October 2012
We had a garage sale at my mom's house a few weeks ago while the kids were out of school on Fall Break. The plan was to keep the kiddos occupied indoors while we supervised the sale. However, it turned out that they were much more interested in what was going on outside than anything we tried to entertain them with in the house. We were pretty busy with the sale and I failed to realize J was spending the majority of the time outside with us. Unfortunately we also neglected to apply any repellent to him and it wasn't until towards the end of the sale that I realized he'd received several bites. To make matters worse I didn't have any Melaleuca oil with me to treat the bites right away.
He had bites on his arm, legs, back and ankle. There were a few that blistered on his arm but once we were able to start treating them with the Melaleuca they began shrinking. The Melaleuca also prevented them from swelling up. Before we learned to treat with Melaleuca, J would typically wind up with golf ball to baseball sized red-hot lumps wherever he was bit.
We continued to apply the Melaleuca oil regularly to J's bites over the following week. During this same time I received an e-mail from our soccer association warning parents to use repellents on their children before the upcoming weekend games because they had irrigated the fields the previous week and the mosquitoes were "very thick". Although most all of J's bites were scabbed over and healing from the previous weekend I opted to keep him home from his soccer game that Saturday. Although I felt guilty doing so, it just didn't seem wise to subject him to the risk of more bites while still recovering from such a recent Skeeter Syndrome attack.
Another week later we were invited to a Family Halloween Party. The kids had fun dressing up in their costumes and playing carnival games. The party was outdoors at dusk but J was pretty much healed of any prior bites so we decided to let him go. I was sure to spray him generously with our Essential Oil insect repellent. We were very pleased to find that by the end of the party he hadn't received a single bite!
Today was a real test. We spent over five hours outdoors at the soccer fields! J had team pictures and a game this morning and then his older brother had team pictures and a game about an hour later. I applied a generous coating of Essential Oil insect repellent before we left and reapplied again a couple of hours later. I was very pleased once again to discover he made it through the whole afternoon without any bites.
True... we may have been pressing our luck at this point but we decided to venture out again this evening to the pumpkin patch. I sprayed J before we left with a good coating of Essential Oil insect repellent. We let the kids roam free in search of the most perfect pumpkins. While we were strolling through the patch I felt a sting on the inside of my arm and looked down to see a mosquito biting me! I quickly smashed it and flicked it away. I had a slight panic attack and began worrying that J was getting bit too! It can be a real struggle sometimes to try and balance the desire to "protect" him with making sure he doesn't miss out on too many regular kid activities. I tried my best to usher the kids along but it took awhile for them to find their most perfect pumpkin, get through the patch and wait in line to pay the cashier. I was pretty certain J was going to have a bite or two by the time we got home. I was very relieved this evening to find that he made it through the pumpkin patch unscathed! I love that this all-natural essential oil has proven to be such a safe and effective insect repellent for our family and especially J!
WHAT IS Essential Oil insect repellent:
Essential Oil insect repellent is an all natural 100% pure essential oil blend formulated to repel insects. My favorite blend includes Lemon Eucalyptus, Citronella, Lemongrass and a proprietary blend of 12 other essential oils. It is highly repellent to many flying and crawling insects and bugs (including mosquitoes)!
OUR FAVORITE WAYS TO USE Essential Oil insect repellent:
The best ways to use are topically and aromatically. One of our favorite ways to apply it is by spritzing the body with a 1:2 dilution of oil to distilled water. We also like applying the oil full strength to pressure points including the wrists, elbows, knees, ankles and back of neck (for extra protection we will use both methods to apply topically). We love to diffuse our Essential Oil insect repellent indoors to repel mosquitoes from the home... especially in J's bedroom at night while he's sleeping. Sometimes I'll even add a drop or two of Lavender to the diffuser to help promote a calm and peaceful sleep.
OTHER WAYS TO USE Essential Oil insect repellent:
Add a few drops of oil to a ribbon or string and place next to vents, windows or openings where bugs might come indoors; Spray diluted oil on windowsills and doorways to repel insects; Add it to an all-natural lotion and apply regularly; Add a few drops when watering flowers or plants to repel insects; Add a spray top directly to the oil bottle to spritz oil on body full strength and use hands to distribute evenly; Add a few drops to your bucket of water when washing interior walls and baseboards or mopping floors to repel insects; Add a few drops to the rinse cycle when washing clothes and bedding; Spritz diluted oil around vegetables and fruits that attract fruit flies; and apply topically to pets to repel insects.
If you have any other suggestions or would like to share more useful ways you've found to use Essential Oil insect repellent (or any other all-natural insect repellent) please feel free to comment below!!!
