This past weekend, we were outside a lot and most of that time was at night. I don’t like getting eaten up by mosquitoes but I hate to see those bites even more on my kids. I worry about what I put on their bodies to protect them and decided to experiment a bit with some items we had.
On the first night, I sprayed the kids’ chairs and their and my exposed skin with some Avon skin So Soft Bug Guard Plus Expedition SPF 30 that I had. It is DEET-free and safer than many traditional bug sprays. It is unscented so it has that “unscented smell”… you know what I mean. It leaves the skin feeling a bit wet but not sticky.
Results? Eh, so so. I had several times I felt mosquitoes on me. The kids were running around like crazy and I didn’t see them scratching or acting as if bugs were on them. In the end, I did not see any bug bites on them but I did find a few new bites on my legs.
The second night, I decided to try to rub a dryer sheet on my exposed skin. I had read somewhere that it works and thought it worth a try. I did not do this with the kids and instead sprayed their skin again as I had the night before. This is a bit more of a risk for some because you have the risk of allergy with the dryer sheets. I did not have any issues though so wanted to give it a go.
Results? This worked well for me. I wasn’t all that fond of the smell following me around all night so, if I do this again, I will find an unscented dryer sheet first. Again, this is not for everyone so be careful if you try it. I did not have any new bug bites after this method so I consider that a success.
Finally, on the last night, I decided to just give up on putting anything on my body. Instead, I chose to get out the Off! Clip-On. I put a new refill in the fan and hooked it to the back of my chair. What I love is that the fan is not noisy and it doesn’t have any smell like the other methods I tried.
Results? Again, so so. I did have some bugs bothering me but no new bites. I think this appeals to me most because it is truly the safest method of bug repellent. Sadly, I don’t think it is the best method simply because the bugs were hanging around. I will continue to use this but will likely pair it with some other method. The kids did not have any additional bites tonight either.
I think a combination of products is the best bet for a true bug repellent for me and my family. Each method I tried will be used again simply because they each have a positive to them… decreased bug bites!
So, there you have it. Have you tried any of these bug repellents? Were your results the same?
Marina at My Busy Children says
we used clip on OFF when we went to Russia last summer and it was totally useless. Russian Mosquitos must be immune to it! We were bitten head to toe. I was so upste about all the money we spent on those
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Erin says
For me the spray is the best, not too smelly and do the job
karen M says
just got back from a week long summer campout with the scouts, I noticed a few of the adults and boys wearing the Off Clip on. They all seem to like it and it works!. If you stay in one spot it tends to be more effective, but if you are moving, say hiking on the trails, it tends to not work as well.