by Brianna Crandall — November 24, 2017 — Rentokil North America recently announced the acquisition of Vector Disease Acquisition, LLC, a holding company with the largest mosquito control and lake management service divisions in the United States. The acquisition greatly expands Rentokil North America’s expertise in the mosquito control field and adds to the company’s offerings with a robust lake service division.
Vector Disease Control International is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, with over 50 offices in 31 states. It serves the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and municipal customers such as cities, counties and mosquito abatement districts, and specializes in performing annual programs that protect the public from vector-borne diseases such as Zika virus, West Nile virus, yellow fever, malaria and dengue fever.
SOLitude Lake Management serves customers on the East Coast from New England to Florida and also serves Texas and Colorado. SOLitude provides a variety of annual recurring services, including controlling invasive aquatic vegetation and algae in lakes and ponds owned by municipal, state and federal government agencies and private entities such as lake associations, golf courses, corporations and private homeowner associations. The Lake Management division is the largest of its type in North America, says Rentokil.
In line with this acquisition, Rentokil North America is establishing a new Global Center of Excellence in Mosquito Control. Factors such as climate change and increased global travel make the transmission of vector-borne diseases an increased public health concern, raising the importance of mosquito control in the overall pest management market and heightening the need for experts in the field.
John Myers, president and CEO, Rentokil North America, stated:
Mosquito control is a vital part of Rentokil North America’s services, and adding Vector Disease Control to our portfolio and establishing our center of excellence makes our business even stronger. Both VDCI and SOLitude enhance Rentokil’s mission of protecting people and enhancing lives. Acquiring the lake services division adds to our growing list of capabilities with an entirely new service category.
Jason Pananos, co-owner of Vector Disease Acquisition, remarked:
We look forward to a smooth transition as we integrate our business into the Rentokil North America family and become a part of their Global Center of Excellence in Mosquito Control. Our team anticipates continuing to provide quality service to our customers throughout the country.
Jay Davis, co-owner of Vector Disease Acquisition, added:
Vector Disease Control and SOLitude Lake Management will be great additions to Rentokil North America and will help us reach new customers. The family of companies has a sterling reputation for service and expertise and we’re proud to become part of the team.
This acquisition adds more than 250 fulltime employees and an additional 350 seasonal employees to the Rentokil North America family.
Rentokil North America, which is the parent company of Rentokil Steritech and regional pest control brands Western Exterminator, Presto-X Pest Control and J.C. Ehrlich Pest Control, provides commercial and residential pest control to customers in the US, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Central America through its expertly trained team of specialists.
These pest control companies have an approach that focuses on a specialist/customer partnership to ensure the highest quality pest control service, providing a comprehensive pest management solution that encompasses pest control, mosquito, termite and bed bug inspections, vegetation management, bird management solutions, fumigations, and lake management services.
Rentokil North America also operates Ambius, the global interior landscaping company, and Steritech, a provider of food safety and operational excellence assessment programs to food businesses. Rentokil North America is a division of Rentokil Initial plc, a major business services company operating globally in over 70 countries.
