About:

Sweetly Citron is a natural, DEET-free insect repellent made with Lavender Oil, Lemon Essential Oil, Vanilla Extract, Citronella Oil, and Water. Sweetly Citron can be applied directly to skin and clothes every three to four hours to repel mosquitos, ticks, flies, and fleas. The lavender oil and vanilla extract have calming effects to help reduce your anxiety, and the repellent smells great too!

My Experiences:

When the bottle of Sweetly Citron arrived in the mail, I was surprised at how large it was. The bottle’s also attractive- not necessary, I know, but I always appreciate aesthetically pleasing products. It also smells really, really yummy. The citronella smell is strong, but I can also smell the lavender quite well. It sprays on misty and dries quickly, without leaving behind a sticky residue.

The area of southern Virginia where we live is considered to be full of mosquitos in the summer, but I actually don’t think it’s that bad. I grew up in Northwestern Ontario, north of Minnesota. THAT was bad. One time a mosquito landed on the airfield, and they had 20 gallons of jet fuel in it before they realized it wasn’t a plane (bad joke, sorry). Moving on…we’ve been using this spray for about a week and a half here in Southern Virginia. I’ve been spraying myself and Baby J before we go to the park, and we haven’t had any bug bites. I’ve been purposely visiting different parks at different times of day, both shaded, sunny, near water, etc., just to do this review justice. We were at some friends’ house this past Friday night when I was bit by a mosquito soon after arriving. I sprayed Baby J and I down, and neither of us got any more bites for the rest of the night. My conclusion is the Sweetly Citron spray is effective at repelling insects in our area. I’d love to hear from some readers that have tried Sweetly Citron in other states. (See update below.)

One of the main ingredients of Sweetly Citron is citronella. This oil and other essential oils have been found to prevent mosquito and tick bites, but with less effectiveness than DEET, and it needs to be applied more often. The federal government still considers DEET to be the most effective mosquito/tick repellent and safe when used as directed, but controversy has surrounded DEET for decades. For more information, read this report on DEET-related “Health Effects in Humans,” written by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency states there’s no age restriction for using DEET on children. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend using DEET on children under two months of age and never use a repellent with more than 30 percent DEET on children of any age.

I can’t say this spray will completely repel every single mosquito and tick for every single person in every single area of the U.S. or Canada…but I can say it works for us, here in the urban Hampton Roads area. If you’re looking for a natural insect repellent, the Sweetly Citron spray smells good; it’s natural; it’s effective (for us, anyway!); and it’s affordable. I think it’s worth trying, especially since Supreme Specialties, the company behind Sweetly Citron, offers a 60-day money back guarantee.

Update: I’m thrilled to say a friend and reader tried Sweetly Citron, and here’s what she told me tonight: 

“We were in the garage and I started getting bit so I sprayed all of us. It’s rainy today so the mosquitoes are bad. We all then went for a walk… Nothing! Even my husband who gets eaten alive didn’t get any bites!”

You can find Sweetly Citron for purchase on Amazon. Save 25 percent by using discount code: IEEFJBFV. (Affiliate link below)

GIVEAWAY: Click HERE to win a bottle!

Sources:

• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Health effects in humans.” http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/consultations/deet/health-effects.html
• Healthychildren.org, American Academy of Pediatrics. Safety and Prevention. “Insect repellents.” http://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-play/pages/Insect-Repellents.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3a+No+local+token
• National Pesticide Information Center. “Oil of citronella general fact sheet.” http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/citronellagen.html
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Pesticides: Topical & chemical fact sheets. “The insect repellent DEET.” http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/chemicals/deet.htm

Note: I received a free bottle of Sweetly Citron insect repellent spray to review. The opinions expressed above are my own and may differ from yours. Post contains affiliate link.