Leah Massey-Hay, Joseph Kerry and Ben Jones had previously been a part of the hardcore band Implement, which disbanded amidst the
COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom. Soon, Kerry began sending ideas for songs to Massey-Hay and Jones. This culminated in the first Pest Control demo, which was recorded in September 2020, by Massey-Hay on vocals, Joseph Kerry on guitar and Jones on drums. The release was followed shortly by the hiring of bassist Jack Padurariu. During February 2023, they opened for
Kreator on their United Kingdom headline tour, alongside
Municipal Waste. On 11 August, they released the single "Enjoy the Show", accompanied by a music video. Between 22 August and 11 September, they toured the United Kingdom supporting
Obituary. On 6 January 2024, the band played a benefit show for the Leeds venue Boom, alongside
Higher Power,
the Flex and
Static Dress. On 18 May, the band performed at Desert Festival in London. The band were originally scheduled to play the June 2024
Download Festival. However, on 10 June, four days before the festival, the band announced they had cancelled their appearance due to the festival's sponsorship by
Barclaycard who were connected to
Israel's role in the
Israeli–Palestinian conflict. In the following hours, the band's statement led to
Scowl,
Zulu,
Speed, Negative Frame, Overpower and
Ithaca to cancel their appearances at the festival too. Instead, over the following days Pest Control, Scowl, Speed and Zulu organised a fundraising for the Palestinian cause, which was held at Centrala in Birmingham on 14 June. The show included support from Cauldren, Ikhras and Transistrrr. The sponsorship was dropped from the festival on the same day, with negotiations initiated by
Enter Shikari. On 12 August 2024, the band released the single "Time Bomb", announcing it would a part of their Autumn 2024 EP
Year Of The Pest. ==Musical style==