Founder Robiar Smith is following in the footsteps of her father.

In the 1980s her father, Michael Benton, worked as an independent pest control technician in Chicago, IL.

Per Chicago Defender, Smith was always encouraged by him to enter the industry. It wasn’t until 2016 that she would make it a reality. By this time, she had already forged her own path obtaining degrees in business and information technology. She also had held various executive roles in the corporate world, but she wanted more.

Upon successfully completing an extermination exam, she founded R.B. Pest Solutions and wholeheartedly embraced a hands-on approach.

“When we started the company, and we’d go out on jobs, people were surprised to see me actually doing the work,” Smith told the outlet.

She also noted, “Everything you see, from the websites to the logos, everything I designed. I didn’t go to someone else. I did those things myself, and I’m a product of Chicago Public Schools and the urban city of Chicago.”

With seven years of experience in a predominantly male-centered industry, R.B. Pest Solutions has emerged as the fastest-growing pest control company in the Midwest, Chicago Defender reports.

What’s more, in fall 2022, Smith introduced R.B. Premium products, and her acclaimed Bug Strike offering has secured a partnership with The Home Depot, according to New Pittsburgh Courier. This milestone makes her the only Black woman to have her products featured on its store shelves.

“It really is a confirmation to continue going because my purpose for it was legacy,” she expressed, according to Chicago Defender. “My family, me being able to be a representative for little dark-skinned Black girls from urban areas, to see how I could have on a pest control uniform doing the work, and then shift to a power suit and run the company. The representation drives me, and as a result, these accolades confirm that I’m doing God’s work. They let me know I’m doing the right thing.”