Bee Repellent

When the market demands a product, entrepreneurs come out of the woodwork. In the spring bees are on the move looking for nesting sites and moving bees means interaction with people. Funny how that works. What is even more ironic is that we all know the benefits of bees, but darned it we want them around us.

Our parents must have warned us when we were very young that bees sting and the sting hurts for a long time. I’ve always told my wife, as she frantically exits our golf cart (while it is moving), “Don’t be afraid of the bee. It is only curious and it won’t harm you.” Does absolutely no good. She wants that bee dead and gone and I refuse to help in the demise of a bee.

So, in order to save my marriage, I have scouted out the latest and greatest products for the bee-wary public. Buyer beware! The claims made by the manufacturers are wide and wild including guarantees, promises and other unlikely statements. Here goes nothing:

• Bee Ready Safety Spray from Giddyap Girls. The ad reads: Don't be bothered with stinging and biting social insects! This patented Bee Ready Safety Spray creates a non-toxic virtual barrier around you and your horse, deterring bees and other social stinging insects - wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, mosquitoes, flies and gnats too! Safe on you - safe on your horse. It works naturally, pesticide & insecticide-free, NO deet, environmentally friendly.
• The Bee Ready Safety Spray is amazing. This product from Giddyap Girls is awesome for any sportsman or sportswoman that enjoys the outdoors! Safe and Effective for the Horse, Rider, and Hound!

Not only did the ad end up including protection for you, but it threw in overall protection for your horse and faithful dog, too.

If you are into sharp-shootin’, you might consider carrying this product in a holster.

• Bee Bopper II bee and wasp spray repellent will knock out bees, wasps, hornets and yellow jackets cold. The blast from the can will spray 10 feet or more. It is a fast, safe way to eliminate wasps and bees. Dielectric strength is 26,500 volts.

I had to look up “dielectric strength” because I’ve never heard of it before. This is what I found.

• The theoretical dielectric strength of a material is an intrinsic property of the bulk material and is dependent on the configuration of the material or the electrodes with which the field is applied. At breakdown, the electric field frees bound electrons. If the applied electric field is sufficiently high, free electrons may become accelerated to velocities that can liberate additional electrons during collisions with neutral atoms or molecules in a process called avalanche breakdown.

That really cleared things up for me.

Here’s still another.

• Let us introduce you to Bee-Tour™, our "new" bee and fly repellent is natural, biodegradable, and environmentally safe.  It has a pleasant odor and while extremely effective for bees and flies, performs well for many other flying insects.  Unlike some widely used products, it retains its potency for weeks when used as directed.

• The famous "t-sack" on a cow's ear

  Bee-Tour™ is presently packaged in a sturdy t-sack for ease of application.  The fragrance of the active ingredient(s) exudes from the package, permeates the immediate environment, and provides an invisible odor barrier which is amazingly effective.

It is “presently package” in a t-sack. I guess they are thinking about packaging it in a “g-sack” or maybe an “m-sack”, too.

Let’s not forget the home remedies like peppermint oil, lemongrass and citronella. In fact, here’s a product that uses all three.

• An independent lab test of Skedattle vs. a product containing 100 percent Deet, Skedattle proved more effective. According to the lab results, unprotected subjects received an average of 16 bites per hour. Subjects using products containing Deet received an average of 2.78 bites per hour, while the Skedattle test subjects received less than one bite per hour. The test, conducted by BassFan Lab, involved three successive test periods over 72 hours.

Bites per hour. That’s a new one for me. Next time I purchase an insect repellent I’m going to ask the store manager, “What’s the BPH for Raid?” I’m sure he’ll know what I am talking about. And what or who is the BassFan Lab? It is obviously someplace that bass fishermen know and trust.

• Burts Bees Herbal Insect Repellent. Safe and effective. 100% Natural Bans the creeping, crawling, winging, stinging, sucking, bugging, biting beasties. Burt's Bees Herbal Insect Repellent is safe enough to apply with confidence to children and pets. Don't forget hairline, sock tops, collars and wrists.

Here’s one that softens your skin as it fights off marauding bees.

• Unlike other insect repellents, Buzz-Off now called Eco-Blends is safe for the earth because it's derived from herbs and plants. Eco-Blend's Buzz-Off has a refreshing aroma and nourishes, protects and softens your skin.

You can spend hours researching this stuff and you can spend a pocketful of money buying them to overcome your fears. Perhaps one good session with a hypnotist can be the best help. I’m trying to convince my wife to find a good psychiatrist to settle her fears. It might be less expensive than ordering all these aforementioned products.