Ladue Mom Runs Mosquito Squad Spraying Business

Martha Baur hopes there’s a constant buzz in Ladue and Frontenac. That’s because both she and her husband Carson, a native St. Louisian, co-own a Mosquito Squad franchise for the central portion of the city.

Mosquito Squad, based in Richmond, VA has franchises across the US, providing spraying protection against pesky outdoor insects. The St. Louis metro area has three local franchises. Mosquito Squad has established franchises for St. Charles County, West County and Central St. Louis County. The Baurs own the latter.

Their territory runs mostly from inside Highway Interstate 270 to Ladue and Frontenac, including all of St. Louis city; all the way south to Sunset Hills and Oakville and to the river's edge in southern Illinois.

Martha is a mom, blogger, business owner and landscape designer. Her blog is called, naturally, “The Scuttle Buzz.”

She is also a member of the Ladue-Frontenac Patch Moms' Council.

“As a family, we love to be out of doors, walking the dogs, riding bikes, working in the yard, playing golf. I grew up in eastern North Carolina, and our family always enjoyed that kind of lifestyle."

In 1998, she married and moved to St. Louis. Her first job was doing landscape design work for Horstmann Brothers of Olivette. Since then, she’s gone mostly on her own. While Carson works in commercial real estate, she handles the other duties with Mosquito Squad and some independent design work. “I kind of maintain my business on the fly,” she said laughing, no pun intended.

That of course, is when she is not driving carpool for her three young daughters, Jane, 10, who goes to MICDS; Anna Scott, 7, who goes to Conway Elementary or Bennett, 4, in the preschool program at Ladue Chapel.

Her business tends both to the needs of people in a great rush and those who seek long-term solutions.

Imagine the terror of a mother of the bride hosting an outdoor wedding, only to have a swarm of insects arrive as the sun begins to set. Mosquitoes could ruin any outdoors occasion. “Believe me, $150 is well spent to make sure a nice outside event is not ruined by uninvited guests,” she said.

Most of the Baurs' customers sign contracts, and their property gets sprayed regularly on a 21-day rotation. The treatment, which uses EPA-approved solutions, kills adult mosquitoes, ticks and fleas on contact. Most of their clients reside in Frontenac, Ladue, Kirkwood and Webster Groves. “Clayton is really starting to pick up,” she said. Advertising is mostly with yard signs and word of mouth. The owners support tons of local school fundraisers.

The Baurs maintain a warehouse-type operation on Manchester Road in Brentwood. “Its not the kind of place where people come in to see us. Rather, it’s where we store and maintain all our equipment.” She has four employees who spray throughout the community, wearing backpack sprayers. She gets around plenty herself. “I have a good GPS and excellent routing software. I go everywhere,” she said.

One stop is the grounds of the Loretto Hilton Theater in Webster Groves. Her client there is Opera Theater of St. Louis.

“In this economy, we are doing quite well. I find a lot of people are staying home more, and they want to be able to enjoy their yards and their outdoor gardens.”

One of her most pleased customers wrote a note of satisfaction:

“We sit outdoors almost every evening, weather permitting and we even eat outside without bug spray. I spent more time in our beautiful garden last summer than I had in the past 15 years. Mosquito Squad really works. One friend used to say our garden was the ‘buggiest place in town.’ Now she asks to sit outdoors.”