“Let’s walk in the garden for a while …..”  When the bugs hear me say those words,  a dinner bell starts ringing in the nearest mosquito’s kitchen.  They think of me as a big bug buffet.  Well, I have news for them.  This garden is officially a Nature-Cide zone!   When Nature-Cide offered to send me some products to try, I immediately wanted to know about the potential chemical effects from the formulas.  I was thrilled to find out that, exactly as the name implies, these are natural solutions to common pest problems.

Our neighbors have an above-ground pool that is no longer in use.  The mosquitoes consider this their breeding ground, hence the swarms that attack us (me!!) every time we head outside.  I’m more than a little bit afraid of the side effects from using the traditional (scary) bug repellants, especially on my children.  The skin is the body’s largest organ and needs to be well cared for.   Nature-Cide is a safe alternative to using the old-school strategies for ridding a home or outdoor area of unwanted pests.

I sprayed a little of the insect repellent on my arm so you could see how it looks.  It’s the typical spray bottle—not an aerosol can.  I sprayed just a bit on my forearm and then wiped it all over the rest of my arm.   The scent is very mild—I’m not sure what it is.  Lemongrass, maybe?  It’s light and refreshing, not harsh or chemical-smelling at all.  The bed bug spray, pictured at the far right, is also in a spray bottle.  You can get this in travel size as well.  This is a MUST-HAVE for vacations.  All Nature-Cide products are sold through Amazon; however, you can avoid the shipping costs by purchasing through the Nature-Cide Facebook page.

We also suffer with insect problems on our plants.  The bugs have eaten most of my broccoli plants’ leaves, as you can see in this picture.  It drives me insane!   I have noticed that they have not touched the plants in my cedar raised-beds.  I commented about this to my husband before we even tried Nature-Cide.  Well, when I sprayed Nature-Cide’s outdoor pest repellent on my planters, it was definitely essence of cedar.  The scent wasn’t overpowering or anything, it was just enough to be effective.  I sprayed all around my containers (not on the actual plants, although it wouldn’t hurt them at all).  The Nature-Cide comes out a little foamy so that it really penetrated the fabric of my Grow-Bags.    I even sprayed the umbrella on the patio table to deter the bugs from coming in our eating area.  I’m going just a bit wild on this stuff, actually.  I love knowing that it’s safe to use around our kids, our pet, and our plants.

If you want to win some Nature-Cide to use at your home, enter the Green Your Summer giveaway.  Be sure to follow Nature-Cide on Facebook!