Monmouth Co. Mom Is Biting Back On Pests In The Most Natural Way

MANALAPAN, NJ — Laurie White, a Manalapan mom of three, is on a mission. She wants families to know how they can control pests in their yard while keeping children and pets safe.

"We're all out here in New Jersey, where there's lots of ticks and mosquitoes," she told Patch. "A lot of people have pets that, after the chemical companies would come, within a day or so, were vomiting, (or had) diarrhea and seizures."

This year, White launched an all-natural tick and mosquito control service called Bite Back. They spray a solution of essential oils mixed with a soap base around the outside of the house.

According to White, it effectively gets rid of the unwanted pests, while keeping insects that are essential to the ecosystem alive and posing no threat to pets or children. That's why the company's mascot, Buddy is one very smiley butterfly. The product also doesn't hurt bees or ladybugs.

They come every three weeks during the warm months, which is similar to how often companies with more toxic chemicals spray, White said.

"I basically was in the same position as all my customers, with young kids and having this anxiety, worrying, going around in this vicious cycle," White said. "It was just like one big web of anxiety. You go from worrying about the ticks and Lyme disease and mosquitoes to 'oh, great, now they're ingesting and being around these toxic, unhealthy chemicals.' It was just one worry after the other."

White said demand for her service during her first season exceeded all her expectations.

"There was just more than just a few people who had issues with the pets. I had many people calling me. And they were also complaining basically about the pets, the dogs getting sick from the chemical companies," White said. "Everyone's eating organic now and trying to be healthier. So no one really wants to spray this (toxic chemicals) around their kids and their pets and their families."

She expects to double sales next year. While there are other services out there with natural solutions, she said many of them have to come every two weeks and charge "almost double the price."

Bite Back is just "just marginally more expensive," she said.

"There's a lot of people out there in the same boat as us and I would love to be able to help them, (alleviate) their anxieties — especially moms that are home with the kids trying to have them play in the backyard," she said. "I have many customers say for the first time, my kids have been able to go out and catch lightning bugs and not get to invite mosquitoes."

Besides her three kids, White also has three dogs. She has set out an ambitious path for herself.

"My mission is just basically to help everyone including the earth," she said. "It's not 1980. There's no reason to put anyone at risk unnecessarily."

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