Saturday, May 8, 2010

Chemical Free Bug Spray: The Safer Insect Repellent

 Many people ask if a chemical free bug spray really works? If your regular bug spray works, why make the switch? Grab your regular bug spray and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Read the label. Do you feel like you need a degree in chemistry to understand what’s in your bug spray? Do you get a sick feeling knowing you are breathing in toxic pesticides? That’s what I felt when I started thinking about the bug spray that I slather on my kids on camping trips. I also have a one-year-old and couldn’t apply the regular bug spray on them. Isn’t that heartbreaking to protect the older kids and the adults and not the youngest?

Then I learned that whatever we put on our skin gets absorbed directly into the bloodstream? Now imagine those chemicals seeping through your kids’ skin and into their bloodstream. If you ask me, I don’t feel comfortable with that thought. A natural insect repellent was starting to sound really smart.

Besides, the main ingredient in chemical bug sprays is DEET. In fact, the longer the protection, the more DEET is in the bug spray. Scary, isn’t it? DEET is a slightly yellowish oil that was developed for jungle warfare in 1946. What’s scarier is that DEET was originally marketed as a pesticide. I realized that I was slathering pesticides on my children’s skin.

I tried researching about natural alternatives to bug sprays and that’s when I learned about chemical free bug sprays. These bug sprays are made from plant extracts that are designed to naturally repel bugs. The usual ingredients are citronella, cedar, or lemongrass. Bugs hate their scent, but humans are not bothered by them. They even smell good if you think about it.

Because it is natural, you don’t need to worry about coma-inducing chemical names and what they will do to your health. At least I know what citronella, cedar, or lemongrass is. They grow naturally and so is safer for my kids.

My research on chemical free bug spray led me to Badger Anti-Bug Spray. It scored a 1 in the Cosmetics Database, which is really low for a bug spray.  It worked perfectly! No bug or mosquito came near my children or me.  Isn’t that the greatest? Now, I’ll stick to chemical free bug sprays, thank you very much.

Why stay with chemicals when you have the safer choice with natural bug sprays?

No comments:

Post a Comment