Celebrating 25 years · 2001 to 2026

Twenty five years of science, service and local roots.

Founded by Texas A&M entomologist Scott Lingren, Ph.D., Venus Pest Company has protected homes and businesses across Bryan and College Station since 2001. The company began with a lifetime of field experience and a simple belief: pest control should solve the problem without doing more than the problem requires.

25
YEARS
Dr. Scott Lingren beside a Venus Pest Company truck at an Aggieland rental property

Scott Lingren, Ph.D. · Texas A&M Class of 1999

2001
Founded in College Station
25 years
Locally owned and operated
Texas A&M Ph.D.
Founded by an entomologist
1 county
Proudly focused on Brazos County

In the news · September 6, 2026

The Eagle celebrates
25 years of Venus.

Dr. Scott Lingren and two Venus crew members beside their company truck
Dr. Scott Lingren and the Venus Pest Company crew.
Photo by Haley Wiggins, The Eagle.

Our story in The Eagle

A local company.
A lifetime in entomology.

Reporter Haley Wiggins sat down with Scott to talk about growing up around entomology, starting Venus in 2001 and the people who’ve helped shape the company.

The feature also looks at what staying local means to Scott, from his relationships with customers to the technicians who represent Venus every day.

The complete article opens in a new tab.
No Eagle subscription needed.

Written by Haley Wiggins. Published by The Eagle on September 6, 2026.

Original Eagle article ↗ · Subscription may be required.

01

From Texas A&M to local ownership

An Aggie built local company

A Texas A&M entomologist builds a company in College Station.

Scott Lingren earned his doctorate in entomology from Texas A&M University and returned to College Station in 2000. The next year, he used that scientific training and years of field experience to start Venus Pest Company.

Before Texas A&M, Scott graduated from Oklahoma State University with a bachelor’s degree in entomology and from Louisiana State University with a master’s degree in entomology. Each step added to the research background he later brought into local pest management.

His interest in insects started at home, long before graduate school. Working alongside his father’s research team as a boy introduced Scott to the field that would become his profession.

The Lingren family

A family legacy in
insects and innovation.

For Scott, entomology was part of growing up. His father studied insect behavior with the USDA. His uncle developed tools for monitoring and managing pests. Scott followed that curiosity into research, then brought it home to College Station through Venus.

Where it started

A headlamp, an insect net
and a summer job.

At nine, Scott spent summer nights catching pink bollworm moths in Arizona cotton fields alongside his father’s research team. He looked forward to those few weeks of work every summer.

Years later, his parents attended Venus’s Chamber ribbon cutting. Scott still remembers how supportive and proud they were.

Scott’s father

Dr. Pete Lingren

Researching insect behavior

Peter D. Lingren’s USDA research included ways to attract adult moths with feeding stimulants. He is named with three colleagues on a patent for that work.

Scott’s uncle

Bill Lingren

Developing practical tools

Bill’s work at Trécé includes patented insect traps and monitoring systems. His name appears on inventions spanning decades, from a 1992 monitoring system to a 2025 grant.

Venus founder

Dr. Scott Lingren

Bringing science home

Scott’s research and field development work included insect control in agricultural crops. In 2001, he brought that experience to a company serving his own community.

02

Company milestones

A quarter century of Venus

Built in College Station. Proven over time.

Venus Pest Company begins

Scott turns his research experience into a locally owned service company.

Business growth recognition

Named one of the 10 Fastest Growing Businesses in the Brazos Valley.

Recognized again

Venus earns the Brazos Valley business growth honor for a second time.

Industry attention

Pest Control Technology names Venus a Top 25 Company to Watch.

Twenty five years in business

Still local, science led and focused entirely on Brazos County.

03

Research put to work

Scott Lingren conducting pest control fieldwork
Field experience matters.
Science becomes useful when it solves a real problem.

The first year

One Bronco.
A magnetic sign.
A new beginning.

Venus started in 2001 with Scott working out of his house, driving a 1989 Ford Bronco with a magnetic door sign. There was no crew yet. Just Scott, his research background and a business to build.

After years of travel for agricultural research, he wanted his work to benefit people he knew: customers, employees and local businesses. Starting Venus also gave him the community connection he’d been missing.

He remembers being nervous when the business phone rang for the first time. It wasn’t a pest problem. A concerned driver was calling to tell him his tire was low.

Why the name Venus?

The idea came after a long day collecting insects in Nebraska cornfields. A line in a Train song caught Scott’s attention as he pulled into a hotel. Venus brought to mind both the planet and the Venus flytrap. He knew he had his name.

04

The people behind Venus

A company is its people

The team that keeps Venus moving.

Scott credits Ken Jackson, Jane Cabrera, Mike Marberry and Lindsey Bayless with keeping the company running and helping it improve. Each takes pride in their own reputation and sees the service they provide as a reflection of who they are.

Meet the people behind Venus.

“Having such strong people on our team is what has kept this ball rolling for so long.”

Dr. Scott Lingren

Knowing the people we serve.

One of Scott’s favorite parts of pest control is returning to familiar customers, catching up and watching their families grow. He wants customers to get the things he’d expect himself: clear communication, respect for their time and work that solves the problem.

05

Rooted in the Brazos Valley

Local means involved

Serving the community beyond pest control.

Joining the Chamber and Rotary gave Scott the sense of community he’d been looking for, along with friendships that have lasted for years.

One project stands out: the Rotary Club of Aggieland’s Thanksgiving basket deliveries. Scott helped apply the routing experience from pest control to the delivery routes. He remembers the effort growing from 40 boxes that took all day to deliver to 400 delivered by noon.

What mattered most was watching people from different organizations come together to identify families, gather food, pack boxes and make deliveries. Each basket gave a family the ingredients for a Thanksgiving dinner while leaving more money for other needs.

Further reading

Research, articles and recognition.

Scott’s work in entomology began long before Venus. These publications offer a closer look at that background, alongside stories and practical information from the company.

More articles and coverage

November 2000 · USDA Agricultural Research

New Products To Suppress an Old Insect Pest

A look at corn rootworm research, quoting Scott during his time as Trécé’s global field development manager.

Selected research publications

Scott is listed as a contributor to these publications. Links open publisher or university records. Some full articles require a subscription or institutional access.

2001 · UC Davis • California Walnut Board research report

Development of Attract and Kill and Other Control Tactics for Pest Management of Codling Moths Based on a Novel Female and Male Attractant Kairomone

2000 · Southwestern Entomologist • Volume 25, pages 31 to 38

Impact of a Semiochemical Insecticide (Slam) on Abundance of Beneficial Insects in Corn

1998 · Applied Engineering in Agriculture • Volume 14, pages 459 to 463

Application Parameter Effects on Efficacy of a Semiochemical Based Insecticide

1995 · Arthropod Management Tests • Volume 20

Control of Soybean Looper with Experimental Chemistry in Louisiana, 1994

1995 · Arthropod Management Tests • Volume 20

Evaluation of Selected Bacillus Thuringiensis Insecticides for Control of Soybean Looper in North Louisiana, 1994

1995 · Arthropod Management Tests • Volume 20

Control of Soybean Looper in the Macon Ridge Region of Louisiana, 1994

1999 · Texas A&M University · Doctoral dissertation

Areawide Management of Mexican Corn Rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) Through Adult Suppression and Crop Rotation

Peter Scott Lingren. Department of Entomology, August 1999.

1995 · Louisiana State University · Master’s thesis

Determination of a Dynamic Economic Threshold for the Southern Green Stink Bug, Nezara viridula (L.), (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) on an Indeterminate Soybean Cultivar.

Completed in the Department of Entomology under Dr. David Boethel. A digital copy is forthcoming.

Recognition and more from Venus

1998 · Entomological Society of America

John Henry Comstock Award

The ESA lists P. Scott Lingren as the 1998 Southwestern Branch recipient.

Pest education · Venus Pest Company

Acrobat Ants

A public Venus pest article with Scott’s author biography.

More reading · Venus Pest Company

Venus Articles

Explore the company’s public article collection.

06

Media resources

For reporters and editors

Facts, photographs and interview information.

Scott is available to discuss how his Texas A&M research background shaped Venus, the company’s 25 year history, changes in local pest pressures and the evolution of pest management in Bryan and College Station.

Company facts

Founded
Late 2001
Founder
Scott Lingren, Ph.D.
Education
Texas A&M Ph.D., LSU M.S., OSU B.S.
Headquarters
College Station, Texas
Service area
Brazos County
Ownership
Locally owned and operated

Interview angles

  • How a Texas A&M entomologist built a College Station company
  • Turning agricultural research into practical local pest management
  • What it takes to sustain a service business for 25 years
  • How local growth has changed pest pressures
  • The Lingren family’s contributions to entomology and agriculture
  • Bill Lingren and the 40 year success of Trécé

Media inquiries

Interview Scott or request additional material.

Still local after 25 years

Thank you, Brazos County.

For Scott, the years have passed one pest season at a time. “Next thing you know it’s summer again. Somehow we’ve done that 25 times in a row.”

Thank you to the customers, employees and neighbors who’ve been part of those seasons.

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