Guardian Bug Spray without Deet!

I was given this Guardian bug spray as part of a Influenster free sample - @Guardian Repels / #WeBeatDEET

A bunch of reviews can be found here. Guardian have a bunch of info on their Facebook page here.

This basically comes in two flavours, a 4 hour "back garden" variety or the one I got, a 8 hour "wilderness" variety.

I've had it a few weeks now and have used it on myself and the kids, 3 and 6 years old in quite a few hikes in and around the area, some of which are pretty mozzy intense spots and this has worked really well. I don't know about the claim to last 8 hours but it certainly does last the afternoon of hiking and sweat.

The kids say it smells like marshmallows, I think it has a slight citron smell about it. It's neither unpleasant but not particularly pleasant either, well it won't replace your deodorant. That said, it covers pretty well but has a oily kind of feel that's quite shiny. Unlike other products that rely on deet, this seems to still work really well if you miss a spot. As it is quite oily though, I wouldn't recommend spraying this anywhere near your car or if you've got glasses on, to take them off as it's a mare to wipe up and you don't want to be grabbing your phone straight after. The other issue with this is the dispenser, which works well when sprayed held out while level, but it really doesn't like to spray when tilted over, especially on its side or upside down, making it a little tricky to spray around your ankles.

The other thing I've noticed, when using this at a park, it didn't repel flying ants at all and it seemed to attract the bee's. That said, you could see the mozzies coming towards you but never getting touching you. I can't speak for ticks as I never noticed any where we hiked but I've not been bitten since using this.

It's certainly over kill if you're just playing out in the back garden, but then this particular spray isn't meant for that and they have a weaker, 4 hour spray that is probably more suited.

One thing the label doesn't mention that I noticed is how long this spray will last, there's no use by date or recommendation to the shelf life of the product. For $7 on Amazon, it's certainly worth getting though if you're out and about a lot in the woods.