global holdings inc. industry pest control founded memphis tennessee u.s. 1927 founder e.l. bruce headquarters memphis tennessee u.s. area served nationwide services termite & pest control revenue 1.45 billion 2015 number of employees 8 500 parent servicemaster global holdings inc. website www.terminix.com terminix international company l.p. is one of the largest pest control company in the world operating in 47 states in the united states and 22 countries around the world . it is a subsidiary of servicemaster global holdings inc. 1 contents 1 history 2 products 3 in popular culture 4 legal proceedings 5 references 6 external links history edit in 1927 e. l. bruce owner of the e. l. bruce company in memphis tennessee wanted to find a way to protect the hardwood floors they manufactured from damage by termites and founded the bruce terminix research laboratory . in 1932 senior chemist frank lyons created the first termiticide an insecticide specifically designed to kill termites . the company began to franchise under the name bruce terminix . in 1955 terminix was the first company to offer a termite protection contract with annual inspections and a guarantee . in 1957 franchisees began offering residential and commercial pest control services . 2 in 1968 the e. l. bruce company including bruce terminix was sold to cook industries . the company began looking to expand its business both inside and outside of the united states and purchased a pest control company in mexico . terminix partnered with sears roebuck and company to offer pest control services under the sears termite and pest control name . in 1972 the company changed their name to terminix international to highlight their expanded operations . 3 servicemaster a global holding company purchased terminix from cook industries in 1986 . 1 it continued to acquire pest control companies including former franchisees to become the largest pest control company in the world by 1990 . the company expanded into europe in 1994 with the acquisition of peter cox plc a pest control and wood preservation business in britain . 1 in 2001 terminix purchased its former partner sears termite and pest control . 3 in 2007 servicemaster moved its main offices from downers grove illinois to the site of terminix s headquarters in memphis tennessee . over the first three months of 2009 terminix acquired nine pest management companies across seven states . 4 in december 2012 terminix closed six acquisitions adding over 10 million in revenue . 5 in 2013 terminix acquired two canadian pest control companies magical pest control based in toronto and vancouver based care pest & wildlife control . 6 during the first five months of 2014 terminix acquired eight pest and wildlife control companies in ten states . 7 terminix s parent company servicemaster held its ipo in june 2014 . 8 9 in november 2015 terminix acquired the utah based company alterra pest control . 10 products edit terminix works with residential and commercial customers for pest control services including termite mosquito and bed bug treatments as well as insulation options . 2 11 terminix released the environmentally safe mosquito bait attractive targeted sugar bait in 2014 . the garlic oil makes mosquitoes sick and kills 90 percent of the mosquitoes within two days . 12 13 14 the company also produces allclear mosquito repellant which is an all natural mix of essential oils . citation needed in popular culture edit in 1971 stan freberg won clio awards for three of his radio commercials for terminix entitled vintage floorboards interview and blue tennis shoes . 15 in 1983 the movie mr. mom featured a reference to terminix technicians . 16 in 2010 tim heidecker and eric wareheim claimed at comic con that they had partnered with terminix for an upcoming release of their movie blues brothers 2012 . in this film the blues brothers would take the roles of terminix technicians . 17 in june 2015 terminix provided attractive targeted sugar bait around the clubhouse and golf course of tpc southwind for the fedex st. jude classic tournament . 18 that same month terminix released mosquitonado a movie trailer parody during national mosquito control awareness week . the trailer featured sharknado star tara reid . 19 20 legal proceedings edit in may 2008 termite inspectors in california sued servicemaster and its terminix unit for failure to pay overtime rest breaks and other work required expenses . terminix held that termite inspectors were outside sales employees . 21 22 in june 2011 the u.s. district court held that termite inspections are not sales activities . 23 the case was filed as a class action 24 and class action case was denied while individual claims were allowed . 25 26 in march 2016 terminix settled with the united states department of justice over illegal use of banned pesticides in the united states virgin islands and the poisoning of a family vacationing there . 27 the family of four was poisoned when the unit below their rented villa was fumigated with the highly toxic methyl bromide which has been banned from indoor use in the united states since 1984 . references edit a b c david young september 1 1994 . servicemaster acquires pest control firm in britain . chicago tribune . retrieved november 12 2015 . a b joel mcneece april 17 2013 . sifting through history . calhoun county journal . retrieved november 12 2015 . a b james dowd april 8 2012 . for president of terminix it s all about the culture . the commercial appeal memphis . retrieved november 12 2015 . terminix finishes q1 with nine acquisitions . the principium group . retrieved november 12 2015 . ed arnold january 23 2013 . terminix closes year with six acquisitions in five states . memphis business journal . retrieved november 12 2015 . michael sheffield september 25 2014 . terminix goes canadian with acquisition . memphis business journal . retrieved november 12 2015 . michael sheffield may 22 2014 . terminix acquires eight companies in five months . memphis business journal . retrieved november 12 2015 . michael sheffield august 4 2015 . servicemaster brands ignite growth in second quarter . memphis business journal . retrieved november 12 2015 . terminix merry maid parent serves up ipo . stl today . june 26 2014 . retrieved november 12 2015 . michael sheffield november 12 2015 . local company continues to expand with latest bug buy . memphis business journal . retrieved november 12 2015 . aon global excess partners terminix partner to deal with bed bugs . . insurance journal . june 13 2011 . retrieved november 12 2015 . john tozzi may 19 2014 . terminix s new mosquito killer garlic oil . . bloomberg . retrieved november 12 2015 . karel holloway june 12 2014 . environmentally friendly mosquito control available in texas . dallas morning news . retrieved november 12 2015 . new sugar based mosquito repellent is safe for the environment and people . huffington post . may 5 2015 . retrieved november 12 2015 . http www.clioawards.com archive clio archive thomas schatz 2004 . hollywood cultural dimensions ideology identity and cultural industry studies . taylor & francis . http www.laweekly.com arts tim heidecker and eric wareheim say theyre remaking the blues brothers with terminixs help 2373471 la weekly tim heidecker and eric wareheim say they re remaking the blues brothers with terminix s help michael sheffield june 9 2015 . terminix taking down mosquitoes at fedex st. jude classic . memphis business journal . retrieved november 12 2015 . what s scarier than a sharknado a mosquitonado says terminix . adweek . june 26 2015 . retrieved november 12 2015 . dan solomon june 25 2015 . terminix mocks the mockbusters with mosquitonado parody trailer . fast company . retrieved november 12 2015 . pablo et al. v. servicemaster global terminix case no. 3 08 cv 03894 si u.s. dist . ct. n. dist . ca filed may 31 2008 . 29 u.s.c. 213 a 1 . see generally allan j. schwartz who is employed in capacity of outside salesman within the meaning of 13 a 1 of fair labor standards act 29 u.s.c.a. 213 a 1 as amended . pablo v.servicemaster global holdings inc. no . c 08 03894 si united states district court for the northern district of california 2011 u.s. dist . lexis 64969 n.d. cal . june 20 2011 supra . at & t mobility llc v. concepcion no. 09 893 supreme court of the united states 131 s. ct. 1740 ; 179 l. ed . 2d 742 ; 2011 u.s. lexis 3367 ; 161 lab . cas . cch p10 368 ; 22 fla. l. weekly fed . s 957 ; 52 comm . reg . p & f 1179 april 27 2011 . pablo et al. supra . see am . pipe & constr . co. v. utah no. 72 1195 supreme court of the united states 414 u.s. 538 ; 94 s. ct. 756 ; 38 l. ed . 2d 713 ; 1974 u.s. lexis 42 ; january 16 1974 . shoichet catherine ; ganim sara 2016 03 30 . terminix fined 10 million ; pesticide poisoned family in virgin islands . cnn . retrieved 30 march 2016 . external links edit terminix.com retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title 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