A quintessential part of enjoying any Canadian summer is dealing with pesky mosquitos and other biting and flying insects. I think most Canadians would agree, enjoying our great outdoors can be a lot more fun if we can keep those insects from landing on our skin and taking a bite out of us. Many of us, me included, don’t like to use those traditional bug repellents because they contain chemicals which are known to be harmful both to us and the environment. On the insistence of my daughter, who spends a great deal of her time outside, a new product was developed this year for keeping those bugs from alighting. Introducing Glomalin® all natural Bug Spray which contains a base mixture of water, witch hazel and lavender hydrosol and several essential oils known for their insect repelling abilities:
Rosemary Essential Oil
When rosemary oil was measured against 11 other essential oils, it had the longest repellent effect on Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which spread the Zika virus. A dilution of 12.5% rosemary oil repelled 100% of the mosquitoes for 90 minutes (18Trusted Source, 19). Additionally, a spray containing 10% of rosemary oil was similarly effective as the chemical insecticide bifenthrin for controlling the spread of black-legged ticks — which harbor Lyme disease — in tick-infested areas in the northeastern US (Source).
Citronella Essential Oil
While some might think that lemongrass can repel mosquitoes, only the oil obtained from the plant will repel mosquitoes, not the plant itself. In fact, citronella oil repels mosquitoes and does not kill them. Instead, it masks the carbon dioxide and lactic acid scents that mosquitoes are searching for. (Source)
Lemon Eucalyptus Oil
Then there is oil of lemon eucalyptus, or PMD, a natural oil extracted from the leaves and twigs of the lemon-scented gum eucalyptus plant. PMD is the ingredient in the oil that makes it repellent to insects. NMSU researchers found that a product containing oil of lemon eucalyptus was about as effective and as long lasting as products containing DEET. (Source)
Lavender Essential Oil
This essential oil (and the plant from which it derives) contains a compound known as linalool, which produces a strong odor that is pleasant to humans and detestable to mosquitoes. This is primarily because it overloads their sensitive olfactory organs, much in the same manner as DEET.
In terms of testing, a 2009 study found that lavender oil possessed a 93% repellent rate against mosquitoes indoors and only around a 53% repellent rate against mosquitoes outdoors. Taken together, lavender oil is one of the most effective natural mosquito repellents, especially when used as part of a larger natural repellent regimen. (Source)
We would like you our customers to give this product a try. Therefore, from now until August 15th, all online orders will include a travel size of our new Bug Spray. Please shop now and let’s get out there and enjoy the rest of what our summer has to offer without being bothered by those pesky bugs!
Angella
