Reader help needed: bug repellant

For me, this time.

But before I ask you my question, let's talk about the sponsors a little.

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And speaking of vacation, here's my question for all of you:

We're about to head up to the Mosquito State on vacation, and I'd like to have a plan in place for bug management. So give me what you've got in terms of repellant sprays that are safe for kids, supplements we can take to make our blood less attractive, magical talismans we can wear to ward off the winged beasts, etc.

The caveat is that the scent of Skin-So-Soft makes me nauseated.

Thanks.

Comments

[Leah]

Sadly, the best, most natural bug repellant out there is B.O. However, I doubt that will help with your nausea...

[Stephanie]

www.frostfishcovesoaps.com

I was just in the same situation, and found this website. She sells a natural insect repellent that is safe for infants. I used it this weekend on the boy, as well as myself, and it seemed to work pretty well! It doesn't smell too bad either, a little like citronella.

[wix]

California Baby makes a fairly effective citronella lotion, and they make one with sunscreen as well. We're in one of the mosquito capitals of the industrial world--there are parts of town where they're still spraying on trucks at night. Good luck.

[Dani]

We just came home from a weekend in the southern Adirondacks and the mosquitos were worse than I've ever experienced there. Maybe because we've had so much rain, or something. Anyway, the natural bug stuff we have that has always worked in the past did absolutely nothing this time, so I won't recommend it. But I wanted to add the suggestion of bug hats for the whole family. You know, the kind with netting. They make them in child sizes, too, and they're useful for times like dusk when the bugs are really bad and you want to be outside.

[Kristin]

I bought "tick guard" (because don't forget deer ticks if you'll still be in the northeast) and "bite guard jr." Neither has any deet- it seems to me the active ingredients are essential oils. I'd bet you'd have no trouble finding it. I actually haven't used it yet, ahem, but it looks good! I sent some to woodsy sleep away camp with my oldest son, so I hope for his sake it works.

[Olerica]

I have heard (and experienced) that bananas make you more palatable to biting things. So, perhaps a week or so prior to leaving, you might want to cut those out.

[Lisa V]

There is a spray on "off" (non-aresol) that we have always used for the kids when they go to camp. They don't seem to come home covered in bites. I also look for sunscreen/bug repellent combo lotions. I think it's Tropicana.

Mallory left yesterday for Costa Rica and we had to find her bug spray with DEET. I got the highest percentage I could find. I told her if it made her sick to just go back to our regular stuff. Oh and I told her not to spray it near her ovaries. Who knows, maybe my grandchildren will be born with tails now.

[cursingmama]

As a Native Minnesotan, I have lived through more than my fair share of mosquito (and deer fly, gnat, chigger - ugh) attacks. We've fallen deeply madly in love with a product by 3M called Ultrathon. It does contain DEET, although a lower level than most others that are effective.
Personally, it works so well I'm willing to take any DEET risks to avoid the West Nile/ Lyme Disease risks.

[Julie]

Our pediatrician recommended the Off (maybe other brands have them too) towelettes. It's still Deet, but you don't have to try to spray it on, so it's a little easier to control.

[Carrie]

I understand the convenience of the 2-in-1 bugspray/sunscreen, but bugspray is good for 8 hours and sunscreen needs to be re-applied every hour, add that to the fact that you need sunscreen during the day and bugspray at night and it sounds like you'd be exposing yourself and your kids to some of it unnecessarily.
I use two products on Boy: Blue Lizard sensistive sunscreen during the day and Off in the evening, but I don't put it on his face or hands (hands into the mouth frequently). I mostly put it on his neck, ankles, and clothing. I spray the pump into my palm first and then rub my hands on him to control where it goes.

[arb]

I got a good one for you:

http://www.insectrepel.com

The product is: NoTox Mosquito Repellent "Skeeter Free". It is made with catnip oil. Smells nice (like herbal tea) and works well. I was hipped to this by a mom with a toddler.

_____

Also: CDC recommends a new ingredient called Picaridin. Also products made with "oil of lemon eucalyptus", which they say have proved as effective as low concentrations of DEET:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/RepellentUpdates.htm

I read about this on Dr. Greene's site:

http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?id=21&action=detail&ref=1911

So far I have not found any products made with oil of lemon eucalyptus.

[AmyinMotown]

I used an all-natural Off product when I was pregnant; dont remeber exactly whhat it was called butt it was all herbal. Worked quite well and smelled nice.

[suz]

We use this: http://www.luckyvitamin.com/608503010047.html

All natural oils, pleasant enough smell. I am usually a mosquito buffet, but so far this has worked pretty well.

[victoria]

Seroyal (parent co of Genestra) makes an essential oil blend called Solverome. It is absolutely awesome0. YOu add a few drops to a spray bottle of water and spray on. The skitters hate it

[Chaya]

My family went to Russia several years ago. We all spent the first night awake and miserable in our rooms, slapping each other all night. In the morning, we complained to a cousin who lives in St. Petersburg, and she brought over these plug in things, which were amazing, no more mosquito bites inside at least. They had no smell. Have no clue what was in them, and both my sister and i were pregnant, and my nieces were with us, and everyone seems ok. I guess this isn't really helpful, unless you know somebody in Russia, or someone knows of a similar american product.

[Aiyim]

You can find oil of lemon eucalyptus in Repel Lemon Eucalyptus (available at REI, Target, and WalMart). Link: http://www.repel.com/ProductCategories/Insectrepellents/LemonEucalyptus/. It has not been approved (tested) for use for kids under 3 years old.

Here is an interesting Slate article about the efficacy of different repellents: http://www.slate.com/id/2123291/

Finally, there was an interesting article about this from Steven Parker at WebMD last week: http://blogs.webmd.com/healthy-children/2006/06/summer-safety-part-1-mosquitoes-be.html.

I have a toddler at home, and I have had a hard time deciding what to do to help him since the data on Lemon Eucalyptus isn't available for little kids, but I am not happy about using DEET (approved for use over 2 months!), but I also want to use an effective repellent.

[Sarah]

I haven't yet tried using any repellant of any sort on my 4-month-old, but I would just like to say that from my (and several hiking partners') experience, citronella works, but for a very short period of time, maybe 40 minutes. Then it either has to be reapplied, or it wears off and the bugs feast on you. I lived and hiked in AK for a couple of years... I would love to know about an *effective* non-DEET bug repellant! I'm planning to get bug netting for our wee one when we go to Yellowstone this summer, and otherwise hope for the best.

[Jody]

We are also headed for Mosquito State. Last year, the kids came home covered in lovely red mosquito-bite welts. It was not pretty. Nor comfortable, if the whining and complaining was any indication.

The experience cured me of my affection for non-DEET products. When in the woods of northern Mosquito State, at least.

So I can't help you. We'll be using Off in the spray bottle, the kids or family concentration. I'll be waiting to test Picardin-based products until we're home from the land of the ravenous mosquito.

[Anon]

In Australia, we have the worst mozzies during summer. We often use Aerogard (for personal protection) and Mortein (for house protection) products - see here: http://www.mortein.com.au Not sure if there is an equivalent in the US. Mortein make the plug in things that Chaya mentioned - and I recommend them!! If you're sitting outside, mosquito coils are great too.

[liz]

Take everybody else's suggestions for prevention, but also take Quantum Sting Soothe (Nature's Solution tm) bug bite relief in case they don't work. I stepped in a mosquito nest in Kauai several years ago and this stuff definitely saved my vacation. I used the extra strength formula. It comes in a little bottle (about the size of a travel shampoo).

[Maria]

I have found Burt's Bees insect repellent to be the most effective. The sprayers on the bottles are totally useless, though. I don't know whether that's purposeful for some reason or just bad design, but you might want to decant it into a decent spray bottle.

[Deirdre]

So far, we've had good luck using the California Baby bug repellant. But we haven't used it for long periods of time.

[caro]

Here are my highly scientific data r.e. Kiss My Face Lavender lotion:

Four people walking in the tick-infested woods. Me wearing lots of the lotion, no one else wearing any of it. Everyone else: many, many ticks crawling up their legs. Me: no ticks. Repeated this twice.

Can't hurt to get some, unless the smell bugs (heh) you.

[wealhtheow]

Cactus Juice. This stuff is natural and safe for kids, and my husband and I used in while exploring Mayan ruins. I came away with no bites, and I'm the type of girl who gets bitten within five minutes. The only caveat is that it feels kind of sticky on your skin.

[Purple_Kangaroo]

Ok, you're going to think this is wierd, but I have used the Children's Formula Ear Drops rubbed on our skin as an insect repellent. They are garlic and mullein with vitamin E oil. I've always heard that garlic repels insects. We were in Mexico at night, and the mosquitos were terrible. After we applied the drops you could literally see the mosquitos fly toward us, then stop six inches away and go the opposite direction.

[SheilaC]

I would prefer not to use DEET products on my kids, and when they were infants we just covered up, stayed indoors in the evening, and tried some non-DEET products (which didn't work).
However, West Nile Virus hit our area severely 2 summers ago, and has continued to spread. It's not just a discomfort issue any more, now it's a definite threat to our health. So we are using DEET-containing Off, and taking precautions to reduce mosquitoes in our yard, and avoiding the bugs when we can. Our kids are now 6.

Thanks for this very timely topic!

[bernalgirl]

In my experience, you really need DEET to ward off aggressive mosquitoes, and since the bites can be pretty hard on little ones, do bring some DEET-containing repellant in case your mosquitoes are not the gentle California Babies-minding variety.

A ranger taught us to put the evil DEET-containing repellant on our baby's hat and the bottom of her shoes when she was tiny, and we've been using variations on this method since, now spraying it on the ankles of her sox since she's on walking on the bottoms of her shoes. Be especially careful of pulse points like toes, ankles, backs of knees, on up. Those are brutal places to get repeatedly bit.

The DEET doesn't hae to be on your skin to be effective, and I've sprayed it on light clothes even in tropical humidity in order to keep from slathering it on my arms, and now hers.

The downside is more laundry, since you probably don't want to handle those clothes a lot once they've been sprayed.

Good luck and have fun!

[Ruth]

I second Maria on the Burt's Bees. Its active ingredients are eucalyptus and lemongrass oils, and it does the trick to keep the bugs off when my husband and I are mountain biking in the woods and the mosquitoes are swarming all over. The only thing is that it is a fairly thick oil, so dirt will stick to you. But it will stick to sunscreen too, I find, so it doesn't bother me.

[april]

Although I haven't tried it personally yet. My friend swears by this recipe for this all natural bug spray.

Take a big fat lemon, the more rind the better. Slice it paper thin. Place lemon and 1 TBSP. Rosemary (or 6" sprig fresh Rosemary) in bowl. Pour in 1 quart hot water (nearly boiling). Steep overnight. Strain. Pour in spray bottle-keep refrigerated-and shake well before use.

Especially helpful for fleas (for pets) and mosquitoes. My friend says NO bug likes it. Her whole family uses it on all of their hiking, camping trips. My husband, 11 week old, and I will be trying it on our trip to Minnesota in 2 weeks. NO DEET! Yeah!

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