The dreaded question every pest control owner asks: “What should I price my services at?”
I get this question all the time. “Jonas, what should I be doing for my offer? What should I do for my prices? How should I bundle all these different things?”
Here’s the truth: most pest control companies are doing it wrong. They’re discounting their services, offering 10% off or 50% off the first service, trying to compete on price instead of value.
After building Pest Badger into a $10 million company, I’ve learned that the key to profitable pricing isn’t discounts. It’s value stacking.
Let me show you how to create irresistible offers that customers can’t say no to while still charging premium prices.
Every Company Is Different (But the Principles Are the Same)
First, let me say this: every company is going to be different. We all have different cost of goods sold. We all have different overhead. We all have a different break even point.
Also, if you’re in California versus Des Moines, Iowa, the prices are going to be drastically different. Not that it’s less profitable in either market. The markets are just different.
So I’m going to talk about strategies here, not specific dollar amounts. You need to figure out your own numbers based on your market and your costs.
Monthly Subscription vs Quarterly Billing: The Cash Flow Question
There are a bunch of strategies you can use when it comes to billing. One of the big questions is: should I sell a monthly subscription or quarterly pest control?
Let’s unpack that.
I do like the monthly subscription model. A lot of owner operators have shifted that way. There are many reasons. Cash flow being one of them.
It’s obviously easier to sell $67 a month or $70 a month than it is to sell $240 quarterly.
That’s a big benefit up front. Another benefit is it’s prepaid before you get there. You’re billing on month one, month two, then you show up month three and service the house. They pay their last monthly bill. Then they’re prepaid for that service and you start over again for the next quarterly or bimonthly service.
However you want to do it, there’s no right or wrong strategy here. It’s just what you like to do.
The Problem with Monthly Subscriptions
Here’s what I’ve learned from companies doing billions of dollars in revenue: the highest cancellation rate is on monthly subscription billing.
Why? Because everyone has these subscription apps these days. People look through their subscriptions and think, “Oh, I don’t need this pest control thing. It’s the middle of winter. Cancel.”
The monthly subscription model has a lower barrier to entry, which is great for sales. But it also has a higher attrition rate, which is terrible for retention.
How I Like to Structure Billing
Here’s what I like to do: I do the initial service first.
Let’s say the initial is $240. Whether that’s bundling or just pest control by itself, let’s just say it’s a bundle for $70 a month.
That initial is going to be $240. You come out and do pest control and mosquito. Then every time after that, they prepay for the next service at $70 a month.
This way, you get the bigger payment up front, which helps with cash flow.
The Coke Machine Analogy: Getting Your Money Back Faster
Think of it like a Coke machine. Every time you put in $100, it returns you $800 back.
Everyone asks about marketing budgets. What should I spend? Is it 3%? Is it 5%? Is it 6%? If we’re growing fast, should we go 8%?
My thing is: if I could put that $100 in and get $800 back that fast, I’m going to keep doing it over and over again.
The problem is cash flow. You can’t get that money back fast enough.
If you’re doing monthly billing at $70 a month, you gotta wait till the third month to finally recover that money you paid out in the initial service.
So if you can recover that money as soon as possible, how do you do that?
The Prepayment Strategy
In the lawn care space, this is normal. In pest control, it’s not as common. Mosquito control is kind of normal too.
A lot of companies will give a discount or something for free if you prepay for the year.
So instead of putting $100 in and waiting months to get it back, they pay you $850 that same day. That’s how you can get your customer acquisition cost back as fast as possible.
Creating an Irresistible Offer Without Discounting
So how do you have an irresistible offer that grabs attention while still being profitable?
Here’s what you typically see in our space. You see it everywhere. You see it online. You see it on Google ads. You see it on Facebook ads. You see it on mailers.
Everyone’s doing the same thing. “10% off.” “50% off your first service.” “$29 initial.” “$47 initial.”
I’m not the discount guy. I hate giving discounts.
We talked about this in previous posts. As soon as you give someone a discount, that same customer is always going to want a discount. They see you as a discounted service. They have no emotional buy in whatsoever.
I’ve found that the higher the price you charge out of the gate, the more emotionally attached they’re going to be. Like, “Ooh, that hurt a little bit.” They must be charging those prices for a reason. They must be good.
But if you’re giving them something super cheap, giving them a discount, and then you expect them to see you as a premium service? That’s not how psychology works.
I like to charge more and be a premium service from day one.
Value Stacking Instead of Discounting
So I don’t like to give away discounts. What I like to do instead is value stacking.
If you’ve read Dan Kennedy books or Russell Brunson, they talk about this. Dan Kennedy calls them widgets. It’s the same concept.
Value stacking is: what things can you do on the property that will add so much value that the customer just can’t say no?
You make saying no stupid.
Value Stacking Examples That Work
Let me give you some easy examples.
Lawn Care Value Stack
Let’s say you offer fertilizing. You offer them a free aeration, a free overseeding, and a free soil test after the first service.
“You sign up with us, you get all this stuff for free.”
Now you’re out there. You do your normal service. You add on additional services that are super easy to do while you’re already there.
Pest Control Value Stack
Let’s use a pest control example. You go out there and do the initial service. Now they get a free flea and tick treatment.
You’re spraying the lawn with the general pest service. You’re doing maybe a free mosquito treatment and a free lawn treatment. Both of those you can do at the same exact time. You can spray the lawn with your fogger for mosquitoes at the same time you’re doing pest control.
It’s not going to cost you too much extra time. You just gained this customer who’s willing to pay full price. You took a little bit of extra time and a little bit of product, and you’re done.
Now, a month later, that customer says, “Well, I have more mosquitoes.”
You didn’t sell them mosquito service yet. But you already did the first mosquito treatment for free. It worked really good.
What do you think they’re going to do? They’re going to call you back and say, “Hey, I want another mosquito treatment.”
Now you’ve got an upsell without even trying.
Why Value Stacking Works Better Than Discounts
You can essentially charge the price that you want to, and while you’re already out there, you’re providing a value stack. Additional services like mosquito control or bait boxes.
You’re already out there providing those extra services, so it doesn’t cost you a whole lot of extra money. But you’re getting what you want in the pricing. The customer’s getting what they want. And they’re also getting that value.
You’re not discounting services. You’re just value stacking the services you want to offer them in the future.
You already put this in their head. “Oh, that service is really cool. I should get that again.”
But it fades off after 21 days or a month. They think, “Awesome, I got this super cool mosquito thing I didn’t sign up for right now. But a month later I have a ton of mosquitoes. I need that thing.”
They call you back up and sign up for the next service.
Or in the meantime, you hit them with an email or text campaign talking about that mosquito service. They’re like, “Oh yeah, I do have mosquitoes. Cool. I need to get back on that thing. It worked really good.”
Why Discounts Don't Work Anymore
A lot of people ask me, “Why doesn’t the 10% off or 50% off thing work?”
I think it’s just been overused at this point. It means almost nothing. If I see a “10% off” thing, I don’t even look at it. It’s just overused.
Kind of like guarantees. Guarantees are overused too. We’ll get into USPs later and how to convey a guarantee without actually saying “I guarantee your service.”
Everyone guarantees their product these days. If you don’t, that’s just not smart business. If someone says, “You give a free guarantee? What happens if this doesn’t work?” I’m like, “I’m still going to come back whether I give this thing away for free or not.”
But there’s messaging around that we’ll talk about later when we cover unique selling propositions.
My thought on discounts is this: the playbook is old school. It just doesn’t work anymore. People buy on value, not on price these days.
The more value you give them, the easier it is to sign those customers up.
How to Price, Offer, and Bundle for Your Pest Control Company
If I were structuring pricing and offers from scratch today, here’s exactly what I’d do:
- Figure out your break even point – Know your costs, overhead, and what you need to charge
- Charge premium prices from day one – Don’t discount to attract customers
- Use monthly billing strategically – Easier to sell, but watch for higher cancellations
- Consider prepayment discounts – Get your cash back faster (this is different from service discounts)
- Value stack instead of discounting – Give away additional services while you’re already there
- Create emotional buy in – Higher prices create more commitment
- Plant seeds for future upsells – Give them a taste of services they didn’t buy yet
- Follow up with email and text – Remind them about the value you provided
If you’re not doing an irresistible offer, you need to be doing one. It’s going to get you a lot more clients coming through the door. You don’t have to discount your services. You can make a lot of profitability and get volume coming in too.
We talk about pricing strategies like this all the time in our free Facebook group, Pest Control Millionaires. Over 2,000 active pest control owners sharing what works, asking questions, and helping each other build profitable offers that don’t rely on discounts.
And if you want the complete guide to building a pest control company that dominates your local market, check out Zip Code Kings. Danny, Jake, and I break down everything from pricing to value stacking to creating offers people actually want to buy. It’s the pest control marketing bible.
The bottom line? Stop competing on price. Start competing on value. Your profit margins will thank you.
