David M. Parker broke into the pest control industry in 1973, following some college at Gulf Coast Junior College, the University of South Carolina-Aiken, and Augusta College, as well as a three years playing drums for the show band Mutual Fun, which toured from Chicago to the Virgin Islands. When David returned home, to North Augusta, his father gave him a choice: to work for Plunkett Heating and Air Conditioning or Annis Pest Control Company; he knew the owners of both businesses. Having fond memories of his butterfly collection as a child in Mississippi, David chose to work with Mr. Annis. He spent three years learning the business and eventually oversaw the company’s termite control program.

When Mr. Annis’s own children began to work for their family’s business, David decided to strike out on his own. In 1973, he bought the former Friendly Grocery, on Wrightsboro Road, in Augusta, and a single Chevrolet truck. He painted both the building and the pick-up blue with an orange ladybug logo to advertise his first business: Ladybug Pest Control. Initially a one-man operation, David worked to grow the business by working with his wife, Beverly, at her parents’ business, Euchee Creek Restaurant. As wait staff, David and Beverly tag-teamed to turn their restaurant customers into pest control clients as well.

Ladybug Pest Control gradually expanded and David bought the building next-door from his neighbor, Mr. Kitchens, who used to cook him turtle stew. By the mid-1980s, Ladybug Pest Control had ten trucks on the road and was operating in four counties. The long hours and drive between David and Beverly’s home in Norwood, Georgia, was taking its toll. In an effort to spend more time with his family, David sold his Columbia and Richmond County accounts in 1986 and decided to focus on growing his business in McDuffie and Warren Counties. He changed his business name to David M. Parker Exterminating, part of CALSAR Inc.—the first three letters of his and Beverly’s children’s names, Caleb and Sara.

When their children began school, the Parkers sold their home and farm in Norwood and relocated to Thomson. David bought an office on Black Street; he hired several employees to help him in the field while Beverly managed the office. The business steadily grew—acquiring four other pest control business along the way. In the early 1990s, David M. Parker Exterminating moved to the Parkers’ personal property in Warrenton, where it remains located today.

As David M. Parker approaches fifty years in the pest control industry, he is most proud of the longevity of his business—which he credits to his loyal customers and dedicated team, especially his wife Beverly. Currently, David M. Parker Exterminating employs more than fifteen men and women. A family business, David and Beverly Parker are President and Vice President of the company; their son, Caleb, is head of operations. Their daughter Sara works as a textile artist in Athens.