Highlights
- Joseph Balistreri pitches Critter Pricker, a humane solution for keeping raccoons and other critters away from homes.
- The product is a plastic strip with spikes designed to deter raccoons without harming them, suitable for areas like trash cans, pools, and gardens.
- Balistreri enters the show seeking $115,000 for 15% equity.
Overview
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Critter Pricker |
| Founder | Joseph Balistreri |
| Industry | Pest Control |
| Product | Humane raccoon deterrent strips with plastic spikes |
| Funding | Sought $115,000 for 15% equity |
| Investment Ask | $115,000 |
| Equity Offered | 15% |
| Valuation | $766,667 |
Joseph Balistreri pitches Critter Pricker, his humane home pest solution, in Shark Tank episode 1116. Balistreri has owned and operated his own pest control service in Boca Raton, Florida since 2010. In addition to the standard pest control services, he also removes nuisance critters – like racoons – from people’s homes. Racoons can be very destructive and sometimes carry diseases like rabies.
If you’ve ever had a racoon get into your trash, you know what a mess they can make. They can also spread germs through their feces and they like to swim and poop in swimming pools. When people in Boca Raton have these problems, they call Joe.
Joe wants to get rid of the racoons in a humane way, but he always knew the best thing was to keep them away. When he started looking around for a product that would effectively keep racoons away, he couldn’t find a good one, so he invented Critter Pricker. It’s basically a plastic strip with plastic spikes on it. Racoons don’t like walking on the Critter Pricker, so they stay away.
The strips snap together so you can put a bunch of Critter Prickers together in places where racoons are likely to wreak havoc, like around your pool or trashcans. The product doesn’t hurt the racoons, but it keeps them off your property. It also works for keeping dogs and cats out of the garden. A pack of ten strips costs just $29.99 on Amazon. Joe wants a Shark to help him get his product into the Lowes and Home Depots of the world. Will Sharks bite on this critter?
Company Information
Video
Posts about Critter Pricker on Shark Tank Blog
The Critter Pricker Raccoon Deterrent
Critter Pricker Shark Tank Recap
Joe enters seeking $115,000 for 15% of his business. He tells his story he hands out samples. He tells the Sharks he sold out at a recent trade show and has about $80,000 in sales so far for the year (taping was in September 2019). Joe wants a Shark to help him maintain inventory because he’s having trouble keeping up with demand.
Did Shark Tank Invest In Critter Pricker?
The Sharks like the idea, but are worried about liability if a kid or pet gets poked by the spikes. Every Shark goes out except Kevin. Mr. Wonderful likes it and offers $115,000 for 15% PLUS a $2.50 per unit royalty in perpetuity. Joe accepts!
Critter Pricker Shark Tank Update
The Shark Tank Blog constantly provides updates and follow-ups about entrepreneurs who have appeared on the Shark Tank TV show. The deal with Kevin never closed – probably because there are dozens of similar, competing products online. Since airing, Joe redesigned his website. Critter Prickers are still available for sale on Amazon. As of March, 2023, the company is still in business with sales of less than $1 million per year.
See what else is new! View other businesses featured in this episode.
