From Incoming Owners to Legacy Franchisees, The Mosquito Hunters System is Thriving

Mosquito Hunters, the outdoor pest control brand with 100-plus units across the country, has always strived to offer its franchisees an exciting and well-positioned business opportunity. Now, as homeowners spend more time in their outdoor spaces and the $500 billion home services industry grows, Mosquito Hunters’ services are in higher demand than ever, and savvy entrepreneurs are taking note. With a home-based business opportunity, membership-based model and strong support infrastructure, both new and existing Mosquito Hunters franchisees continue to thrive. 

Why Incoming Franchisees are Joining the Brand 

Adam Moore of Denton, Texas is one of the brand’s recently signed franchisees. Moore spent over 15 years in law enforcement before deciding to join the Mosquito Hunters brand. 

“I always wanted to open my own business and enjoy that independence — being reliant on yourself for your success,” Moore said. “I analyzed my own strengths and weaknesses and decided franchising was right for me. I looked into everything that was out there and asked myself: What would I be comfortable doing for the next 20 years?”

When Moore discovered Mosquito Hunters, he knew he had found his answer.

“My experience in law enforcement meant I was used to being in a vehicle and driving around,” Moore said. “I can’t do a desk-oriented position — I have to be moving — and Mosquito Hunters offers that. Also, the second thing that appealed to me was that there was lower overhead — not having that office means I don’t need to invest in property, which really reduces those initial costs.”

As a seasonal, home-based business, Mosquito Hunters franchisees benefit from low operating costs and high margins, and only need to hire a limited number of employees, who can easily be trained and on boarded due to the simplicity of the service. In addition, franchisees can leverage a recurring revenue model that allows for a fast ramp-up to ROI.

Moore opened the Mosquito Hunters of Texoma in the fall of 2020. “It was a challenging year, but being able to lean on the Mosquito Hunters team was very helpful,” he said. “One of the big reasons we decided to go with the franchise was they clearly had a team of people who were dedicated, had integrity and were striving to do what's right. If you have a competent team behind you, it gives you the ability to focus on other areas like servicing customers.”

Now, Moore says his goal is to dominate the area that he is in and continue to scale his business. 

Why Established Owners are Reaching New Heights in 2021

In addition to new owners joining the brand, established Mosquito Hunters owners are also seeing significant growth this year. Corpus Christi, Texas-based Mosquito Hunters franchisee Lauren Harris, for example, originally joined the brand in 2019, and has doubled her year-over-year sales in 2021.

Prior to joining the brand, Harris worked as a collegiate strength and conditioning coach for 15 years. She says she started looking into the benefits of franchise ownership as a way to potentially enjoy more flexibility in her career. 

“Mosquito Hunters had the best plan for first-time business owners,” Harris said. “It seemed like something I could follow, and the marketing strategy and tactics seemed like a recipe for success. One benefit that they tout is that they have the backing of a corporate team that has been around for a long time — having that experience is very important and provides you with the resources to grow.”

Specifically, Harris points to the brand’s national call center as one of those resources. “The call center is a valuable tool for someone just starting out without a lot of room in the budget for employees,” she said. “You could pay someone $20 an hour to answer the phone, but the call center is part of our investment with the brand. When we hit that time of year when customers are coming in so fast, the phone is glued to my ear and I can't imagine having to take sales calls on top of that.”

Although Harris says these resources have been in place since day one, she also notes that the Mosquito Hunters team has continued to build out its support infrastructure even more over the past year-and-a-half. “The support has grown so much — webinars, software training for operations, routing, scheduling — just about everything is covered in terms of the education and resources available,” she said

In addition to growing support, Harris says demand is also on the rise. Although business slowed down a bit when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, Harris says it quickly bounced back stronger than ever.

“People were home more and were in their yards more often, which meant home projects started getting tackled more and became more of a prominent service people wanted to spend money on,” Harris said. “During the end of May and June 2020, business exploded.” 

In the year since then, Harris says that upward trajectory has stayed consistent, which is why she has almost doubled her business in 2021. “It's getting to the point now where we’ve grown so much that I’m focusing hard on the day-to-day business as opposed to focusing on growing the business,” she said. “So, the next step is hiring a manager that can take over those day-to-day issues so we can continue to grow and double our sales again next year.”

Looking ahead, Ron Ens, franchise development manager for Mosquito Hunters, says the brand will continue to find ways to help both new and existing franchise owners thrive. “Over the past year, our business model and franchise opportunity has proven to be well-positioned, which is why we’ve grown to more than 100 locations despite the challenges of the pandemic,” he said. “Now, home-based businesses like Mosquito Hunters are continuing to grow, and we are excited to take our brand to the next level.”

The total investment necessary to open a Mosquito Hunters franchise ranges from $73,937 to $96,437. The franchise license fee ranges from $60,000 and $70,000. For more information on franchising opportunities with Mosquito Hunters, visit https://mosquitohuntersfranchise.com.