Our History

Peerless began in 1953 when two friends saw a strong need for pest control in their home city of Philadelphia. Beginning with a cement mixer purchased from Sears and raw chemicals from a local supplier, they would mix batches of insecticide and bottle it up for resale under the name of "RO-TOX." By going around town and offering door to door demonstrations they quickly found a demanding market for their RO-TOX which knocked out any insect, especially stubborn roaches which were abundant throughout the city.

The duo soon moved from their backyard shed into a small building behind a dental implant office, continuing to mix, bottle and sell RO-TOX by themselves. Demand not letting up, Peerless opened it's first store on Ridge Avenue in the Strawberry Mansion district of Philadelphia. Several years later, one of the partners decided to part ways and ever since Peerless has been a family owned and operated business.

Technicians were later hired as Peerless expanded into offering extermination services and another store was opened in Olney on N. 5th Street in 1970. The Ridge Avenue store eventually closed and 20 years later Peerless moved into West Philadelphia on Market Street. These two stores are still in operation today.

Peerless is proud to be Philadelphia's oldest pest control company still in operation. Seven decades of continuous operation gives us a veteran vantage point that few other companies can match. We've seen it all and we've continued to evolve alongside the industry.