Franchise Decision Radar

Mosquito franchise system health: growth, closures, transfers, and brand stability

Growth, attrition, and churn over 3 years (2022–2024). Extracted from Item 20 (outlet counts) of each 2025 FDD.

Key finding
The two fastest-growing brands by net unit count (Shield +140, Joe +43) are also the two with the most concerning churn. Growth quality matters more than growth quantity.

System Size Extracted

Brand Franchised Co.-Owned Total Age
Mosquito AuthorityLargest 546 1 547 16 yrs
Mosquito Shield 435 0 435 12 yrs
Mosquito Joe 415 2 417 13 yrs
Mosquito Squad 226 15 241 16 yrs
Mosquito Hunters 135 6 141 10 yrs

Net Unit Growth (Franchised) Extracted

Brand 2022 2023 2024 3-Year Net Trajectory
Mosquito Shield +74 +38 +28 +140 Rapid growth, elevated churn
Mosquito Joe +22 +22 -1 +43 First contraction (2024)
Mosquito Authority +5 +10 +7 +22 Stable positive
Mosquito Hunters -4 -1 +13 +8 Turnaround
Mosquito Squad -10 +4 +9 +3 Recovering
Growth quality differs
Shield’s +140 required 267 openings against 128 losses. Authority’s +22 came from 39 openings against 17 losses — far fewer units entering and leaving the system.

Openings & Closures (3-Year Totals) Extracted

Brand Opened Terminated Ceased / Non-Renewed Transferred
Mosquito Authority 39 0 19 103
Mosquito ShieldHigh churn 267 122 6 61
Mosquito Joe 79 35 1 49
Mosquito Squad 39 18 18 44
Mosquito Hunters 36 28 0 23
Closure classification varies across brands
Mosquito Hunters codes all closures as “Terminations” — zero non-renewals, zero ceased operations across 3 years. Other brands distribute closures across categories. The attrition table below combines all closure types for fair comparison.

Total Attrition (2024) Extracted

Terminations + non-renewals + ceased operations as % of start-of-year outlets. Excludes transfers (ownership changes — outlet stays open).

Brand Terminations Non-Renewals Ceased Ops Total % of Start
Mosquito Hunters 0 0 0 0 0.0%
Mosquito Authority 0 3 7 10 1.8%
Mosquito Squad 0 3 7 10 4.3%
Mosquito Joe 24 0 0 24 5.7%
Mosquito ShieldHigh 44 0 1 45 11.1%

Red Flags Editorial

Mosquito Shield — Growth masking churn
65 terminations in 2023, 44 in 2024 — highest absolute numbers in the cohort. Net growth looks positive only because openings (103, 73) outpace losses. The system churned at 11–25% per year. In 2023, 1 in 4 outlets experienced some form of churn.
Mosquito Joe — 2024 termination spike
24 terminations in 2024, up from 5 in 2023 (nearly 5×). Alabama went from 9 outlets to 1. System contracted for the first time (−1 net). Unexplained in FDD.
Mosquito Hunters — Classification methodology
Zero terminations in 2024 (down from 17 in 2022) is a genuinely positive turnaround signal. However, all closures across all 3 years are coded as “Terminations” with zero in any other category — statistically unusual and likely reflects the franchisor’s classification choice rather than operational reality.

Head-to-Head Comparisons

See how specific brand pairs compare side-by-side.

Mosquito Joe vs. Mosquito Authority → Mosquito Joe vs. Mosquito Squad → Mosquito Authority vs. Mosquito Shield → Mosquito Hunters vs. Mosquito Joe → Mosquito Shield vs. Mosquito Squad →

Want the full system health narrative for a specific brand? Decision Reports available for select brands.

See available reports →