What is my pest control business worth?

Pest control earns one of the highest revenue multiples among service trades because so much of it is recurring. Large national acquirers (Rollins, Rentokil, Anticimex and others) buy actively, but mostly above about $500K of EBITDA.

Avg SDE multiple

2.46×

Typical range

1.69–3×

Avg revenue multiple

1.01×

Median sale price

$250K

BizBuySell industry row: Pest Control Businesses, plus BizBuySell's pest-control sold-business quartiles. Range is BizBuySell's sold-business lower to upper quartile (median 2.04×). Source: BizBuySell — Business Valuation Multiples by Industry (businesses sold Q3 2021–Q2 2026); BizBuySell — Pest Control Business Valuation Benchmarks (sold 2021–2025).

Value your pest control business

Let's estimate what your business is worth. Seven quick questions, no email needed.

Trade: Pest control ·

Which state is it in?

Worked example

Hypothetical. A residential pest company with about 1,200 recurring quarterly accounts. The owner still runs a route two days a week.

Revenue $400,000, owner earnings (SDE) $140,000, 11 years, about 70% recurring, “I work in it part of the time”.
Start at the published 2.46× average.
Recurring revenue 60%+: +0.25×. Contracts and memberships make next year's revenue predictable.
11 years in business: +0.10×. Long, proven history.
Owner earnings $75K–$150K: -0.10×. Below the typical sold main-street business.
Adjusted multiple 2.71× × $140,000 = $379,000, range $267,000 – $475,000.
Revenue cross-check: $400,000 × 1.01× = $404,000.

What raises the price

Quarterly or monthly service plans on autopay
Termite renewals and bonds
Commercial accounts (restaurants, property managers)
Licensed applicators besides the owner

What lowers it

Mostly one-time treatments
Owner as the only certified applicator
Customer concentration
Old vehicles and no routing software

Calculating SDE for a pest control business

Start from net profit on your tax return or P&L, then add back:

Owner salary
Personal vehicle
Depreciation
One-time legal or licensing costs

Only add back what a buyer can verify. If there are two working owners, the second owner's salary usually stays as a cost, because a buyer will need to replace that person.

Questions

Why do pest control multiples vary so much?

BizBuySell's sold pest-control businesses ranged from about 1.69× (lower quartile) to 3.00× (upper quartile) SDE. Recurring accounts and size explain most of the gap.

Compare other trades

Trade	Avg SDE multiple	Avg revenue multiple	Median sale price	Basis
Plumbing	2.61×	0.69×	$699,000	Trade row
HVAC	2.83×quartiles 1.99–3.33×	0.60×	$750,000	Trade row
Electrical	2.77×	0.63×	$1,009,000	Trade row
Landscaping	2.49×	0.72×	$449,950	Trade row
Pool service / routes	2.61×	0.83×	—	Sector average (no trade row)
Pest control	2.46×quartiles 1.69–3×	1.01×	$250,000	Trade row
Cleaning	2.25×	0.72×	$281,500	Trade row
Roofing	2.65×	0.59×	$750,500	Sector average (no trade row)
Auto repair	2.85×	0.65×	$430,000	Trade row
Salon / barbershop	2.10×	0.52×	$117,375	Trade row
Other main-street business	2.61×	0.83×	$350,000	General main-street range

Source: BizBuySell, Business Valuation Multiples by Industry, businesses sold Q3 2021–Q2 2026; quartiles from BizBuySell's HVAC and pest-control benchmark pages (sold 2021–2025). Pool and roofing use sector averages; “Other” uses the Service Businesses sector. Retrieved Oct 30, 2026.

Estimates for information only; not an appraisal or an offer. MainStreetKeys is not a business broker. Data retrieved Oct 30, 2026.