New episode highlights the value-packed model behind Mosquito Shield
Franchise Now recently featured Mosquito Shield in a powerful episode of Franchise Marketing Radio, offering an inside look at a brand that has quietly built one of the most durable and innovative models in home services franchising. With President Michael Moorhouse at the helm, Mosquito Shield continues to evolve with a focus on smart operational systems, year-round revenue strategies, and franchisee-first leadership. From its proprietary pest control formula to its latest venture into holiday lighting, Mosquito Shield presents a compelling story of strategic growth, technology adoption, and brand legacy.
This blog post distills key takeaways from that episode and unpacks how Mosquito Shield stands out in a saturated home services category.
Founded in 2001, Mosquito Shield is not a newcomer to the pest control industry. It launched its franchise program in 2013 after more than a decade of market testing, product development, and customer feedback. That pre-franchise history matters. It means the company entered franchising with a proven operating system, high product efficacy, and a deep understanding of the homeowner demographic it serves.
This operational maturity is a direct result of the brand's long-term leadership. Moorhouse, who has been with Mosquito Shield for over 17 years, has played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s trajectory—from grassroots service model to a franchise powerhouse. His hands-on experience during the brand’s foundational years continues to influence how franchisees are onboarded and supported today.
Unlike many pest control franchises that were created to capitalize on a growing niche, Mosquito Shield started as a service-first company that transitioned to franchising only after validating its results. The result is a brand with significant operational maturity, high customer retention rates, and a strong brand reputation—especially in the high-end residential segment.
The company’s approach is centered on service frequency and flexibility. While most competitors operate on rigid 21- or 30-day treatment cycles, Mosquito Shield customizes its schedule based on mosquito pressure and weather patterns. This real-time scheduling model delivers better results and higher customer satisfaction, leading to strong word-of-mouth referrals.
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One of Mosquito Shield’s most valuable assets is its proprietary pest control blend. Developed through years of experimentation, the formulation uses a mix of all-natural oils and other EPA-exempt ingredients. The result is a product that’s not only safe for families and pets but also remarkably effective at eliminating mosquito populations in residential environments.
Under Moorhouse’s leadership, the brand recently reinvested in this formula, conducting new lab testing and refinement to ensure it remains best-in-class. This ongoing innovation reflects the brand’s long-term commitment to quality and results, even when already performing at a high level.
This formulation, combined with weather-based scheduling, reduces the need for callbacks and retreatments—saving franchisees time and increasing customer trust. It's a recurring revenue model that actually retains its base year after year, a rarity in home services where churn often runs high.
Customer retention rates consistently exceed 90%, thanks in part to the company’s emphasis on technician education. Each year, Mosquito Shield runs regional boot camps for new and returning technicians, covering everything from spray strategy and site inspection to customer interaction. These training events—strategically designed under Moorhouse’s guidance—ensure that each visit is conducted with professionalism and precision, reinforcing the brand’s value proposition.
Mosquito Shield’s growth trajectory was significantly enhanced in 2022 when the company was acquired by Five Star Franchising, a platform built by experienced franchise operators to scale leading home service brands. The acquisition opened up a wide range of resources to franchisees, including access to a robust IT infrastructure, expanded marketing services, franchise business coaches, and shared operational best practices.
Moorhouse has credited this partnership with accelerating the brand’s scalability, allowing Mosquito Shield to expand its internal team and implement operational improvements without sacrificing the personalized support franchisees expect. The alignment with Five Star has enhanced both service delivery and profitability at the local level.
To address the seasonality that comes with pest control services, Mosquito Shield’s leadership developed a complementary brand: Decorate With Lights. This holiday lighting franchise is designed to plug directly into the existing Mosquito Shield framework. It uses the same customer base, the same service teams, and the same branding strategy, while extending the franchisee’s earning window into fall and winter.
This dual-brand approach was envisioned and executed by Moorhouse and his team to solve for the winter revenue gap that many pest control businesses face. By leveraging Mosquito Shield’s affluent client base, franchisees can add a premium, seasonal service with minimal investment and maximum synergy.
The lighting service appeals to upscale homeowners who want high-end, custom lighting installed on their properties for the holidays. Franchisees consult with clients on the design, install the lighting in late fall, and return to take everything down in January—making it a tightly scheduled but highly profitable revenue stream.
Additionally, Decorate With Lights helps franchisees retain seasonal employees who would otherwise leave after the mosquito season ends. It’s a win-win for both owner and customer, offering consistency in service and additional income opportunities without significant incremental investment.
The company expects this line to double in footprint over the next 12 months, with more Mosquito Shield owners taking advantage of the built-in synergy between the two brands.
Mosquito Shield is not just tech-enabled—it’s marketing-savvy. Franchisees are trained to execute hyperlocal campaigns that combine physical visibility with digital presence. Branded vans, lawn signs, and door hangers are deployed in neighborhoods where services are being delivered. This visible presence not only creates brand awareness but reinforces legitimacy for potential customers.
Moorhouse has long emphasized a neighborhood-centric strategy, pairing traditional tactics with precision targeting through the company’s proprietary routing software. Franchisees are supported with digital campaigns, including PPC advertising and SEO strategies tailored to their geography and service season. The result is an omnichannel approach that captures attention online and reinforces trust offline.
Franchisees also benefit from advanced neighborhood targeting tools embedded in their routing software. These tools help identify postal routes where existing customers reside and generate direct mail pieces to surrounding households. The goal is to build route density—servicing more homes in fewer hours, which drives both revenue and margin improvements.
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Operational efficiency is a cornerstone of the Mosquito Shield model. The company uses predictive weather modeling to inform franchisees when mosquito season is likely to begin in their region. This data not only informs marketing timelines but also helps owners schedule staff and prepare inventory before demand spikes.
Under Moorhouse’s leadership, this use of predictive analytics has expanded into neighborhood-level planning and seasonal optimization. The brand recently upgraded its route optimization system, making technician schedules more efficient and reducing time spent per visit. These improvements allow franchisees to serve more customers each day without sacrificing service quality.
This continual focus on improvement has led to the brand reformulating its proprietary blend in the past year based on lab findings—despite already having a best-in-class product. It's this attention to innovation that keeps the brand ahead of its peers and fuels franchisee growth.
Mosquito Shield’s franchise development team uses detailed mapping software to define territories based on household demographics, income levels, and housing density. Franchisees don’t just receive a territory—they receive a data-informed opportunity.
Once a territory is assigned, marketing teams work with new owners to identify top-performing neighborhoods to focus their launch efforts. These first areas are selected to generate strong early traction and create a snowball effect as referrals and repeat business kick in.
Franchisees also benefit from business coaching, operational oversight, and access to field experts. Moorhouse and his leadership team have made franchisee success a strategic priority, with a clear directive that every initiative must drive value and accountability at the local level. This ecosystem of support is essential to helping owners grow from startup to scale, especially in their first 24 months.
Mosquito Shield attracts franchisees who are serious about delivering quality service and building meaningful businesses. While prior experience in pest control isn’t required, the brand seeks candidates who are willing to follow systems, manage people, and stay involved in daily operations—especially during the ramp-up phase.
Owners can choose to remain single-territory operators or expand to multiple units. Some exit after a decade with life-changing capital events, while others choose to scale across regions. Under Moorhouse’s tenure, the brand has seen early adopters grow into seasoned operators, many of whom are now achieving successful exits that reflect the equity and value created through long-term brand alignment.
With high retention, dual-service opportunities, and unmatched training, Mosquito Shield continues to set a new standard for franchise performance in the home services space.
The latest episode of Franchise Marketing Radio offers a rare look inside a brand that has quietly outpaced many of its competitors. From its real-time service delivery and proprietary formulations to its seasonal expansion and AI-powered routing systems, Mosquito Shield is more than just a pest control company—it’s a franchise growth engine. For entrepreneurs seeking a model that combines legacy, technology, and scalable operations, this episode serves as both a blueprint and a call to action. Visit for further insights.
