I love most things about the summertime. I love the longer days and the grilled dinners and the splashy water play time.
I do not love the mosquitos. And ants and locusts and spiders and gnats and bees (ok I kind of love the bees in theory), but mostly the mosquitos.
We like to use up all the sunshine and stay at the park until dusk which means walking back home during the Mosquito Happy Hour.
Babystar was getting new bites every day. But also, chemicals.
WHAT IS A GOOD HIPPIE MAMA TO DO?
I’m still not sure, but I did buy some DEET-free bug repellent made up of a blend of essential oils. (Kid’s Herbal Armor Natural Insect Repellent $5.50.) It had KIDS and NATURAL right in the name.
Two things:
- I don’t know what DEET is but it sounds bad.
- I don’t believe essential oils can cure illnesses but I do know that certain plants repel insects so it seemed legit.
I really wasn’t sure what I was looking for but I compared the active ingredients at Target. The Kid’s Herbal Armor had a bunch of oils (citronella, lemongrass, peppermint, et cetera) that were almost identical to the Babyganics and Honest Company kid’s bug repellents.
I bought the Kid’s Herbal Armor because it was $5.50 instead of $9.49 or $12.34. To be fair, the Babyganics and Honest Company’s bottles were larger, but I wanted to make sure it worked first. Maybe we needed the DEET after all? (WTF IS DEET?!?)
The first evening, I only rubbed the insect repellent on Babystar’s ankles, a popular hangout for Arlington mosquitoes. She has pretty sensitive skin and I wanted to make sure there was no reaction. She made it home with no rash and zero bites on her legs!
Those fuckers bit her arm instead.
The next night, I used the Herbal Armor on her legs AND arms. She was bite-free! I have been keeping her arms and legs coated and it is still working. I don’t put it near her face at all but I do a little swipe behind her neck, and she usually has a hat on for extra protection.
I highly recommend this natural bug repellent. Probably the Babyganics and/or Honest ones are good too, since the active ingredients are almost identical. But I have not tried them so I cannot say for sure.
RAISING BABYSTAR: $18,090.14
What kind of bug repellent do you use for your kids or yourself?
BabyCostsMoney 
So happy I found you. You’re like, me, but, another me. Far away. With gnats. That we both hate.
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Hahahahahahaha. Bugs are the WORST, right?
Btw, you and my son must be keeping Hot Cheetos in business because I don’t know anyone else that eats those lol.
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Babyganics and Honest Company are big greenwashers! It sounds like you found a product that is working for you, so that’s great. I am in Michigan and I’ve gone without bug spray, mostly because when I realized how bad the mainstream stuff is I didn’t know what was safe and healthy. I now sell for Poofy and know they have a bug spray and a sunscreen that meet my standards. Mostly I just daub on something after we get bitten, like their everything salve. Also, I really thought I was following you and you just weren’t posting anymore. Oops!
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Still posting haha. That baby STILL needs to be fed. 😉
I really like the stuff I found. The ingredient list seems to check out, anyway.
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If it works and the ingredients feel good to you, then it is perfect. I’m gonna look it up out of curiosity. Oddly, I react to mosquito bites the day after, when I used to react right away.
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