Cutter Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent, No DEET Mosquito Repellent, 4 fl Ounce (Pump Spray)

The scent is lovely, especially compared to literally every other bug spray. It does keep mosquitoes off of you and seems to help some against gnats and black/stable flies as well. Does nothing for deer flies, but no spray will since they hunt by sight not smell.But the biggest advantage of this spray was totally unexpected - it COOLS YOU DOWN. Think Vicks vapo-rub. I assume it’s the eucalyptus. I spray it on every morning before going outside to work and, instead of sweating profusely, feeling dizzy, miserable, and getting dangerously dehydrated, i sweat about as much as a normal human being. But this makes every breeze a cool breeze. It’s absolutely refreshing. It makes being outside relaxing and pleasurable rather than the absolute nightmare that coastal virginia summers usually are. I can’t stress enough what a game changer this is for me. I’m extremely heat intolerant, have had heat stroke a few times and heat exhaustion dozens of times. It makes a 90 degree day with 85% humidity tolerable, and with a fan nearby it helps in even hotter, more humid conditions.I have some sort of reaction to products with DEET - it slowly but surely makes my skin feel like it’s on fire, which obviously makes heat and humidity worse, and I start sweating even more profusely than I would without it, to the point that it starts running into my eyeballs. I still use deet based sprays on my clothes, where it will have minimal skin contact, but use this spray anywhere skin is exposed.I actually went and looked up the safety studies on this stuff on the epa website and read the 26 page registration eligibility document to see how safe it really was, since I apply this at least twice, usually 3 to 4 times a day. Besides the nauseating descriptions of the lab experiments that sprayed it into rabbits’ eyeballs and let it fester for 24 hours, among other cruelties (which are not just standard, but required for FDA approval/registration, so the manufacturer can’t be faulted here), the document was reassuring in showing that the spray has no apparent negative effects in the short term, and appears to have none in the long term as well. But even if it did I don’t think I’d stop using it 😂It does need to be reapplied every few hours and NEVER let it get into your eyes - the bunnies took that blow for us and suffered greatly for it - please do not waste their sacrifice. Some lab rats also took one for the team by showing that you shouldn’t inhale it - but the effects they experienced were, in my humble opinion, more likely due to an insanely high dose being intranasally administered continuously for 4 hours, rather than passively inhaling a typical amount one might breathe in during spray application. The oral administration tests had similarly awful results, but i opine once again that the ludicrously excessive conditions they were subjected to were more likely the cause. Still - don’t drink or inhale it.

I bought this because I like to try to avoid DEET, but needed something that was more effective and long lasting than the other "natural" brand of bug spray I was using. The other stuff I use is kind of effective, but doesn't last long, and doesn't work sufficiently during the height of bug season. I honestly didn't expect this to do a lot better. I am the kind of person who will attract every mosquito within a mile, and get a zillion bites. I was so pleasantly surprised at how effective this stuff is for me. The scent is very long lasting -- great for helping with the bugs, but definitely keep in mind that you will smell strongly of this until you have a chance to shower it off. (It's not terrible, but might not be to everyone's taste.)It's hard for me to compare the efficacy of this with a DEET bug spray because I feel so wary about DEET that I probably don't put on enough of it. I will say that the efficacy of this, put on generously, feels similar to how effective DEET is for me when I spray it on cautiously -- some mosquitos get through, but I can go outside without fear of being swarmed or slapping away bugs all the time.

I was specifically looking for lemon eucalyptus oil as an ingredient because it is said to be more effective than citronella essential oil and I picked this spray up. The recent resurgence of malaria was disconcerting, so I wanted a mosquito spray that really works. My family has literally watched mosquitos fly toward them and then catch a whiff and fly in the opposite direction, so that speaks highly of this stuff! That said, I had purchased a different Murphy’s brand previously (more expensive) and the smell of that one wasn’t quite so strong and it worked great too. This one threw my migraine into overdrive a few weeks back so I don’t use it personally. Just sharing for those who are scent sensitive. Otherwise, my family loves it, it’s not chock full of nasty DEET, and it really does work!Editing to say:It’s been another hot, muggy, buggy summer on a farm next to woods and water with tons of mosquito habitats. My migraines chilled and my whole family practically lived outdoors and wore this spray constantly, myself included. We were buying it by the 6-pack. No hesitation to put it on my youngest or oldest family members. We just try to spray our arms, legs, necks, and then walk through to fresh air because it is strong going on. Smells pleasant after a time and definitely works! We re-apply if it’s an especially long, sweaty day but these bottles last a good long time and are worth their weight in gold. We ran out and bought the Murphy’s brand again and actually prefer the sprayer on these bottles so much more!

I'm a mosquito magnet. I live in SoCal, and ankle biters have been problematic over the last few years, not to mention mosquitoes carrying the west nile virus this year. Every time I go out to water plants, use my grill, or talk to neighbors, I get multiple bites on my arms and legs. Sometimes I get bitten just going a few steps from the car into the house or visa versa. I get mosquito bites in the evening while indoors. These bites burn, then itch. Very annoying! I wanted a repellent without deet and saw this. On Labor Day, I smoked a rack of baby backs in my grill, which is a 6-hour process, not counting lighting the pellets and bringing the grill up to temp. Thus, I was in and out of the house a good chunk of the day. I am happy to say that I did not get one mosquito bite--not one. The smell is pleasant, and the repellent does not leave my skin sticky or gooey. I'm a very happy camper.