Stop the bite

 

Dive deeper into our State of the Mosquito Control report by looking at our interactive charts

When local news reports a mosquito-borne illness case and social media starts buzzing about Zika, dengue or West Nile virus, the phones ring at Legacy Lawns in Gainesville, Georgia.

“Public health concerns are a prime reason customers want mosquito control services,” says Jason Bishop, southeast vice president.

But the company doesn’t wait. When coverage surfaces, Legacy Lawns launches a targeted email campaign acknowledging the report, reinforcing prevention messaging and offering a limited-time 10% promotion on seasonal mosquito programs.

“When awareness is high, people are ready to act,” Bishop says. “We make sure we’re responding with education and a solution.”

Mosquito control has “grown exponentially” in the last five years, Bishop reports. The company has offered the service for about a decade and amped up its marketing efforts to existing and potential customers in the last few years. About 8% of the client base subscribes to mosquito control — an answer to offering homeowners all things lawn care.

Across the board, respondents to Lawn & Landscape’s 2026 State of the Mosquito Control Market survey indicate at least a steady interest (48%) in the service compared to years past, with 31% expecting a slight increase and 15% planning on a significant spike in mosquito control work.

At Rutland Turfcare & Pest Control, Kevin Schofield says mosquito control grows about 20% annually. Concern for disease is a key driver. “In our central and eastern Massachusetts area, there is a very high concentration of mosquitos and ticks,” he says, pointing to the region’s cranberry bogs and swampy environment.

Last year, the company made about 6,700 mosquito/tick control applications. “We don’t see it slowing down anytime soon,” says Schofield, vice president.

“Overall, in recent years, there’s a rising demand for professional mosquito abatement services from for-hire applicators, especially in fast-growing metro areas without well-established mosquito abatement districts,” says Daniel Markowski, PhD, technical advisor, American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA).

Markowski also points to increased awareness of mosquito-borne disease as a factor.

“Many of our members have been reporting longer and often more intense transmission seasons, which tends to drive public interest and demand for visible control actions, especially when the local media coverage highlights human cases,” he says.

Take the bait

As mosquito control has gradually shifted from a nice-to-have to an in-demand component of a lawn care program, operators also note advances in service delivery, particularly with baiting.

Legacy Lawns offers mosquito control as an “expanded program” to its core of lawn, tree and shrub services. And there are three options to mitigate mosquitos: barrier control (fogging), the barrier residual with bait stations, or baiting only.

Bishop always recommends the combination offering.

“Fogging is more of a knock-down approach and bait stations provide long-term control,” he says.

This year, the company plans to expand its mosquito control bait offering as a complement to traditional barrier and residual applications. Roughly the size of an outdoor speaker, the discreet bait stations are placed in mosquito harborage areas. They are pet-friendly, semi-permanent — winterized during the off-season — and designed to avoid harm to pollinators. Bishop adds that crews are trained to identify and avoid treating areas where pollinators are active.

Bishop explains that the bait stations attract female mosquitoes looking for a place to lay eggs. Inside, they contact a small sachet coated with a naturally occurring fungus and a growth regulator that prevents larvae from developing into adults.

The fungus shortens the mosquito’s lifespan, and the female carries the growth regulator to other breeding sites, helping reduce populations beyond the station. Combined with a barrier spray, Bishop says the one-two punch is especially effective.

“Some mosquitos will fly up to a mile to find food,” he says, noting that invaders swooping in from neighboring lawns may zoom past a barrier treatment but will eventually be impacted by the bait.

Bishop remarks, “If you’re not using bait stations for mosquito control, you’re missing the boat.”

Choice in control

Providing mosquito control without upsetting pollinators and offering eco-friendly solutions are of interest to some customers. Service providers are responding with options.

Rutland Turfcare & Pest Control answers the call with a choice: organic or traditional. “People love them both,” Schofield says, estimating that about 60% of clients prefer a synthetic program while 40% select the organic, essential-oil based repellent.

The service is priced the same, but frequency differs. Both involve applying sticker products to help the treatments sustain weather conditions like rain. “You’ll naturally run into a freak storm here and there, so the stickers extend the life of the product,” Schofield relates.

The traditional program involves an insect growth regular (IGR) and “overall great results,” Schofield says. He estimates a 1.5% callback rate, which includes customers who choose organic.

Rutland’s synthetic program includes six applications about every five weeks from spring to fall. “For the organic program to be effective, we apply the product 10 times, about every two to three weeks,” he says.

Northern Turf Management in rural Cyr Plantation, Maine, will provide organic mosquito control but no longer markets the service, says Patrick Vaillancourt, owner. He points to the rural environment “in the sticks” as one reason he isn’t as confident in the results as a stand-alone offering.

“We need synthetic for staying power,” Vaillancourt says, adding that organics in a combination program can “provide a short burst of relief for some stronger fliers.”

The company’s mosquito and tick control program has increased slightly every year, and customers can choose five to 10 applications. Some extend the typical May to October season.

“We are in an area with a lot of lakes where some people have summer places, and they want to take advantage of the warm season because it’s so short,” Vaillancourt says of a selling point for mosquito and tick control.

“This is their escape and they don’t want to deal with insects, so they find the service to be a worthwhile investment.” L&L

The author is a freelance writer based in Wisconsin.

Mosquito control by the numbers