News is hitting my media sources today about mosquitoes testing positive for West Nile, now in our county if not yet in our zipcode. Our local public schools are now in session. Everyone (including me) will likely pay more attention to preventing mosquito “bites”. This is, as my earlier post on West Nile indicates, not the time to spray, though I expect many will be tempted, even those who have not sprayed before. You will kill lots of insects (up to 1000 species in a typical residential yard, still hard for me to believe), and likely very few mosquitoes, and only adults. But if you have been visiting out site, you know this already. Expensive poison for the pollinators.
I have only just begun to have Monarchs on my milkweed, finally (I will post a picture if I can get one – they show up most often when I am wrangling dogs; the Swallowtail above for now). It is the Great Southeast Pollinator Census next weekend (August 22-23, 2025). Now is not the time to spray, though counties will likely make that choice; some have already. I know because the residents of one just got more buckets. And, just as a reminder, there are many other ideas on our Resources page, many from our Bee City USA – Decatur, GA (Beecatur) folks.
So I didn’t think I would find myself in the business of product reviews, but I also never imagined myself in a business at all… I am going to offer some, more positive than my last blog about Thermacells, to tell you about repellents that I use. I can recommend them, in all cases, from years of personal experience with all of these companies. We have all of these in stock right now, and while our focus is buckets, we have decided to stock these in order to share them – quickly. Because sometimes you need something right now and may not want to endorse the express delivery services for political or other reasons. And you may want to just test it. And you can. And you can (sort of) buy local.
Badger’s Bug Repellent Balm Stick (or Anti-Bug Balm, the name I like better): This is BY FAR my favorite essential oil repellent. It works.
It is not a spray. Parents, I imagine the significance of that is not lost on you. Kids can apply it themselves, even young ones, and it does not go straight in their eyes.
Most of the ingredients are organic, which is important to me. It includes citronella, but it doesn’t smell like it. I don’t mind citronella myself, but it is not my favorite. This combination of natural fragrances is pleasant, at least to me. And those who know me know I am fragrance free, even fragrance averse, so for me to really like this one, it has to be good.
The company also produces a spray, with a slightly different composition. We have that, too, in the small size, as a trial.
Note: I know folks who get migraines from fragrances can sometimes not use such products. And, it is my understanding and experience, that sometimes it is the chemical composition of the fragrance; natural ones hit us different, at least sometimes. If you are willing to try these, we have testers and individual incense sticks for this purpose, more below. And we bring them to you.
The Flyaway Sticks by Madison James are our favorite repellent for our yard in my family. Even my husband, who is often at a different point on the chemical-to-natural/non-toxic spectrum, likes and asks for these. And while we have used 4 at a time in the past, we have discovered this summer that 1 will cover our entire backyard. Again, they are essential-oil based sticks (geranium, clove, cedar), all of which repel mosquitoes. In combination, we think they are magic. These sticks smoke for about 2-2.5 hours; they linger for longer.
The company’s current website is pro-pollinator, which we appreciate. In my memory, the last website indicated that these were developed for horse farms/barns in Texas to repel flies, thus the name. I assure you they work well for mosquitoes, too. They are our choice for late afternoon and evening gatherings in our backyard (and/or oscillating fans), especially this time of year.
Wondercide: These essential-oil forward products for pets are another top choice at our house. We have two miniature Australian shepherds, and we have used their shampoos and soaps (the latter discontinued, sadly) for years. We also use their spray on our dogs. In years past I have used it primarily when we were in areas with ticks, for added protection. This year I have been using it daily since the beginning of July. [They offer a yard spray, which I have admittedly had sitting in my utility closet for over a year. About the time I ordered it, I learned that these oils can harm lightning bugs (fireflies to non-Southerners), and I have been reluctant to use it for that reasons, without the time to do more research. Perhaps someone who knows more, and/or from the company, will read this blog and leave a comment with research/evidence. In the meantime, I will keep spraying the dogs.] I include a picture of Trace with (we think) an early-evening mosquito bite on his eye before I started the daily routine — because mosquito buckets do a lot, but they do not zero populations.
