Beaver Pest Control the big winners at the Pest Awards 2025
Beaver Pest Control was announced the overall Pest Control Business of the Year, as well as winning the prestigious Diversity & Inclusion category, sponsored by Syngenta, at this year's Pest Awards.
Announced during a glittering ceremony at Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester, the prestigious Pest Control Business of the Year Awards was presented by overall event sponsors' Syngenta Business Manager, Sarah Hughes (above, left), to Beaver Pest Control's Julia Pittman and David Lodge, along with cricketing legend and host for the evening, Darren Gough.
The Syngenta sponsored award for Diversity & Inclusion, also won by Beaver Pest Control, was awarded by Richard Moseley, Syngenta Professional Pest Management Business Manager to Beaver managing Director, Julia Pittman (below).
It was also a big night for the successful candidates of the Syngenta NPTA 5<25 Professional Futures initiative, who were invited to the awards by Syngenta and given the chance to meet and interact with the industry's top businesses.
Fun Fact from the night: Cricketing legend and award's host, Darren Gough's father was a pest controller, while his brother and nephew are also PCOs and were in the audience in Manchester for the awards!!
Read more about the Winner and finalists of the Syngenta Diversity & Inclusion Award category:
Beaver Pest Control
Beaver Pest Control, based in Southwest London, has been trading for more than 30 years and is now one of the five main Orkin UK brands, following its acquisition in October 2024.
The business employs 94 staff, including 55 highly skilled frontline technicians.
Julia Pittman, the company’s managing director, says: “As a London-based business, we recognised that we were missing out on significant talent pools.
"Over the last two years, we have made a determined effort to improve our diversity.
"That's reflected in our 2024 hires, where nearly half (48%) were from non-white British backgrounds."
Julia adds that women now represent 18% of Beaver Pest Control’s workforce, which is significantly above the industry average of 5%.
“Our focus for the coming year is to drive cultural and structural change,” she says.
The other finalists in the Syngenta Diversity & Inclusion Award category were:
Pest Solutions
Founded in 2015, Pest Solutions services Scotland and the North of England. It has a team of 65 and is currently recruiting for three additional new positions.
Gemma Sutherland, the company’s service manager, says 52% of the service team are female and more than 55% of staff are aged under 35.
“The diversity and inclusive nature of our team is also our strength,” says Gemma.
“We continue to strive to be an employer that attracts and nurtures great people from all walks of life.
“We commit to great team culture, training, customer service excellence, environment, and humane practices that set us apart.”
Pest Solutions is a living wage accredited employer and supports its team via a Health Assured Employee Assistance Programme.
Gemma says winning this award would be an incredible encouragement to the entire team that they are setting an example.
Rentokil
Rentokil prides itself as a customer-focused expert in providing public health pest monitoring and management to homes and businesses across the UK.
The company’s nationwide team exceeds 800 RSPH/BPCA qualified pest control technicians and field biologists.
Amy Railton, marketing manager at Rentokil, says: “At present 9.43% of our total frontline pest workforce are female and 14.8% of apprentices are female in our business.
“Of our apprentices, 11.07% are from ethnic minorities. Our youngest apprentice is 18, and our oldest apprentice is 57.”
To date, Rentokil has trained 140 frontline managers and key personnel in diversity, equality and inclusion.
In 2024, Rentokil installed a lift in its academy to facilitate access for less able colleagues. The company is currently working with its IT and digital learning content departments to review its learning content and devices to make them more inclusive.
