Shübug Bug Spray

Safety has always been a fundamental concern for humanity and is constantly evolving. Comparing your childhood to today, you can see the progress. Our family started wearing seatbelts when I was 12, and I remember flying in the smoking section of airplanes. Safety evolution does not stop there but also extends to the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the chemicals we apply to our skin, if any. The last one might have caught you off guard, but your skin is the body’s single largest organ and is absorbent, also known as dermal absorption.

While spring may bring longer nights, baseball games, and other outdoor activities, it’s also the beginning of mosquito season. Seeking relief from biting insects, we reach for bug spray with little to no thought about which chemicals we apply to our body’s largest organ. The chemical that raises concern is DEET—the active ingredient in many repellent products. Some have started to question whether there are any effects of long-term exposure from daily use. While many companies offer non-DEET repellents, they generally don’t perform as well. At least, that was before Shübug.

Shübug offers two DEET-free alternatives: Shübug Active and Shübug Natural. The Natural formula is a 100-percent-natural, oil-based blend of coconut MCT and walnut oils. The Active version utilizes picaridin, a compound found in plants used to produce black pepper. The Active version offers 12 hours of protection while the Natural version provides 10 hours of protection.

The company shipped us both versions—Active and Natural—for testing. Living in south Florida means mosquito season is year-round, which gives us plenty of opportunities to test bug repellents. We supplied our samples to a wide range of testers, including soccer moms and their children, landscapers, and backpackers. All the testers reported similar results to those expected with products containing DEET but without any of the chemicals. The children preferred the Natural version, because it “felt like lotion” and was not “sticky.” One tester said the product “felt light, too, almost non-existent on the skin.”

When planning your spring product assortments, consider adding these DEET-free products from Shübug, which perform just as well as synthetic products. If it can work in south Florida, it can work in your local market.