Lawn Doctor has acquired an 80% equity interest in Mosquito Hunters, LLC, a franchisor of mosquito and pest control services (“Mosquito Hunters”).
Mosquito Hunters was founded in 2013 and specializes in the eradication of mosquitos through regular spraying applications and follow-up maintenance. This acquisition furthers Lawn Doctor’s strategy of both growing organically and also via acquisition of additional home service brands.
With the support of Lawn Doctor’s corporate team and infrastructure, Mosquito Hunters is gearing up for national expansion. Lawn Doctor franchises also provides mosquito control service under the brand name Yard Armour.
Mosquito Hunters’ Founder and CEO, Andy Fuller, said it wasn’t just Lawn Doctor’s track record that drew him to the partnership, but how the legacy brand is leveraging its experience.
“There isn’t a company out there in the franchising world with a better reputation, both in terms of franchisee satisfaction and innovative services, than Lawn Doctor,” said Fuller. “It’s really exciting to see a company with so much experience remain on the cutting edge of innovation, and that’s exactly where Lawn Doctor is. The tenure is certainly impressive, but seeing how they have grown and evolved to leverage their know-how so effectively is what really stands out.”
By partnering with Lawn Doctor, Fuller plans to help Mosquito Hunters become a household name in the rapidly growing outdoor pest services space.
“By aligning our teams, we’ve enabled ourselves to scale not only quickly, but the right way,” he said. “We can build Mosquito Hunters into the gold standard of our concept because we have the support of the gold standard in lawn care.”
Even before Mosquito Hunters partnered with Lawn Doctor, the brand was well-positioned for success. Scott Frith, who serves as company Chairman, believes Mosquito Hunters’ services and operations model are perfectly designed to promote growth.
“Across the board, home services can be a very lucrative model,” Frith said. “You remove the need for the brick-and-mortar storefront, which can be extremely costly and inflexible. With home services, we operate a mobile storefront with low operating cost and minimal overhead. Mosquito Hunters is a particularly attractive business because we address a concern that affects nearly everyone with a residential or commercial property. It’s not only a nuisance, but a major health-and-safety concern when it comes to the Zika and West Nile Viruses.”
“Both Lawn Doctor and Mosquito Hunters are relatively simple home-based businesses with membership-based models, which are incredibly valuable components in a business,” said Eric Martin, VP of Development for both brands. “Our customer doesn’t need to be home when we show up and service them, so the flexibility our models present is very appealing to franchisees who want a life outside of the business.”
By partnering with Lawn Doctor, Frith said Mosquito Hunters has gained an expertly refined marketing operation to introduce their services to the largest possible audience.
“We know how and when to engage homeowners with our messaging,” Frith said. “It’s a recipe that has worked for many years, and we’re excited to use that same recipe for Mosquito Hunters. There are so many similarities in the service models for both brands, but as importantly, there is a similar culture and vision, which is vitally important.”
Marketing is a key focus for both Lawn Doctor and Mosquito Hunters. Because the need for their services are persistent and self-evident, Fuller says both brands are largely focused on getting in front of homeowners and being memorable.
“We view ourselves as marketing and data analytics companies that just happen to be in the lawn and pest management businesses,” he said. “We know our clients are looking to spend more quality time outdoors with their family and friends. Our job is to show them how easy and inexpensive it is to take full advantage of their whole property and to make sure that we are the brands that come to mind when they decide to take action.”
“Lawn Doctor’s support gives our franchisees a huge leg up,” Fuller said. “We feel like we’re a start-up on steroids. We are an emerging brand with all of the support and experience of a mature company. Our franchisees have resources at their disposal that many established franchises still don’t have — things like corporate-managed lead-generation programs and a national sales center that takes inbound calls off of owners’ plates so they can focus on relationships and community involvement.”
Though mosquitoes have been around for millions of years and aren’t going anywhere, Fuller said there is an opening in the market that makes right now the perfect time for Mosquito Hunters to grow.
“Mosquitoes, ticks and fleas have been around since the dinosaur ages,” he said. “They don’t know when the economy is down. This isn’t a business that rises or falls with the market. And yet this is still a fragmented industry that has yet to see a giant emerge. There is a huge opportunity for a brand like ours, with the support of an established brand like Lawn Doctor, to move in and become the gold standard, and that’s exactly what we’re planning to do.”
Lawn Doctor is a unit of CNL Strategic Capital LLC.