2021 State of the Mosquito Control Market: Service Opportunities, Challenges

Typically, mosquito control was offered as an add-on service (85 percent) to residential customers (97 percent), reported PMPs in the 2021 PCT State of the Mosquito Control Market survey.

At Fahey! Pest and Lawn Solutions, it can be added to general pest and termite baiting programs for about half the cost of a stand-alone mosquito control program. Although this increases service frequency from three to six times a year, it still makes fiscal sense.

“It’s a significant costs savings for the customer, and it’s still profitable to us, because it’s the same guy adding an extra 10 to 15 minutes to his service while he’s already on property,” explained Kyle Varona.

Nearly all PMPs (94 percent) said their companies provided no-obligation quotes to clients who inquire about mosquito control service.

In follow-up interviews, some said mosquito control provides a path to convert clients to quarterly pest control programs. Others said their companies offer the service because they don’t want to lose customers to competitors who do.

Mosquito control franchise companies were the primary competitors of this service for nearly half (48 percent) of PMPs, followed by local (21 percent) and national (10 percent) pest control companies.

Local government entities providing vector control services were the main competitors for 8 percent of PMPs. “In my particular area, our county has a well-funded mosquito control district that performs very well, so mosquito control is not really part of my particular niche,” said Dustin Whitehead, owner of White Line Pest Management in Roseville, Calif.

Likewise, the mosquito control districts are very effective in greater Minneapolis, said Andrew Taylor, technical director of Plunkett’s Pest Control. “They do a really good job of it up here. I don’t see us beating what’s currently being offered by the county,” he said.

Local and state regulations can inhibit a company’s ability to provide mosquito control service.

In New York, for instance, applicators need separate licenses for larvaciding, lawn and turf applications, public health pest control and structural pest control. “Regulation makes it difficult to have a cohesive mosquito control program in the state of New York,” said Gil Bloom, Standard Pest Management.