – it really is the future of pest control,” he said.

“PestNet will give us the edge in the marketplace which PestGuard did over 10 years ago. Developed by our parent company, PestNet has been such a huge investment that other companies in Australia cannot simply duplicate.”

Uniformity in reporting is also an attraction for companies throughout a supply chain. Whether it is the packaging manufacturer, the food transport company, the processor the exporter or the retailer, if all operate on similar reporting systems, the control process can be made much more accountable.

“On the staff front, training and development of our people is an essential investment. Clients want quality assurance, and operators with the one-off training required by Government to be a practising pest controller simply cannot deliver.”

Rentokil Pest Control is well known in the wider community through its work on residential pests, mainly termites, but that area only accounts for 7% of its business.

“While we will continue to service that need, our growth is clearly in the commercialarea,” said Mr. Peterson

The company operates in all states and employs a team of over 170 people to manage, market and service pest control solutions.

The parent company, Rentokil Initial PLC, is one of the largest business servicescompanies in the world, with some 93,000 employees across more than 40 countries.

Released for Rentokil Pest Control - for further information:

Eva Suminska, Marketing & Communications Manager, ph (02) 8719 6138