Pest Control Terms: A Glossary for Sales Reps

New reps pick up pest control terms fast because everyone around them uses the words like they’ve always known them. Homeowners don’t know them, though, and a rep who repeats jargon without being able to explain it loses people quickly.

This glossary covers the terms you’ll hear most in pest control sales, grouped by topic. Definitions are general. Your company may use some of these words differently, so always check your own plan sheets, agreement and approved language. If you’re just getting started, read how to become a pest control salesman too.

What are the most common pest control service terms?

The most common service terms describe when a technician visits and what happens on that visit. These are the words a homeowner most needs you to explain clearly.

Term	What it means
Initial service	The first visit on a new account. It may be more involved than later visits and may be priced differently.
Recurring service	Scheduled visits that repeat on a set interval under a service plan.
One-time service	A single visit with no ongoing plan, if the company offers it.
Quarterly	Generally four scheduled visits a year.
Bi-monthly	Generally a visit every other month. Confirm this with your company, since people use the word loosely.
Re-service	A return visit between regular appointments. Whether it’s included depends on the plan.
Callback	Another word many companies use for a customer-requested return visit.
Exterior service	Work performed around the outside of the home, such as the foundation, entry points and eaves.
Interior service	Work performed inside the home, when included or requested.
De-webbing	Removing webs from eaves and other exterior areas during a visit.
Add-on	A service sold beyond the base plan, such as mosquito, rodent or termite work.
Exclusion	Sealing gaps and entry points so pests have fewer ways in.

What do pest control product terms mean?

Product terms describe what a technician uses and how it works in general. You should recognize these words, but product questions from homeowners belong with the label, your company’s approved language and the licensed technician.

Term	What it means
Active ingredient	The part of a product that acts on the target pest.
Product label	The printed directions and precautions for a product. It’s the document to point to when a homeowner has product questions.
Safety Data Sheet (SDS)	A technical document with hazard and handling information for a product. Your company can tell you how to access it.
Residual	A product that remains on a surface for a period after application. Don’t quote how long.
Bait	A product pests feed on or carry, rather than one sprayed on a surface.
Granular	A product in small granules, often used in lawns or landscape beds.
Insect growth regulator (IGR)	A product designed to interfere with an insect’s development.
Integrated pest management (IPM)	An approach that combines inspection, identification, reducing what attracts pests, and treatment when needed.

The Service and Treatment Types module in the Pro Certification has lessons titled Types of Services, Types of Products, Product Safety – Kids and Pets, Treating Different Areas, and Pest Service Pricing.

What pest and home terms should reps know?

Reps should know the terms that describe where pests live, how they get in, and what homeowners may notice. Knowing a word doesn’t qualify you to diagnose anything. Use these to follow what a homeowner or technician is telling you.

• Harborage: a place where pests can hide or live, like wood piles or dense plants against a wall.
• Conducive conditions: things around a home that make it more attractive to pests, such as moisture or wood touching soil.
• Entry point: a gap, crack or opening a pest can use to get inside.
• Pest pressure: how much pest activity an area tends to have. It shifts with season, weather and surroundings.
• Crawlers: an informal word for pests that walk rather than fly, such as some beetles or millipedes.
• Occasional invaders: pests that wander into homes at times but don’t usually live there year-round.
• Swarmers: winged reproductive insects, such as termites or ants, seen when they leave a colony. Identifying them is a job for a licensed pro.
• Mud tubes: narrow tunnels of soil that some termites build. A licensed inspector needs to confirm what they are.
• Frass: waste or debris left behind by wood-boring insects and some termites.
• Wood-destroying organism (WDO): a general term for insects and fungi that damage wood. It often comes up around home sales, and requirements vary, so refer those questions to your company.

See how to explain pest problems to homeowners for how to talk about these without alarming anyone.

What do pest control sales terms mean?

Pest control sales terms describe the people you talk to and the steps in the conversation. Some are industry-wide and others vary by team, so listen to how your manager uses them.

Prospecting terms

• Canvassing: working an area in person to start conversations with homeowners.
• Area or territory: the set of streets assigned to a rep or team.
• Fresh door: a homeowner who doesn’t currently have a pest control company.
• Switchover: a homeowner who has a company and chooses to move to yours. Read our guide to pest control switchovers before you work one.
• Signs of life: clues that someone is home or lives at a property, like cars or lights.
• Bandwagon: telling a homeowner, truthfully, that others nearby use your company. Never imply a neighbor’s approval that you don’t have.
• Inside sales: selling by phone or online rather than in person.
• Speed to lead: how quickly a company responds after a homeowner reaches out.

Conversation terms

• Hook: the opening that gives someone a reason to keep listening.
• Feature: something the service includes.
• Benefit: why that feature matters to this homeowner.
• Pain point: the problem the homeowner wants solved.
• Walkthrough: looking around the property with the homeowner, with their permission, to talk through what they’ve noticed.
• Objection: a reason the homeowner gives for not moving forward.
• Smoke screen: an early brush-off, such as “I’m busy,” that may not be the real concern.
• Reclose: asking for the sale again after addressing an objection. Stop when someone has given you a clear no.
• Isolating: confirming that an objection is the main thing holding someone back.
• Close: asking for the decision.
• Check-out: completing the agreement and confirming details after someone says yes.
• Referral: a new prospect introduced by a current customer.

The pest-specific lessons in the course use several of these terms in their titles. If you want to hear objections worked through, our guide to pest control sales objections is the next stop.

What do pest control agreement and billing terms mean?

Agreement and billing terms describe what the homeowner signs and pays. Read your actual agreement, because these details differ by company and rules vary by state.

• Service agreement: the written contract describing the service, price and terms.
• Term: how long the agreement runs.
• Renewal: how and whether the agreement continues after the term ends.
• Cancellation terms: how an agreement can be ended and what that may involve. Read them from the agreement and don’t paraphrase from memory.
• Autopay: an automatic charge to a card or account on a set schedule.
• Warranty or bond: a company’s written commitment, common with termite work. Use the exact wording in the document.
• Cancel or churn: customers leaving. Churn is the owner’s word for the overall loss of accounts.
• Retention: keeping customers over time.

Who does what in a pest control company?

Many pest control companies separate selling from applying products, and reps need to know that line. Titles vary by company, and licensing rules vary by state, so ask your company or check with the state regulator.

• Sales rep: starts conversations, explains the service and sets up accounts.
• Technician: performs the service at the home.
• Licensed applicator: a person licensed to apply pest control products, under whatever rules apply locally.
• Inspector: the licensed pro who evaluates a home for issues like termites.
• Service manager: oversees technicians and scheduling.

The Understanding the Pest Industry module has lessons titled Types of Pest Companies, Fresh Doors, Switchovers and Market Type if you want to see how these ideas fit together.

Which words should reps avoid with homeowners?

Reps should avoid words that promise a result or make a safety claim, because those are claims you can’t back up and may not be allowed to make. Here are the main ones and what to do instead.

Avoid saying	Why	Do this instead
“Safe,” “non-toxic,” “kid safe,” “pet safe”	These are safety claims about pesticides.	Use approved language, the label, and the licensed technician.
“Guaranteed”	It promises something only a written agreement can define.	Describe what the service includes and point to the agreement.
“You have an infestation”	You aren’t the one to diagnose it.	Share what you can see and let a technician assess it.
“Your contract is void”	You can’t know that, and it’s a dangerous thing to say.	Ask them to check their existing agreement.
“Your other company doesn’t do anything”	Disparaging a competitor hurts your credibility.	Explain what your service includes.

How should reps use this glossary?

Reps should use this glossary to learn each word well enough to explain it simply, then swap in their company’s exact definitions. Follow these steps.

1. Go through each list and mark any term you can’t explain from memory.
2. Check those terms against your plan sheet and agreement.
3. Ask your manager about anything your company uses differently.
4. Practice explaining service terms out loud as if talking to a homeowner.

When you are ready for structured training, the Apprentice Certification starts with the fundamentals.