A pest control service based in Wayland, Mass., about 20 miles west of Boston, is making its first entry into Maine with franchise locations in Portland and York.
Founded in 2006, ohDEER said it offers natural treatments designed to repel deer and rabbits and control ticks and mosquitoes, while remaining safe for families, pets and the environment.
The company began franchising in 2014. Its other locations are in Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Virginia, Ohio, Missouri, Texas and New Hampshire.
Maine has high rates of tick-borne diseases. So far in 2026, 423 cases of Lyme disease, 12 cases of anaplasmosis (a tickborne bacterial disease) and nine cases of a parasitic disease called babesiosis have been reported, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of tick-borne disease cases hit a record high in 2025.
Plans to hire
Portland franchisee Dave Hanlon has a degree in forestry from the University of Maine, began his career working with the U.S. Forest Service and Acadia National Park, became a licensed arborist, and then spent more than two decades as a national business development leader in the home health and hospice industry.
Hanlon said the franchise combines his environmental expertise with his business leadership experience.
“As someone who has spent much of my career working in and around the natural environment, ohDEER’s mission really resonated with me,” Hanlon said.
York franchisee Kyle Cone spent a decade in finance and banking before pursuing business ownership.
“Growing up in southern Maine, I know how much people value time outdoors,” Cone said. “Ticks and mosquitoes can quickly take away from that experience.”
Both locations are home-based operations, with plans to hire and to move into shop space as they grow, an ohDEER spokesperson told Mainebiz.
The cost to open an ohDEER ranges from $117,300 to $242,400, depending on truck options like gas versus diesel and whether it was purchased or leased. Of that, $54,500 is paid to the franchisor as a franchise fee and a marketing setup fee.
