BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES: Mosquitoes: Turning Pests into Profit

Michael Hornung started offering mosquito control services for one reason. “I hate mosquitoes,” says the president of Valley Green Cos. In addition, given that the pesky bugs are abundant near his Sartell, Minn. location, offering the service made sense.

After some lawn care customers inquired about mosquito control, Hornung decided to test out a couple of products in his back yard. It didn’t take long before his neighbors noticed the lack of mosquitoes on his property. When he explained what he was doing, they asked him to treat their yards. Word of mouth about the service spread from there, and Hornung rolled out the program on a once-a-month basis in 2002.

In addition to bringing in $25,000 in annual revenue, Hornung says the program helps him better serve his existing customers. “It seems like nowadays more customers want a one-stop shop, and this is one more thing we can offer to help them,” he says. 

He views mosquito control as a great way to do just that. “It’s a service that our customers really appreciate,” he says. “It’s just another service we can provide to help build that long-term relationship.”

TAKING ON SKEETERS. The first step to adding the service was getting each of his lawn care technicians licensed in mosquito control. The licensing process involved training from a book, followed by an exam. Hornung estimates it cost $20 to $25 per book and $90 for each technician to take the test.

In terms of equipment, expenses were minimal because the company was already using backpack sprayers for lawn care applications. To offer mosquito control, Hornung simply had to add one backpack sprayer to each vehicle. Doing only small-scale residential treatments, he didn’t need to purchase any fogging equipment.

The program entails diagnosing the problem, treating the larvae stage and controlling adult mosquitoes. To treat the larvae stage, Hornung uses mosquito dunks, which get thrown in stagnant water. “It’s a biological product to take care of the mosquito eggs before they hatch,” he explains.

To control adult mosquitoes, Hornung says there are a number of insecticides available. He recommends selecting one based on the time of year and length of control desired. He also suggests alternating products so the mosquitoes don’t build up a tolerance to any one product. In addition, “contractors should talk to their local distributor about what products are registered in their state,” he says.

The full mosquito control package, including larvae and adult treatments, consists of two to four weeks between visits from May to October. The number of visits is really based on customer preference. “We talk to them about what they’re trying to achieve and then base the spacing of each visit on that,” Hornung says.

He even has one customer on a two-week rotation during the growing season. After this particular client’s son was infected with West Nile Virus, he didn’t want to take any chances with mosquitoes. “Until it affects you or a loved one, everyone’s tolerance for it is different,” Hornung says.

Not all customers are all on the full program. Some will call in the middle of summer and request only two or three adult treatments. Still others may be having a party or other big event and want their property sprayed one or two times beforehand.

But the one-time application is rare, Hornung says. “Once customers have had one application, and they see how much better it is for that three- to four-week period, they get on a program because it does make a big difference,” he says.

BLOOD MONEY. Hornung’s mosquito control is separate from the company’s lawn care program, meaning clients don’t have to be lawn care customers to receive the service. That said, the company had about 130 customers receiving mosquito control last year and 85 to 90 percent of them were also lawn care customers.

That’s the way Hornung prefers it, too. He isn’t looking to add mosquito-control-only customers. “I’d rather be doing a lot of things for 100 people than doing a few things for 700 people,” he says. “Our goal is to offer services that fit in our service mix and then do our best to take care of our current customers.”

Only 13 percent of his lawn care customers also receive mosquito control, so there are definitely sales opportunities within his existing customer base. Hornung has found word of mouth to be the most powerful sales tool. Last summer, he picked up 25 customers within two weeks – most of them neighbors of current customers. “We don’t do it for a whole lot of people,” he says. “But word of mouth travels fast for us.”

Hornung also informs customers about the service by having technicians leave a flier each time they visit a property. The black and white fliers mention that the service is available and how to get in touch with Valley Green. Hornung uses the fliers to promote different services throughout the season, and he staggers the mosquito control fliers with ones that tout the company’s other add-on services. The fliers cost him about 10 to 12 cents a piece, and Hornung says he orders about 2,000 to 5,000 at a time depending on which service the flier is promoting.

But the program sells best when the mosquitoes are hungry and biting. About 40 customers joined the program last summer, Hornung says, adding that it’s typical for most to sign up then. “Most people won’t call until it hurts,” Hornung says. “We don’t get a lot of calls on mosquito control until the mosquitoes are out and customers are slapping them.”

While the service may not be growing at a lightning pace, Hornung hasn’t had any cancellations since the first year he offered it. “Customers will have more or less applications, but the customer count and revenues have grown,” he says, adding that he consistently gains about 45 to 60 new mosquito control customers each year.

Hornung recommends anyone interested in adding the service to mention it when renewing customers from the previous year. “But you probably aren’t going to get a big response until summer hits and you start leaving fliers about mosquito control,” he says.

Before signing up customers, a pricing strategy needs to be in place. Hornung prices mosquito control by the square footage. He adds material costs and labor, and then factors in a 15 to 20 percent net profit, which is similar to the profit on his lawn care services. But he notes that if there is high demand and little competition in an area, a provider could increase the markup. “You can charge more if you’re the only game in town,” he says.

If a property has a lot of non-lawn areas that need to be treated, such as ornamental beds, bushes, ponds and other water areas, Hornung will add a charge. If mosquito control on a 10,000-square-foot lawn is $60, but there is also a section of trees that needs treatment, he suggests adding another $25 to $30, depending on the material and time it takes to cover the area. To ensure a profit, Hornung recommends measuring the square footage of the non-lawn area and pricing it the same way as the lawn treatment.

PESKY POINTS. With most mosquito control customers signing on in the middle of summer, scheduling can be problematic, says Hornung. It’s not easy to efficiently schedule in late customers. “Customers who sign up for the program early on will get it done in the lawn care route,” he says. “But we have to make special trips for the late sign-ups.”

If technicians will be in an area or on a certain property doing a lawn care application, Hornung can schedule a mosquito control application into their route. But it’s not always that simple, he says. In an effort to smooth the process, he assigns technicians specific days of the week to do only mosquito control.

Another challenge Hornung has faced is getting customers to understand exactly what “mosquito control” means. “It’s difficult to get customer expectations to meet reality,” he says. “But it’s also important to remember that customers don’t really have expectations until you help set them.”

Hornung relates the story of a customer who signed up for one application and, five weeks later, called Hornung to complain he had mosquitoes. “Well, of course he did because it was time for another application,” Hornung says. “But he was upset that the application didn’t last.”

To eliminate this type of misunderstanding, Hornung educates customers about what to expect from the program before they sign the contract. The key is to undersell and overdeliver. He explains the program can reduce mosquito populations by 75 to 80 percent, but he points out that 20 to 25 percent of the population will remain. “Some customers expect there to be zero mosquitoes,” he says. “We remind customers that there are still going to be some mosquitoes because you can’t get rid of them all.”

Some customers will also ask if they still need to spray themselves once they’re on the program, and Hornung makes it clear that they will. Complete elimination isn’t possible, but the goal is to reduce the number of mosquitoes to a level where repellent spray is effective. “We try to educate them upfront,” he says. “It sounds like you’re just making excuses if you try to explain afterward.”

Hornung says it’s also important to set up guidelines on what you will and won’t do as part of the program, such as when it rains and an application is wiped out. “It’s important to read and follow the label directions for each product and relay that information to the customer,” he says, adding that this was something he didn’t do very well when he first offered the service. Now, he is clear on the first meeting with customers. He explains how many times a technician will visit the property and what they should expect in terms of length or percent of control.

Despite these challenges, Hornung says mosquito control is worth it. “It’s one more thing we can offer customers to help them,” he says. He advises anyone thinking of adding the service to research it thoroughly. “The best advice I can give is to call someone in your area who’s doing it or possibly a supplier – someone who could mentor or train you for a fee or for free.”