It's bug season out there...don't be the game!

After receiving many requests from customers about how in the world  Adiós! Mo Skitos! came to be, I decided to add it to my website so anyone curious can read on and understand:

Living on an island, you learn to become self-reliant in many ways.  Hatteras, NC is no different.  It has its challenges when you want to be outdoors   From camping, fishing, boating, hiking, horseback riding, surfing, paddle boarding...the list goes on of the wonders of the outdoor life on Hatteras Island.    

 Mother Nature has her way of letting you know who's the boss ...HER.  So what do you do?  You work with her.  She gives you a problem but also gives you the solution...if you look.  

I love my gardens, and my chickens are like my kids.   The problem Mother Nature gave me was the clouds of mosquitos awaiting as I stepped out the door.  I couldn't get to my Chickens in the early mornings to let my girls out without fighting through the swarms of bugs that would attack me.  Being covered and bitten by these pests took all the fun out of gardening and spending time with my chickens.  Nothing seemed to work well enough for me to stay outside and so my gardens died and my chickens saw much less of me.  

Using pesticides or other toxic chemicals wasn't an option because I like to hug my chicken kids.  They constantly peck at my feet for me to pick them up and carry them around.   Most of the products on the market today would make that a dangerous option for them and, in the long-run, not real good for me either.  

Besides, I'm a human kid magnet too, and I can't imagine dousing children with the stuff that is out there... for the scent alone, much less the chemicals.   I tried all the usual topical sprays and ointments only to be let down with oily, smelly skin and feeling the need for a shower.  That's when I decided I had to start playing around with my own elixer...I had no idea how this little experiment would change my life.  

Since I had become a certified over-the-counter-drug manufacturer during the pandemic to help with the hand sanitizer shortage,  I worked closely with the FDA to ensure production was in accordance with federal laws.  The biggest thing I learned during my time with the FDA was that I didn't want to work with the FDA.   So, I went about creating a product that No. 1, worked, but No. 2, had no alcohol or chemicals in it that would need approval from the FDA. So thats where I started.  

 Killing all the bugs was not an option, there's always another army of them right around the corner.  In the beginning, I just wanted to repel the mosquitos and keep them away from me.  I wanted to just be able to  go about my daily outdoor life, whether it be doing outside chores, fishing or crabbing off the creek in my backyard, gardening or just having cocktails on the deck with my girls.  

My mission was to create an all-natural product that would not harm me as I tried to keep the bugs from harming me.  I didn't want to have to choose between two evils.  After two long years of trial and error,  I finally came up with a product that not only keeps the bugs at bay, but is also good for me and my skin, a bonus I honestly wasn't looking for.  I was just trying to create something that wasn't bad for my skin.  I learned another bonus is that when I did get bit, I would get my potion and spray it right on the bite and it would stop the itching and swelling almost immediately.  

I continued to research all-natural oils only to kept finding  good news about each one I chose for my List of 6. I could go on an on about the benefits I learned  these natural oils contain or how beneficial they are in so many ways, but I have been especially  elated about how the alcohol-free witch hazel and other oils are anti-microbials and astringents and may help to control acne, making  Adiós! Mo Skitos! a real life-saver for some people who otherwise, could not protect their faces when the bugs came around. 

 I originally just planned on finding something to help me deal with my personal  mosquito problem I had to endure to live my outdoor life.  I never dreamed I would become the owner of an all-natural  bug repellent company, but I  felt so happy to have finally found something that really worked and was good for my skin, I just needed to share this stuff with my neighbors, my friends and my family.   As the story goes, then, they wanted to share it with their neighbors, friends and families and so Adiós! Mo Skitos! was born.  

Since my small town is steeped in the history of Black Beard, the notorious pirate of the carribbean, Ocracoke and the Outer Banks, I loved tying in the mosquito in with the  pirate to create my mascot, Mo Skitos.  I think mosquitos could have really been the first pirates.  Long before there was gold, silver, and precious gems to steal, there were mosquitos roaming the earth...not only stealing our blood, but  many times leaving behind a deadly deposit of malaria or countless other mosquito-born illnesses.

Finally, I found sourcing my oils from all over the world, enables me bring  some of the most pure, high-quality products on the market today.   Adiós! Mo Skitos! doesn't cost much more, if any,  from the mass-produced competition, but in the long run, putting cheap toxic chemicals on your  body (or your children's bodies) to absorb in case you get bit by a bug may be more dangerous and costly than the bug bite itself and, may, in the long run,  exact a cost that nobody wants to pay.  

So, pick up a bottle or two of Adiós! Mo  Skitos! and keep your plasma to yourself!

Thank you Carol Lanshe for all your wisdom and support...just when I needed it most!