I get a lot of email offers at the office but this product caught my attention because I'm always on the lookout for safer bug repellent (DEET free but something that actually works) for my outdoors-y family. I contacted the company and agreed to try out their free sample offering.
Since my daughter and her friend were doing their "living off the land" project and sleeping outdoors overnight without a tent, they agreed to be my testers.
The first time they tried the patches was a week before their overnight. They were going in to the woods to collect logs so I put the patches on them and off they went. They came back to the house with several bug bites and claimed the patches didn't work all that well. But then I realized the patch needed to be affixed on their body two (2) hours prior to heading in to the woods so we did a second trial.
A week later when they were inside collecting supplies for their night of sleeping outdoors without a tent I put the patches on again. It was about four (4) hours before dusk. By dark the bugs were out in force and I was bitten quite a bit as the mosquitoes were annoyingly buzzing around my head the entire time (I was the control subject with no bug spray on). The girls did not seem to have the same problem. They even took an outdoor shower after dark and were unaffected by mosquitoes then either. The next morning (about 12 hours later), they had only a handful of bites on them.
The girls declared the second trial of the "Don't Bite Me" patches a BIG success! I did too.
There are a couple of minor "cons" that my family wanted to share along with our enthusiastic two thumbs up for this bug repellent.
PROS
* No major chemicals to worry about, including NO DEET (a BIG plus in our book and why I agreed to do a product review, something I very rarely do).
* No need to worry about spraying every little area of the body, like the ears and head in particular because that's where my kids often get ticks. I also apply spray around the head to minimize mosquitoes buzzing around it. When the patch has been on for a couple of hours this is not an issue and a very BIG plus in our opinion.
* One patch is effective for up to 36 hours so plenty of lasting coverage for overnight camping.
CONS
All minor things but feel are worth mentioning so people are prepared for them.
* The kids didn't care for the patch's scent, which was a minor thing once they realized how well it worked. "It smells like cereal, only really strong!" they declared when I was putting it on their upper arms. I would guess the smell is in part to the thiamin since that B-complex vitamin is also commonly found in fortified cereal.
* Another minor downside is the two hour window before the patch becomes effective so you do need to plan ahead if you want to get the full benefit.
* The cost can be a factor for large families and/or active ones who are outdoors a lot. It's $4.99 for a box of 5 patches (which are not re-usable); 10 patches are $7.99.
* You need to take the time for careful application of the patch so it doesn't crinkle when sticking it on skin. My daughter's friend applied her own patch on her upper arm and it fell off within a couple of hours. I applied the second patch to ensure there were no creases and it stayed on until she peeled it off the next day. It's a very thin piece of clear adhesive and can easily get a crease in it if you're not careful (a minor crease or two is fine as my daughter's did have a couple). Best to have an adult apply the patch to ensure a smooth application. The company's website actually links to the YouTube video below to demonstrate the application.Anyone else ever tried this product, or one similar to it? Care to share your thoughts?
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