I'm so sweet young children and puppies love me. Unfortunately, so do mosquitoes. Attention mosquitoes:
Bite me! Just try it!And because my yard is full of weeds, I risk my life every weekend braving the thicket of mosquitoes that swarm around me as I try to achieve the perfect blanket of green.
Don't tell me about insect repellents. They're sticky and unpleasant, and I don't like the idea of that liquid goo being absorbed into my skin.
Enter Bug-Ban, the wrist band billed as "The Incredible, Non-Toxic Mosquito Repellent." Manufactured by Eco-Tech in New York, the wrist bands are now available in Hawaii, and they contain no toxic chemicals.
Instead, Bug-Ban repels mosquitoes with natural oils of geranium, lemongrass and citronella. The fragrance is slowly released from its polyethylene band, and will last up to 40 hours when stored after each use in its plastic bag.
There are wrist bands for children and adults. The children's version smells milder than the adults'. The wrist bands are available at Party Pizzazz, True Value-Kailua and many Longs Drugs stores for about $4 each.
Roger Crow, who distributes the product, tested them by sending his partner, Kali Gregory -- also attractive to mosquitoes -- out to Waimanalo reservoir. "And she didn't get bitten, so I'm sure it works," he said.
The bands didn't keep mosquitoes from biting me. After a half-hour weeding session, I got four bites. After an hour, I had seven bites.
Still, in the same amount of time without the band, I'd usually get 20 to 30 bites. By comparison, seven bites is tolerable and I didn't feel the need to retreat indoors. So my yard is coming along quite nicely.
By Nadine Kam, Star-Bulletin
