Web Exclusive: Adding on tick service

Adult deer tick.
Photo: Scott Bauer/USDA ARS

Our May issue is focused on mosquito management, but there’s another biting pest that can bring in revenue: Ticks.

Tick management is a natural service extension for mosquito management, according to Brian Garrison, COO of national franchisor Mosquito Joe, based in Virginia Beach, Va.

“Especially in the Northeastern United States, some customers may just want dedicated tick service, others want both ticks and mosquitoes,” he says. “We work with our franchisees on the learning curve of what licensing is needed and the timing of treatments.”

David Bisaillon, president of Envirocare Pest Control, Watertown, Conn., agrees. “We were one of the first five companies in the state offering mosquito and tick service to residential customers” when his 20-year-old firm got into the segment about five years ago. “Connecticut is such a chemical-sensitive state, individuals have the option to sign up for 24 hours’ advance notice before you spray the neighbor’s property.”

Despite the extra regulations — and the separate licenses required to do both ticks and mosquitoes — Bisaillon says he likes the work. Connecticut is the “epicenter” of Lyme disease (the ailment itself named after a city in Connecticut), so tick control is a continued selling point. Deer fly and black fly season also go hand-in-hand with mosquito control.

“More often than not, it’s a luxury service,” Bisaillon admits of all four pests. “They don’t have a mosquito problem yet, they just don’t want one. They spent a lot of money on their pool, their back yard — they want to enjoy it pest-free.”