John W. Hock Company

What John W. Hock Company does

John W. Hock Company is a privately-held, small-scale manufacturer founded in 1976 in Gainesville, Florida, that designs and builds insect sampling equipment used in scientific research and vector-borne disease surveillance. Its product portfolio spans mosquito and sandfly traps (including the CDC Miniature Light Trap, Fay-Prince traps, gravid traps, and the UVA-LED Model 1612 launched in 2024), other entomological flight traps such as the Standard 6-Meter Malaise Trap, programmable collection devices (Collection Bottle Rotator Model 1512), aerosol droplet samplers for spray calibration, battery-powered and mouth-aspirators, laboratory rearing equipment such as the Mosquito Breeder (Model 330), and supporting batteries, chargers, and accessories. Core technologies include UVA-LED attraction at roughly 361 nm derived from the Stealth Trap (Model 2014) developed for the U.S. Department of Defense, a patented Air-Actuated Gate butterfly check valve system, photocell-controlled CO2 release with adjustable flow rates, programmable collection bottle rotators, energy-efficient LED replacement lamps drawing 20 mAmps, an automatic DC-DC buck/boost power supply, and battery-powered portable designs.

The company serves federal, state, and local government vector control programs (notably the U.S. CDC and local mosquito abatement districts such as Manatee County, FL and Harris County, TX), academic researchers (Michigan State, Florida A&M, North Carolina State, and the broader University of Florida ecosystem), and the U.S. Department of Defense. It sells exclusively through direct channels—email, telephone, and mail orders using downloadable MS Excel and PDF order forms—with all freight arranged via FedEx Ground, Next Day, 2 Day, and International services and credit card payments accepted. Products carry National Stock Numbers for streamlined DoD procurement and pricing is disclosed only via order form rather than on the public website; the company does not publish revenue figures.

Product development is heavily collaborative with federal and academic partners, and several flagship devices (CDC Miniature Light Trap, CDC Gravid Trap, CDC Fay-Prince Trap, CDC UpDraft Blacklight Trap, CDC Wilton Trap) were designed by CDC researchers. The company holds a patent on its Air-Actuated Gate System, operates as a registered small-business federal contractor (FEIN 99-3140272, CAGE 03S48), and has shipped globally for over two decades while remaining a 1–10 employee specialist operator headquartered in a single Gainesville office.

Name

John W. Hock Company

Legal name

John W. Hock Company

Website

https://johnwhock.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

John W. Hock Company, founded in 1976 in Gainesville, Florida, is a small private manufacturer of insect sampling equipment—mosquito and sandfly traps, aspirators, droplet samplers, and laboratory rearing gear—sold directly to government vector-control programs, the U.S. Department of Defense, and academic entomology researchers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Entomological Sampling Equipment

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Mosquito & Tick Control (IMAIAHAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mosquito Control Products (Larvicides, Dunks, Foggers) (CRAJAHAI), In2Care/Trap-Based Mosquito Control (Targeted Trapping) (HSAMAEAG)

Keywords

• Insect sampling equipment
• Mosquito surveillance traps
• Entomological research tools
• Vector control devices
• Aspirator collection equipment

Headquarters

HQ city

Gainesville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Hardware Product Sales: The company generates revenue through direct sales of physical insect sampling equipment including mosquito traps, aspirators, droplet samplers, batteries, chargers, and accessories. Products are sold via direct email/telephone/mail orders with MS Excel and PDF order forms. Credit card payments accepted. Products are registered with National Stock Numbers for government procurement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

John W. Hock Company manufactures specialized insect sampling equipment, including mosquito and sandfly traps, battery-powered aspirators, programmable collection bottle rotators, droplet samplers, mosquito breeders, and related accessories, spare parts, and batteries/chargers. Its products are designed for entomological field research, vector-borne disease surveillance, and operational mosquito and sandfly control programs. Customers include government agencies, the U.S. Department of Defense, universities, and research institutions.

Product overview

John W. Hock Company is a manufacturer of insect sampling devices founded in 1976, specializing in tools for collecting mosquitoes and other insects for scientific research, risk assessment, and vector-borne disease control programs. The product portfolio includes a comprehensive range of mosquito and sandfly traps (including CDC Miniature Light Traps, Fay-Prince traps, blacklight UV traps, gravid traps, and UVA-LED traps), Other Entomological Traps (Malaise traps, Townes traps, mayfly traps), Programmable Collection devices, Droplet Samplers for spray calibration, Aspirators (battery-powered, backpack, mouth-operated), Laboratory Equipment (Mosquito Breeder, Larval-Pupal Separator), and proprietary Batteries and Chargers. The company also offers extensive Accessories and Options including CO2 release systems, photoswitches, timers, collection cups, and replacement lamps. Products are designed for day/nighttime collection and are used for arbovirus and taxonomic studies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mosquito and Sandfly Traps

Quantifiable outcome

• UVA-LED trap has nearly twice the runtime of incandescent traps and three times the runtime of blacklight traps on the same battery
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• U.S. Department of DefensecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with US Department of Defense to develop novel trapping devices including the Stealth Trap (Model 2014) and carbon dioxide generators. The company has a research component that works with federal agencies on developing novel trapping technologies.
• U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple CDC researchers designed insect sampling devices that the company manufactures, including CDC Miniature Light Trap, CDC Gravid Trap, CDC Fay-Prince Trap, CDC UpDraft Blacklight Trap, and CDC Wilton Trap. These products are essential tools for arbovirus surveillance.
• Manatee County Mosquito Control District (Florida)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Dr. Robert Frommer to develop the Frommer Updraft Gravid Trap Model 1719 for collecting gravid Culex mosquitoes with pristine specimens.
• Harris County Mosquito Abatement District (Texas)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Dr. Ray Parsons to develop the Ruggedized Storm Sewer Light Trap Model 519.55 for catching Culex quinquefasciatus under storm sewer lids.
• Michigan State UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with graduate student Gabe Hamer to develop the Hamer Floating Emergence Trap Model 619 for catch basins and wells, published in JAMCA.
• North Carolina State UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with graduate student Matthew Green to develop the Adult Mayfly Updraft Blacklight (UV) Trap Model 3519.
• Florida A&M UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Florida A&M University and Manatee County Mosquito Control District (specifically Mark Latham) to develop the Florida Latham Bonds Droplet Sampler Model 319 for smaller emission spectra applications.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Suterra: Suterra is a leading provider of agricultural pest control and mating-disruption products, operating broadly in the integrated pest management space. While not a niche mosquito-trap maker, it is a larger incumbent serving overlapping agricultural and vector-related customer segments.
• DynaTrap: DynaTrap manufactures consumer and light-commercial insect traps for outdoor and indoor flying-insect control. It is a broad incumbent whose products target adjacent consumer mosquito-control use cases rather than the scientific surveillance niche Hock serves.
• Woodstream Corporation: Woodstream is a broad incumbent manufacturer of consumer and professional pest-control products under brands such as Victor and Terro, including insect traps. It operates at significantly larger scale with overlapping pest-monitor product categories but does not specialize in scientific entomological sampling.

Direct peers

• Biogents: Biogents develops and manufactures mosquito surveillance traps, most notably the BG-Sentinel trap, used by researchers and public-health programs worldwide for Aedes mosquito monitoring. It is a direct competitor to Hock in the mosquito-trap segment and competes for the same CDC, university, and abatement-district customers.
• Trécé Inc. Trécé manufactures insect monitoring and pest management products, including pheromone-based trapping systems and lures for agricultural and public-health pest monitoring. It overlaps with Hock in producing specialized insect-trapping devices for research and operational monitoring customers.
• BioQuip Products: BioQuip Products is a long-established manufacturer and distributor of entomological equipment and supplies, offering insect collection gear, traps, and rearing supplies. It is the closest direct competitor to John W. Hock Company in specialized insect sampling hardware serving research and vector-control customers.

Emerging players

• SpringStar Inc. SpringStar produces insect traps and pest-monitoring devices, including mosquito and fly control products for residential and light commercial use. It is an emerging, smaller-scale player with partial overlap to Hock's mosquito-monitoring product range.

Others

• MGK (McLaughlin Gormley King): MGK manufactures insect-control chemical products including those used in professional mosquito abatement, and works closely with the same abatement districts that use Hock's droplet samplers to calibrate spray equipment. It is a thematically adjacent supplier rather than a direct competitor in sampling hardware.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/john-w.-hock-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about John W. Hock Company