We’re nature lovers. We hike, enjoy weekends at the ocean and in the Sierra’s. We’re lucky to live just 90 minutes from three national parks AND we’re Crunchy. So, when it comes to keeping ourselves bite-free, it’s important to us that we’re using a product that isn’t harmful.

While we’re all about natural insect repellent, I have to admit that I, for one, can’t handle mosquitos and have yet to find a natural remedy for keeping them at bay. If everyone else is being passed over by mosquitos, I will have 20 bites. AND, they swell, are so itchy I can’t sleep and I recently scratched one bite so much in my sleep that it scarred.

(Sidenote: is this just me? Am I the only person in the universe that literally gets chased by mosquitos?)

Needless to say, this was a product I needed to try because I am a mosquito magnet and nothing has worked outside of lots and lots of long sleeves and baggy, bite-free clothing. And, when it’s 80+ degrees, long sleeves just aren’t an option.

webeatdeet review

So, I gave Guardian Wilderness DEET-Free a try. Guardian Wilderness includes Geraniol, a plant-based alternative to Deet and in reading that it was “plant-based” I signed up to review it. Honestly, I should add here that DEET makes me sneeze so horribly that I feel like I have a hard time catching my breath if I don’t move out of the mist.

This all sounds awesome, right?

While the product worked great, didn’t make me sneeze and caught me on the “Deet-Free,” the Environmental Working Group says it’s moderately dangerous. The Geraniol is actually rated to be WORSE than DEET on the EWG’s website.

So, where does that put us?

The fact remains that Lyme Disease and the West Nile are more dangerous than DEET or Geraniol. People are dying or losing quality of life from these diseases after being bitten by Mosquitoes and Ticks that are infected. And, since there’s no way to run a background check before they bite you, staying safe is the only option.

Take a look and let us know what you think…

 

 

 

We were provided with the Guardian Wilderness product complimentary to test and/or review.