Monday, March 9, 2009

No bugs were invited to my wedding

There could be no bugs around and a mosquito will find me. There will be twenty people standing around with not a single bug bite, and I'll have a mosquito bite for every one of them. I do not like bugs.

So when you asked if we had a plan for how to keep bugs off our guests, I think my first thought was that I'm the best bug repellent anyone could ask for. They all fill up on me and leave others alone. But obviously we needed a better plan than that, particularly since my parent's have a creek in their backyard that creates a larger than normal mosquito population.
The first thing we did was to have the torches we used to light the yard contain citronella oil. Not the most pleasant smell, but it served its purpose. Second we set up a small table of bathroom supplies near our toilet (tampons, lotion, condoms, and...bug spray). We bought a natural, non-cancer causing, reproductive-harm-inducing, spray from our natural food co-op.

I've tried several natural bug repellents and All Terrain Herbal Armor is the best that I've found. I even took it with me when I went to the jungle on my honeymoon and stayed (mostly) mosquito bite free.

So that's what we did to keep the bugs out. And for the most part it seemed to work. I didn't get a single bug bite all night!

5 comments:

Jess (hellowifeonline.com) said...

I didn't even think about bugs! I'm a mosquito attractor myself, and I certainly don't want to be itching and scratching all night long! We're having an outdoor wedding, so maybe I'll go pick up some citronella candles to intermix with the regular ones.

Anonymous said...

oh man! you just keep answering the burning questions that i didn't even take time to ask! and i love that brand of mosquito repellent. thank you, once again.

Cat said...

I hadn't thought about bugs either . . . and I am just like you, no one else will be bitten and I will have 20!! This is for sure something to add to my to do list!!

Megan said...

I've loved all of your recaps so far! They've all been incredibly helpful. Now I have a question, how long did it take you to gather all the mismatched dishes? I'm thinking about doing that, just with plates and silverware. I just wanted to know how long it took you guys and maybe get some tips if you had some.

Kelley at My Island Wedding said...

We have the Mosquito Magnet..., ever heard of it? You can get them and their supplies at Home Depot, but we got ours off of the Mosquito Magnet.com (?) website.

It's expensive and kind of hard to keep up with every 21 days, but your yard will have NO BUGS.

The only problem is you have to set it up and have it running in the place where you need it for a few weeks before your event. Like you can't just take it to someplace that day, turn it on and have it get rid of everything.

So, a backyard wedding where you can do everything in advance would be perfect.

(I've used Natrapel(?) for my kids since it is deet free but I should try the All Terrain Herbal Armor you mention. If it's good enough for the jungle, it's good enough for me!)