Snake-repellant company grows out of Georgia garage

<p>As a rural pharmacist, James Tennyson dispensed his share of antibiotics, cough remedies and eye drops, but it was his customers' fear of poisonous snakes that led him to his true calling.</p><p>Tennyson developed a snake repellent out of his father's garage, mixing his first batches in brown paper bags before switching to steel drums to keep up with demand. He eventually quit working at the drug store to devote all his time to the product, called Snake-A-Way, despite the skepticism of some of his neighbors in this southwest Georgia farm town of 4,000.</p><p>"When we started with Snake-A-Way, people in my own community laughed and called me a snake-oil salesman," Tennyson said. "But we believed in the product and convinced distributors of the need for it."</p><p>From that humble start, the company Tennyson and his father founded in 1990, Dr. T's Nature Products, has grown into a major repellant maker, boasting annual sales of about $10 million and customers as far away as Saudi Arabia, Greece and Israel. Its customers range from pest-control companies to the U.S. military to large retailers such as Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Lowe's.</p><p>Snake-A-Way works through such ingredients as fuller's earth and sulfur, which disrupt a snake's ability to detect scents through their forked tongues, causing them to make a hasty retreat.</p><p>The granular repellent is spread around the perimeter of a property and is advertised as providing protection for up to three months at a time.</p><p>Research conducted at the University of Florida concluded that Snake-A-Way repels the poisonous coral snake and six species of rattlesnakes with "remarkable effectiveness," but is somewhat limited in controlling other snakes such as cottonmouth.</p><p>In the United States, the repellent is most in demand during the spring and summer as the weather gets warmer and more snakes emerge from their nests to seek out mates and food. Between 6,000 to 8,000 venomous bites are reported each year across the nation, resulting in about 15 deaths.</p><p>Part of Snake-A-Way's appeal is that it is not as harmful as pesticides to humans and pets. As a pharmacist, Tennyson was trained to dispense beneficial compounds, so the company has focused on repellents, rather than poisons.</p><p>There's growing interest in products that repel, rather than kill nuisance animals, said John Eisemann of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Wildlife Research Center in Fort Collins, Colo., which tests pesticides, repellents and devices that minimize such problems.</p><p>"Society is changing and lethal means aren't as acceptable anymore," Eisemann said.</p><p>For years, Snake-A-Way was about the only product of its type on the market, but within the last year, Bonide Products Inc. of Oriskany, N.Y., has introduced its own version. Bonide's Snake Stopper contains clove and cinnamon oils, which federal research has found to repel snakes.</p><p>"Dr. T's is the market leader, but there are those in the marketplace who would prefer something without a naphthalene base _ a more natural product," said Bonide's president Jim Wurz, referring to Snake-A-Way's use of naphthalene, a coal and petroleum byproduct once commonly used in mothballs that has been found to trigger some illnesses in humans.</p><p>Dr. T's president James Springer contends Snake-A-Way and its other products are safe and contain mostly natural ingredients.</p><p>"We're not poisoning our water, our children or our environment," Springer said. "That's why we're Dr. T's Nature Products."</p><p>With the success of Snake-A-Way, Dr. T's has added a wide range of other repellents for bats, rats, spiders and other critters. Concern about mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile virus also has boosted demand for Dr. T's mosquito-repelling granules, which contain lemongrass, mint and garlic.</p><p>Despite his company's success, Tennyson has remained in Pelham, about 200 miles south of Atlanta, where the Dr. T's products are manufactured and shipped. Springer heads the company's operation in Hartwell, in northeastern Georgia, where the company's sales, marketing and new product development are handled.</p><p>With more suburbs spreading into undeveloped areas, Tennyson and Springer believe their products will become increasingly popular as humans coexist with wildlife.</p><p>"With our products, the conflicts can be resolved without destroying the environment," Tennyson said. "Humans and wildlife can live in harmony."</p><p>---</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x1cdef68)</p><p>HASH(0x1cdefa4)</p><p>End ADV for June 11-12</p>

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