Our Story – Paladin Pest Control

Who We Are

The pest industry was fundamentally broken.

At least, that was the conclusion I came to after working for seven pest companies over a span of 18 years.

All of them had the same issues. All their employees were underpaid and overworked, sometimes laboring 70 hours a week in blistering temperatures during the summer.

Almost every company was willing to work in severe weather. Heavy rainfall, flooding, tornado warnings, you name it.

Only icy roads were an exception, not because it was best for the customers or the technicians, but because there was risk to the trucks. 

The customers were mere numbers.

The companies knew exactly how to control them.

Bogus deals to get them locked into a year-long contract.

Some of the companies would employ gimmicks that harmed properties more than they helped.

One dubious tactic involved installing termite monitors, which were nothing but cardboard and a wooden stake to tether them to the ground.

It was sold as an early warning system, but was actually providing termites exactly what they wanted, easy access to soft wood right next to the home.

Searching for Something Better

For almost two decades, I went from company to company, believing the next would be better.

Surely, somewhere there had to be a good pest company, right?

But after seven bitter disappointments, I realized the company I was looking for did not exist. It needed to be built.

I did not want to start a business. It was too risky. I was certain that if I attempted it, I would crash and burn.

I didn’t know how to sell and financial ruin would be my legacy.

On the other hand, if I continued to work for a broken system…didn’t that make me complicit?

Eventually I had to choose between an uncomfortable risk and being able to look at myself in the mirror.

And so Paladin Pest Control was born.

Funding The Future

Unlike many pest control owners who came from sales backgrounds (and were paid handsomely for it), I came from the humbler technician side of the industry.

I didn’t have much capital, so I leveraged my retirement savings.

The money disappeared faster than I could have imagined and for two years my family lived on ramen noodles and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

It probably didn’t help that every time someone called I would answer the phone in a panic and practically talk them out of my services. “You want to hire me?” I would ask incredulously.

But miraculously, business picked up, and although I did fall on my face more times than I would like to admit, I soon learned that mistakes were part of the process.

Why the name Paladin?

At first, I didn’t know what my company was supposed to be.

I had named it after the knights of Charlemagne, his legendary warriors called Paladins.

Eventually, we figured out that Paladin stood out due to three principles.

Our Three Principles

First, we believe honesty is the bedrock of business.

Of course, every company claims that, but we put it into practice by listing our pest control prices on our website so no one ever has to guess.

We also utterly reject the use of contracts and allow our clients to cancel service for any reason.

We had a woman switch to us once who was so desperate to escape her contract that she told her previous company she was moving. Their response? “Prove it.”

A good company should be able to keep clients because they’ve earned their business, not because a contract forces them to stay.

Second, we believe that by treating our employees right, they will naturally want to take care of our customers.

At companies I worked for, technicians could be expected to service anywhere from 20–26 houses a day.

At Paladin, we treat our technicians like skilled professionals and only schedule half the stops.

That, of course means we generate less profit, but it also means our clients aren’t getting tired, disgruntled technicians showing up at their homes.

Every job is done with the care it deserves.

Third, since we are a technician-owned company, we have the advantage of smarter, more responsible treatments.

I once took on a new client who asked if we were going to spray the whole yard like her last company.

I replied that we would not, because the product label didn’t allow for that kind of application, and unnecessarily treating an entire yard could have consequences for the surrounding environment.

She sighed with relief, and revealed that the last company had killed her lawn and a couple of trees.

We don’t make treatment protocols based on what sounds impressive to a client.

Our decisions are based on what will be most effective pest control while minimizing risks to people, pets, and the ecosystem.

The Company I Was Looking For

Paladin has since been voted Best of Hays three years in a row. We have gone from a tiny startup to a trusted business in the community.

I spent years looking for a pest company I could believe in, and now the search is over.

If you are reading this, then hopefully your search has reached a conclusion as well.

Welcome to a new way of doing pest control.