MosquitoNix Eyes P.C. Market

Originally Published in
The News Herald, April 12, 2008
By Daniel Carson

There’s no shortage of mosquitoes and pests in Northwest Florida, and a national mosquito control company has set it sights on entering the Panama City market.

MosquitoNix, with plans to branch out with more than 100 new locations by 2012, is looking to start a Franchise that would serve the Panama City area by this summer, a company executive said this week.

Ken Davidson, the Dallas-based company's franchise development director, said he hoped to get a franchisee started in the area by the end of the second quarter.

Davidson said the company has 23 franchise locations, with most of those concentrated in South Florida, Texas and the Atlantic Coast. MosquitoNix also has three franchise locations in southern Ohio.

The company is in the process of finalizing six other locations, Davidson said, with plans to open another six to 10 Franchises later in the year.

"We're rapidly growing the franchise network," Davidson said.

The company offers a customized, automated misting system to businesses and residential homeowners that kills mosquitoes, flies, gnats, fleas and other insects.

The system sprays Pyrtheum, an insecticide Davidson said is derived from chrysanthemums, allowing the company to set up a perimeter around a homeowner's yard or a business. The system sprays three to four times a day for up to 45 seconds, and Davidson said the mist goes on the ground and evaporates in the sunlight.

"We're going to hit the mosquito when they're bedding up," Davidson said.

Davidson said there are 6,000 systems, which he compared to invisible dog fences, in place so far in areas served by MosquitoNix. He estimated 65 percent of the misting systems were installed for residential customers.

Franchisees own all of MosquitoNix's locations, except for the company's corporate location in Dallas.

Davidson said he has had discussions with three different parties about Franchise Opportunities in the Panama City area.

"It's very understood that the territory is still open," Davidson said.