What happened to Billy the Exterminator? Wiki, Bio, divorce, wife, net worth

• William “Billy” Bretherton was born in 1968 and is a reality television personality.
• He is best known as the star of A&E series “Billy the Exterminator”.
• He has a net worth of $250,000 earned mainly through reality television and his exterminator business.
• Billy's career began while he was stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, and he launched his own business Vexcon Animal and Pest Control.
• He is married to Mary Bretherton and the two were arrested for marijuana possession in Bossier City.

Who is Billy the Exterminator?

William “Billy” Bretherton was born on 16 September 1968, in the United States of America, and is a reality television personality, best known for being the star of the A&E series entitled “Billy the Exterminator”. The show follows his life and career as a pest exterminator.

The Wealth of Billy the Exterminator

How rich is Billy the Exterminator? As of early-2019, sources inform us of a net worth that is at $250,000, earned largely through a successful career in reality television, plus a significant amount from his exterminator business. As he continues his endeavors, it is expected that his wealth will also continue to increase.

Early Life and Career Beginnings

While there is limited information about Billy’s family, it is known that he grew up with his younger brother Ricky, raised by their parents ‘Big Bill’ and Donnie Bretherton. He didn’t initially think of a career in pest control, and was intent on a career in law enforcement. After matriculating from high school, he decided that his best path forward was to enter the US Air Force, which he entered at age 19; his military entrance tests showed that he had an particular aptitude for physical science. He was subsequently sent to study biology and entomology, leading his career towards extermination. His career officially began while he was stationed at Nellis Air Force Base located in North Las Vegas, Nevada.

BIlly the Exterminator

There is no information regarding Billy’s length of service, but he apparently started his business before ending his career in the Air Force as a Senior Airman, then settled in Benton, Louisiana, and launched his company Vexcon Animal and Pest Control. He was mainly out of the spotlight, but he did get a feature during the first seasons of the show “Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe”, which led him to get noticed by television producers. Around that time, the company Pilgrim Films wanted to shoot a pilot for a Discovery Channel series focused on reality pest control.

Billy the Exterminator

According to an interview, Pilgrim interviewed about 200 companies, and settled on Billy after scouts spent time with him throughout a day of work. The show was originally called “The Exterminators”, and was aired through A&E in 2009, being renamed to “Billy the Exterminator” before the second season, the proprietor of his business, and an expert in field control, mainly servicing the Shreveport-Bossier metropolitan area. His character quickly caught on to audiences, thanks to his unusual fashion style consisting of Goth-like garments coupled with large jewelry and spikes. His family, including his parents and his brother often appear on the show. He is a proponent of natural methods of control and relocating captured animals. In each episode, he describes pests, and gives more information about them including the diseases they might carry. He had developed an allergy to bee stings after being stung so many times though he later recovered from it, which caused him to research the problem and possible antidotes.

Series Progression

During the show’s fourth season, Billy took a different approach with the show, this time showcasing him travelling with his brother to various areas in the US, and are seen assisting with local rescue services and exterminators with pest control. They also tend to return to Louisiana for jobs. The opening shot of the show was also redone to help identify more with his personality. The following season, the show aired two new episodes on Saturdays, and the sixth season of the show began a few months later in late-2012, with the same time slot before moving one hour ahead.

However, after the sixth season, he felt that he had developed a lot of personal and family issues with the company, and decided to leave Vexcon to move to Illinois, which marked an official end to “Billy the Exterminator”. He was quiet for a few years, but then returned through the website YouTube alongside his brother, hosting the series “Vexcon The Exterminators”. In 2016, he collaborated with Corus Entertainment for an original series to be aired on CMT in Canada, entitled “Billy Goes North”. The following year, it was picked up by the US as the seventh season of “Billy the Exterminator”, but since then no new episodes of the show have been aired, but it is believed that he is still continuing with his exterminator business.

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Caddo Lake

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Personal Life and Social Media

For his personal life, it is known that Billy is married to Mary Bretherton. She was initially featured during the early seasons of “Billy the Exterminator”, but later resigned, and her name was subsequently removed from the opening credits. There were rumors spreading around that the two had actually broken up, leading her to leave the show but this was not the case. In fact, Mary didn’t have any problems with the show prior to resigning, and Billy mentioned that it was her decision to leave the show, and he supported her.

The two made local headlines in Louisiana after they were arrested by the police for marijuana possession in Bossier City. According to the report, the police investigated a 911 hang up call at a Louisiana Boardwalk hotel, leading them to discover the couple smoking at the hotel. They were arrested on possession charges but were later released on bond. It was noted that they were smoking synthetic marijuana which was often sold in convenience stores illegally.

Olivia Wilson

Olivia Wilson is currently a reporter for AffairPost based in London, United Kingdom. Prior to joining AffairPost in September 2018, she was a entertainment reporter. Olivia studied journalism at Cardiff University, graduating in 2010.

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15 Comments

  1. Billy, Please come back! The giant Asian murder hornets are coming for us- we need you!!!

  2. Billy, Please come back! The giant Asian murder hornets are coming for us- we need you!!!

  3. Thank you, Mr. Bretherton, for your service to our country. You are an inspiration in that you face what many of us fear.

    I enjoy learning as much as possible from your show.

    We all really do wish you would come back on tv.

  4. Love your show. Learning about these animals is important We can save them, I’m sure they are getting killed. I’m from the North loved that beaver job you did with Terry(Verment). Russell how are your remember me
    I remember you loved animals so you must’ve trusted Billy
    How’s your back?

  5. Billy, I loved your show but me being an exterminator over 40 years, a lot of your treatments made me laugh as they were done for show instead of quick kill like fogging for wasp when wasp freeze would have dropped them instantly. YOU GUYS GOT STUNG TOO
    MUCH BUT I LOVED YOUR SHOW.

  6. Love Billy and his tolerance he had to out up with that the shows producers probably set up many situations. Putting racoons in homes and snakes and you know just trying to sensationalize some episodes. You could tell that Billy seemed rather annoyed at the hype at times. He clearly didn’t like the gossip crap his mom got all swept in. It wasn’t his interest, he’s an exterminator not a Hollywood actor faking shit. I loved his show and he gave you the idea he’s just a nice guy providing a wonderful service to his clients. He went above and beyond to give excellent service and to comfort people’s peace of mind by taking care of business. I miss his show and he’s just a little hottie. Hope you are well and life is treating you great.

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