Note: The following giveaway is open to Canadians only.
I have two little guys who worship the outdoors.
Whether it’s a day at the beach, summer camp or a lazy evening in the backyard, it’s hard to convince my kids to spend any part of the day (or night!) indoors. In fact, they’ve both been begging me to have a “sleepover” on the trampoline overnight… I haven’t caved yet, but that’s only because I have no intention of sleeping outside to keep watch over them!
However, as much as they love being one with Mother Nature, I’m not always at ease. If you’re a long time reader of my blog, you may remember this post from 2015 – “Skeeter Syndrome.” In it, I describe our long-suffering battle with Ryder’s allergy to polypeptides in mosquito saliva. At 9 years of age he still hasn’t built up an immunity to the toxin injected in mosquito bites, so preventing them is our top priority.
(You may be thinking, What? It’s just a bug bite! Read my post. We’ve landed in the hospital twice and paid a Mexican doctor once for bug bites.)
Now I *could* be that helicopter parent who keeps her kids indoors at all times, but have you seen how happy my kids are in the wild? I can’t kill their joy. So, I do my best to protect them. Here’s my list of outdoor essentials.
Sunscreen. It’s 2017, so of course my kids are wearing sunscreen. I’m often asked if I have a preferred brand or product category – I don’t. I truly believe the best sunscreen for your child is the one their skin tolerates well (no discomfort or reactions), is easy to apply and is affordable (because ideally, you’ll be using it every day). Find a brand that works for you and stick with it.
Bug Repellant. This one’s a no brainer for me. When choosing a bug repellent, look for one that is safe, effective and provides long-lasting protection. You’ll also want to make sure they contain active ingredients such as DEET or Lemon Eucalyptus Oil.
I actually have two recommendations that I both use and trust:
Ben’s 30 Tick & Insect Repellent. (DEET) Ben’s 30 Tick & Insect Repellent offers protection from ticks and insects that may carry West Nile Virus, Lyme disease, Zika, Malaria or other infectious diseases. It provides up to 8 hours of effective protection, and Ben’s 30’s unique formula is made to evaporate slowly – so the repellent stays on longer with little absorption into the skin.
Natrapel Lemon Eucalyptus Spray. Natrapel Lemon Eucalyptus is a DEET-free formula that provides up to 6 hours of protection from biting insects and ticks. The repellent has an active ingredient derived from a natural plant base (Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus) which provides a cool refreshing scent.
When using bug repellent, remember to use just enough to cover exposed skin and never apply it under clothing. Always wash it off when you return indoors.
After Bite. Even if I take all the steps to avoid them, bug bites are bound to happen. And when they do, I immediately apply After Bite. The gel contains baking soda and tea tree oil to soothe the skin and stop the itch and pain. We all know that scratching can lead to infection, so it’s incredibly important to treat bites as soon as possible. Keep After Bite at home, in your car, in your tackle box and camper.
We don’t let insect bites – or the threat of insect bites – ruin our outdoor fun. I’m pleased to share that Ryder has not had a reaction this summer (yahoo!) but then, we’ve also dramatically reduced the number of bites with the proper use of bug repellent. I suppose a trampoline sleepover is still in the cards – I’ll need to convince my husband to take one for the team!
One lucky reader will WIN an Outdoor Essentials Prize featuring After Bite, Ben’s 30 DEET repellent, Natrapel Lemon Eucalyptus Spray and a Ben’s Ultra Net. The value of this prize is $75! To enter, simply fill the form below with your qualifying entries. Good luck!
This post is sponsored by Tender Corporation. The opinions on this blog, as always, are my own.
We could definitely use all of this at the cottage!
I have been living off a tick and insect repellent I have been taking lots of hikes and in woody areas so lots of bugs, one time I had 5 ticks on me and I had a spray so I had up the spray with deet and also avoided that area with the long grass, but yes I love nature and the walks so been using lots :D
Would love this! Living up North we have lots of big bugs that like to bite. My son is a magnet, they love him.
I do, as well as tried the home made stuff.
My outdoor essential is sunscreen. I use bug spray occasionally.
Living in a swampy area it’s very hard to enjoy the outdoors without getting attacked, especially me and my granddaughter the little buggers love our blood, so this would be an awesome win!!
Our outdoor essentials are sunscreen for sure then bug spray
Bug spray, water, sunglasses and sunscreen are my outdoor essentials. And I should add a hat to my list – yesterday my daughter and I had a small sunburn in the “part” of our hairlines, so I think we need to start wearing hats on sunny days (and they protect from ticks too!). I have never used a tick repellent product, but I do use one for mosquitos when we go camping or are outdoors at night.
Our outdoor essentials are usually sunscreen, hats, sunglasses and stainless water bottles. My daughter’s mosquito bites recently got infected and she was prescribed antibiotics. It’s time to add insect repellent to our essentials!
I use insect repellent for fishing
Mosquitoes love me and I have yet to find an all-natural bug spray that works!
I could be better at/more consistent at using sunscreen & bug spray
sunscreen 50 and off candles
Our outdoor essentials are often sunscreen and insect repellent because I am always getting bitten!
My outdoor essentials are the suntan lotion and bug spray.. I cannot live without my bug repellent while we are camping!
My outdoor essentials are usually, water, sunscreen and a hat. Yes, I do regularly use tick and insect repellent, especially on my kids!
I need insect repellent when I get blueberries in the forest.
Mosquito repellant, Sunscreen, water in a spray bottle & bottles of water. I use to carry a umbrella to keep the sun off me like little old Chinese ladies do. I stopped because little kids would hassle me by yelling “It’s not raining.
The mosquitoes love my family! Repellent is a must.
I have some citronella plats on my deck and I use off mosquito spray.
My kids and I are mosquito magnets and usually get really bad bites so I use insect repellent whenever we go outside in summertime.
Usually I just use whatever is available! This Summer I haven’t even bought any! I have just been lucky lol I am a fan of the Eucalyptus though!
Insect repellant is a must have for me, along with sunscreen, sunglasses, water, hats and snacks.
My outdoor essential is sunscreen, mosquito repellant, water and sunglasses.
Bug spray, sunscreen and lots of water.
We always use bug spray at night or when in a wooded area.
We sure do use insect repellent, whatever is on sale!! ????
I use sunscreen and bug spray also a homemade bug spray :)
I wear sunscreen and insect repellent. Flies and mosquitoes seem to love me.
My outdoor essential is sunscreen. I don’t regularly use insect repellent.
My outdoor essentials are sunscreen and insect repellent.
My outdoor essential is sunscreen, and yes we do use bug spray regularly. We live in Manitoba and are close to lakes and bush, so sometimes there are a lot of bugs.
Mine is sunscreen!
My outdoor essentials are high spf sunscreen, lip balm and insect repellent. We have a cabin in Manitoba so we rely on repellents!
We camp all summer so bug repellent is definitely a must have, not going to let the bugs stop us from enjoying the outdoors.
Bugs are bad in our area both mosquitoes and ticks, we do use products to keep them away.
Hate bug bites so do what I can to avoid them and still enjoy the outdoors.
Always need sunscreen and insect repellent!
I do in the spring, but I find that spray doesn’t deter black flies very much.
We try and avoid heavily wooded areas – ticks freak me out a little :) And long sleeves are a must.
We have a small lake just beyond the bottom of our garden and though it’s lovely to see 7 pelicans (this is Alberta!) fishing there the mosquitoes would rather have a go at me. Bugspray, sunscreen, hat, sunglasses and water are my essentials.
My outdoor essentials are a bottle of sunscreen and a comfortable lawn chair. I don’t use insect repent but my husband can’t be outside without it.
I have to have sunscreen on at all times when I’m outside. I use fly spray when I’m outside.
If we are sitting outside in the evening or walking by the river or through the trees we use bug repellent. We sure do not want Lyme disease and mosquito bites can get very uncomfortable.
Sunscreen is my go-to, and bug spray if I’m in that type of environment.
Sunscreen and bug spray are a must!
sunscreen and bug spray
I think that I am a magnet for mosquitoes…I find bites in places that are covered up!! I use After Bite religiously ????
I dont like using spray but I hate being bite. I use it when I am staying outdoors for a while in the evening and early morning
I just had to let you know how much I adore the photo of your son kneeling in the sand, looks like he’s worshipping the God of warmth, the sun. He looks so happy and confident. LOL
My outdoor essentials are sunglasses, sunscreen, insect repellant and lots of water.
Sunscreen, a hat and bug spray are my outdoor essentials
I one one of those that mosquitoes fly miles for! I am forever buying repellent.
Usually use mosquito repellent, but there aren’t any this year!
Our outdoor essentials are sunscreen and bug spray if needed.
I use bug spray for hiking and berry picking. It is essential plus sunscreen.
We have a lot of Citronella in the yard. We always have clean, dry clothes, towels, a blanket and lot of snack with us during the summer months!
My summer essentials include bug spray, sunscreens, water and a shade tent! My kids wear bug spray more than I do.
We do a lot of camping so bug spray is something we use a lot of. As is sunscreen!
Mosquito spray and After Bite are my outdoor essentials!
We’re rabid wild blueberry pickers in my family, so we’re always plunging off into the northern Ontario bush. So bug spray is a must in summer.
I use sun screen and a natural insect repellent and I have a first aid lotion for bug bites, but I find the bug bites are getting worse each year.
My essential is Muskol, otherwise I can get eat by those mosquitoes
The mosquito’s love my blood so I always wear repellant
With ticks being more common and fact my in laws now have a trailer we can borrow often we have been using bug spray with deet more
Sunscreen & Bug Spray; the bugs love me!
sunscreen and bug spray are essentials. my boys really react poorly to bug bites, even mosquito bites cause them to swell up badly
Ugh…ticks are getting so bad here that I rarely get a chance to enjoy nature anymore.
Always covered in sunscreen and bug/tick spray.
I usually just try to cover up, if anything I’ll spray my ankles!
I use it all the time
We have been using a lot more bug repellant this year!
This summer has been so bad for bugs that I have to wearing repellent whenever I’m outside.
Actually very few bugs this summer in my neck of the woods
We use bug spray by the gallon lol.
My outdoor essentials is sunscreen
My oudoor essential is bug spray, depends on where we are as to how much I use it.
Sunglasses, hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, lip balm and water are my outdoor essentials!
We use bug spray and repellents all the time!
sunscreen, hat, and bug spray are my outdoor essentials
Spray is always good to have on hand. the bugs haven’t been that bad this year in SK! thankgod! usually it’s a mosquito camp. lol
Our outdoor essentials include sunscreen, insect repellant, & lots of water.
I don’t usually use a spray, I seem to attract bites and I think once a mosquito got into my pants once as I had about 8 bites all over my legs haha
Sunscreen, hat, layers.
I ALWAYS use insect repellent while out in the woods or on an adventure! They are terrible this year!
When we are camping I have to use insect repellent especially for my son. The mosquitoes just love his blood
Actually I don’t regularly use repellents but I know I should especially when golfing or on hikes. This would incite me to be more careful!
Sunscreen! We should use more repellant that we do. Thanks for this great giveaway
I love your sons pose in the top photo because I always want to do that so I can absorb all the heat from the suns rays.
Scrolling through trying to find somewhere to comment, I just couldn’t get past this photo of your son again, it is beautiful.
A sun worshiper lapping up the sunshine. :-)