Beauty

[WhateverLolaWants]

We've used these and found they worked well -- you don't have to apply chemicals to yourself. You do have to buy refills though.

http://www.off.com/en-US/Products/Pages/OFF-Clip-On.aspx

[glmama]

Thank you ALL so much! I am just now checking back into this thread. Reading all the replies.

[glmama]

On 6/24/2014 queendiva said:

Avon Skin So Soft Bug Guard and Expedition. Deet free and they work!

I actually just ordered a few SSS, Queen. I'll see how they do for DH and my kids. They have the chemical Picaridin in it--which sounds scary, but is much less scary than DEET.

[lori631]

When my kids go to camp I make my own for them to take with them. Store bought bug sprays scare me (spraying all those chemicals on my kids). I use tea tree oil as my kids don't have any allergies to it. I take an 8oz spray bottle and add a 50/50 mixture of distilled water and witch hazel. Then I add 15-20 drops of tea tree oil, shake, and it's ready to go. I get my tea tree oil at Trader Joe's but most health food stores also carry it. There are many recipes for this online, including others for people with sensitivities to tea tree oil.

[Tigriss]

The CDC is recommending DEET for bug sprays to keep mosquitos that might be carrying the newest threat to us, Chikungunya, a virus from Africa to the Caribbean, then to US. Just Google it. It is spread by mosquitos. Organic might be nice, but when it comes to our monster mosquitos, I load up on DEET. Those and ticks are horrible around here.

[Tigriss]

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/diseases/chikungunya

There is the CDC link.

[glmama]

Thanks for posting the link, tigriss. While I'm all about trying to minimize our exposure to unnecessary, harmful chemicals, I think that in this case the Picaridin products OR some with a stronger chemical (like DEET) may be in order.

[pinkberry]

Last summer I bought Repel Lemon Eucalyptus bug spray. I was looking for something natural, also something that didn't have the vile smell of most bug sprays. I can tolerate the scent, and it seems to work well. I learned about it online.

[14Victoria]

I recently discovered a lot of places are selling little plastic bracelets that are supposed to be repellents I guess in place of the spray. I got mine at Big Lots but also noticed in my local grocery store. This might be an option for you.

[Mindy D]

I used the Avon Skin So Soft for years, until I read a research study using live mosquitos in a controlled experiment and the product did not repel mosquitos. This is why Avon does not make the claim that it does. I still use it sometimes, must be the placebo effect which calms me down. Mosquitos are attracted to the CO2 we exhale. They come out at dusk and dawn and only the females bite ( in order to get a blood meal). Mosquitos are the vectors responsible for the most animal born illnesses in the world. In other words, mosquitos are actually the most dangerous animal in the world in terms of associated human deaths. DEET is not natural, but it is highly effective in preventing bites.

Good news is that recent research with Anopheles mosquito genetics is allowing researchers to cause only one gender of mosquito to be born. These single gender mosquitos are now being released in a semi-controlled wild area, to be observed. The goal is eradication through population gender ratio change.

The natural product by Burt's Bees, what is in it?