The importance of well-educated, -prepared leaders in the workforce
‘A couple of waitresses reopened a legend’
August 29, 2022
HARRISON – Starting a business during a global pandemic isn’t something many would describe as the right time.
However, Nick Curry, owner/operator of The Mosquito Slayer, said starting the pest service business out of his home in the Town of Harrison during the COVID-19 pandemic was a perfect time.
An idea sparked by him and his daughter’s mutual dislike of mosquitos, Curry, who has a bachelor’s degree in business management from Colorado State Global University, said he put his education to work and started The Mosquito Slayer in 2020 as a way to not only eliminate the pesky bugs from his backyard but from the yards of others in his area as well.
“My daughter and I, we’d always get bit by mosquitoes,” he said. “One day I said, ‘We’ve got to do something about this.’ I went and got a mist blower to spray the yard with larvicide and kept learning and learning.”
Curry said what started as an endeavor to rid mosquitos from his yard so he, his wife and their two children could enjoy more time outside, has blossomed into a full-time business.
Going full time
Curry said this is his third season of “slaying” mosquitos and his first year doing it full time, with this year being the first he won’t be working another full-time job during the offseason.
Rather, he said, he’s looking at either expanding into leaf removal or working a seasonal position at another local small business.
Curry said he’s learned quite a bit about mosquitoes since he started the business.
“Mosquitoes need water to breed, so I treat stagnant water around properties with larvicide,” he said. “Even a little bottle cap, mosquitoes can breed in that.”
Curry said he also treats ornamental plants, trees and shrubs that have insect issues, and though mosquitos are his No. 1 focus, he does spider, ant, wasp and hornet control, as well. “Mosquitoes suck, let’s put it that way,” he said. “Nobody likes them. I have a passion for eliminating mosquitoes from peoples’ property so they can enjoy their backyards.”
Curry said the business has seen good growth.
“I have more than 100 clients now,” he said. “Once a customer has gotten their property treated, they’re pretty much in the family. If they have a problem, I listen to them and then follow up to make sure it’s taken care of. People like that, and they refer me to other people.”
Though it takes a bit of work to operate this company on his own, Curry said he believes it’s an advantage for his customers.
“Every time I’m at someone’s property, I know what I’ve treated in the past and what to look for,” he said. “If you’re dealing with another company, you may get a different technician every time. I get to learn the property.”
Curry said the business has seen 50% growth year over year, since its inception.
He said today, The Mosquito Slayer services clients in the Fox Cities area but has had multiple requests to expand his territory.
Curry said it’s something he’s looking into doing, especially since he’s no longer balancing the business with another full-time job.
Learning on the job
One thing Curry said he’s noticed is there’s always stagnant water on properties.
“I educate my clients because it’s a teamwork thing,” he said. “If they don’t tip over their water sources, the mosquito problem builds up. You have to help them be on top of that.”
Curry said mosquitos show up when it’s 50 degrees or warmer, and mosquito season generally runs from the middle of May through September, and even into October if it’s a warm fall.
“Usually, the hotter it is, the more they’ll be out,” he said. “There are all different kinds of mosquitos – some have greater flight ranges so they can travel several miles looking for their prey. I tell people I can get rid of about 90% of mosquitos.”
Curry said some clients seek out services when they have a big outdoor event coming up, while others contact The Mosquito Slayer throughout the warm-weather season.
For those clients in the first category, Curry said he does two sprays to get the problem under control.
“If I’m there a month before, I can get the population down,” he said.
For seasonal clients, Curry said he usually does a treatment every three to four weeks, with about five treatments total throughout the season.
He said he is also conscientious about respecting the environment.
“You treat the right areas,” he said. “I’m very direct where I do a treatment – just the needed areas where the mosquitos will hang out. I don’t treat the entire lawn. The products I use are safe for dogs and kids once it’s dry, which usually only takes an hour or two. It won’t harm bats (which feed on mosquitoes) either.”
Curry said insecticides are rotated regularly.
“What I’m doing is trying to confuse the mosquito,” he said. “They’re not the easiest thing to control. The more they get exposed to the same thing the more they build up a tolerance for it.”
Curry said he also uses mosquito buckets as part of his protocol that have insecticide mixed in water.
“The mosquito will fly in and pick up this chemical,” he said. “They’ll fly off somewhere to lay eggs, and those eggs will never hatch.”
Curry said The Mosquito Slayer has proven to be the ideal business for him.
“I do a good job taking care of people’s properties, and I enjoy it,” he said. “Plus, I get to work outside and make people happy. They can play outside and not have to worry about things.”
