Can I just buy my own equipment and use that?
Yes and no.
The In2Care baiting stations and refill sachets cannot be purchased. They are only sold to certified pesticide applicators, and they are sold in packs of 25. We are not able to resell them, as In2Care prohibits it.
The BTI larvicides we use, both dunks and bits, can be purchased. Doing this is certainly better than nothing, however, we usually only use this as a way to improve the effectiveness of the baiting stations, as BTI larviciding alone is usually not sufficient for most people.
The Biogents Mosquitaire device we use for event treatments can be purchased online. However, the startup costs alone for the device are much higher than the cost of a single treatment. The CO2 tank alone costs around $250 and the device itself costs $299 in addition. The CO2 must also be refilled. Additionally, this is only targeting adult female mosquitos seeking a blood meal. It is generally more effective long term to target mosquitos at the larval stage.
How do the In2Care baiting stations different from other bucket-based systems like the Biogents GAT traps and the DIY “bucket of doom”?
All of these devices have bucket of water used to attract the mosquitos. They all use a larvicide in the water in the bucket to kill larva developing in the bucket. The “bucket of doom” stops there - it does nothing to the adult mosquitos attracted to the trap.
The first difference between the In2Care and a GAT trap is how the adult female mosquito is killed. The GAT trap relies on sticky paper trapping mosquitos. The In2Care uses a naturally occurring soil fungus.
The second and biggest difference between the In2Care and a GAT trap is that an In2Care baiting station impacts additional mosquito breeding sites, whereas the GAT trap only kills larva in the trap itself. Because the In2Care station uses auto-dissemination of the larvicide, mosquitos work for you to spread the larvicide to locations outside your yard, as well as locations you may not even know about in your own yard.
Do you sell any mosquito control products?
No, we do not sell any products, just services.
Do you sell any merchandise?
Not yet! Maybe down the road we will offer some merch with the bee logo
What forms of payment do you accept?
We accept cash, check, and credit/debit card (3% fee to cover transaction costs)
Why do I not see lots of dead mosquitos in the baiting stations?
First, we highly recommend that customers do not open the baiting stations as getting the mesh on the floater wet will significantly decrease the station's effectiveness. If you do open it, be sure to do so very carefully and never move the baiting station. That being said, the adulticide in the baiting stations is what kills the adult mosquitos. The adulticide is called Beaveriana Bassiana and is a naturally occurring soil fungus. It takes a few days to kill the female mosquito, so she likely won't die in the station. This is by design, because we want her to transport the larvicide that got attached to her in the station to new breeding sites, so that they are contaminated by the larvicide and will kill mosquito larva in that breeding site.
Why do I see lots of alive larva in the baiting stations?
First, we highly recommend that customers do not open the baiting stations as getting the mesh on the floater wet will significantly decrease the station's effectiveness. If you do open it, be sure to do so very carefully and never move the baiting station. That being said, this actually means your baiting station is working well. The larvicide in the baiting station will kill these larva when they try to pupate. The pupa is the stage between the larva and the adult mosquito. These larva cannot pupate due to the larvicide in the station, so they can never become adult mosquitos. When we service your station each month, we are checking to make sure there are a lot of larva in the station. If there are, it is located in a good spot. If there are not, we may decide to move it.
When will I see results?
The short answer is 3-4 weeks. Our system is designed to reduce mosquitos in the long term rather than the short term. Our approach to mosquito control attempts to control mosquitos mainly at the larval stage, which is consistent with best practices in the industry. The baiting stations contain a larvicide, and we use mosquitos to disseminate that larvicide to other breeding sites in your yard. Our larviciding treatments also use a larvicide. As we are targeting mosquitos at the beginning of their life cycle, it takes some time for a couple generations to gradually reduce in number until you are seeing a noticeable effect.
Traditional mosquito barrier treatments do not contain a larvicide and use only adulticides. These adulticides are not specific to mosquitos and kill all sorts of beneficial insects. However, because it is an adulticide, you see results immediately. Unfortunately, because the treatment has only killed adults, the hundreds of mosquito larva in your yard will begin to pupate and emerge as adults over the next week or two, and they will begin to repopulate your yard. This is why many mosquito companies treat every 3 weeks.
What are the active ingredients used in your treatments?
Our baiting stations use Pyriproxyfen and Beauveria Bassiana. For larviciding treatments we use BTI (Bacillus Thuringiensis subsp Israelensis). Our event treatment does not use an active ingredient to kill mosquitos, they are trapped using a fan and a net. CO2 is used as an attractant, and the optional Sweet Scent add-on (also an attractant) contains lactic acid, ammonium bicarbonate, and hexanoic acid. See The Science page for more info on all of these ingredients.
I have little kids and I am worried about them being able to get into the baiting station, is it safe?
The ingredients in the baiting station are not in high enough concentrations to be toxic to humans or pets. That being said, a bucket of dirty water filled with mosquito larva is not necessarily what you would want your kids getting into, which we understand. If requested, we can modify the baiting stations and have them fitted with zip ties to ensure kids cannot open the top of the station. Additionally, we usually place the stations in areas that are not easily noticed if possible. This is for aesthetic reasons, but also because the stations are more effective in shade, so under a bush, below the deck, behind a shed, etc. are great spots for them.
I'm thrilled with the price I was quoted, but I am worried that it will just go up next year or the year after like most introductory rates, will that happen?
No! We hate when companies do that to us, and we won't do it to you. As long as you remain a customer (note that this applies to our annual plans only, and you must buy the full year) your annual price will remain the same*.
Our products work best when they are used for the whole mosquito season, not just the peak, which is why we only sell annual plans. We apply 7 treatments about 1 month apart. Your first treatment will be between 3/15 and 4/15. Your last treatment will be between 9/15 and 10/15. If you are joining us during the middle of the season (as many people might) we will prorate your cost for the number of treatments you will receive through the end of that season, but we will tell you what your annual rate would be. For the next season you will need to commit to the full season. People are not typically bothered by mosquitos in April, but they are still out there. If we can reduce their numbers in April, that cascades into the later months and makes it easier to keep mosquito populations small for the whole year. Similarly, in Fall, mosquitos are racing against time to lay as many eggs as they can to over winter for next year (for some species, others over winter as adults). If we reduce their numbers right before winter, that can have a huge impact on their numbers the following Spring.
*Note that to protect our company from the possibility of extreme inflation, if the current price of the treatment you receive ever exceeds 5x the price of your annual rate, we reserve the right to re-assess your annual rate to be 50% of the current price. To put that in perspective, that is equivalent to the 46 years of inflation from 1977 to 2023.
It's great my annual price is locked in as long as I remain a customer, but what if I want to upgrade to a higher tier of service?
If you want to upgrade or downgrade, we will maintain your discount. To make the math simple, let's say that you started with a baiting stations only annual plan that cost $300 when you became a customer. That same plan now costs $400. You are effectively receiving 25% off. If you want to upgrade to a new plan that also includes larviciding and that plan costs $500, you will receive 25% off of that plan and it will cost you $375.
Can I pay month by month? Can I pick which months I want my yard protected?
No. When you request a quote, we will give you a quote that pays for the current month, the last month of our season (October), and each month in between. We will ask you to pay for the rest of the season at the initial install. The following year (or the current year if you joined us in March or April), we will send you a quote for the full season (7 treatments, 1 each month April-October). This will be due at initial install. To keep your annual rate locked in you must have your initial install completed each year by the end of April.
This is our policy for two reasons: 1) Collecting payment only once per season allows us to be more efficient, which keeps your cost lower. 2) Our treatment methods work over time to give you better results in the long run. We want all of our customers to get the best results possible. Treating only during June-August would forfeit opportunities to drive down the mosquito population in April, May, September, and October. If you want to beat the mosquitos, you have to play the whole game.
Can you come look at my yard in person before I decide if I want to be a customer?
We offer fully online quotes. When you fill out our quote request form, that gives us all of the information we need to provide you a quote. In unique cases, we may reach out to you to get more information before providing a quote.
After you’ve received your quote, if you still aren’t sure whether you’d like to become a customer, you’re more than welcome to email, text, or call us to discuss any of your questions or concerns. However, we will not come to your house to perform a free mosquito inspection. We will come to your house for your initial installation, monthly maintenance, and end of year removal.
We will still tailor the treatment to handle your unique needs and preferences. This is done through careful decision making on the placement of the baiting stations, and the larviciding strategy (if purchasing that option). You don’t have to decide whether you want to purchase any add-ons until the initial installation. We are happy to discuss add-ons with you at the installation.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes, we are licensed by the Maryland Department of Agriculture to provide mosquito control services. Our license number is 33715. We are also fully insured. You must provide proof of insurance coverage in order to obtain and maintain a license.
Do you have a treatment for ticks?
No, we do not currently treat for ticks. We may look into offering tick bait boxes as a service in the future, as that is currently the only product we’ve seen on the market that might meet our standards for effectiveness and safety. They must be installed professionally. The only DIY option we considered is the “tick tube” but it is approximately 4 times less effective. Please do not hire someone to spray your yard for ticks! We’d be happy to help connect you with a company that installs the tick bait boxes if you’re having difficulty finding one.
Do you have a treatment for biting gnats?
Unfortunately we do not. We are not aware of any solution currently on the market that is both effective and environmentally friendly. If we become aware of one, we may consider it. Interestingly, biting gnats are the only non-mosquito insect we’ve seen captured by our event treatments. However the ratio has been about 15:1 mosquitos to biting gnats.
Do you have a treatment for ants?
Unfortunately we do not. However, we can recommend Terro Traps as an affordable, easy to use, safe, and effective method of controlling ants that are coming inside your house. We’d also recommend sealing up any gaps you know ants are coming in through and cleaning up food in a timely manner so ants don’t have a reason to come inside.