This is a #sponsored post by Para Kito, whereby we were extended products to sample and review. The opinions expressed herein are strictly my own and honest in expressing our endorsement. This article may contain affiliate links.

Those of you who know me, know I’m not much of an outdoors person. Really. I mean, I don’t know how on Earth I got all these freckles being I’ve always kinda disliked being outside. It’s not the weather so much, although I truly hate snow, ice and the cold… but what keeps me in is the fact that for some reason the mosquitoes really enjoy me. I can be sitting with 10 other people, and I’m the one attacked… repeatedly.  And to make matters worse… I’m allergic to traditional bug sprays (I guess its the DEET) and even nontraditional remedies like Skin So Soft with Avon. What’s a girl to do but avoid the outdoors. As a mom, I dart between car and front door when unloading groceries, I decline barbecues, and delegate all weed pulling to less likely victims. Well at least the weed part works in my favor. 😉

Now in all honesty, I’m not much of an athlete, okay, okay… not at all. And should all mosquitoes suddenly become extinct… wishful thinking (and as a side note: per Deborah McMaster who asked the experts at the Bug Fest 2016 at the Academy of Natural Sciences, the mosquito’s purpose in life is to be food for other bugs and animals… go figure.), anyway it is not likely that I would suddenly take up tennis or any sport for that matter. But it would be nice to be able to walk around the park with ease, enjoy corn on the cob on the back deck and yes, dare I say… go hiking again. Um, yes… once in a far off blue moon, long long ago… I enjoyed hiking and still very much enjoy nature trails and the thrill of unexplored discovery.

And then… along came Para Kito… a French made, all natural mosquito repellent. Glory Days!!  Wait… not so fast… so you see I’ve actually had this product for months now, telling myself I needed to give it a try, which of course meant i needed to brave the bugs long enough to give the product a true test. (PS – so sorry to the brand that it has truly taking me this long!!) With that said, today was the day, despite 95 degree weather. A promise to my little girl for some scooter fun meant it was time.

I can truly attest to the Para Kito’s effectiveness. With the blazing sun, it was no wonder that my fair-skinned ginger didn’t last more than a few minutes outside. Already feeling confident that this repellent was working, I took to the garage (the worst place for those pesky mosquitoes) and tackled some clutter… it is recycling week after all.  What a relief to be able to do what I needed and not worry about getting eaten alive. As you can see from the pictures below, the Para Kito repellent is a velcro band with replaceable repellent pellets. The pellets’ active ingredients consist of the following:

Citronella Oil 34.0%
Rosemary Oil 22.0%
Geranium Oil 21.0%
Mint Oil 10.0%
Clove Oil 2.5%
And  a hint of Peppermint Oil at 1.5%

Victoria, having my genes, is also prone to insect bites. Don’t know if she has same allergy to DEET because I never bother to use it. Anyway, she wore a band during her play activities this afternoon. And she packed it to take to the pool for a late afternoon swim, you know those pests love dusk. And good thing to know, these Para Kito repellent pellets are waterproof. Awesome!

Obviously there’s so much to gain by going outdoors with your children. The world has so much to offer in terms of exploration, science and history and creativity. As a Girl Scout Leader, I’m thrilled to have this product to get me through things like hiking and overnight camping… I was dreading this as you can imagine. But for the rest of summer and heading into autumn, I look forward to simple activities like sidewalk chalk and long conversations with neighbors. I still hate the evil necessity of sunscreen… but hey one victory at a time. I can’t endorse this mosquito repellent enough… life changer!

So much for delegating the weeding though. 🙁 #LosingTheWarOnWeeds