Keep your business strong through the end of the season with these 6 tips for retaining mosquito customers. As summer winds down and cooler temperatures arrive, your customers may not see as many mosquitoes and decide ‘hey, let’s save a few bucks and cancel that last mosquito service or two’. This is a bad idea for a number of reasons and you and your team need to be able to explain why or you may lose revenue. As the daylight grows shorter, mosquitoes prepare to enter something called ‘diapause’. It is a very complicated and chemically sophisticated biological process. Think of it as a resting stage, triggered by the environment, when bodily functions are shut down or greatly reduced. They don’t quite go to sleep but almost! Here are some talking points and tips to discuss with your customers.
6 Tips for Retaining Mosquito Customers
Diapause is a mechanism that helps mosquito populations maintain a presence in an area and spread the next season.
Even if a female mosquito has entered diapause, if the weather suddenly warms up in the fall, she may become active and seek a blood meal.
Human pathogens, particularly viruses such as West Nile and Eastern equine encephalomyelitis, will overwinter in diapausing mosquitoes.
Killing diapausing female mosquitoes will help reduce population numbers at the start of the next season.
Overwintering harborages used by mosquitoes may be different than those used during the mosquito season. Examples are under sheds; in cellars, outbuildings, and crawlspaces; window wells; vents; and animal burrows.
Finally, emphasize to your customers that your end-of-season service will specifically target these potential overwintering sites.
Captain Stan Cope (aka the Mosquito Man) is our Vice President of Technical Services and blogs frequently on mosquitoes. In addition to his social media content you can find his blog archives here: https://catchmasterpro.com/?s=captain+stan
