Five years ago, fire ants were hardly on the radar screen for Raleigh, N.C.-based lawn care company Fairway Green, says company manager Kevin Herrmann. That changed in recent years when these pesky and sometimes painful critters moved farther north.
For property owners, their new neighbors are nothing but a nuisance, but for Fairway Green, the invasion has resulted in a new business opportunity. The company has been offering fire ant control for more than two years, during which time customer demand has continually increased. “Three years ago we would get maybe one or two calls a year,” Herrmann says. “Now, we’re looking at 15 to 30 calls a year.”
Herrmann estimates that fire ant control is generating only $10,000 a year in revenue, but in five to 10 years that number could increase to $40,000 as customers become more educated about the problem.
| NO ROOM FOR FAILURE |
Don’t be so quick to blame product failure when fire ant treatments aren’t effective because applicator error could be the issue. When spreading broadcast treatments, uniform application is critical or affected areas could be left untouched. Lawn care operators can accomplish this by making sure their spreaders are calibrated correctly, says Richard Patterson, professor of entomology, University of Florida. Incorrectly calibrated spreaders are usually responsible for fire ant treatment failures at Raleigh, N.C. based Fairway Green, says Kevin Herrmann, company manager. “If you have a failure, generally it’s from not putting the material down at the right rate or not hitting all the areas,” he says. Improper product storage can also result in poor control rates. Most baits should be used immediately and stored in a cool, dry space because they’re formulated with soybean oil, which is perishable. “Invariably, when contractors say they’ve treated a yard with one of the commercial baits and they’re not working it’s because it’s been opened and left somewhere,” Patterson says. “Use up the material quickly or if you’re treating individual mounds, buy the smallest amount necessary.” Technician training can help prevent some mishaps. Jacksonville, Fla.-based McCall Service makes its technicians review proper application techniques with each new product the company receives, says Alvin Formella, the company’s senior operations manager. McCall Service technicians are trained on proper spreader calibration to ensure materials are being distributed at the right amounts, what to look for on label instructions and how to properly mix liquids, Formella says, adding that technicians must know some basic math to determine the proper concentration of liquid insecticide.
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Herrmann isn’t the only lawn care operator (LCO) whose business has increased from fire ant control inquiries. Pesticide bans and increased media coverage also have boosted customer demand 15 to 20 percent annually for Jacksonville, Fla.-based McCall Service, says Alvin Formella, the company’s senior operations manager.
LCOs farther west may also want to take note of Formella’s and Herrmann’s experience because fire ants have expanded into several western states, including California, New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle. Traditionally, fire ants have limited themselves to the Southeast because they thrive on warm, humid conditions. But in recent years, they’ve appeared in drier climates, possibly from increasing development, says Charles Barr, extension program specialist, Texas Cooperative Extension, Bryan, Texas. “With irrigation, they can survive in places where they’re not supposed to,” he explains.
The keys to profiting from fire ant control services are educating customers and accurately assessing job costs.
FIRE UP CUSTOMERS. When fire ants are biting, it usually doesn’t take much to persuade customers that treatments are necessary. But for customers who have fire ants but haven’t experienced their stinging bites, selling the service can be a little more challenging.
Believability is the biggest hurdle LCOs face when marketing fire ant control, says Scott Frith, marketing director, Lawn Doctor, Holmdel, N.J. Customers often want a quick fix, not realizing that individual mound treatments are usually temporary solutions. “That’s where our marketing comes in – to communicate the benefits the service provides and to build that credibility.”
Existing customers present the best opportunity for selling fire ant programs because LCOs have already established credibility with them, Frith says. For these clients, Lawn Doctor tries to illustrate the potential problems fire ants can cause by leaving promotional door hangers at their homes. According to Frith, door hangers work because it’s one of the first things customers see when they get home.
One Lawn Doctor door hanger features a bare foot just inches away from landing on a fire ant standing atop its mound with a message above the image that says: “Read this before you take another step.” The back of the door hanger introduces the company’s program, indicates the benefits and provides the company’s phone number. The image is intended to help the customer feel a personal connection with the problem, Frith says. “I like the slice of life type of advertising where the customer can see themselves in that scenario – you’re kids want to go out and play on the lawn, but they can’t because of this problem or you have a barbecue and you can’t enjoy it because fire ants are there,” he explains. “If you can depict that in a way that resonates with consumers and then deliver a believable solution, you should be successful.”
Formella depends on brochures provided by manufacturers at no cost and radio or television advertisements to get his company’s message across. The brochures explain why fire ant control is necessary, when the fire ant control will take effect, how long the fire ant control will last and provide product safety information. Formella spends 3 to 4 percent of the company’s total budget on marketing. Sixty to 90-second radio ads range from $60 to $95 and television ads of a similar length are $85 to $500, depending on the market and time the ad is running. For instance, a television ad during the 6 p.m. news would be closer to $500. The ads typically include the company name, years in business, the fact that it’s family owned and operated and highlights the guaranteed services the company provides. The company will also do a 30-second radio ad in the spring specifically for fire ant control that tells customers that it’s a once-a-year, guaranteed treatment.
| FIRE ANT CONTROL STRATEGIES |
Fire ants are “smarter” than many people think. On the surface, some fast-acting contact treatments appear to eliminate the problem. Lawn care operators (LCOs) sometimes use them to appease stressed homeowners who want the pests gone instantly. But if any survivors are left, the ants own survival mechanism tells them to move on and more mounds can pop up, which is why many LCOs opt for a combination of broadcast and mound treatments. Mound treatments can be made in the form of baits, mound drenches or powders. The baits consist of insecticides mixed with soybean oil on processed corn grits. They work by attracting worker ants that take the bait back to their colonies and pass it along to the queen, which dies or becomes infertile if the bait is an insect growth regulator. Some newer baits produce up to 90-percent control within 24 hours, but a problem might still exist, says Richard Patterson, professor of entomology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla. “If you treat an individual colony and the ants move to another locale, they may not be subjected to the toxic bait and set up shop somewhere else, and then you just chase ants around the yard,” he explains. Entomologist Charles Barr calls baits “a one-shot deal.” “For speed, that’s the one to go with,” says Barr, program specialist, Texas Cooperative Extension, Bryan, Texas, adding that fast-acting baits can be more than double the cost of some slower acting baits. “It cleans the ants out and gets good control in a short time – close to 100 percent. But the area is open for reinvasion.” Because mound treatments are viewed as temporary fixes, broadcast applications are becoming increasingly popular, Barr says. Certain broadcast treatments are more expensive than other fire ant controls and take about one month to produce results, but they can be effective for more than a year. However, the one-month waiting period is too long for many customers. In this case, Barr recommends mixing bait with a broadcast insecticide. That’s the approach technicians working in Lawn Doctor’s southern locations take. Technicians there will bait active mounds and apply a broadcast insecticide as a curative method, says John Buechner, director of technical services for the Holmdel, N.J.-based company. “If there are active mounds, we use the bait because the customer sees the mounds go down quicker,” he explains. “Some baits can knock down the ants in a day or two, but there may be other undetected mounds that you don’t see, and that’s why you broadcast, so you get season-long control.” Technicians at Raleigh, N.C.-based Fairway Green place baits near hard surfaces, such as sidewalks, driveways and the structure’s foundation, says company manager Kevin Herrmann. “We never do any job where we just put down a broadcast treatment and don’t use any baits because if you have a fair amount of activity, they’re more than likely under a sidewalk or a driveway or along the roadway,” he says. “It’s an insurance package for us because we guarantee our services for a year, so we don’t want to go back.” Jacksonville, Fla.-based McCall Service uses several methods, including growth regulators, broadcast applications and mound drenches, says Alvin Formella, the company’s senior operations manager. The company does mound drenches less frequently than other treatments because they only kill 50 percent of the population, and the other half will move to other locations, Formella says. When the company does apply liquid treatments, they’re usually done in combination with a bait or granular broadcast treatment. Baits must be applied more often than broadcast treatments, but Formella says if the product includes a growth regulator they’re very effective. |
MOUNDS OF PROFITS. Pricing fire ant control isn’t much different than other lawn care applications. Lawn Doctor, McCall Service and Fairway Green break down their charges per 1,000 square feet. The only exception for Lawn Doctor is large commercial properties, in which case the company prices per acre, says John Buechner, director of technical services, Lawn Doctor. The main difference between pricing fire ant control and other lawn care applications is that the entire yard, including beds and other non-turf areas, must be taken into account for thorough control. When treatments fail, it’s often because a non-turf area was missed, Herrmann says.
Like Fairway Green, McCall Service surveys all potential fire ant sites before providing an estimate. “You should always measure your bedding areas in addition to turf areas to get good control and price properly,” Formella says.
McCall Service includes its materials cost, labor and other overhead costs, such as licensing, administrative and insurance, plus an estimated 10-percent markup in its fire ant control price, Formella says. Materials cost will vary depending on the customer’s budget. For instance, a treatment with yearlong residual costs about $275 per acre, Barr says. Faster-acting insecticides cost $30 per acre but require multiple treatments. “You could put down baits at 25 or 30 percent of the cost, but the cost is the same in the long run because you do more applications,” Formella shares.
Fairway Green charges $25 per 1,000 square feet for its broadcast treatment. The company pays $2.40 to $2.80 per pound for the insecticide and uses 2 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Any baits technicians apply are included in the $25 per 1,000-square-foot charge. The treatment is about 10 percent more profitable for Fairway Green than traditional lawn care applications, according to Herrmann.
For McCall Service, fire ant control yields the same profits as other treatments, Formella says. Treatment efficacy can determine whether LCOs achieve their maximum profits, he notes. Fire ants can initially be eradicated, but re-invasion is always possible, even with the most effective broadcast treatments, because rainfall can break down the material, Formella warns. As a result, follow-up applications could be necessary. That’s why Formella prefers using a material with a longer residual effect. “If it’s done right, you cut your callbacks down, and certainly if your callbacks are down, then your account becomes more profitable,” he says.
Indeed, callback frequency can impact profits, Barr says. Baits are necessary for customers who want immediate results. But they typically require return visits. A bait/preventive treatment combination is ideal, but the client must be willing to pay a higher upfront cost, Barr says. This is where educating the customer is key. During the sales process, McCall Service sends customers educational materials that explain how the fire ant control works and what the customers should expect from it before the actual application. A sales representative will then follow up with the customer in person and reiterate some of the points made in the marketing materials. “With the use of verbal communication and literature, you have more of a chance of getting the message through to the consumer,” Formella says.
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