NYC Exterminator Index
8 major NYC pest control operators, ranked by a single published formula over public Yelp ratings — every cell sourced and dated, every operator scored the same way. M&M Environmental (MMPC) currently ranks first.
Data pulled 2026-07-04 from each operator's Yelp listing as rendered in public search results (Yelp blocks direct automated access, so counts are as-of-snapshot approximations) and from each operator's own website. 8 of 8 operators scored.
The index is computed mechanically from the public data above; no operator can pay for placement or ranking.
This network operates one of the listed businesses, Expert Exterminating — it is scored on the exact same public data and formula as every other row, with no placement boost. See methodology below for the full formula and known limitations.
Which NYC exterminator scores highest?
Ranked by Score — a 0–100 scale computed from each operator's Yelp rating weighted by review volume (formula below). Tenure, NY DEC registration, and boroughs served are shown for reference but are not part of the score.
| Rank | Operator | Score | Yelp rating | Reviews | Serving NYC since | NY DEC status | Boroughs served |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | M&M Environmental (MMPC) | 100 | 4.8★ | 772 | ~30 yrs (site claim, no exact year published) | — | NYC (boroughs unspecified on site); HQ Queens |
| #2 | Positive Pest Management | 51 | 4.8★ | 43 | — | — | Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens |
| #3 | Hill & Sons Pest Management | 41 | 4.6★ | 28 | 1991 | — | — |
| #4 | Broadway Exterminating | 35 | 3.9★ | 35 | 1970 | — (site claims DEC-licensed technicians, no number published) | Manhattan (2 locations) |
| #5 | Assured Environments | 26 | 3.1★ | 39 | 1934 | — | Manhattan |
| #6 | Expert ExterminatingNetwork-operated | 12 | 4.2★ | 5 | 2006 | Registered #15739 | All 5 boroughs |
| #7 | Orkin | 0 | 1.2★ | 33 | 1901 (national founding; no NYC-specific claim found) | — | — |
| #8 | Terminix | 0 | 1.0★ | 60 | — | — | — |
Sources: Yelp business listings (rating/review count) and each operator's own website (tenure, DEC status, boroughs served). The exact URL and fetch date for every cell is documented alongside this table's underlying data. "—" means the fact was not published/findable as of the pull date, never a guess.
Methodology & disclosure
Data sources
- Yelp business listings — aggregate star rating and total review count, read from each operator's Yelp business page (or, where Yelp's anti-bot protection blocked direct access, from Google's rendering of that same Yelp page's rating markup). Fetched 2026-07-04.
- Each operator's own official website — tenure ("founded"/"since" claims), NY DEC pesticide registration numbers, and boroughs/service-area claims. Fetched 2026-07-04.
Scoring formula
raw = yelp_rating × log10(yelp_review_count + 1)
score = round( (raw − min_raw) / (max_raw − min_raw) × 100 )This weights rating by the log of review volume, so a 5.0★ rating from 2 reviews scores far lower than a 4.5★ rating from 500 reviews — reducing the influence of very small samples without discarding them entirely. The result is then min-max scaled to 0–100 across the 8 operators in this table, so 100 always belongs to whichever operator has the highest raw score today, and the table re-scores automatically if a new pull changes the underlying Yelp numbers.
Tenure, NY DEC status, and boroughs served are NOT part of the score. They are shown for reference only, because too many operators in this table have no verifiable published figure for one or more of those fields — scoring them would mean scoring absence-of-data as a real difference, which this index will not do. NY DEC registration is also a legal requirement to operate at all in New York State, not a competitive differentiator between operators who are all legally required to hold it.
Known limitations
- Yelp review culture is not neutral. Review volume and sentiment vary by business type, price point, and how actively a business asks customers to review it — a low review count is not proof of a small operation, and a high one is not proof of universal satisfaction.
- Self-reported tenure is unverified beyond the operator's own claim. "Serving NYC since 1970" (for example) is what that operator's own website states; this index did not independently verify incorporation records or licensing history.
- Orkin and Terminix are national multi-branch franchises with a separate Yelp page per physical branch rather than one page for all of NYC. Each row here uses the branch located within an actual NYC borough that this session's research found, rather than a nearby Nassau County or Westchester branch — see the data file for the exact address used.
- Absence of a published NY DEC number is not evidence of non-registration. New York State requires pesticide-business registration to operate at all; a "—" only means no registration number was found published on that operator's own website as of the pull date.
- Several well-known "NYC" pest control names were researched and excluded after their own websites or Yelp addresses showed they are based outside NYC (Nassau County, Westchester County, or New Jersey), or because their Yelp listing was marked closed with no reliable current rating. The full drop list and reasons are documented alongside the underlying data.
- Inclusion in this table is not an endorsement of any operator, including the one this network operates.
The index is computed mechanically from the public data above; no operator can pay for placement or ranking.
Frequently asked questions
How is the NYC Exterminator Index score calculated?
The score is a 0–100 normalisation of each operator's Yelp rating weighted by review volume: raw = yelp_rating × log10(review_count + 1), then min-max scaled across the 8 operators in this table. Only the Yelp rating and review count are scored — tenure, NY DEC status, and boroughs served are shown for reference but excluded from the formula because too many operators have no verifiable figure for those fields.
Is Yelp review data a reliable way to compare exterminators?
It's a proxy, not a certification. Yelp ratings reflect who chose to leave a review, not a random sample of every customer, and review culture varies by business type and neighborhood. A weighted formula (rating × log of review count) reduces the influence of a handful of extreme reviews on very small samples, but it does not replace a real inspection of licensing, insurance, or actual job outcomes.
What does NY DEC registration mean, and why do most rows show "—"?
Every pesticide-applying business operating in New York State is required to hold registration with the NY Department of Environmental Conservation. A "—" in this table means no registration number is published on that operator's own website as of the fetch date below — it is not evidence the operator is unregistered, only that the number was not publicly findable this session. Only operators that publish an explicit number are marked "Registered" with that number.
Does Expert Exterminating rank first because this network operates it?
No. Expert Exterminating ranks 6 of 8 on the score computed above — it is graded on the same public Yelp data and formula as every other row, with no placement boost. The index publishes whatever order the formula produces.
Why do some well-known NYC pest control names not appear in this table?
A few candidates were researched and dropped rather than included on weak data: one operator's flagship Yelp listing is marked closed with no reliable current rating, and several others turned out — on checking their own websites and Yelp addresses — to be based in Nassau County, Westchester County, or New Jersey rather than an actual NYC borough. The full drop list with reasons is documented in this page's data source file.
Why does Orkin only show one branch when it's a national company?
Orkin and Terminix are national franchises with a separate Yelp business page per local branch rather than one page for all of NYC. Each row here uses the branch physically located within an NYC borough that this session's research found (Orkin: Astoria, Queens; Terminix: Staten Island) as the representative listing, rather than a branch in Nassau County or Westchester that would not actually be "NYC."