As the air temperatures increase, we often tend to allow our clothing layers to decrease. If you’re like me, this can be an awfully trying time for you. Not because it’s bikini season and I need to get myself back into shape, but because less clothing means more exposed skin, more exposed skin means more food for the mosquitos (and other hungry bugs!). Though scientists have not yet found a cure for why some people are more prone to bug bites than others, they have found their simple remedy: bug spray. What we don’t know, however, is how harmful bug spray may be to our own health and the environment’s as well.
The use of bug spray is a bit more controversial than many people think. You’ll typically find two types of people out there: the people who douse themselves in the stinky stuff in the hopes of avoiding those itchy bumps, and those that avoid the spray altogether for a variety of reasons (the smell, the aerosol, the stickiness, whatever!). The main ingredient in most commercial bug sprays, DEET, has been proven to repel the likes of mosquitos, ticks, fleas, flies and more. However, it may come at a cost. Though some are repelled by the smell, and others are turned off by the stinging sensation that comes from accidentally spraying over a small cut, there are still many that don’t think twice before spraying themselves from head-to-toe with a potentially dangerous chemical. The FDA has conducted a variety of research and toyed with removing DEET from the market, but the inconsistent information proves we should probably just avoid DEET on the whole. Do not be discouraged, though; there are a variety of healthier, safer alternatives floating around the market out there.
One of our favorite new products in our April Out of the Woods Apothecary Box is our useful version of bug spray. Again, we always try to focus our findings on organic, all natural ingredients. We managed to create our Bug Off Spray, an essential to our extensive backyard/outdoor routine, with a combination of healthy, organic ingredients to help keep the bugs away. Without including controversial ingredients like DEET, we combined some commonly found household ingredients like witch hazel with organic citronella, organic cedar wood, and organic eucalyptus essential oils. With a little shake and a spritz, our Bug Off Spray will allow you to enjoy your time outdoors without worrying about the bugs feasting on your sweet meat.
