Bug Spray Alternatives

Please read what the CDC says about insect repellent effectiveness:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/qa/insect_repell...

There are only three ingredients that have been shown to work and to be safe by scientific tests:

1) DEET is N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide
2) Picaridin is KBR 3023, sometimes known as “Bayrepel” outside the US
3) The active ingredient in oil of lemon eucalyptus is p-menthane 3,8-diol (PMD)

There is an awesome bug repellent made from gernaniums. It smells good to us, but not to bugs. No pesticides that you spray on yourself. e-w-w-w-w.

It's called BugBand and their website is: www.bugband.net

Our Wild Bird store has it and I'll bet you can find it around you or order some online.

I have been looking into this myself. Google natural or homemade bug sprays. You can make them using differnet essential oils and witch hazel as a base. I haven't done this yet- but plan to soon.

Take a multivitamin. I believe it is the B vitamins that cause your body to emit an odor that the bugs do not like.

I've heard that rubbing a fabric softener sheet on your clothes and keeping one in your pocket really helps.

As does rubbing an herb called lemon balm is easy to grow and when crushed and rubbed on your skin works better than OFF or much else.

My MIL swears by those organic bug bracelets.

I like good old Deep Woods off with DEET ;)

My kids use the nice smelling family friendly wipes made by OFF.

Since you're going to get bitten regardless, we use 'the itch stick'... it's pretty much just ammonia, but takes the itch out for sure!

Try Best Yet! by Cedarcide. Works great for all types of bugs! Especially ticks and mosquitos. It's all natural, very safe, no deet, and doesn't stink. The main ingredient is cedar oil. www.cedarcide.com

There is a compnay called essential oils.They make bug spray which is an alternative to the store bought bug spray. It is a little costly but it is supposed to work well. Good luck

I have heard that straight lemon juice works to repel bugs. I haven't tried it.

my son is allergic to mosquito bites and I wanted to use something a little more natural. I haven't tried Avons Skin so-soft, but I have been using citronella bands. I found them at a store called five below, and the bands only cost $1 a piece. They have kid and adult sizes. We have been using them for about a month and as long as he is wearing them I haven't found a bite. I put the kid size on one wrist and on the opposite ankle I put an adult size one. We also put another kid size on one shoe. They only last so many hours as long as you put them back in the bag when you are done. I think the only thing that is bad is if a dog licks the bands. I believe cintronella is bad for dogs.

Shaklee's Basic H2 is amazing. Non toxic, and the best part is when you put the kids in the tub before bed, they come out amazingly clean, and so does your tub. Also, in many cases, people who take B Complex vitamins are less likely to get bitten.

We've tried lots of alternatives. One that worked ok were those patches - maybe bug off or similar, which are actually Vitamin B skin patches. They work for a long period of time, but they make you smell like cheerios, and if the bugs are really bad they're not good enough.
My take on bug spray: get the DEET stuff and use it sparingly. Make sure you bathe with soap and water the night you put it on. Spray clothing rather than skin if possible. The long and the short is, the DEET is really the stuff that works MUCH better than any alternative I've found. I only use it on me and the kids if the bugs are quite bad, and when they are, there's no substitute.

If your just sitting outside a great product is Off Clip on. You don't have to wear it either. You can just set it on the patio table and it protects a 5 foot radius. It really does work and you don't have to put any chemicals on your body. Amazing is all I can say about it. I take one to baseball games and just set it on the bleacher next to me and we don't get any bites.
I have heard of the listerine but I don't think you put it on the skin but rather spray the area.
The new Off Dry mosquito repellents are different to what we were used to with mosquito repellents of the past. They don't have that smell or stickiness. There is a family/kid friendly one called Off Smooth & Dry and then a heavier protection called Off Deepwoods Dry.

We've tried mouth wash too, didn't work. My chiropractor sells a product called Bug Off, works pretty well and all natural.