Insect Defend Patch Review

One of the most annoying aspects of camping is getting bitten by mosquitoes. It’s one of the few times that men are not to blame as all biting mosquitoes are all female and are trying to collect your blood to feed their babies. So what can we do to avoid this nuisance? Nasty chemicals that are harmful to children are not an option for my family. Thankfully, there are more natural and healthier Deet Free all natural alternatives you can use such as an Insect Defend Patch.

An Amazon "Mosquito Repellent Skin Patch" general search will produce many, so-called "kid-friendly", multi-colored patches with smiling animals and happy faces that all claim to work against hungry mosquitoes.  Some mosquito patches demonstrate their products in pictures which actually show the patches only attached to t-shirts, dog collars and baby strollers, etc..., but not actually on anyone’s skin. I would stay clear of anyone advertising a mosquito patch that their lawyers are afraid of them actually showing a picture attached to someone’s skin... The main ingredients of most of these bug patches are Lavender Extract, Citronella, Eucalyptus, Premium Japan Natural Essential Plant Oils (wtf?), and so on. I am not sure how these would repel anything let along buzzing mosquito flies, but they must work as advertised once stuck to your clothing, right?  I am not willing to find out the hard way if they don’t work and they are definitely not going on my children's skin which is quoted by some as a viable option.

I, myself, have been using a product called Omezone’s Insect Defend Patch (as seen on Dragon's Den in Season 4, 2010 - video below), which has Vitamin B1 or thiamine as its main product for years. What follows is my Insect Defend Patch Review...

This mosquito patch sticks to your arm just like an anti-smoking nicotine patch or large band aid and slowly transfers vitamin B1 (also known as Thiamine) into your body which a lot of people are mostly deficient in.  After about an hour, your body has its fill of the vitamin and then sweats the excess thiamine out naturally all across your entire body. I do not take any medication, and have to be really hurting to even take a pain killer, but I will put this patch on my skin because it is Deet free, all natural and approved by Health Canada. The alternative can be catching a rare tropical virus like West Nile or Zika or even Malaria. So, now the big question is...do mosquito patches really work?

 

Do Mosquito Patches Work?

I can personally attest, that if there is a mosquito in a room full of people, I have personally watched it fly straight over everyone towards me for an instant death.  They are attracted to more than just CO2 in your breath. Needless to say, that when camping, I am a mosquito magnet and wear full track pants and hoody at dusk when they hit the hardest.

However, I love the Omezone Insect Defend mosquito patch, as it is the equivalent to having an invisible force field around me, and gives me the confidence to just wear a t-shirt knowing that I will not get bitten so easily.  Under the fire light at night, I have held out my arm and amusingly watched mosquitos land on the back of my hand and take off just as quickly.  A few days camping has gone from well over a dozen mosquito bites to maybe one or two at most (usually on my ankles which don’t sweat much, so I wear thicker high socks now). Unfortunately, the Defend Patch does not seem to be for sale anymore at Walmart or Amazon or Canadian Tire and may appears to have fallen victim in 2018 to cheaper Amazon alternatives and knock-offs and of course, the Thermacell and Off! Mosquito Lamp.

I usually place the patch on my upper arm under my t-shirt sleeve where there is no body hair and it takes about one hour for the Vitamin B to start to be excreted by your skin pores. I take it off once in bed to avoid any skin reactions that some people have reportedly had. In the morning, I place another one on my other arm and I am ready for another mosquito free day . Some people wear two of them at once in May and June when the mosquitoes are unbearable. The only complaint for some, is a slight skin scent reminiscent of celery which is a small price to pay to avoid itchy red dots all over you. This is a much better solution than spraying toxic deet products all over your body which can lead to "who knows what" down the road.

So, with the Insect Defend Patch appearing to be belly-up, what now?

One of the mosquito patches I am presently testing out as a replacement is the Nutri-Patch's B12 & Complex Topical Patch which includes Thiamine B1, but does not claim to be a mosquito repellent and only a health supplement and are made in the good old USA.

The other alternative is the Don't Bite Me Patch from St. James Nutrition who seem to be the new "anti-mosquito patch company". I will try them out too because they advertise all natural Vitamin B1 and Aloe Vera ingredients and are also made in the good old United States. I will post my results once I have been on a couple of camping trips or bonfires.

I hope this has been an informative and helpful read that might lead to a more stress-free camping experience and I will update my findings soon.