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A Must Have for Hiking —Natural Insect Repellent

Hiking or eco travel has become more popular these days as we all want to go out to do some exercise, get some sun and breathe fresh air. Sunblock and insect repellent are important items to carry, particularly in the summer because you will be picking the trails in shades. Simple.

Why more mosquitoes in the summer?

As the hot weather of summer arrives, mosquito season reaches its peak. The warm temperatures make them pass through their life cycle faster, laying eggs, hatching and growing fast.  

What attracts mosquitoes?

The answer is not “you” or “me”. Mosquitoes are attracted to a number of things according to various researches:

Carbon dioxide
We all emit carbon dioxide when we breathe out. We also produce more when we are active, such as during exercise and hiking. Mosquitoes detect changes in carbon dioxide in their environment and will find their potential host nearby.

Colors
Research has shown that mosquitoes are attracted to dark color. So people with dark skin tend to attract mosquitoes which is also more active in shades, dusk and dawn.

Body order, heat and body vapor
Mosquitoes are attracted to certain compounds that are present on human skin and in sweat. Our bodies generate heat and water vapor during exercise and hiking which attracts mosquitoes even though there is not known the compounds we all have. That’s why certain people tend to attract mosquitoes than others.

Prevention

While you can cover your body parts as much as possible by wearing sleeves and long pants and avoid the peak time of mosquitoes to go hiking and do exercise, there are still exposed body parts. Not to mention wearing all long sleeves shirts and long pants are not practical in the summer for many people. So wearing mosquito/insect repellent will be more effective. N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide or DEET is the most common active ingredient in insect repellents and has been a gold standard for over 50 years until research discovered adverse effects which are harmful to human. So this is one thing we want to avoid.

All natural insect repellent

There are certainly more choices of 100% natural insect repellent available now. Many are oil based, meaning sticky feel on skin. That’s on top of the already oily sunblock, making it uncomfortable for hiking.

Tried & Testing — water based all natural insect repellent

The 100% natural insect repellent that we recommend is the water based one made of essential oils by Aroma Vera International, a company with decades of history in making aroma oils. The active ingredients are Citronella, Lavandin, Eucalyptus and Tea Tree which bring many health benefits: as an insect repellent, promote wound healing, lift mood, relieve pain and inflammation, and more.

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