Hate DEET? Here are Bug Juice Alternatives
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07.31.06
The New York Times asked Maine fishing guide Stephen Philbrick, who usually mainlines Deep Woods Off!, to test DEET free alternatives. All Terrain Herbal Armor Spray seemed to win-“deerflies, mosquitoes, everything, stayed away.” although it smelled so bad that it repelled people as well. Others, such as Burt's Bees repellent, were less effective. Bite Blocker Herbal Spray did not do well- billed as waterproof and sweatproof, it wasn’t- Mr. Philbrick said. “If you sweat, bugs will find that spot where the product has dripped off.”::New York Times
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Try natural repellents with catnip oil in them. Here's an article that reports on a study on catnip oil as a repellent. It is possibly ten times as effective as DEET.
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/83/8331catnip.html
But then what do you do to keep cats off of you?
We recently went camping, the bugs were thick and biting like crazy but all I had was some Aura Casia Lavender aromatherapy mist (probably any lavender would have done...). After a few sprays not only did we smell great, the bugs HATED us. I've also read that lemon eucalyptus works as well as DEET.
this won't work on your skin, but in order to keep ants away from your trash, simply take ordinary chalk (like from the teacher's blackboard) and draw a thick ring around your trashcan.
As someone who often hikes in areas known to contain mountain lions, I don't think I'd be interested in covering myself in the crack-cocaine of the catnip world...
I know a few of you are being facetious ;) but catnip oil isn't going to make you cat-bait ;) Now, if you cover yourself in valerian tincture, you might have a problem. Or the cats will just go so wild and run away that it might as well also be cat-repellent! :)
But, if you don't mind the medical problems associated with DEET, then by all means... ;)
No mention of Picaridin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picaridin)? It isn't green (as far as I know), but it is an alternative to DEET. I just bought some Cutter with picaridin and it seems to work as well as DEET.
The product that works best for us is made locally by a company called Irie Star, here in St. Louis, MO, where the mosquitos run wild! It's called "Backyard Bliss" and it's a sprayable lotion. The lotion itself is water and aloe based, so it's light and not sticky or goopy. It's a catnip product, rather than citronella, and smells wonderful - sort of a lemony-vanilla scent. I was looking for something I could use on my 4 year old that was chemical free, and the sales clerk at Whole Foods told me that it's safe for babies 6 months and older. (The URL link is a link to their website page). Hope it helps!