I’m sure you’ve seen the news reports about the large number of deaths in the United States this year from West Nile virus, which is transmitted through mosquitos. I believe the report I read said that the number was over 60 as of a few days ago.
That is scary stuff! While I don’t live in one of the areas that is most affected, I do live in an area where the mosquitos are rampant. On top of that, I seem to be extremely tasty to them. Our neighbors have some standing water in their yard, and as a result, our back yard is swarming (that’s only a slight exaggeration!) with mosquitos. I routinely get bit 2-5 times whenever I’m out there, and I’m only in the back yard when I’m headed to the car.
Mosquitos also get in our car while we are putting the girls in their seats. And so I get bit there, too.
Additionally, we enter the house through the back door, so mosquitos get in our house that way.
Basically, we have a pretty serious mosquito problem, which is annoying in and of itself, but with news of West Nile being a serious threat, our annoying problem has become something quite frightening to me.
While I’ll use something poisonous if I absolutely have to, I REALLY don’t want to. Applying DEET to my 3 month old child, and even to my 3 year old child, doesn’t sound like a good idea to me. I want the bugs to go away, but I don’t want to poison ourselves or our environment in the process.
BugBand is a company that offers a great line of natural insect repellents, and I am really loving their Portable Table Top Diffuser
. Lately I have been toting that thing around with me and I can tell you that it really works! I take it with me in the car, set it out in the back yard whenever Tim is out there cutting grass or working on the deck, and I use it in our home to keep the mosquitos who have made it inside at bay.
It runs on 3 AA batteries and comes with a refillable cartridge that lasts about 120 hours. It sends out Geraniol vapors that smell great to us, and terrible to mosquitos. They don’t want to be near it! The diffuser will keep mosquitos away in an area up to 300 square feet. So while it won’t necessarily keep them out of your entire yard, it will keep them away from the area where you are!
The diffuser is very light weight and easy to tote around with you. You can also take comfort in knowing that the vapor being released is totally safe for you to inhale, and it is safe around food and pets, too.
The BugBand portable diffuser is available for $19.95 and comes with one cartridge. You can purchase 6 refill cartridges for just $16.95. I highly recommend this product if you are concerned about West Nile virus or if you just don’t mosquito bites (who does?!).
Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a BugBand Portable Diffuser!
Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.