Gloucester Point-based Lamb Exterminating recently opened its first franchise in Richmond, owner Chris Lamb said.

Andrew Gayfield of Ashland, who previously worked for Lamb in Gloucester, owns the Richmond franchise.

Lamb said he hope to open several other franchise operations in Virginia during the next several years.

Gayfield said he had often thought about opening his own business—and discussions with Lamb led to that happening. Gayfield serves the Greater Richmond area, which Lamb’s local operation does not.

Lamb said that Gayfield will benefit because some current Lamb clients have seasonal homes on the Middle Peninsula and are familiar with the company’s high quality service and its reliance on environmentally friendly, or "green" products that are made from plants and vitamins—not from harsh chemicals like traditional pest control measures that many companies use. In the case of bedbugs, high heat is used to get rid of that pest, Lamb said.

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