Thursday, July 03, 2008

Greener insect repellents

I'm trying out some alternatives to DEET since it's toxic. An article by the editors of E Magazine offered this information: Cutter Advanced brand uses picaridin, long used in other parts of the world to repel mosquitoes. Oil of lemon eucalyptus is the only plant active ingredient approved by the CDC and is in OFF! Botanicals. Other choices mentioned by the National Coalition against Misuse of Pesticides include Natrapel (which uses citronella and seems good, except for a small percentage of a lauryl.) PANNA , a nonprofit organization, likes Herbal Armor, Buzz Away and Green Ban, as well as Bite Blocker. I was able to find Buzz Away, which has a soy bean base. I got the Off Botanicals and the Natrapel easily at my local major drugstore, and the Cutter Advance and the Buzz Away, which comes as a towlette and a liquid) at my local supermarket. So these seem to be easy enough to find. I'll try them and see which are most effective. Since we're having a gathering with our neighbors and friends on the fifth of July, and will be outside, we'll have ample opportunity to see what works. I'll ask people to try them out, get some group input, maybe.

1 comment:

N said...

I bought Natrapel last year because I love the smell of the Citronella and it was the only repellent with it in the store!

How did I get into this?

I was asked when I started doing Mailart. Good question. Like many artists, I was making and mailing art without even knowing it had a name ...