What Kind of Bug Spray to Use??

I had the same concern for my son and asked the pharmacist. They said to use products with less than 10% DEET. And also that any product that has bug spray and sunscreen in it together wouldn't be as effective because they would counteract each other. Just in case.

Avon has a nice - Skin So Soft (the hand lotion was original) that has a nice smell and keeps the bugs away. Another thing I have used on all of my family - babies, adults, even my animals is the use of garlic every day. For some reason it keeps bugs away anything from mosquitos to fleas. My husband did not believe me until he started noticing that the bugs were not irritating me like him. Have a great summer

I have to agree with the Avon Skin So Soft Suggestions. It's the only thing that's kept both myself -and- my son bug bite free. Whenever we use OFF, or any other commercial bug spray, we still end up eaten alive.. the SSS is cheap, easy, and doesn't smell like a chem lab!

I've not tried the listerine or dryer sheets, but they sound really interesting (and minty fresh!)

DEET is a neurotoxin and should NOT be used for children (or in my opinion, adults either.) I recently started using a bug spray I've found vary effective and it is all natural if you use natural soap. I use it on myself, my kids, and my horses. Knocks down and kills bugs instantly when sprayed. In a large spray bottle combine 2TBLS Lemon dish washing liquid (the kind you use in the sink, not dishwasher) and fill with white vinegar. I also put a little tea tree oil in mine but that is not necessary. You can dilute with water if you prefer. It is cheap and effective!

Hello A..
Everyone needs to avoid DEET. I invite you to subscribe to www.naturalnews.com. Very informative on what IS NOT TOLD to us consumers.

Anyway, I use and sell essential oils. And there is one blend called Purification that I use for bug repellent - mosquitos, fleas, ticks, flies. 15 - 20 drops in a quart spray bottle with distilled water. I use it on my pets too.
Use it has air freshner, spray the pets bedding, etc.
Freebries is soooo toxic. You'll learn a lot about bad products on the naturalnews.com site.

If you would like more information on my oils, please check out my site at http://mrsb.younglivingworld.com. Request the FREE report on Essential Oils.

Lavander is a most have oil, too, for the summer. Soothes the skin from burns, specially sunburns. I could go on because these oils are wonderful. Pure Therapeutic-Grade Essential Oils.

Keep our babies and our moms safe from harmful chemicals, ok!

The only ingredient that is natural in Skin So Soft is the carrot seed oil, other than that is all chemicals. So there is still exposure to harmful chemicals especially to our young ones. Personally, I use my oils. I don't mean to sound like a commercial, I just want to encourage people to always read the ingredient label. The listerine works because of the clove or cinnamom oil but again the rest is all chemicals.

God Bless
MrsB

A.,

I am not sure if your close to Royal Oak, but at the farmer's market there is a woman who sells her own natural organic products (Dirty Girl Farms). She makes a bug spray with Lemongrass, Rosemary and Lavendar; all natural ingredients that work great as a natural bug repellant. Burt's Bees and California Baby sell a similar product.

I have not used them yet, but I have been doing research because I want to use them on my son and myself. I will keep you posted as I am going to purchase some and use it on my trip to the U.P. in 2 weeks.

By the way, these companies also make a great sunscreen.

Good Luck.

Avoid DEET. Avoid it for yourself and your kids. The skin absorbs anything that is put on it and it is transferred to the blood stream.

www.mercola.com has a very good ALL NATURAL bug spray and sunscreen. I would suggest looking into something like that.

I've also heard fairly good reports on sunshield.

Your local nursery may also have some all natural bug spray. I found some at bordines while I was pregnant that worked really well. Can't remember the name of it though...

I'm going to try this one http://www.dontbitemepatch.com/
and Amazon Lights™ Garden Incense Cones from therainforestsite.com (Site will preserve 1145.0 sq. ft. of land for each pack of Amazon Lights™ Garden Incense Cones purchased.)I'll probably also mix up some essential oils too.
Anything but DEET, here's a link about the dangers of deet.
http://www.quantumhealth.com/news/dangers_of_DEET.html

Be wary of using insect repellant containing DEET on children. Children are more susceptible to subtle brain changes caused by chemicals in their environment because their skin more readily absorbs them. Also, their still-developing nervous systems are more potently affected. For the same reasons,
NEVER use insect repellant containing DEET on infants.

A. H

When my son was a baby, I used Avon's Skin So Soft. It really worked plus it smells good.

A.,

Although I can't remember the exact reason way, we tell our Boy Scouts to not use bug repellent with Deet. I think it was beause of the strong chemical content. My personal feeling is the fewer chemicals we put in our systems the better. Myself, I would try to avoid using such things on a small child but I know there can be dangers to mosquito bites as well. It has been said that Avon's Skin So Soft body oil spray works good as a bug repellent, you might try that. I believe Avon also carries a line of children's sunscreen and bug repellents that you might look into. Their skin care products are supposed to be among the best.

S.

Hi A.,
Our family is into "natural". We have used varoius sprays from health food stores over the past 15 yrs., even before we had kids. The one that has worked the best so far( even better than the Avon skin so soft method) has been a citronella spray which includes other natural oils called "Buzz Away" from Quantum. You can get it at Whole Foods or probably other health food stores. You can check out their web site at www.quantumhealth.com.
Hope that helps! Have a blessed day!
C.

I am a Shaklee distributor and fan of their Basic H2 Organic Cleaning Concentrate . . . word on the street it is also a terrific bug repellant . . . I'm going to use it myself this summer.

Believe it or not, the best bug repellant i've used isn't even a bug repellant....
Avon Skin So Soft bath oil....
probably the most gentle thing you'll find...and it works.
works awesome against black flies too...

A., There are a lot of bug sprays meant for children, you can try any of those. Also a crazy one Listerine (the mouth wash) put some in a spray bottle, dilute it half and half, spray a little on each arm and leg, cheap and VERY effective, I am not crazy! You can spray it outside around a playground, or picnic table, it works for days! Cheaper than Raid and commercial brands. Try it! K.

Well, the 'experts' say not to use DEET, but when my kids go to summer camp, they require it. The brief time they have it on is a MUCH better option than the risks that come with mosquito bites lately! Some say to only spray their clothing, making sure they are in long sleeves and pants....YEAH RIGHT....when its 90 degrees???!!! Probably the best you can do is to ask your ped for a recommendation and then trial and error. Pay attention to how long the spray lasts and when the mosquitoes are the worst. Sometimes we are picking the lesser of two evils, you know?

~L.

I have to place an order for "Bite Blocker". It works great and is all natural. My sis did an experiment and put deet on on arm and Bite Blocker on the other. Bite Blocker won. You can order it through www.isabellacatalog.com I lost my bottle on a golf trip!

I am no help to you but maybe ask a pharmacist or your pediatrician. They are usually pretty helpful with things like that.

I just read that Bounce dryer sheets work well as a bug repellent. The article said to rub the sheet on the childs exposed skin. I haven't tried it yet but I definately will when the need arises for my 12 month old. Hope this helps. Have a fun summer.
C.

My pediatrician recommended that we use a time released bug repellant with DEET. We purchased ours at Meijer and it is Sawyer brand and can be found with the camping equipment.

Hi A.!

We have been using Avon's Skin So Soft Bug Guard Plus for a couple years now. Also, they carry a sunscreen that is waterproof and insect repellent. It's SPF 30 and has a slight tint to it that disappears when you rub it in. That is also in the Skin So Soft line but it is Bug Guard Plus. None of these contain Deet, safe for the family pets as well (just keep it out of their eyes). You might also want to try the Bullfrog Musquito Coast Spray which also is a sunblock bug repelent. I believe it is an spf 30 as well. We have found these to all be great and SAFE!

I have found success with Burt's Bees spray as well.

There are lots of incidents "out there" indicating how dangerous those DEET sprays and lotions can be. My sister has used fabric softener dryer sheets rubbed on the skin and there are also some little battery powered things you can clip onto your child that put out a high pitched sound that mosquitos don't like. For myself, I have found that taking vitamins particularily high in Vitamin B makes a person not taste good to mosquitos....they don't even land on me when other people that may be out at the same time are bothered by the little beasts.

There is actually a kid's bug spray, and yes it does contain DEET, however, I was given a bunch of research, saying it is safe for kids over the age of 6 months (similar to sunscreen) I would just buy the kid's stuff, or the sent free stuff. I also rub it on the kids face, rather than spraying it, it doesn't get into their mouths or eyes that way!

You can try two things that are not harmful at all...

Get a spray bottle and mix water with Listerine (original) the other option is mix it with Apple Cider Vinegar.

Both are apply as needed and you will have to re apply them from time to time.

The Listerine gets diluted down a little more than half and the apple cider vinegar you can dilute down more if you need to.
I have dogs that clean themselves like cats so we needed something that if ingested wouldn't hurt them and also when I was riding we needed to do something and the bug sprays didn't work that well.

Both are natural and won't cause any reactions. The DEET Is very bad for you, but sometimes you have to, just realize that if you have any clothing on with Nylon in it, the DEET will eat it. I use to do a lot of riding and it took me 2 months to figure out what was eating my riding pants and stuff. Good Luck it's going to be a bad year for those pesky little critters.

A.,

I like bug spray w/out DEET in it for young children. You can use Skin so Soft by Avon, or check out their bug spray and their bug spray/sunscreen combination. You can find it on the AVON web site.

Burt's Bees also makes a natural bug spray repellent that we like. I keep in the van. Mine is an older version, but it has Lemongrass oil in it and it smells good and it works at keeping away bugs. Check it out on their web site, www.burtsbees.com . You can order it online from there or drugstore.com, or stores like CVS and Meijer are now carrying it. Local Health Food / Wholistic Food stores usually carry their products too.

K.
Mom to 3 Future Spartans
Alex (10), Aidan & Aaron (19 mos)

Hi A., I see there is at least one other person with the same suggestion I'm going to make. I received it via email this spring, and I'm sure going to try it. Try using LISTERINE mouth wash. You put it into a spray bottle and it is said to work like a charm. The email I received said it lasted a couple of days without having to reapply. I have a 9 month old and a 3 year old, so I'm sure going to be giving this a try. Hope it works!! Good luck.

C.

The listerine thing is an email hoax - you can find it at http://www.snopes.com/oldwives/dishsoap.asp

I've used diluted skin so soft and it works for a little while, but they also sell some products made especially for children. BRU had an all natural repellant last time I was in there - though I have not used it and do not know how effective it is.

If you are worried about mosquitoes in your yard, they sell machines which attract the mosquitoes and cut down on their population drastically. Also there are plants you can put in your garden that seem to repel mosquitoes as well. Citronella seems to work well.

Good luck!

Hi A.,
This may seem a bit off of the topic, but I recently got an email from my aunt that says to put listerine in a spray bottle. You then spray it around your house/entryways and around your yard. The mosquitos don't like it. Here's the email:
Mosquito Spray...Worth a try
I was at a deck party awhile back, and the bugs were having a ball biting everyone. A man at the party sprayed the lawn and deck floor with Listerine, and the little demons disappeared. The next year I filled a 4-ounce spray bottle and used it around my seat whenever I saw mosquitoes. And viola! That worked as well. It worked at a picnic where we sprayed the area around the food table, the children's swing area, and the standing water nearby.
During the summer, I don't leave home without it.....Pass it on.
OUR FRIEND'S COMMENTS: I tried this on my deck and around all of my doors. It works - in fact, it killed them instantly. I bought my bottle from Target and it cost me $1.89. It really doesn't take much, and it is a big bottle, too; so it is not as expensive to use as the can of Bug-spray you buy that doesn't last 30 minutes. So, try this, please. It will last a couple of days. Don't spray directly on a wood door (like your front door), but spray around the frame. Spray around the window frames, and even inside the dog house.Now these are Good Mosquitos!!!

I couldn't get the pics to copy and paste, but I am sure you get the gyst of it.
Hope this helps,
A. C.

Hi A..
I use the Off Family bug spray. It has a lower amount of deet than the other. I used deet free when I was pregnant and it does not work! Another bug spray that might work is the Burts Bees Wax bug repelant. I have used it also and I think it works good. I have not put it to the true test (camping) yet. I have herd of people useing it on there dogs even and getting great results. Good luck. Have a fun summer.

Hi A.,
DEET is not safe. Last year our pediatrician told me that 10 years ago DEET was taken off of the market because it was a hazard to our neurological system, and caused neurological problems. She said that if it was hazardous 10 years ago, it's still hazardous today.
I use essential oils, and there is an oil blend that I use called Purification on the mosquito bites. We put it directly on the bites, and the itching stops. Other essential oils that would be good for a mosquito repellent are lemon, peppermint, Eucalyptus radiata, and lemongrass. Mix the oils with water in a spray bottle.
Deet is not a good thing to use and is not safe for anyone to use. To read some facts about DEET, type into browser http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/carbaryl-di...

K.

Avon skin so soft has worked well for my family. They have it in a spray as well as a color change lotion so you can see any spots you missed.