From Mosquito Bite to Mission: A Mom’s Journey to Thermacell

This is Ashley Larochelle, VP of People & Culture at Thermacell.

Summer days when you are 3 years old are meant for sunshine, swimming, and way too many freeze pops. In the summer of 2019, our daughter Finley woke up one morning after a long weekend at the lake with a swollen right hand. I immediately panicked as most new parents do and assumed the worst. She must have been stung or bit by a bee or a spider and was allergic. I rushed her to the emergency room full of fear because her hand kept getting more red, warmer, and larger.

We learned later that she had been bit...by a single mosquito. Her mosquito bite that she got at some point during our outdoor escapades over the weekend developed into a full blown cellulitis infection. The doctor drew a circle on her little hand with a sharpie marker to be able to visually measure it progress or worsening, gave her antibiotics, apple juice and a paw patrol sticker and sent us on her way.

We went the rest of summer of 2019 ensuring Fin was doused in bug sprays to protect her, constantly disinfecting her hands and skin, using anti-itch to prevent scratching, and antibacterial creams at night - you name it, we tried it. She still ended up with at least 3 more cellulitis infections and will always be a higher risk. We felt hopeless that we could ever fully protect our little lady except to change our outdoorsy lifestyle and to keep her indoors at night.

Later that year, I received a phone call from previous visionary CEO Steve Hill to come join Thermacell Repellents to establish and lead it's first People & Culture function. What serendipitous timing in my life to join an organization who's mission was to "liberate people who love the outdoors from the harmful effects of insects". I of course said YES and the rest has been history!

Thermacell has been a game changer for my ability to protect the people that I love by creating zones of protection around our home and our outdoor activities away from home. We have our Mat & Fuel devices for outdoor events and adventures on the ATVs, our Rechargeable devices for the lake house firepit, and the LIV Installed system for our patio at home. You'll never see me without a zone of protection except perhaps winter in New England! Our ability to remain outdoors to enjoy quality family time is the greatest gift.

Mosquitos are not just pesky, they can cause so much harm from their bites and in worst case scenarios mosquito borne disease. I am proud to work for an organization that serves it's mission with the highest integrity with a repellent product that actually works created by some of the best people you will ever meet. I will forever be grateful for their ongoing impact to my family.

Get yourself a Thermacell... TODAY. 100% Satisfaction guarantee and we mean it!

About Thermacell

Thermacell Repellents, Inc., designs, manufactures, and markets area mosquito repellent and insect control solutions. Thermacell devices have been in the market for over 25 years, with tens of millions of devices being sold in more than 30 countries worldwide and multitudes of happy customers. For more information on Thermacell and its complete line of repellent products visit www.thermacell.com.