Treatment: More Tools Helped Innovate Services

Access to more tools let pest control companies adapt and improve their mosquito control services. It’s important to “stay innovative and stay new” so you can “set yourself apart from the other companies and make yourself unique,” said William Woodhouse, EcoShield Pest Solutions.

Most PMPs (79 percent) used a liquid adulticide as their go-to control approach, found the 2022 PCT State of the Mosquito Control Market survey. This often was applied with a backpack mister blower or sprayer to shady areas and foliage where mosquitoes rest, said PMPs in follow-up interviews. Other adulticides used by PMPs were misting/ULV adulticide (46 percent) for foggers or misting systems, and granular adulticides (23 percent).

Insect growth regulators (IGRs), which interrupt the mosquito life cycle, were used by 70 percent of PMPs. More than a quarter (26 percent) of PMPs said IGRs applied as a stand-alone treatment in early spring helped to control mosquito populations on wet properties.

“If we get those growth regulators out early, I mean like March, it really does a phenomenal job. You really reduce the population down to a very manageable level,” said Jay Everitt, Rottler Pest Solutions. The company uses a liquid IGR that works for more than 6 months; technicians also apply IGR granules to low-lying areas in yards prone to standing water, he said.

Larvacide was used by 58 percent and botanical spray by 32 percent of PMPs, found the survey. “Most of our mosquito services are done with natural products,” said Doug Fleisher of PestEx. Only 15 percent of his customers want conventional insecticide applied to control the pests, he said.

Nearly a quarter (24 percent) of PMPs employed traps or baits to control mosquitoes. These were used in combination with adulticides and other mosquito control products, or as a stand-alone green service.

One trap on the market uses larvacide and fungus to kill mosquitoes. The traps need to be maintained monthly, which provides recurring revenue. They’re also visible reminders of the value of mosquito service, which helps retain customers, said George Iglesias, Pest Innovations.

In addition to changing up its product mix, EcoShield Pest Solutions shifted from using foggers to backpack mister blowers to apply product. Each technician now has a mister blower, which has allowed the company to be more responsive. “We were able to service more customers in quicker time. Our technicians were happier because they were making more money,” said Woodhouse.

Using mister blowers, however, requires ongoing training, especially to reduce pesticide drift, he said. EcoShield technicians learn how to monitor wind speed and direction and to use wind strategically during product application. They also train with water and dye in mister blowers so they can see “how their drift is affected by the wind and where it’s going and how far it’s being carried,” said Woodhouse.

Chemical trespass or insecticide drift was an issue companies must address at mosquito control accounts, agreed 44 percent of PMPs in the PCT survey.

Chemical drift is a “big time” concern in California, said Iglesias. As such, his team uses sprayers, not mister blowers, to apply adulticide to home perimeters.

Technicians at Rottler Pest Solutions “walk the property first” to evaluate wind speed, yard features like fishponds and flowering shrubs, and what’s going on at neighboring properties, before applying any product, said Everitt. This helps them be responsible and methodical in their application, he said.