Lane’s Pest Control

Lane’s First experience with professional pest control was in the early ’70’s when he was working in Memphis for a grocery distributor. He had rodents in his warehouse and was determined to get rid of them. He hired a company called “Bugs Burger” to handle the problem. Lane was interested in what Bugs Burger was doing to solve the problem, and he found out that he had a genuine interest in rodent biology and what to do to get rid of the critters. Little did he know…

When Lane moved to Myrtle Beach in the early ’80’s he had met a man through his Christian networking. They formed a partnership. One of their customers in Murrells Inlet actually threw Lane out of his restaurant because the company was not taking care of the problem. By 1985 Lane was done and determined to start his own company. They dissolved the partnership and Lanes Professional Pest Control Inc. was born. Lane’s Friend, Dave Carney, allowed Lane to work under his license until he could take the test. Lane had talked to Holiday Inn in Surfside and they had already promised him that if he started his own business they would come with him. That first contract is in our lobby.

Lane did not forget about the company that threw him out and went to see him repeatedly. He told him something that he would tell a lot of prospective customers: let me do the service and I will not charge you, and if you, and if you do not like what I do I will never bother you again. His desire to provide excellent service, his perseverance, and his kindness to people was what grew his company. He started with one truck and $168 in the bank. It was hard to find a supplier willing to take a chance on a fledgling little company, but Wheeler Buff of Carolina PCO Supply was willing to take a chance on Lane and sold him the equipment and chemicals he needed on credit. Lane worked out of his apartment and rented a storage unit for his chemicals and equipment. As his customer base grew he took on one guy to help him.

When his wife came on the scene in Dec. 1989 Lane had a real office, the end unit where we now store chemicals. He had 5 trucks and 4 techs. He had enough night work to work 2 nights a week, Tues. and Thurs. nights. Every Friday she typed up 7 payroll checks. By this time Lane had changed the name from Lane’s Professional Pest Control to Lane’s Professional Pest Elimination. He worked 7 days a week, and never refused to help someone with a pest problem. He was dedicated, determined, had a desire to do the very best work anyone had ever seen, and he was kind and understanding with his customers.

Today, Lanes Professional Pest Elimination has over 60 Employees and 45 trucks on the road. The continued success of the company is due to the priorities that Lane set in 1985: Provide ultimate pest and termite service quality.