PHOENIX — It was a product created out of necessity to keep scorpions out of Aaron Gonzales' Valley home.
Now, it's being sold on Valley store shelves.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Un hombre del valle creó un producto para alejar a los escorpiones de su casa. Ahora se vende en tiendas del área
Gonzales said he was finding three or four scorpions a week in his family's home in the summer, and one observation of one scorpion unable to get out of a sink, gave him an idea.
"I thought to myself, if I could somehow create that same smooth surface and put it around my home, right on the foundation, because all the houses out here, most of them are built on foundations, then I could stop them from getting in," Gonzales said.
He and his business partner worked with chemists and manufacturers to create Slick Barrier, which is a painted on product to stop scorpions.
"As soon as we put it on our home, we got some relief and then we started seeing a lot less of them, a lot less of them and to the point that we didn't see any of them," Gonzales said.
Now, six years and one episode of Shark Tank later, the product is out growing just the Gilbert warehouse and professional installs. It can be bought on Home Depot shelves by DIYers.
"It's meant everything. Like, you can't necessarily do all this stuff on your own. You got to have partners. And having a partner like Home Depot has been fantastic," Gonzales said.
The product is available in the pesticide aisle in Home Depots in Arizona and some in Texas.
To the DIYers, Gonzales said to plan for the application and spread out of the prep, primer and top coat.
"Once you get it on, you don't really have to worry about it for years at a time," Gonzales said.
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