Shopping Green  

By Rita Cook  

Dallas residents , Doug and Crissy Fairweather’s Papa Richter's Roach Ridder (tm) company has not only been getting rid of roaches in the area for the last few years, but also doing it naturally.  

For the owners however, they say they have been using the product for 20-plus years.  Naturally and with a sigh of relief, Dallas area residents no longer have to deal with roaches thanks to the Roach Ridder product, but nor do they have to deal with toxic substances in the home endangering not only those living there, but pets as well.   There are no dangerous chemicals used in the product.  In fact, the active ingredient is boric acid, which is less toxic than table salt, but Crissy says the remainder of the ingredients contain a secret plant-based recipe. (Doug and Crissy Fairweather - Photo Fairweather)

Starting out about 25 years ago with their natural roach product, it was a time before folks in the area really grasped the dangers of not using natural products.   Having a roach problem of their own when the Fairweather couple brought their third of four children home in 1986, Crissy says “I felt guilty each month for exposing our children to these smelly chemicals. 

After playing around with some natural ingredients and the boric acid we gave that concoction a try. It wasn’t long before we noticed that our bug problem was completely gone.” Receiving an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seal of approval, Crissy says she and her husband manufacture and distribute Papa Richter's Roach Ridder from that same recipe that literally started in their kitchen years ago. (Roach Ridder bottle cap - Photo Phillip Shinoda}

“For years Doug would say to me, ‘we need to start a business selling this,’” Crissy says. “At that time we stayed busy with our picture framing business and the conversation really never progressed past that.”  However, the couple finally did get serious about it a little over four years ago when their son encouraged them to again consider the thought.   “He noticed more of a “Green” awareness going on in the area and thought that now would be a good time to start marketing the product,” she says. “All of us played around with different ideas on the names we thought might be good to call it. Then with the help of our son-in-law, the graphic artist, we came up with artwork and packaging ideas that gave it that “old timey” natural look. It ended up being named after my father.”

From there the Fairweathers’ approached a major Texas company that they felt would be interested in having the product on their shelves and found out that they needed their product registered with the EPA to get it on those shelves.  They then set out on the long journey to get the product registered with the EPA.  That journey took about 1 ½ years,   Crissy says it was an uphill climb, but worth it. 

These days countless area residents are taking advantage of their natural way to get rid of roaches.  “I would guess thousands of households are using our product regularly and telling their friends about it,” Crissy says. “We sell our product in several family-owned stores in the Dallas and Austin area and online.”  Farmers Markets and Green Festival events have also given the company a lot of exposure while at the same time educating the public about the product. “We have people telling us how great Papa Richter’s Roach Ridder is working for them and thanks for coming up with it,” she says. (Roach Ridder Logo (TM) )

Overall, the Fairweathers are excited to let more people know that there is a “green” alternative to indoor pest control that is environmentally-friendly, environmentally-safe and inexpensive. “The fact that people can feel confident that they are purchasing a quality product and not exposing their family, pets or the earth to harmful chemicals is of utmost importance to us and for them,” Chrissy concludes.  “Any time we can make the public aware of a natural alternative we all win.

Of course, the Papa Richter’s Roach Ridder owners are proof that their product works too since they say they haven’t had bugs for the past 25 years.

For more information visit www.roachridder.com.

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Rita Cook is an award winning journalist who writes or has written for the Dallas Morning News, Focus Daily News, Waxahachie Daily Light, Dreamscapes Travel Magazine, Porthole, Core Media, Fort Worth Star Telegram and many other publications in Los Angeles, Dallas and Chicago.  With five books published, her latest release is “A Brief History of Fort Worth” published by History Press.  You can contact her at rcook13@earthlink.net