A person or animal bitten by an infected mosquito and falls ill has a mosquito-borne disease or virus.
In the United States, these may include:
- West Nile virus
- Eastern equine encephalitis
- Dengue
- Chikungunya
- Zika virus
- Cache Valley virus
- Jamestown Canyon virus
- La Crosse encephalitis
- St. Louis encephalitis
Pest control offers protection, but often, the challenge is making customers aware your company provides mosquito management services in the first place.
“Oddly enough, many people do not associate pest control with mosquito control,” says Natasha Wright, BCE, technical director of Braman Termite & Pest Elimination, Agawam, Mass. “Be sure to educate your customers on all your pest control services.”
Why you should educate your customers
Getting customers to realize they already use a company that offers mosquito control services can be challenging, but it helps to train technicians to ask customers during their general pest control service whether they have concerns about other pests.
Expert strategies
- “Mosquitoes are a small percentage of our business but a major concern for our customers. Mosquitoes may carry disease; no one likes being bitten because you don’t know whether it is spreading disease. Suppressing mosquitoes around the exterior of homes allows our customers to spend more time in their yards and gives them peace of mind.” – Greg Bausch, ACE, VP of American City Pest & Termite in Gardena, Calif.
- “From the moment a customer or potential customer inquires about mosquito control, both our sales team and technicians have the training and knowledge to effectively explain the mosquito services Lawn Plus offers. Our technicians can also recommend this service to a lawn care customer who may not receive mosquito service through our invoicing.” – Chelsea Evans, customer relations manager, Lawn Plus in West Alexandria, Ohio
- “We go over the benefits of this service as a supplement to regular household pest control. We encourage our technicians and customer service representatives to regularly remind our current clients of our mosquito service and its benefits.” – Jacob Morehouse, director of pest prevention for Honor Services in Melbourne, Fla.
- “Our customers tell their friends and neighbors about how they experience a mosquito-free backyard when visiting each other and want to hear more. Our technicians also promote mosquito service by talking to our current pest control customers.” – Kim Adamson, owner, Pest & Mosquito Authority in Ellijay, Ga.
- “Customers are unpredictable. I’ve mentioned mosquito control to some customers I was sure would say yes, but they turned it down. I’ve also mentioned it ‘just because’ to customers I never thought would be interested, but they were.” – Brian Horning, owner of Pest Pirates in Richland, Pa.
Tips to conquer conducive conditions
Conducive conditions are a common issue with clients seeking mosquito management. Morehouse says Honor Services’ technicians thoroughly inspect a customer’s property for mosquito-conducive conditions before treatment because such conditions can pop up between services.
“If we had a lot of rain, there may be puddles of water around the property that may not have been there before. Or water may have gathered on patio furniture and lawn decorations,” Morehouse explains. “That’s why we keep our customers up to date with any conducive conditions we find and offer recommendations on how to correct them.”
Alan Harlan, ACE, VP of service and quality control for Team Pest USA in Loganville, Ga., says new customers get a follow-up phone call to confirm the level of service they received. At that time, they are reminded of the company’s additional services and how it can solve a variety of other pest problems, including mosquitoes. In addition, technicians keep an eye out for issues that could lead to pests.
“Technicians visiting the customer’s home conduct a thorough inspection and report any problem areas and conducive conditions,” Harlan says. “This is not a sales pitch; this is offering solutions to existing issues.”
Educating customers helps encourage them to eliminate mosquito breeding sites found in birdbaths, flowerpots, discarded tires and gutters. Evans says Lawn Plus technicians target the active mosquito population using effective pest control services, regular monitoring and educating customers by informing them of the most common breeding sites in their yards.
“We’ve also introduced a mosquito bucket service designed to target both mosquito larvae and adult mosquitoes,” Evans adds. “The buckets contain a specialized larvicide, and when mosquitoes fly out of the bucket, they spread the treatment to nearby breeding sites, which helps control the overall mosquito population.”
Bausch agrees that finding the source of the mosquitoes can be a challenge because the source of the infestation often is not on the customer’s property. “Depending on the mosquito species, it can be quite a bit away,” he says. “For this reason, we often are left with treating adult mosquito harborage areas or using mosquito stations. Both are suppression services, so educating the customer is extremely important.”
Mosquito services appeal to customers who want to be outside with friends and family without fearing multiple bites from mosquitoes.
“Mosquitoes are the world’s deadliest organism, and even in America, they are vectors of some nasty diseases,” says Harlan. “Being able to spend time outside with loved ones without the worry and discomfort of mosquitoes improves their quality of life.”
Honor Services’ customers rely on the company to make their yards more enjoyable, considering their climate. “Mosquito service is effective and not as expensive as it has been in the past,” says Morehouse. “When we spend time with our customers, educate them about conducive conditions and set proper expectations, mosquito service can be a good service for our revenue and their well-being.”
Setting customer expectations is crucial when providing mosquito services.
“Some customers have an unrealistic expectation that you are somehow creating an impenetrable force field around their home,” says Wright. “Mosquito programs are meant for suppression to tolerable levels, not total elimination of every mosquito in the vicinity.”
Tips to market your mosquito control services more effectively
If you’ve ever arrived at a home to provide general pest control services and spotted another company’s mosquito services sign in the yard, it’s time to market your mosquito control services more effectively.
While your current customer base may offer your biggest opportunity to sell your mosquito services, don’t pass up the opportunity to generate extra revenue by seeking out new customers.
- Wright says Braman Termite & Pest Elimination uses direct-mail pieces and extra-large yard signs advertising mosquito control services to help get the word out.
- In addition to sending emails to current customers, Bausch says American City Pest & Termite advertises on social media and uses door hangers to help promote the company’s mosquito services.
- Team Pest USA sends customers emails specific to the season and uses social media, too, to raise awareness of its mosquito services, says Harlan.
Mosquito services appeal to customers looking to spend more time outdoors without worrying about the impact mosquitoes may have on their loved ones and pets. Target new and existing customers to get that point across.
More on mosquitoes
- 2025 PMP Mosquito Management survey breakdown
- Explore your mosquito expertise with PMP‘s Tech Test
- Could CBD be the future of mosquito control?
<p>The post Educate customers on mosquito control for better public health first appeared on Pest Management Professional.</p>
from Pest Management Professional https://www.mypmp.net/educate-customers-on-mosquito-control-for-better-public-health/
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