Pest Control In The United States
Delivered October 5, 2019. Contributor: Gail
Goals
To have an understanding of pest control in the United States, and if possible, have it specific to regions of the country (south, midwest, west, northeast, and others). Specifically to see this through the eyes of younger and mid-aged Millennials and how this cohort perceives
bug spray. What do they consider when purchasing, and are they more likely to buy bug spray if they live in an apartment/condo versus a house? In other words, what are the things that prompt people to make a pest control purchase.
Early Findings
- One of the drivers for using pest control is the Zika virus. As Millennials are in the age group of people planning to have children, this would be a huge driver.
- Another driver to use pest control would be to prevent tick borne diseases like Lyme Disease.
- Sara Skirboll, director of public relations at RetailMeNot backed up this prediction, "saying that about 58 percent of Americans plan to purchase some type of insect repellent, whether in the form of spray, candles, or protective clothing to ward off mosquitoes and help ease Zika fears.
- "RetailMeNot's research shows that 54 percent of people in the Midwest and 53 percent of people in the South purchased insect repellent to reduce the risk of contracting Zika, compared to 45 percent of those in the Northeast and 46 percent of those in western states."
- "The Town of Bristol recently passed a $500 budget to purchase bug spray with deet in it for the towns’ residents. Jeff Beachy, Bristol Town Council President, told ABC 57 that the repellent will be purchased throughout the week and will then be available for residents to pick it up at the Bristol Fire Department."
- Currently we are at an all-time high of Eastern equine encephalitis infections from virus-carrying mosquitoes. Scientists discovered the virus about 15 years ago. And since then there’s been about 103 people reportedly infected. But this year alone we’ve seen 31 cases, a whopping 30 percent of all known cases. Massachusetts and Michigan have the highest number of cases.
- In addition to this public search, we scanned our proprietary research database of over 1 million sources and were unable to find any specific research reports that address the stated goals.
Summary Of Our Early Findings Relevant To The Goals
- It is immediately clear to us after over an hour of research that there is no publicly available source that specifically provides how younger and mid-aged Millennials perceives bug spray. Additionally, there is nothing that we were able to find that provides insights or information surrounding what they consider when purchasing, and whether they are more likely to buy bug spray if they live in an apartment/condo versus a house.
- We are suggesting pivoting the research as described below.
- Please select one or more of the options provided in the proposed scoping section below.
Proposed next steps:
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