PestSure, the leading member-owned insurance and risk management program serving the pest management industry, today announced the appointment of Justin McCauley of McCauley Services and Bob Dold, Jr of Rose Pest Solutions, to its Board of Directors, while recognizing the retirement of longtime board member Russ Ives after 23 years of service.

McCauley and Dold bring decades of leadership experience and a deep commitment to advancing the pest management industry. As board members, they will help guide PestSure's strategic direction while supporting its mission of delivering industry-focused insurance solutions, proactive risk management resources, and long-term value to its member companies.

At the same time, PestSure recognizes the retirement of Russ Ives of Rose Pest Solutions of Troy, Michigan, from the Board of Directors after more than 20 years of dedicated service. Ives served on the PestSure Board from 2003 through 2026, helping shape the organization's growth and strengthening its position as a trusted partner for pest management professionals across the country.

"Justin and Bob are highly respected leaders who understand both the challenges and opportunities facing today's pest management companies," said Mike Rottler of Rottler Pest Solutions and Chairman of the PestSure Board of Directors. "Their operational expertise, strategic perspective, and commitment to our industry will be tremendous assets as PestSure continues to evolve and deliver innovative solutions that help our members protect their businesses and their employees."

Rottler also expressed appreciation for Ives' longstanding contributions to the organization.

"Russ has played an instrumental role in PestSure's success over the past 23 years," said Rottler. "His thoughtful leadership, steady guidance, and unwavering commitment to serving our members have helped shape the organization we are today. On behalf of the entire Board, we thank Russ for his extraordinary service and the lasting impact he has made on PestSure and the pest

Case Study: Building a Culture of Safe Driving - How Hulett Environmental Services Made No-Distraction the Standard

For many pest control companies, distracted driving policies are introduced in response to rising insurance costs or a close call on the road. At Hulett Environmental Services, the approach has been different. For more than two decades, the company has made safe driving a core part of its operations - not as a compliance requirement, but as a cultural expectation.

Today, with 212 employees and 161 vehicles operating across Florida’s east coast, Hulett’s long-standing commitment to eliminating distracted driving offers a clear example of what it takes to build - and sustain - a safety-first culture.

A 20-Year Commitment to Doing It Right

Hulett’s journey began more than 20 years ago with early in-vehicle monitoring technology. From the outset, leadership recognized that driving is not a secondary responsibility for technicians; it is a critical part of the job.

“Our technicians spend a lot of window time behind the wheel during the working day,” said Mike Fearns, vice president and general manager of Hulett’s Lawn and Pest Control Divisions. “We understood early on that if we were serious about protecting our employees and our customers, we needed to address driving behavior in a meaningful way.”

Over the years, Hulett has continuously evolved its approach, layering new technologies and refining processes without ever stepping away from its core commitment. Today, that includes a combination of video telematics and mobile device management tools, creating what Fearns describes as a “one-two punch” for safety.

“There’s never been a pause,” he said. “We’ve always had something in place to reinforce safe driving.”

From Policy to Way of Life

Like many companies, Hulett faced early resistance when implementing a strict no cell phone policy that extended well beyond phones.

Labor shortages continue to challenge pest control companies across the country. To keep routes covered, many businesses are expanding their hiring pool and bringing on first-time or less experienced drivers. While this approach can solve short-term staffing needs, it often introduces a different kind of risk - one that shows up quickly in claims, costs, and operational challenges.

As outlined in our February 2026 blog, The True Cost of Hiring Inexperienced Drivers, the early months behind the wheel are the most dangerous for new drivers . The good news is that many of these risks can be reduced before a new hire ever starts their first route by making smarter, experience-focused hiring decisions.

Experience Is a Risk Control, Not Just a Resume Line

When evaluating candidates, it is easy to prioritize availability, attitude, and willingness to work. While those traits matter, driving experience is one of the most important and often overlooked risk controls a company can use.

Research consistently shows that experience, not age, is the stronger predictor of crash risk. Drivers who have spent more time behind the wheel develop critical skills that cannot be replicated in a short onboarding period, including:

• Anticipating hazards before they develop
• Managing complex traffic environments
• Maintaining awareness across multiple risk points
• Making quick, informed decisions under pressure

These are not just driving skills; they are loss prevention skills.

Reducing First-Month Mistakes

For pest control fleets, many of the most frequent and costly incidents occur within a driver’s first few months on the job. These include:

• Backing accidents in driveways and parking lots
• Minor collisions in residential neighborhoods
• Rear-end crashes at intersections
• Property damage claims involving structures or vehicles

Experienced drivers are far less likely to make these early-stage mistakes because they have already encountered similar scenarios and developed the instincts to

Every day, an estimated 1,000 eye injuries occur in American workplaces.

Most of them are preventable.

Workplace Eye Wellness Month serves as an important reminder that vision protection is not optional PPE - it is essential risk control. For pest control technicians, eye hazards are part of the daily environment. Whether working in crawl spaces, attics, exterior perimeters or commercial facilities, flying debris, pesticide splashes, dust and protruding objects create constant exposure risks.

The Data Tells the Story

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), nearly three out of every five workers who suffered eye injuries were not wearing eye protection at the time of the accident.

Even more concerning, many who were injured were wearing the wrong type of protection - typically standard eyeglasses without side shields.

In pest control operations, that gap between “having eyewear” and “wearing the correct protection” can result in serious, and sometimes irreversible, injury.

Common Eye Injury Risks for Pest Control Technicians

Technicians routinely encounter multiple eye hazards during service calls, including:

• Flying objects such as bits of wood, insulation, metal or concrete
• Dust and airborne particles in attics and crawl spaces
• Chemical splashes, mists or vapors from liquid or powder formulations
• Protruding nails, screws and wires in confined areas
• Combined hazards when servicing properties under renovation

These exposures can occur in seconds often while adjusting equipment, mixing product or navigating tight spaces.

Why Complacency Is the Real Hazard

Eye injuries rarely occur because employees were unaware of the risk. They happen because:

• PPE was left in the truck
• Safety glasses fogged up and were removed
• The wrong eyewear was selected
• The hazard was underestimated

Consistent training and monitoring are critical components of an effective eye protection program. Reinforcement matters. Accountability matters.

Best Practices for Preventing Eye Injuries

1. Assess the Environment

The difference between a big spill and a small spill often comes down to your employees’ reaction to the spill when it first occurs. A spill of pest control products needs prompt, correct, and well planned attention. Most often, a spill can be a minor occurrence when a well-designed spill control plan is trained on and executed.

A spill can occur when you are mixing, applying, or just driving with product in your truck. The best scenario is to prevent a spill from occurring in the first place and practicing safe chemical handling procedures, good truck organization, and safe driving will all help to prevent spills.

At the 2022 PestSure Safety and Loss Prevention Meeting, Alan Harlan, vice president of service and quality control for Team Pest USA in Charlotte, North Carolina, shared his experiences developing spill control training programs and how pest management professionals can do the same in their operations.

The Four Cs of Spill Control

What is the most effective way to prepare technicians to follow proper spill control practices? Harlan says it is important to make spill control training a priority starting with the onboarding process, making it a recurring topic in training sessions and emphasizing it as an important part of your overall safety culture.

“It is important to take technicians into the field for simulated spill exercises and expose them to the reality that at some point in their careers they will have to deal with a spill control issue,” says Harlan. “The more we prepare employees in advance the more capable they’ll be in responding when that time comes.”

Harlan says Team Pest USA train its technicians on the Four Cs of spill control:

1. Control the spill immediately

2. Contain the spill to the smallest area possible and use soak up material

What is PestSure?

PestSure is an insurance company that is wholly owned by its members, pest control operators, also known as a captive. Headquartered in Dallas, TX, the PestSure team consists of insurance experts, a dedicated claims unit, and loss prevention services that all specialize exclusively in the pest control industry.

What is a captive?

A captive is an alternative insurance model that exists as an insurance company dedicated to providing coverage for itself. The captive members all pay their fair share of the insurance premiums and the captive pays out claims like any other insurance company.

So how is that better than a standard insurance carrier?

The captive’s main priority is to serve the captive members, not shareholders! PestSure is also able to focus our expertise on one type of business, not the diverse businesses that typical insurance carriers have to worry about. This means better coverage and claims handling than you’ll find anywhere else.

What will this blog provide for its readers?

Throughout the year, the PestSure blog team will be providing the following to its readership:

• Loss Prevention/Safety Tips
• Important happenings in the industry
• Highlights of events that PestSure is a part of
• Insurance changes relevant to pest control companies
• Any topics requested from readers like you!

- The PestSure Blog Team