Nobody knows pests like Orkin. With one of the toughest training programs in the business, not just anyone can become The Orkin Man™. That's the way it's been since 1901 when Otto Orkin founded the company. At the age of 14, Otto borrowed fifty cents from his parents to start his own business. He had formulated a poison bait to help farmers in the community of Allentown, Pennsylvania get rid of the rats that had been plaguing them. By 1906 Otto had saved $5,000 and was ready to open his first shop in Richmond, Virginia.