Merino Pest Services – A Family Business Built on Trust and Results

photos by: MEGAN SMITH PHOTOGRAPHY

In a world dominated by corporate chains and faceless service providers, Merino Pest Services stands out as a family owned business deeply rooted in community values, personalized service and lasting results. Serving residential and commercial clients with a smile and a promise of quality, Merino Pest Services has earned a reputation for excellence, reliability and heart.

A Family Legacy of Service

Merino Pest Services opened in May of 2023, but the foundations of the business began a few generations and almost 80 years ago, with Liz McNeely’s grandfather, Bob McNeely, partnering with the Wilson family of Wilson Pest Control. When Wilson Pest Control was acquired by another company, Liz’s parents, Scott and Cindy McNeely, opened their own pest control business, McNeely Pest Control in 1997. In the meantime, Liz moved to Colorado after college and eventually made her way to Colombia, where she taught English with the Colombian Secretary of Education. While in Colombia, Liz met Alejandro Merino in 2014 and they married, started a family – daughter, Isabella, and son, Lucas, then moved back to the US in 2022. Liz and Alejandro wanted to have a family business since Alejandro worked with his family in real estate and running their event center while in Colombia. With Liz’s family business background, going into pest control seemed like a good fit.

“After working with our family friends at Clint Miller Exterminating in Mt. Pleasant, NC for close to a year in order to gain field experience, we started Merino Pest Services. Thus making our firm a third generation family owned pest control service company based in Winston-Salem, bringing my family legacy full circle,” said Liz.

Expertise You Can Count On

Merino Pest Services specializes in tackling a wide range of pest issues.

“Our primary residential service is a preventative quarterly service, which addresses common insect and rodent pests. We offer conventional and ‘green’ service options. We can also provide a one time service if a customer has a specific one time need. In addition, we provide preventative termite treatments for existing and new structures. We offer a liquid termiticide treatment option as well as installation and maintenance of termite baiting programs. We offer a warm weather control and prevention service for mosquitoes,” Liz commented.

In addition to Merino Pest Services’ residential services, they provide services for commercial clients, as well! “We currently provide services for a wide range of clients that include businesses such as grocery stores, restaurants, property management and multi-use office buildings. We offer fly control and prevention services for our restaurant and food service clients. Whether you are a residential or commercial customer, educating our customers on ways they can reduce issues is also very important to us. At Merino Pest Services, we strive to minimize the use of chemicals and incorporate an integrated pest management approach in addressing all pest concerns. This looks at addressing such things as eliminating conditions conducive to pest presence, sanitation, pest exclusion and even physical trapping. We also offer alternative services that use botanically based products. I am excited about incorporating mosquito trap usage into our ‘tool’ bag. We hope that this will offer an effective alternative to the mosquito spray that is commonly being used now,” Liz stated.

Using the latest in pest control technology and eco-friendly solutions, the team at Merino is trained to diagnose problems accurately and create customized treatment plans that deliver long-term protection.

“Since we opened in May of 2023, we have primarily been using word of mouth to promote our company up until now. We wanted to start slow, building a strong foundation before pushing our company. We strive to provide excellent customer service, treat our employees well, use the best products and guarantee our services. Being a family owned business with local community ties, we know the importance of prompt and reliable customer services offered at a fair price, and we strive to provide that each and every day!” Liz said.

For more information or to schedule a service, visit merinopest.com or call 336.650.8956. Merino Pest Services is located at 615 St. George Square Court, Suite 300, Winston-Salem, NC. Merino Pest Services offers contact in English and Spanish.

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Carolyn Shore-Peterson

Carolyn grew up in Pfafftown and has been with Forsyth Magazines since 2006. With degrees in communication/journalism and psychology from UNC-G, she enjoys writing stories about local people and businesses making our community better through their efforts. Carolyn is passionate about helping animals and has four rescue dogs of her own. In her ‘regular’ job, Carolyn is a territory sales manager for a pharmaceutical company and has been in the medical industry for over 20 years. Carolyn enjoys spending time with friends, working out, specifically spin class, gardening, baking, and cheering on her Georgia Bulldogs. She is most at peace on a beach with her toes in the sand, reading a good book.

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