About

Z Pest Control was created by me, Paul E. Zimmerman, in the summer of 2011.

I created this company for two reasons: I needed to work ("needed", as of 2022, because my side investing has eliminated that need, but I'm still going), and pest control is work that I like to do.

I've been doing pest control for over fifteen years now, most of which I have done while living in the Walla Walla area. I first came to the valley in April of 2008 after spending close to one year doing pest control around Pullman, Washington, got to work in this area, and made a home for myself here. 

Prior to entering the pest control industry, I've worked in a variety of fields. Two of them in particular, however, serve as the foundation for my interest in what I do now: my service in the U.S. Army Infantry as a Mechanized Infantry soldier of Bravo and HHC Companies, 1st Battalion, 5th U.S. Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, and the several years I spent earning a Master's degree in Philosophy, followed by a brief stints as a university and community college instructor in that subject. 

You must be thinking, "A philosopher grunt? What an odd creature, and what does this have to do with pest control?" It's basically this: In going between such stark differences in career settings, I've learned that I am not cut out for life in an office. I need physical work with situations and challenges that constantly change - pest control provides that. A simple manual labor job would not satisfy me, however; I require mental stimulation, too. Being effective in pest control necessitates knowledge of chemistry, physiology, entomology, zoology, law, logic, ethics, and more. My past career and academic choices, eclectic as they are, have uniquely enabled me to follow that important, ancient maxim: "know thyself", which in turn allowed me to recognize pest control as the natural fit for me that it is. Thus, here I am.

I bet you're probably also wondering about the name I choose for this business, Z Pest Control. That has a history to it that also goes back to my military service. It seems to be an unspoken rule that when everyone goes by their last names, the guy whose last name begins with the letter Z will come to be called by that. "Hey, Zimmerman!" in no time became, "Hey, Z!", even before I completed my basic and advanced Infantry training at Ft. Benning, Georgia. It goes without saying then that Z Pest Control is a name that has personal relevance and meaning to me, a way of personalizing and signing my work. Then there is something a client once said to me after I asked him how he found the employer I was working for at the time: he said he skips everyone who names themselves stuff like "A-1 such-and-such" or "AAA this-and-that." His thinking was that if they give themselves a meaningless name just to be at the top of the list, their work is probably bad. In a funny way then, my choice of business name is a statement of my confidence in the quality of my work. If I do high quality work, people will hear about it, and then it won't matter where I appear on some list.

I'm licensed in the states of Washington and Oregon, and fully insured. Most of my activities are centered around the Walla Walla valley, but I do travel outside of the area if the situation warrants doing so. I mainly work alone, but if you have a very large job that needs doing, I have friends in the industry who can be called in to provide additional manpower and equipment. Whatever your needs are, be they great, small, near, or far, please call me at 509-540-7946, email me at paul@zpestcontrol.com (or use the email contact form on the right) and I'll be of assistance however I'm able to.