A variety of factors should be considered when determining whether to offer backpack spraying, misting systems, or both, for mosquito control services.

Backpack spraying and the use of misting systems are two of the most popular ways to treat for mosquitoes, according to PCOs interviewed by PCT. Both of these strategies have proven effective, but both are distinctly different.

A variety of factors should be considered when determining whether to offer backpack spraying, misting systems, or both, for mosquito control services.

Dauphin Ewart, CEO of The Bug Master in Texas, says backpack sprayers are what his company depends on for mosquito control. “Backpacks are effective, easy to maintain, and get you in at a good price point,” he said.  But how do you know when to use a misting system? “The target market,” he says. “Misting is for high-pressure areas with a [customers who have] strong incomes.”

Del Lawson, vice president of Houston-based Modern Pest Control, agreed about the need for understanding your market. “If you’re in an upscale area misting may be the ticket for you,” he said, adding that “your team” is another important consideration. “Installing misting systems, while not inherently hard, requires creativity, and [your team] needs to work well with their hands because they can be fairly complicated.”

Charlie Sloan, service manager of St. Louis-based Amco Ranger Termite and Pest Solutions, says misting systems – while important – aren’t a fit for every company. Sloan’s company provides backpack services only. “We looked into misting at one point and what we couldn’t get passed was the ‘here and now,’" he said. “You have this system with quick knockdown, no residual and we felt through adulticides and IGRs we would be more in control of what we’re doing and not relying on a system. So, we’re spraying because you’re applying where they are harboring, or to where breeding sites may be.”

Mark Johnston, sales manager for ABC Home & Commercial Services, Austin, Texas, says both backpack suppression and misting systems have benefits. “So, with the backpack, the biggest benefit is you can control where you are putting the product. You can look at where mosquitoes hang out in shaded areas, heavy foliage and around the house and go treat those specific areas,” Johnston said. “Misting systems only treat those areas. That’s fine for an area with an ongoing issue, areas with heavy foliage and without wind and if they have ongoing issues. We have many customers who have both.”

Johnston reminded that no mosquito service is 100 percent effective and that PMPs need to stay true to IPM principles, including identifying and eliminating standing water (e.g., bird baths) and fixing structural issues like broken or damaged gutters. “You’re not going to eliminate all mosquitoes. They’re going to come back. Expect to see 70-80 percent control and three weeks later it’s wearing off and we get back there and knock them back down again.”

Unique Pest Management, Woodbridge, Va., recently hosted two different television crews at a job site for a pair of upcoming documentaries on rats.

WOODBRIDGE, Va. – The general public can’t seem to get enough of rodents. Los Angeles-based Days Edge Productions (working on a documentary for PBS), as well as a production company making a documentary for the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, are both working on film projects about these pests.

Unique Pest Management, Woodbridge, Va., and its ratting dogs were recently filmed for both documentaries. Scott Mullaney, director of animal services/principal at Unique Pest Management, took hosted both crews on a job site in the Adams Morgan neighborhood in Washington, D.C.

“We shot them both in the same alleyway because it was wide and gave their crews room to set up, and also because the architecture at one end of the alley is completely different from the other end,” said Mullaney, who added that this area is a hot spot for rats because there are a lot of mixed-use commercial buildings. (e.g., restaurants and apartments).

During the shoot for the CBC documentary, Mullaney’s ratting dogs caught 41 rats, while during the Days Edge shoot they only caught 14 – a result of having to work in a downpour, Mullaney said.

The documentaries don't just show sensational footage, but rather mix in footage with discussions about rat biology and behavior. Mullaney said. For example, Mullaney recalled being able explain and show rodent behavior during and following rainfall at the Days Edge shoot. “We caught three young males during the pouring rain and I explained [to the TV crew] that if we got a break in the rain, that we're going to see adults come out. And that's exactly what happened; after the rain, the remaining 11 we caught were huge, adult males.”

Mullaney said he is excited to see the final product and optimistic they will show the pest control industry in a positive light. “We were very happy with the connections we had with [the production companies]. They showed an understanding of our love for the dogs, our use of the dogs, as well as our love of rats and our not wanting to have rats around. And they showed an understanding of the business aspect of it as well.”

Mullaney said both production companies are hoping for December release dates for the documentaries.

Low start-up costs, greater public awareness of mosquito-borne diseases and similarities to core pest control services are all reasons PCOs have had success offering mosquito control services.

Five years before the global COVID-19 outbreak, Zika virus emerged as the latest mosquito-borne virus. In 2016, when more 60 countries, including the United States, were affected by Zika, it was officially declared an outbreak.

Protecting consumers from viruses is a great reason to be providing mosquito control services. The headlines that mosquito-borne diseases generate keep them top-of-mind for customers – they affect everyone in the family during warm weather seasons.

PCOs should do their research and ask themselves several questions before launching mosquito control services.

John Reid, vice president and co-owner of Virginia Beach-based Accel Pest & Termite Control, suggests PCOs stay fairly close to their core services when considering add-on services like mosquito control. "Like anything else you need to know if it’s going to be profitable for you and nowadays you have to look at what restrictions you have in your state and where you see the market going. Also, whether or not your business has infrastructure to do both general pest and mosquito,” he said.

One of the reasons mosquito services have become popular among PCOs is because start-up costs are low, compared to other add-on services, said Court Parker, CEO of Bug Busters, located in the greater Atlanta market.

“There’s a low entry point, our products and equipment are not that expensive. It’s not like bed bug work or termite work with expensive products, equipment, and labor. The biggest thing in our industry is labor and with mosquito work you can do a service pretty quickly,” Parker says. “If you have good routing and density, you can really have a good mix of profitability and growth. If you are one-man operation and have one neighborhood with 300 houses, then you just made well for yourself. That’s why you see so many people entering the market.”

According to Charlie Sloan, service manager of St. Louis-based Amco Ranger Termite and Pest Solutions, mosquito control is a service that appeals to residential customers in many ways. “When you do a mosquito application, it will control so many other pests, so you can market it other ways,” said Sloan. “We don’t market a mosquito program; we market flying insects. So someone not concerned with mosquitoes might be concerned with flies or wasps and the application will take care of the biting stinging insects that people dislike - that’s where we found our niche.”

Del Lawson is vice president of Houston-based Modern Pest Control. Lawson says there are several challenges to adding mosquito control, but they can easily be assimilated into a company’s daily processes. “The challenges when adding services include getting everyone on same page; explaining to the customer whey they need the services; how to complete it; what it’s for; and lastly getting sales and service teams on same page by letting them know ‘this is how we do it and sell it,’” Lawson said. “Making the language the same across the company is one of the hardest things.”

Lawson said the effectiveness and ease-of-use of today's mosquito control products are a big reason his company's mosquito control program has flourished. “We’ve been doing mosquito services with misting systems since around 2003 and we started the backpack services for mosquito about five years ago. Product performance and ease-of-application for technicians were truly important. Prior to us using (MGK’s) OneGuard, we were mixing one or two products in a tank, and it was really cumbersome for technicians and sometimes they didn’t have enough materials on truck. So, when OneGuard came out it was easier on technicians because we just needed one container of OneGuard on the truck and of course the surfactant.”

Mark Johnston, sales manager for ABC Home & Commercial Services, Austin, Texas, said ABC has been providing the service for more than two decades now. Johnston says every PMP should be focused on mosquitoes as a core service. “I would highly recommend mosquito treatments for every pest control company because the market is huge,” Johnston said. “It’s just a good business to be in and goes hand in hand with general pest control. They can get easily into some additional revenues with the mosquito business."

Johnston said if PCOs review their operations they might be surprised to find the different ways mosquito control is a good fit. “I would suggest they identify why they can’t and then look into why can’t they? They have the pest control license and they have access to the products. The backpack mister is a commonly used product and there’s a lot of different types that will mist the products into the yards and foliage and it only makes sense, and it helps with the pest control.”

Johnston added, “When you’re treating around yards and homes for mosquitoes it also controls spiders and ants and that’s a very high value for the customer. Mosquito customers are the highest retention around 80 percent compared to others.”

Peninsular is located in Jacksonville, Fla., and the company provides services to 30,000 customers throughout Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Ponte Vedra.

This year's event will be held November 1-3, in Lexington, Ky., and the speaker lineup includes Bobby Corrigan, Jerome Goddard, Mike Potter, Tommy Reeves, Judy Black, Pat Hottel and more.