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Home > Blogs > Adventures in Motherhood > Archives > 2010 > December > 17 > Entry
How to avoid bedbugs and stinky teens: product reviews
I’ve been reviewing some products that will ease your holiday travel stress and help your car and home stink less — guaranteed!
First up is a new obsession with me, and likely most other moms as well: BEDBUGS. The mere mention of the word gives me the heebie-jeebies.
Sleeping in bedbug-infested hotels, going to movie theaters and traveling on dirty airplanes puts us at risk.
My sister, a seasoned travel agent and a bona fide clean freak, came to Dayton to spend Thanksgiving with us this year. We already had a houseful, so she and her hubby booked a room at a local hotel, where there just so happened to have been a report of bedbugs a few months before. Ugh.
I hesitated to tell her, but when I brought it up she acted all nonchalant. She said that because they’re so prevalent, everyplace treats for them now. That makes no nevermind to me: I am ON EDGE about the blood-sucking beasties and will do whatever possible to make sure we don’t bring any into our home.
So for expert advice, I’m turning to Risa Barash, affectionately called The Lice Lady, who knows what it takes to protect the entire family from lice and bedbugs.
She developed Fairy Tales Sleep-Tite, an organic line of oils and enzymes that repel bedbugs. Her products are available in 3.2-ounce sizes, which make them perfect for travel.
According to Barash, the nontoxic Sleep-Tite kills bedbugs and their eggs instantly. Sleep-Tite is made with natural minerals, so it’s safe and effective to help keep your home, hotel room, theater seats, apartment, college dorm and camp bunk bedbug free.
Here are Barash’s tips on how to lead a bedbug-free life:
— Check furniture for brown spots, it could be a bedbugs’ dried blood or fecal matter.
— Use your nose. Bedbugs’ secretions give off an intense, sweet odor.
— Be careful when purchasing used furniture, particularly bed frames and mattresses. The tiny, 0.2-inch creatures can survive for months without feeding (yuck!).
— To prevent bedbugs from crawling onto a bed, pull the bed frame away from the wall and tuck in sheets and blankets.
— Caulk and seal holes and fill cracks around baseboards and moldings in apartments.
— Treat your luggage and the cracks and crevices of your beds with a preventative spray like Sleep-Tite.
Clean hands are also key to staying healthy at home or on the go.
Avoiding crowds is not always an option during this time of year, so when soap and water are out of reach — like when I’m in the middle of the mall food court with three hungry, cranky kids and an even crankier husband — I reach for the little bottle of hand sanitizer I keep tucked in my purse (there’s always one in the minivan as well).
I particularly like the scent of Germ-X’s Germ Blaster Atomic Apple gel, which smells just like sour apple Jolly Ranchers. Bath & Body makes a foaming hand spray that I bought when it was on sale two-for-$5 (don’t tell Hubby: It’s for his stocking ;).
The EO company, which also makes sanitizing wipes and gels, sent a along a sample of their organic spray, which worked great (I think!) and had a pleasant lavender scent.
According to EO, their products are made with organic alcohol, so they provide a plant-based alternative to harsher chemical-laden sanitizers. The EO line is available online, or locally at Wild Oats stores in Deerfield and Cincinnati.
On a more personal note, sometimes hands aren’t the only body parts that need cleaning when a nice hot bubble bath is just not an option.
And here’s the answer: QwikShower Wipes.
Is your teen or tween slightly ripe after gym class, with half the school day left? No problem. These individually packaged disposable washcloths whisk away the sweat and the self-consciousness with a single swipe.
This is the review I got in txt form from my 14-year-old son, who gave them a try after phys ed: “Hey those quick showers work well with the stinkyness. And they feel cleaner than usual.” Wow. That’s high praise from a teen.
The wipes are available for purchase online at QwikShower.com - 1 for $1, 10 for $7, 50 for $29 and 100 for $49. And they work on adults after workouts too!
Another personal care product that arrived in the Adventures in Motherhood mailbag is Wicked Fresh! Long-lasting Fresh Breath Toothpaste from Tom’s of Maine.
My older kids really dug the toothpaste, which comes in Cool Spearmint and Peppermint Ice. It’s flavored with natural oils and botanical extracts, and provides whitening and cavity protection rolled into one tube.
In my previous attempts to get my kids interested in Tom’s all-natural toothpastes, they complained about the gritty texture. Not so with Wicked Fresh: It’s as smooth as other brand-name pastes.
Tom’s, which is available in most pharmacies and grocery stores, has been squeezing out “green” products since 1970. You’ve got to respect that.
But when the smell has already fell, so to speak, here’s what I use to freshen up the house, car and even hotel rooms: Febreze Thai Dragon Fruit Spray.
This room deodorizer has an awesome fragrance. I would wear it as a perfume if I could (this is not recommended, however). But I have to buy two cans at a time: My teenager keeps one in his room to help mask the testosterone-heavy stench.
I’ve also received samples of Febreze’s Flameless Luminary and Set & Refresh products, and while the refills may be a little pricey, they really work to give smaller rooms a cleaner feel. (Click here to find money-saving coupons for Febreze.)
Disclosure: Some featured products were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: Great deals, Helpful tips, Product review, Travel with kids
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By LucyB
December 20, 2010 7:37 PM | Link to this
NCF: To clarify, the adult bugs can grow to about 1/4 of an inch, the young ones about half that. Some sources compare them to the size of an apple seed. So, tiny in relation to say a cricket, cockroach or cicada (all of which also terrify me! ;).
By Brady's Mom
December 20, 2010 4:27 PM | Link to this
Great product reviews, thanks! Hey I just discovered a cool site I wanted to share with other Miami valley moms, it’s called kidealy (www.kidealy.com). It’s a site developed by parents for parents with deep discounts on stuff for kids and teens. It’s free and all their deals are from major retailers like Toys R Us. A friend of mine is one of the founders, they are just telling their friends about it, so I am telling all of you! Check it out at www.kidealy.com.
By bedbugchaser
December 18, 2010 8:56 AM | Link to this
I’m the “BedBug Chaser” www.BedBugChaser.com and I get rid of bedbugs, spiders & stink bugs with 100% Chemical FREE safe GREEN electric heat. The US is slowly becoming infested with bedbugs from Maine to California and everywhere in between. As quickly as there is a sighting, there is another company claiming that they have the best solution to eradicate these pests. You have seen the numerous TV and radio ads promoting such things as chemical treatments, freezing solutions, magic heat wands and the list goes on. Chemicals even when applied properly may not eliminate today’s super bedbugs 100%. If you’re interested in ridding the world of bedbugs and making some money here’s your chance, BedBug Chasers’ is going nationwide. Call me personally at 908-510-8110 let’s see if you have what it takes to be a “BedBug Chaser
By NCF
December 17, 2010 8:54 AM | Link to this
0.2-inches is not all that tiny. Nearly a quarter of an inch. Perhaps a misplaced decimal point?