Franchisee Voices: Marla Carruth of Mosquito Joe

Baton Rouge elementary school music teacher Marla Carruth will open a business of her own, Mosquito Joe. Mosquito Joe is a mosquito protection and prevention service that sprays an EPA-approved barrier around your yard to keep it mosquito free for weeks at a time. Marla was inspired to open the first Mosquito Joe in Baton Rouge by her cousin, who owns his own Mosquito Joe in Arkansas. She'll employ the help of her son, a student at LSU.

Tell us a little bit about your background.

I am originally from Arkansas, but I’ve been living in Baton Rouge for 13 years now. I have a degree in music and am currently a music teacher at Parkview Baptist, a local elementary school where I will continue to teach while I get my business up and running. I am starting this business with the help of my partner Howard. He’s been in Baton Rouge for 15 years and will be keeping his current job while I run the day-to-day operations of our Mosquito Joe. He works for a subdivision of Berkshire Hathaway.

Why did you choose to become a franchisee with Mosquito Joe? How did you learn about the brand?

I heard about Mosquito Joe from my cousin, Brad Simon and his wife, Stephanie, who own the Mosquito Joe location in Fort Smith, AR. Howard and I had talked about starting a business together, so after casually talking about the idea for a few years and seeing Brad and Stephanie’s success with the concept, the timing was just right this year to open our own Mosquito Joe.

What’s next for you and your business? Do you have any development/expansion plans with the brand?

We purchased two territories, our current territory and the adjacent Baton Rouge territory. We will begin serving the second territory next year to serve Baton Rouge proper, East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge and Ascension Parish.