Why Pestmaster Sees Birmingham as the Perfect Market for Franchise Growth

Pestmaster, the 60-plus-unit pest management concept under the Threshold Brands umbrella, has identified Birmingham, Alabama, as a prime market for growth. And with four territories available and no locations yet in the state, prospective franchisees have the opportunity to bring a much-needed service to the area while benefiting from the backing of a major franchisor.

“Pest pressure in Birmingham is active year-round,” said Kieran Scott, President of Growth Brands. “Its warm climate and massive residential growth over the past decade has made it an attractive business opportunity for us. It's a small city with a lot of potential. And it has great demographics for us as well.”

According to Scott, the current environment of pest control providers in Birmingham is almost all mom-and-pop shops. This allows Pestmaster franchisees to come in with a bigger, more professional company in a smaller market. Due to factors such as business environment, access to resources and business costs, Birmingham was also ranked on WalletHub’s Best Large Cities to Start a Business list for 2022.

For Pestmaster, one of the major draws of the market is the weather. Like many cities in the Southeastern United States, Birmingham has a humid subtropical climate for much of the year. This makes it a very pest-friendly environment, meaning customers will engage in year-round pest management services. In fact, in the nearby state of Florida, the brand has had over two decades of success in cities such as Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Orlando, Miami, Palm Beach County and Lake City.

During periods of less demand associated with temperature drops, franchise owners will have the ability to leverage government contracts. Pestmaster is one of just a few pest control companies that have government contracts, and all government buildings have mandated pest control requirements. This provides franchisees with the ability to obtain recurring revenue while also filling the growing demand for commercial and residential services.

“Even during times of lower pest pressure, government contract work is always there,” said Scott. “The federal government mandates year-round pest control, so Birmingham franchise owners have an opportunity to secure contracts that will follow them through the entire year.”

For prospective franchise owners in Birmingham and around the country, Scott says the time has never been better to invest in Pestmaster. Over the past year, the brand underwent a visual transformation, conducted a major overhaul of its customer-facing website and implemented updated best practices for franchise owners. And with the pest control market being estimated at $26.2 billion in 2023, owners have the opportunity to capitalize on a booming industry.

Franchisees can also look forward to an extensive support network. Extensive training, technology, sales and marketing support all set new owners up for success while franchisees also have the opportunity to expand their existing portfolio to include other brands within the Threshold Brands family.

“There’s never been a more exciting time to look at buying Pestmaster,” said Scott. “We’ve done so much work over the past year on revamping the brand and website and implementing best practices for franchise owners. Now’s the time. We’re in a recession-resistant industry, and the government loves to infuse small businesses with money. Everything has just lined up perfectly.”