[Mosquito Control Supplement] Mosquito News & Notes

MosquitoNix Creates New Revenue Channel For Outdoor Service Professionals
The new Dealer Program from MosquitoNix was launched in 2010 and in less than a year, more than 500 systems have been sold through dealers offering the MosquitoNix automated misting system.
 
“We see a trend where homeowners are seeking a single source provider for multiple services,” said Dan O’Neal, founder and CEO of MosquitoNix. “Homeowners that value their yards and spend a great deal of time and money on them want to enjoy them year-round.”

The company plans to add 20 new dealers in 2011. Since the company’s inception in 2003, MosquitoNix has installed more than 10,000 systems. The firm’s fully automated mosquito control misting systems, strategically placed around the perimeter of residents’ yards to prevent pests from entering, are available to pest management professionals who are looking for specialized, high-value services to offer their existing clients, MosquitoNix says.

“Contractors have found great success in the residential segment by specifically targeting the high-income households and providing extended and technical services to them such as the MosquitoNix system,” said Josh Ingram, vice president of operations. “Also, the system has a 96 percent retention rate, requiring regular servicing. It offers a source of recurring revenue and gives contractors more face-to-face time with the client.”

The MosquitoNix Insect Mist System is a fully automated misting system that kills and repels mosquitoes, flies, spiders, gnats, fleas, ticks, roaches and other outdoor insects. The MosquitoNix system sprays pyrethrum around a consumer’s home or business and property perimeter at selected intervals throughout the day.

For additional information, visit www.mosquitonix.com.
 

Leaf Defier Eliminates Standing Water
The Leaf Defier gutter protection system from FXI Building Products is designed to eliminate standing water in gutters and thus prevent conducive environments for breeding insects. According to the company, the system has been tested and proven to eliminate conducive conditions by ensuring water and fine particulates flow freely through gutter valleys and out downspouts and by preventing obstructions from entering the system, which can create backups and pools of stagnant water throughout gutter systems. The company also says the system can prevent breeding and feeding mosquitoes (and other insects) from entering gutters and causing infestations.

According to FXI, Leaf Defier is easily inserted into gutters to ensure leaves, twigs, pine needles and other possible obstructions are kept from entering and clogging gutter systems. The system is certified by its manufacturer as a proven mosquito vector control method for gutters.

For additional information, visit www.monziinc.com.

Cordless Mister from Universal Pest Solutions
New from Universal Pest Solutions is the Allclear Cordless Mosquito Mister, a portable backyard misting device that controls mosquitoes, gnats, no-see-ums and other small biting insects in outdoor areas up to 4,000 square feet, the company says. According to Universal, the technology is based on the efficacy of permanent misting systems, but re-engineered for backyard success and convenience.

The Allclear Mister atomizes a three-minute mist into a desired area of protection. Each application protects areas up to 4,000 square feet. The company offers three concentrates: a new, all-natural 25(b) exempt, non-toxic formula made from the lemongrass plant, and two EPA-registered concentrates — a botanical pyrethrum and a permethrin formula. The company says tests indicate the mister provides up to six hours of control and 90 percent reduction in mosquito populations with each three-minute mist application, depending on the concentrate used.

Allclear also offers PCOs an opportunity to expand their current mosquito control offerings or introduce a new service. Powered by a rechargeable battery, equipped with wheels and made of weather-grade materials, Allclear can be operated anywhere insects are an issue, Universal says. Safety features include a 12-second audible mist countdown, child-safety tank access, remote control and automatic shut-off.

For additional information, visit www.allclearmister.com.

OlFactor Labs Opens New Mosquito Research Facility
OlFactor Laboratories has opened a lab in San Bernardino, Calif., to test its new mosquito control technologies.
“We are very excited about the opening of our new laboratory because the testing that we conduct there will lay the foundation for the commercialization of new mosquito control technologies that could help control the spread of West Nile virus, dengue fever, malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases in the U.S. and around the world,” said Steve Abbott, president of Riverside, Calif.-based OlFactor Laboratories, a majority owned subsidiary of Avisio.

OlFactor Laboratories said it recently licensed the use of several categories of “environmentally friendly chemicals” from the University of California, Riverside, after university researchers discovered their potential in both luring and disrupting the ability of mosquitoes to find human beings.

“Over millions of years mosquitoes have evolved to detect carbon dioxide to find animals to feed on. But by using a blend of odors that blocks the mosquitoes’ CO2 receptors, we can mask areas of our choosing from a mosquito’s perception,” said Dr. Anand Ray, chief scientific advisor to OlFactor Laboratories and principal researcher at UCR, whose discovery led to the patent application.

Abbott said one mixture of chemicals discovered by UCR researchers mimics CO2 in exhaled human air, which mosquitoes use to navigate toward humans. Current methods of producing CO2 to lure mosquitoes into traps involve burning propane or obtaining large amounts of dry ice and allowing it to evaporate, both costly and cumbersome methods, OlFactor says.
Another mixture of chemicals covered by the same UCR patent application seems to confuse mosquitoes, compromising their ability to detect and navigate toward CO2.

For more information, visit www.olfactorlabs.com.

Clarke Natular G Larvicide
Clarke’s Natular G, a granular formulation of spinosad-based mosquito larvicides, has been OMRI Listed, indicating that it complies with the Organic Materials Review Institute’s Policy and Standards Manual and the requirements of the USDA National Organic Program Rule.

Natular larvicide, which uses the active ingredient spinosad to control mosquito larvae in aquatic habitats, was honored as a 2010 U.S. EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award winner. The award recognized Natular’s patent-pending plaster matrix that releases optimal levels of product during times when mosquitoes breed, the company said.

Natular’s active ingredient, spinosad, discovered and produced by Dow AgroSciences, is used in more than 250 crops in more than 85 countries with additional uses in animal health and pet care. Natular has been registered as a “Reduced Risk” larvicide by EPA. Five formulations are listed in the OMRI Products List and can be used in organic production.
Clarke says the larvicide has the potential to reduce the pesticide load in the environment, since it allows for more prescriptive larviciding, using the exact amounts of active ingredients needed, at toxicity rates below other products.

For additional information, visit www.clarke.com.