Certus, the Tampa, Florida-based home-services company, announced on October 14 that it has partnered with Choice Pest Management, a pest control and lawn care provider in Fort Pierce, Florida, a deal later reported November 10 by Pest Management Professional. Financial terms were not disclosed. Choice will join the existing Purcor Pest Solutions branch in Stuart and serve customers in Indian River, Martin, and St. Lucie counties.
The asset.
Choice Pest Management is a Fort Pierce pest control and lawn care company. In the announcement, Certus said Choice has built a reputation for customer-focused service and shares its core values, and that Choice will integrate into Purcor’s existing Stuart operations, joining the Miami and West Palm Beach markets Purcor already serves in Southeast Florida. Patrick Kelly, Certus’s senior vice president of corporate development, framed the deal around the Treasure Coast’s growth: “Florida’s Treasure Coast is one of the fastest-growing areas of the state, and partnering with Choice Pest Management will help PURCOR Pest Solutions be in a wonderful position to continue serving the influx of new residents, homes and businesses. All the while, we will ensure all current Choice customers continue getting the amazing service they’ve become accustomed to.”
The platform.
Certus was founded in 2019 by Toronto private equity firm Imperial Capital as a pest control platform built through acquisition, regional brands, and shared systems. In May 2024, the company announced a growth investment from Liberty Mutual Investments, the investment arm of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, together with a follow-on investment from Imperial, with the new capital earmarked to accelerate acquisitions in existing markets and support entry into new ones. Certus has since broadened into a home-services company. Its current release describes a platform that operates pest control, lawn service, and swimming pool maintenance and repair brands in 11 states, with Purcor Pest Solutions as its flagship pest and lawn brand, a pest division ranked among the top 15 on the annual PCT Top 100, and a pool division among the five largest in the country.
That footprint has been filling in through 2026. In July, Certus partnered with Walsh’s Pest Control in Monrovia, California. In August, it announced its first Tampa Bay partnership, with Bug Master Pest Control in Palm Harbor. In September, Standard Pest Control in Puyallup, Washington, was folded into Purcor’s existing Puyallup and Seattle operations. Choice is the same kind of deal on Florida’s east coast.
A branch-level tuck-in, not a new market.
The structural point is density. Choice is not opening a new state, or even a new metro, for Certus; it is being tucked into a Purcor branch Certus already runs in Stuart, in a corridor where Purcor already serves Miami and West Palm Beach. For a platform that has spent the year adding volume around existing operations — Southern California, Tampa Bay, Greater Seattle, now the Treasure Coast — a Fort Pierce book of pest and lawn customers is a way to thicken a route map rather than plant a flag in a market it did not already cover.
What it means.
For pest and lawn owners in Florida and other Certus markets, the buyer is still paying for in-market fill-ins, especially businesses that can sit inside an existing Purcor or partner-brand branch. A platform that took a second capital partner in 2024 and now spans pest, lawn, and pool in 11 states is still executing that playbook one county at a time. Owners near a branch Certus already operates are the more natural next conversations than owners in states where it has no density.
Own a pest control or lawn care business?
Curious how a platform would look at your routes? Schryver & Co. advises trades owners with roughly $5 million to $100 million of revenue. Reach Will at will@schryverco.com.
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