What Happened To Billy The Exterminator?

In the wake of the success of "Dog the Bounty Hunter," A&E turned toward colorful folks with odd occupations to fill its airwaves. It led to the rise of "Inked," and would eventually give birth to the rumor-laden world of "Storage Wars" and the long-ago-ended "Duck Dynasty." But sandwiched in between those hits was a success called "Billy The Exterminator," which featured Vexcon employee and certified pest remover William "Billy" Bretherton fulfilling his appointed rounds in Louisiana. 

Dressed like a metalhead and sporting long hair, Bretherton would lead his parents' team from case to case and pest infestation after pest infestation. The series lasted for six seasons but abruptly left the airwaves in 2012. Personal issues got between Bretherton and his family, and he was fired from Vexcon in 2017. With Billy no longer a part of the family business, A&E allegedly tossed his show into a glue trap.

But that's not the end of the story. It turns out Bretherton is still out there, appearing on his son Bryce's successful TikTok channel, and occasionally his Instagram. He also had a digital series with his brother, Ricky, Vexcon the Exterminators, which hasn't been updated for three years. Apparently, he and Ricky still do extermination work for Vexcon alongside Bryce, per the official Vexcon website, which indicates the family feud is over. And it turns out fans of the show have one extra season of the reality show out there waiting for them, though it was initially only shown in Canada.

At the time he and his family were having a temporary disagreement, Billy Bretherton did appear in one additional season of "Billy The Exterminator" in 2017 — one that initially aired only in Canada, on its version of CMT. "Billy Goes North" lasted 12 episodes and unleashed Bretherton on creatures great and small from the Great North. Though it only lasted a single season, it eventually aired on A&E in America as simply another season of "Billy the Exterminator." 

Bretherton also dealt with an unfortunate incident at the peak of his fame. The exterminator and his wife, Mary, were arrested in April 2012 in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, for one count each of possession of synthetic marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. The police were responding to a 9-1-1 hang-up call and discovered what appeared to be synthetic marijuana and a device used for smoking said drug in a hotel room occupied by the couple. Later testing of the pipe, attained by the police after the application of a June 2012 search warrant, noted that there were traces of the drug inside the device.

During a May 2013 hearing, the charges against Mary Bretherton and the paraphernalia charge against Billy Bretherton were dropped, according to the Seattle Times. Billy pleaded guilty to the final remaining charge of possession of synthetic marijuana. He was fined $500 and sentenced to 60 days in jail, which was a suspended sentence. The reality star was also required to attend substance abuse evaluation and treatment. That's quite a sentence, but he hasn't had a brush with the law since.