What We Do
Pest Control
Residential and commercial pest control for ants, cockroaches, spiders, termites, mosquitoes, fleas and ticks, stinging insects, rodents, and more. Monthly, quarterly, and one-time treatment options available.
Wildlife Removal
Humane trapping and removal of raccoons, squirrels, bats, snakes, skunks, opossums, birds, and groundhogs. TWRA-certified technicians handle every removal in compliance with Tennessee regulations.
Exclusion and Repair
Animal proofing, structural damage repair, attic restoration, and dead animal removal. We seal your home after wildlife removal so the problem doesn't come back.
Remembering Where We Came From
I grew up on a farm in North Knox County. I always knew I'd work with animals, but the path by which that would happen didn't go as planned.
My first career move was a job in Large Animal Clinical Sciences at the University of Tennessee, working at a teaching and research farm for the veterinary school. After a few years, an opportunity came along that I hadn't considered before, and I accepted a position with a local pest control company. I found out quickly that I loved service work. It felt good to go out every day, solve problems, and help people find peace in their own homes.
My fifteen years there taught me a lot about the pest control industry, including what I'd do differently if I ever had the chance. Over time, wildlife problems would pop up that a pest control technician just isn't equipped to handle, so I started moonlighting in wildlife control to help my clients. That was the beginning of our story.
The Timeline
While on a fishing trip with a friend (current wildlife technician, Mickey) to Douglas Lake, the idea of starting a wildlife control company first came up.
Like most Americans at the time, I was worried about the economy. With the recession showing what was to come, I was too afraid to spend money building a company from the ground up. I continued helping clients and friends, but growth wasn't part of the plan.
With the encouragement of a client, I began to expand my operations and saw a glimpse of what could be: a full-service wildlife and pest control company that excelled at complete structural pest control.
Using a gas-guzzling, one-ton F350, borrowed ladders, and homeowner-quality Havahart traps, I made a Facebook page and started running more jobs.
Home-printed business cards. Saving every dime for new gear. Dreaming of quitting my full-time job to pursue my vision of what this industry should be. I sold the F350 and used the money to buy a newer truck, some new equipment, and build up savings for the company.
A buddy was helping me part-time and we landed our largest job to date: a massive fitness center. After we completed it, we celebrated with a steak lunch at the Black Horse. That's why we still celebrate our successes there today.
I knew at that point I was going out on my own. I also knew we'd need more help. Enter Marty and the addition of another service truck.
In the beginning of 2014, Marty and I took any job we could. We remodeled a barn. We trimmed trees. I left my full-time job in February and studied like crazy to pass the Pest License exam. I did, and we never looked back.
2014 was a blur of success and hard lessons learned. As the newest pest control company in Powell, finding work was a grind. I poured over marketing books and every job we got was hard-earned. We weren't sure of anything except the need to keep moving forward.
We probably wouldn't be here today if we hadn't hired Marty. 2014 was a dogfight, plain and simple.
Something clicked in January. Either our hard work paid a dividend or our luck changed overnight. We suddenly had more work than we were equipped to handle.
Thoughts of that day on the lake eight years earlier kept coming to me, and I felt like I was being led to call Mickey. As luck would have it, he agreed to try it out a few days a week, then took his own leap of faith and came on full-time. We outfitted another service truck in March and off they went.
Sales boomed that year. Success in this industry comes from serving your clients the way they want to be served. That's always been our goal, and my guys are good at it.
Our first thought was Steve. We got him on board in February. Mickey hit full stride in his second year, and Steve rode with him and learned as they went. They did a great job. We couldn't have handled the larger jobs without the extra help.
We grew pest control to the point that Marty moved over to help on that side, with Mickey and Steve picking up the slack on wildlife. We kept serving our clients better than the competition, and we kept growing.
Where We Are Today
A lot has changed since those early days with borrowed ladders and an F350. What started as a wildlife control side hustle has grown into a full-service pest control and wildlife removal company with a team of trained technicians, a fleet of service trucks, and over 450 five-star Google reviews from homeowners and businesses across the Greater Knoxville area.
We've expanded from wildlife into residential and commercial pest control, termite treatment, and full exclusion and repair services. But the approach hasn't changed. We still show up, solve the problem, and treat every client the way we'd want to be treated.
What began as a story about me has turned into the story of us. There have been many triumphs and failures along the way. That's how we've learned and gotten better at everything we do. I feel blessed every day to be the leader of such a great team.
If you've got a pest or wildlife problem, we're just a call away.
— Matt Chitwood, Owner
