Pest Control Companies Reply to 58.4% of Google Reviews vs 40.5% for Local Businesses

A homeowner finds mouse droppings in the kitchen and wants someone out today. They search for pest control, look at the three companies Google shows on its map, and call the one that looks responsive: good reviews, a reply under each one, hours listed and a phone number that works. That listing is the Google Business Profile, the free profile that shows a business's reviews, rating, hours, phone number and website in Google Search and Maps.

Pest control is an urgent, trust-heavy purchase. The technician comes into the home, often with chemicals, and many customers sign up for a recurring plan. A company that answers its reviews shows it answers its customers, and a complete listing tells a stressed homeowner the company is real and reachable.

Pest control companies do this better than almost any other local business. They reply to 58.4% of their Google reviews, against a 40.5% average across 18 local business categories, and 36.5% never replied to any recent review, the lowest share of the 18. 5.5% of their listings are unclaimed, against a 29.2% average. The one weak spot is price: 39.1% of one-star reviews mention cost.

We used two samples of US pest control companies, collected on September 23, 2026. The first is 706 pest control company Google Business Profiles, where we recorded the number of reviews, star rating, website, opening hours, description, claim status, business categories and photos. The second is 553 pest control companies with at least one review, for which we collected up to 20 of their newest Google reviews, 7,879 in all, with each review's star rating, text and any owner reply. We compare every pest control figure with the average of the 18 local business categories in the same study.

A profile is unclaimed when no owner has verified it with Google, so the business cannot edit the listing. A company "never replied" when none of its 20 newest reviews has a reply from the owner. Negative reviews are one- and two-star reviews. The median is the middle business: half have more, half have fewer. The 18-category average is the simple average of the 18 category figures.

That ranks 2nd of 18 categories, against a 40.5% average. 36.5% of pest control companies never replied to any of their 20 newest reviews, the lowest share of the 18, where the average is 52.8%. Those who reply are quick: 3.4 days on average and a median of 2 days, against a 4-day average across categories. The newest reviews get the most attention, with 72.2% of reviews from the last 30 days answered, against 55.3% on average.

Complaints get answered too: 43.6% of one- and two-star reviews have a reply, 2nd of 18 and well above the 30.8% average, though still below the 59.8% rate on five-star reviews. Across all 18 categories, the businesses with the most reviews reply the most: 20.5% of businesses with 200 or more reviews never reply, against 81.7% of businesses with fewer than 10.

47% of pest control profiles have fewer than 20 Google reviews, against a 58.2% average, and 30.9% have 100 or more, against 20%. The median company has 23.5 reviews, a little under the 27 median across categories, and 9.6% have none, about half the 18.3% average. The average rating is 4.64 stars, against 4.52, and 8.8% sit below 4 stars, against 13.8%.

Claimed pest control profiles have a median of 29 reviews against 2 for unclaimed ones. Smaller companies have stalled, though: among pest control companies with 20 or fewer lifetime reviews, review volume fell 3% over the last 12 months compared with the year before, and 26.8% received at least a third of their reviews in a single month.

Of English-language one-star pest control reviews, 39.1% mention price or cost and 15.8% mention rude or unprofessional staff. Recurring plans and repeat visits give customers more bills to question than a one-off job does. Of five-star reviews, 27.2% say "professional", 25.6% use the word "recommend" and 13.6% say "friendly". Reviews are short, averaging 29.4 words over the last 12 months, so a customer who writes a longer complaint stands out on the page.

5.5% of pest control profiles are unclaimed, against 29.2% on average, and 10.6% list no opening hours, against 28.6%. 26.9% have no description (43.9% on average) and 23.8% have no website (35.1%). Two fields lag: 72.5% list only one business category, against 55.2%, and the median profile has 11 photos against 18.

Because the listings are so complete, the map is competitive. In a separate Suff Digital study of 3,160 Google Maps searches across 79 US cities, the top three results for "pest control" had a median of 35 reviews, against 25 for listings ranked 4 to 20, and chains held 14.6% of top-three spots. Adding "near me" changed the top three in 29.1% of cities.

In a trade where most competitors already reply and fill in their listings, the basics no longer set you apart. Add secondary categories for every service you offer, such as termite control, wildlife removal or mosquito treatment, since 72.5% of pest control profiles list only one. Upload photos of your trucks, technicians and treatment work to pass the 11-photo median.

Answer price complaints with specifics: what the plan includes, why a callback was charged, and a way to talk it through. Keep asking for reviews after every visit so smaller branches do not stall, since review volume is what separates the top three map results from the rest.

Then track the companies in your own map results, not national figures. Suff Digital's local seo packages build review volume and complete Google Business Profiles for pest control companies.

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