US-based Truly Nolen is a family-owned pest control company which offers general pest control services and specialised treatments for more than 100 types of pests ranging from rodents to scorpions. With its eight decades of experience and its trained professionals, Truly Nolen’s customers enjoy some of the best pest control services available.
“We work to minimize our impact on the environment by using naturally occurring materials whenever possible,” says Scarlett Nolen, a member of the third generation of the Nolen family, and the company President, who assumed her role in 2019, just at the onset of the pandemic. Unhindered by the unprecedented challenge, Scarlett has brought new energy to the family business, 
steering the company through the turbulent period and securing further growth.
Scarlett affirms that the fact that Truly Nolen is alive and thriving under the third generation is an achievement in its own right. “Being a multi-generational company is not easy. Typically, the third generation of a business is when it gets shaky – the third generation doesn’t tend to do well.”
“I feel really proud that this is not the case with Truly Nolen and that we have managed to maintain a wonderful momentum. The legacy that we have is tremendous and remarkable at least by American standards – under each generation of the family, the company has continued to grow and to look to the future, and this is set to continue.”
Serious business with a smile
Truly Nolen’s history dates back to 1938 when Truly Wheatfield Nolen opened Economy Exterminators in Miami, Florida during the Great Depression. His son, Truly David Nolen, opened Truly Nolen in Tucson, Arizona in 1955. Eleven years later, he purchased his father’s company to expand the pest control business across the country, and it was his dedication to the company that inspired his children and grandchildren – the third and fourth generations of the Nolen family – to pursue careers in the company and industry.
Today, Truly Nolen serves more than 150,000 customers and employs about 1,100 people of whom 50 per cent are pest professionals. With wholly-owned subsidiaries in seven US states and another 42 franchises across the United States, the company has also built an impressive global footprint, with international locations in over 60 countries around the world.
Scarlett explains that in addition to several technical differentiators, the company truly stands out with its iconic ‘mouse cars’ that have been around for six decades – the highly visible yellow mouse cars and yellow trucks have helped to identify Truly Nolen as the pest control company with a sense of humour and a taste for fun.
“The mouse car brings a smile to people’s faces; regardless of the country, we get the same reaction. Children love it, people take pictures next to the mouse cars, and it really does embody our family spirit,” says Scarlett, noting that it was her father who used to say that Nolen is a serious business with a funny car.
“We are there to get rid of pests but more importantly, we are there to bring a smile to people’s faces and add value to their lives and the community as a whole – our customer base includes public facilities such as hospitals, schools, universities,” she says, adding that one of Nolen’s largest project was fumigating the University of Tampa for termites – no small feat, and one that created a world record.
Naturally pest free
Nolen’s core business is to provide a lifestyle free of pests for its customers while minimising the impact on the environment. Scarlett points out that the company played an important role during the pandemic when it also supplied sanitation products and services.
Truly Nolen offers a range of products and services to deal with a whole range of pests, with innovation and product development being a key part of the business – an area to which Scarlett’s brother Really Nolen has contributed over the years. Speaking about recent innovations, Scarlett highlights a new rodent control launched recently.
“Rodent control isn’t just about killing rats. It is about protecting people’s homes and businesses and protecting the structure. We have taken steps more recently to not just protect the home but to deter rodents from getting onto the property.”
In this context, she again affirms that Nolen is always looking to stay away from harsh pesticides that have secondary kills, or can be harmful to children or pets.
“We are constantly researching different ways of approaching a problem, always striving to minimise impact from a chemical standpoint. We became involved with ‘green’ products some 30 years ago, long before being green became popular and trending.”
This ethos is reflected in the company’s ‘Green Side of Truly’ concept, embodying the commitment to the environment, supported by the best choices for pest control from business practices to material application.
Sustainable business
Under Scarlett’s management, the company has increased its focus on two key aspects: human resources and growth by acquisition. She has launched the Truly Development Program (TDP), focusing on the systematic and engaging development of employees across the company.
“Human resources are our biggest area of investment. We’ve defined a five-year plan to restructure the company and create career paths for people. Our goal is to help people stair step into a long-term career through mentorship, training, and talking about their career early on.”
Defeating the popular prediction, the third generation of the Nolen family has kept the business thriving. “The company was founded during the Great Depression, and its legacy of resilience and stamina will carry the business forward, even as we are potentially entering a global recession.”
She explains that the pest control industry traditionally tends to do well during an economic downturn as the fear of bugs does not go away during hard times. As such, the industry is very sustainable, with new opportunities arising in challenging times. Opportunities that Truly Nolen is set to exploit.
“Acquisitions were not a part of our strategy before I became President. So, the last couple years we’ve been dabbling in the acquisition world and I think we’re in a really great place with our team and our company to look at more, and larger, acquisitions in the near future,” Scarlett concludes.
