Natural Products Find Their Niche

More PMPs reported using green products in customers’ homes than in any other type of accounts. Of those who use natural products, 88 percent said they use them in residential accounts, a third (34 percent) in schools and daycare centers, 28 percent in commercial office buildings, 26 percent in food-handling facilities and 21 percent in healthcare facilities. Fewer than one in five use them in government buildings and public institutions, food-processing and production plants, warehouse/storage sites and other types of accounts.

Whether they apply these products indoors, outdoors or both depends on the PMP, but a notable trend in 2026 is an increase in outdoor use: 46 percent of PMPs said they most often apply green products outdoors; that’s a 7 percent year-over-year increase. Thirty percent said they apply green products equally indoors and out, and 24 percent reported using them most often indoors.

Michael Clark of BUGSolutions of Tennessee, which specializes in servicing multi-family accounts, has found a place for natural products in very specific locations. “For us, the green approach is more about protocol than products. The repellent nature of some green products isn’t always ideal inside apartments because it can send pests running from one unit to another. We do like using wettable dust to drive cockroaches out from behind cabinets and fly mister systems using organic pesticides in trash compactor rooms. We also use green products for exterior perimeter applications to help keep ants out.”

Safe Chem Pest’s Tanner Bigler said his team uses certified organic products for every indoor residential treatment. “Beyond that, we give the customer the opportunity to choose the comfort level that fits them. If they’d like us to use some more traditional products to achieve longer-lasting efficacy and lower the cost, we’re happy to do that.”

Customers appreciate that empowerment, Bigler added. Ultimately, fewer than half of Safe Chem’s customers choose a 100 percent organic protocol, mostly because of the cost difference.

PREMIUM PRICING. Safe Chem Pest is among the 34 percent of pest management companies that charge more when they use natural products. The primary reason isn’t the cost of the products themselves, but rather the need for more frequent service calls. “We make sure customers understand that the additional visits and labor will cost them more,” Bigler said. “A completely organic program costs about 60 percent more than our conventional pest protocol.”

Jeff Davis of Nukingstreet Pest & Wildlife Control added, “It’s just like buying organic food from the supermarket. These produces are going to cost more, but the people who want it understand and accept that. Natural products get the job done, but because they may not be super long-lasting, they require additional visits. We need to bill the customers who choose organics for a premium service.”

ALL THE RIGHT REASONS. The most obvious reasons pest management companies are moving toward more natural product use are protecting the environment and safeguarding the health of customers, pets and service technicians who may come into contact with the products. Davis pointed out one more reason: Regulations are continuing to tighten, and PMPs need to be ready to use materials that are compliant with the new standards.

“If you consider what’s happening with rodenticides — restrictions on second-generation anticoagulants, for example — it’s easy to envision that eventually a lot of materials could be regulated out of the system,” Davis said. “Smart businesses will get ahead of that curve and be ready to pivot and provide alternate solutions for customers. We can prepare by learning the slightly different methodologies green products require and accepting that it may take a little more labor to produce the same results with them. We also need to rely more strongly on IPM ideas like exclusion and cultural controls as we move the industry forward.”