Washington is a buggy town. Where we live there is a lot
of grass and trees and little gullies and creeks, scenic to some, but perfectly
swampy for breeding mosquitoes. This summer we felt particularly assaulted by
the critters (along with the ants in my kitchen, but I already talked about
that).
It’s one thing to forget to put on your own bug spray.
But in our neighborhood to forget to put something on your toddler is almost a
crime. Mosquitoes just love that infant skin. Succulent, smooth, sweet, tender,
moist, fatty goodness. Mmmmmm… When The Bees gets bitten the red mark swells to
a large welt the size of a quarter. It’s alarming. The first few times it
happened I armed myself with Children’s Benadryl, just in case it spread.
And I started to ask about bug spray. My pediatrician
said anything with less than 5% Deet was ok. But when I chatted with other
mothers they said absolutely no deet. A friend at the dog park said he wouldn’t
even put Deet on himself much less his dog or his child. Have you seen what
that stuff does he said. It melts plastic. Yikes.
So we’ve been experimenting with the natural
alternatives. First thing I bought was ‘Buzz Away’ Had I smelled it before I
took it home it I never would have bought it. Though the bottle professes to
have a lovely lemony scent from the citronella, the main ingredient is castor
oil (the stuff that induces vomiting). I was wondering why I felt immediately repelled
whenever I put it on The Bees.
At Whole Foods in Glover Park I inquired about other
options. The lady there said ‘California Baby’ is all the rage and they make a
combo or sunscreen and big spray. That sounded dandy but they had been sold out
for weeks and as I would discover, would be forever more. I searched online and
found just the California Baby bug spray without sunscreen so I bought that.
Though the smell is much more tolerable (if you don’t
mind your baby smelling like someone’s backyard on a summer evening), it is
less effective than the Buzz Off (those mosquitoes were thrilled to find the
castor oil gone!). I spray it all over her but if I miss just one inch of skin
the bugs will find it. And if she dips any part of her body in water then they
will attack that newly vulnerable spot.
I’m still searching for the best natural, pleasantly
scented, baby-safe and effective bug spray. Let me know if you’ve found it!