Hello, pest control.
$6.8 billion
NPMA's estimate of yearly termite damage to U.S. property
Source: National Pest Management Association Read November 12, 2026
How to find pest control leads
The list draws from deed filings and covers buyers who recently closed on a home. Standard home inspection guidelines leave pests out, so a buyer could close on a home without a pest inspection. Each home purchase with people moving into the home fills one row. Rows list a mailing name, address, sale price and deed date, and can name more than one buyer.
Where pest control leads come from
| Source | Pays for | Published price | Shared or exclusive |
|---|---|---|---|
| USPS Every Door Direct Mail | Postage per piece | $0.26 per piece | Does not apply |
| Service Direct | Each call or form lead | $40 to $195 | Exclusive (no published terms) |
| Thumbtack | Each lead, price set by the pro | Not published | Shared with up to 5 pros |
| Angi (HomeAdvisor) | Leads by subscription, per lead or bundle | Not published | Shared with multiple pros |
| Networx | Each lead | Not published | Exclusive (no published terms) |
| Porch | Each project request or subscription | Not published | Shared with up to 4 pros |
| Google Local Services Ads | Each valid lead, auction priced | Not published | You are chosen directly; customer may contact others |
| Yelp Ads | Monthly ad budget | From $150 a month | Does not apply |
| Nextdoor | Ads or monthly alerts subscription | Not published | Does not apply |
USPS Every Door Direct Mail covers every household on the carrier routes you pick; the business pays postage per piece.
Service Direct treats missed calls and voicemail as billable leads. A business on Service Direct's Marketplace program has 7 days from when a lead arrives to request review. Thumbtack issues an automatic refund when the customer hasn't replied in 72 hours; it also caps how many pros each customer can reach in the first 4 hours.
Networx lists pest control under the category name Exterminators. Its sign-up page title includes the word "exclusive" but no published terms say what that means.
Yelp Ads charge by the month: you set a budget and Yelp spends it on clicks in search results and on competitor pages. Yelp's Request a Quote feature, separate from Yelp Ads, sends a homeowner's project to multiple businesses. Nextdoor's Opportunity Alerts are a monthly subscription; you get a text or email when a neighbor in your area posts that they need a service you offer.
What a home inspection leaves open about pests
InterNACHI and ASHI both exclude pest checks from their inspection standards. Under InterNACHI's, the inspector is not required to look for evidence of rodents, insects or other pests. ASHI's standards extend the same exclusion to wood-destroying organisms and other organisms and substances that may be harmful to people.
A termite inspection is a separate service. NPMA recommends buyers ask for a wood-destroying organism (WDO) inspection by a licensed pest control professional before signing. The association's wood-destroying insect report form covers termites, carpenter ants, carpenter bees and reinfesting wood-boring beetles. Pest professionals call for annual termite inspections.
Common pests, their signs and where they get in
The 2019 American Housing Survey found that 11.9% of occupied U.S. households had seen rodents in the previous year and 11.3% had seen roaches. Rodents were more common in owner-occupied homes than rented ones, and more likely where the home had structural problems.
A Harris Poll for NPMA in 2022 measured something different: 49% of all U.S. homeowners reported issues with rodents in their home, and 14% reported an infestation.
Neither survey covered new owners as a separate group.
Two signs of rodent presence, named by the CDC, are droppings and gnaw marks.
Mice can fit through a hole the width of a pencil.
The CDC says to check around the pipes leading to water heaters and furnaces, in the roof among the rafters, gables, eaves, and soffits, and between the foundation of the home and the ground. If rodents get into areas of the home that cannot be reached to clean, the CDC says homeowners can contact a pest control specialist.
Most people don't know they have termites until they see a swarm or find damage during construction. To the untrained eye, the signs may be difficult to spot. Termites often eat wood from the inside out, so the structure can look undamaged. Signs include flying swarmers (often confused with flying ants), mud shelter tubes, wood that sounds hollow when tapped, discarded wings near doors and windowsills, and blistered paint on wooden surfaces. Termiticide usually requires a trained pest management professional to apply it properly. Firms offering termite services must be licensed by your state.
NPMA calls summer peak pest season.
Pest control direct mail: a sample plan
- The list arrives Monday at 8am in each market's own time zone.
- Time each card to the pest seasons where you work. Pest control pages for covered states carry seasonal calendars. See coverage areas.
- A card for a new owner can carry NPMA's prevention steps. The association recommends keeping firewood at least 20 feet from the home and 5 inches off the ground, and keeping wood mulch at least 15 inches from the foundation.
- Mail First-Class while the season you're targeting is open. USPS delivers in 1 to 5 days. Lob quotes 5 to 7 business days for First-Class delivery.
Sample row
This row is made up. It carries no real person, address or sale. Year built, square feet and permit history are filled only where a county or city publishes them.
Example
- Recorded
recorded_date - 2026-11-10
- Deed date
deed_date - 2026-11-02
- Mailing name
mailing_name - Pat and Casey Sample
- Address
address - 500 Example Ln
- City
city - Sampletown
- State
state - XX
- ZIP
zip - 00000
- Unit number
has_unit_number - no
- Condo unit
condo_unit - no (guessed from address)
- Sale price
price - 350000
- Year built
year_built - 1975
- Square feet
square_feet - 1600
- Last roof permit
last_roof_permit - not covered
- Last HVAC permit
last_hvac_permit - not covered
- County
county - Example County
- Source
data_source - Public property records, version 2026-11-12
What it costs to mail new homeowners
Each new owner costs the plan price split across how many you get monthly, plus one postcard.
Example Enter how many new owners a month you expect in the ZIP codes you would buy. An estimate is fine. The Coverage page links each covered county, and county and city pages show counts for the last 90 days and the last 12 months. Divide the first by three or the second by twelve for a monthly figure. A county's or city's count covers every ZIP in it, so take your ZIP codes' share.
Starts at $0.905, Lob's four-by-six-inch First-Class card on the free plan. Type your own cost to change it.
Replace with your own numbers to see your costs.
- Local plan, per month
- $49
- List cost per new owner
- = $49 ÷ new owners
- List plus postcard, per new owner
- = $49 ÷ new owners + $0.905
- Monthly total, list and postcards
- = $49 + $0.905 × new owners
Common questions about pest control marketing
- Does a home inspection cover termites?
Not by default. ASHI's inspection standards specifically exclude wood-destroying organisms; InterNACHI's don't require checking for pests either. A WDO inspection requires a licensed pest control professional.
- Does the list show which homes have pests?
No. The list carries no pest inspection results, no seller disclosures and no history of prior treatments or infestations.
- What are some pest control marketing ideas for new homeowners?
Print NPMA's recommendation that new homeowners add pest control to their to-do list. Pair it with a note that clogged gutters can let water pool and make insulation vulnerable to termites. List proper grading and drainage too, one of the EPA's termite prevention steps.
- How do you get pest control leads without paying per lead?
Google, Yelp, Nextdoor, Angi and Thumbtack each offer a free profile. Google allows review requests as long as you offer no reward. Yelp bans them. On Nextdoor, share your Fave link so verified neighbors can Fave your page. Angi and Thumbtack each sell leads too; businesses that pay rank above free profiles in Angi's directory.
- How fresh is the list?
Every row carries its deed date, so you can see how recent each sale is.
New single-family houses sold nationwide, 2025
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development via FRED, series HSN1FNSA Read November 12, 2026
A house counts in the month its contract is signed or its deposit accepted, not at closing. Not seasonally adjusted; existing homes (resales) not included.
Show table
| Month | New single-family houses sold nationwide, 2025 |
|---|---|
| January | 56,000 |
| February | 56,000 |
| March | 63,000 |
| April | 65,000 |
| May | 56,000 |
| June | 57,000 |
| July | 53,000 |
| August | 57,000 |
| September | 58,000 |
| October | 48,000 |
| November | 52,000 |
| December | 56,000 |
Coverage areas
The Coverage page lists every covered area, what a row carries there, and this trade's page for each state.