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Bite-Lite’s Natural Mosquito Repellent Candle Reviews Speak for Themselves

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The Bite-Lite® team would like to take a moment to thank all of you for your purchases and reviews of our natural mosquito repellent candles. 

The reviews are indicative of how our line of candles help repel pesky mosquitos while not producing soot or smoke like regular Citronella candles do.   The reviewers of our candles are spread out throughout the U.S.    The states that are most inundated with mosquitoes and appear to have the most brisk  sales are: Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia.

One reviewer states: “These Bite-Lite natural mosquito repellent candles are not only great smelling but more importantly, they’re very effective!…”

Another reviewer from Texas stated that they believed they’d be a “customer for life!”

One of our favorite reviews was left on Amazon: “A gift for my daughter who gets mosquito bitten so badly…She said it was like an invisible wall, the mosquitos and other bugs just dropped like there was a curtain there.”

Your support and reviews are invaluable to us!  Please reach out to us with any questions or concerns.  Sharing your experiences and expectations about our products help us to ensure 100% customer satisfaction and helps us make a better natural  mosquito candle for you.

To read the complete reviews about our Bite-Lite® natural mosquito repellent candles, visit our Testimonials page.

 

Not all natural mosquito candle repellents are created equal!

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When searching for a NATURAL solution to reduce mosquito bites, be aware that not all natural repellent products are created equal!

All insect control products, including mosquito candles, are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Whether the product is natural or not, mosquito repellents are classified as pesticides and manufacturers who are making claims that their products repel mosquitoes must include on their label either a federal registration number or language that indicates that the product is exempt from federal registration.  Without these labels, pesticide products cannot be legally sold in the states.

At Bite-Lite®, we are proud of the fact that we have always complied with federal and state regulations. Our mosquito repellent candles contain both active and inert ingredients of natural materials which meet the EPA’s criteria exempting them from federal registration.  As required by law, Bite-Lite® also registers its natural mosquito candles in the individual states where our candles are sold and where registrations are required for “EPA exempt” products. These registrations must be renewed annually for each product in order for that repellent product to be sold legally in that state. In addition, each state requires strict guidelines on what ingredients and percentages must be on the labels. Bite Lite® has taken the necessary extra steps of registering its natural mosquito repellent candles correctly, and can be legally sold in the U.S. as a 25(b) product.

The states that Bite-Lite candles are currently registered and are available for sale are:  California, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bug Barometer Readings Predict a Buggy Season

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Get your repellent sprays and mosquito candles ready!   It looks to be a buggy spring and summer.   Greater numbers of mosquitoes, ticks, and other nuisance insects are expected based on the predictions of the National Pest Management Association as reported in the latest issue of Popular Science.   Many biting pests may come out earlier than usual  because the adults and their larvae survived the winter in many parts of the country.       

For the full story, read more at http://www.popsci.com/winter-warm-mosquitoes-ticks. 

Besides stocking up on repellent sprays and candles, there are several customary procedures that you can do to get ready for mosquitoes and not allow them to breed!    The key is examining potential places that will hold water and stop the breeding cycle that can occur in a week’s time: 

  • Eliminate standing water in flower pot dishes, tires, children’s wading pools, old bottles, cans, children’s toys, etc.
  • Throw out broken items that can hold water, including bottle caps.
  • Keep your gutters clean and free from leaves.
  • Fix leaky outdoor faucets.
  • Clean debris from overgrown ponds and stock with fish.
  • Regularly empty and add clean water to bird baths.
  • Screen or cover rain barrels.
  • Wear light colored, long sleeved shirts and pants when doing yard work or walking in the woods.

Bite-Lite Natural Mosquito Candles can add ambiance to any outdoor event where mosquitoes are present.  But  also make sure you have the right repellent spray on the go.    For more information about repellents, check out the Center for Disease Control’s protection guidelines at https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2016/the-pre-travel-consultation/protection-against-mosquitoes-ticks-other-arthropods.

Doing Your Part to Help Keep Mosquitos at Bay at Your Home and Business

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If it isn’t already one, the following should become a maxim: It is just as easy to find breeding spots for mosquitoes as to eliminate them!

As homeowners and business owners (with outdoor venues and employees), we  can all do our part to eliminate standing water and manage the possibility of mosquito borne diseases.  Remember that mosquitoes are born wherever there is standing water.  It takes one week for a mosquito to grow from an egg to an adult.   Now that spring is officially here, it is time to check your homes and businesses and eliminate these outdoor areas commonly popular for breeding mosquitoes.

To help you target these potential breeding areas, many mosquito districts across the country can provide you with informational pamphlets, all basically covering the same time honored  recommendations. Below you will find one such chart from the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Division of Environmental Health, Public Health Pest Management Section, which was last revised in June, 2006.  It is entitled “Mosquito Problems Start At Home!,” and we expect that you will agree–  pictures are worth a thousand words!

 

The American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) provides three D’s of prevention against mosquitoes:  DRAIN, DRESS, and DEFEND.    

To Drain: Empty out water containers at least once a week.

To Dress: Wear long sleeves, long pants, and light colored, loose fitting clothing.

To Defend: Properly apply approved repellents such as DEET, picaridin, IR3535, or oil of lemon-eucalyptus.

To learn more, here is the link:  https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.mosquito.org/resource/resmgr/docs/Mosquito_Info/12987_amca_fact_sheet_v3_web.pdf.

To Be or Not to Be Attracted to Mosquitoes!

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In the science world, it has been a well-known fact that some people are more attractive to mosquitoes than others.   Mosquitoes, using their antennas, choose who they bite based on how your skin smells.  In the past, scientists considered that what made your skin attractive (or repellent) to a mosquito was bacteria, chemical compounds, carbon dioxide, movement, and heat.   Just recently, the DNA responsible for body odor may have solved the mystery of mosquito attractiveness.

A study titled the Heritability of Attractiveness to Mosquitoes published on April 22, 2015 in the journal PLOS One studied 37 sets of female twins to determine the percentage of mosquito attractiveness based on genetic programming.*  Eighteen sets of identical twins and 19 pairs of fraternal twins were recruited between the ages of 50 and 90.   All were female and post-menopausal.   The conclusion, after running 40 versions of the experiment using the hands of each pair of twins, is that DNA determines a person’s degree of mosquito attractiveness 62% to 83% of the time.    (To better understand these numbers, consider that genes have been found to be responsible for height 80% of the time and IQ between 50 to 80%.)

The study concluded that if a mosquito was attracted to the odor of one twin’s hand, it was likely to be attracted to the other twin.     Mosquito preference for an identical twin was twice as high as fraternal twins, who only shared half their DNA due to their birth in separate eggs.

While the experiment is over, there is still much work to be done.   Finding the actual genes responsible for mosquito magnetism is the next step, according to James Logan, the study’s senior author and medical entomologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.   This knowledge could lead to better information to control mosquito borne diseases and even the development of a new drug that would allow your body to produce natural repellents.

Controlling Mosquitoes

Only female mosquitoes bite.   And the reason they bite is to nourish eggs, which can be as many as 300 at one time.   Females live about six weeks (compared to males who live only seven days), and can find their hosts by flying from one to 10 miles to even 40 miles.   Because mosquitoes breed in any standing, stagnant water, it is time for you the homeowner to get busy eliminating these areas.   Here are a few spring chores and tips to beat the bite and not give mosquitoes a chance to be nuisances in your backyard.

  1. Find and eliminate all standing pools of water around your house and yard.   Do this regularly.   (Once a week is a good rule of thumb because that is the time for a mosquito to grow from an egg to a biting adult.)   These areas include pet bowls, fountains or bird baths, wagons and other children’s toys, wading pools, open trash bins, leaky hoses and faucets, flower pot dishes, tree holes.
  2. Clean clogged rain gutters, eaves, and troughs.
  3. Throw out old bottles, cans, pails, and used tires.
  4. Keep lawns mowed as short as practical, and trim and prune ornamental shrubs and bushes to allow airflow and light to penetrate.   It will be harder for adults to hide in these locations because of your handiwork.
  5. Repair screens on windows and doors.
  6. When outside, wear light colored, loose fitting long sleeved shirts and long pants, hats and socks.

*For more information on the twin study, see:

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0122716

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-mosquito-magnet-genes-20150422-story.html

Genetically Modified Mosquito Control – Future Reality in US?

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The Food and Drug Administration could soon approve a field trial for releasing several million genetically modified male mosquitoes in a small enclave in the Florida Keys, according to the New York Times a few days ago.   Residents in Key Haven, Florida, with 444 houses near Key West, have been fighting this possibility since 2011.

If approved, Oxitec, a British biotechnology company, already has permission to set up a lab in the office of the Marathon, FL mosquito control district.   There imported mosquito eggs will be injected with synthetic DNA, reared, and released with the goal to kill the Asian Tiger Mosquito (Aedes aegypti), the species responsible for the viral and incurable diseases of dengue and chikungunya.   The plan is for only modified male mosquitoes to be released; after mating in the wild, the special gene the males are carrying will kill their offspring.

Field trials have already begun in the Cayman Islands, Malaysia, Brazil, and Panama with varying degrees of success from the 70 million Oxitec mosquitoes released.   Brazil will apparently be the first country to release these mosquitoes commercially.

For more information about this subject, see:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/20/us/battle-rises-in-florida-keys-over-fighting-mosquitoes-with-mosquitoes.html?_r=0

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/01/Genetically-Modified-Mosquitoes-May-Be-Released-in-Florida-Keys/384859/

https://undark.org/2021/04/12/gmo-mosquitoes-to-be-released-florida-keys

Not all natural repellents are created equal!

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Not all natural repellents are created equal!

Like you, our interest is always piqued when we discover and learn about new insect repellent products, whether natural or not.   As our entomologist pointed out last summer on the Bite-Lite® website (See https://bite-lite.com/mosquito-products-what-really-offers-protection), we are all seeking that elixir for preventing mosquito bites.  

But not all natural repellent products are created equal!    At Bite-Lite®, we are proud of the fact that our five Natural mosquito repellent candles contain both active and inert ingredients of natural materials which meet the EPA’s criteria exempting them from federal registration.    Plus, Bite-Lite applies and registers its natural repellents in the individual states that require registration of these “EPA exempt” products.    (Note: 39 states and the District of Columbia require these state registrations, which must be renewed annually, before any repellent product can be legally sold in that state.)

When shopping for natural repellents that are legal pesticides, read the label for either a federal EPA registration number or 25b exemption language and then inquire whether these products have state registrations.

For the most up to date links on EPA’s criteria for active and inert natural ingredients as well as general information on 25b minimum risk pesticides, see:

http://www2.epa.gov/minimum-risk-pesticides

http://www2.epa.gov/minimum-risk-pesticides/active-ingredients-allowed-minimum-risk-pesticide-products

http://www2.epa.gov/minimum-risk-pesticides/inert-ingredients-approved-use-minimum-risk-pesticide-products

Mosquito Products: What Really Offers Protection?

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Every year, as mosquito season approaches, homeowners are flooded with information about ways to protect yard and family from those pesky and sometimes dangerous little biters.   Some of the advertisements offer ‘new and improved’ solutions and some are just marketing the same old thing.   Many of the claims for these products are not backed by science and many are just gimmicks that do not work at all.   You, the consumer, have the difficult job of sorting through the truth and fiction of advertising geniuses, and in some cases making a purchase to find out whether the product will really work.

 

 

 

Dr. Wayne Crans an entomologist from Rutgers University summarized some of these products as “gimmicks” or what he called “hoaxes that are marketed solely for economic gain.”  in a data sheet that is presented on the Rutgers’ website, entitled:  Products and Promotions That Have Limited Value for Mosquito Control.   There are two categories of products, however, that Dr. Crans did not mention in his article.  These are traps and spatial repellents, both of which have been around for decades, but have not always been available or in the consumer eye.

Mosquito surveillance traps have been used by researchers, local mosquito control districts, and the military to try to effectively estimate mosquito density as well as identify the types of mosquitoes found in specific areas. This information has been used to identify potential disease outbreaks as well as to determine when the best time to apply area wide control methods, such as mosquito sprays and larvacide.   However, in the past 15 years or so, mosquito traps have been made commercially available for backyard use, with costs ranging from roughly $99 to $725.   Consumer reviews of these traps are mixed.   There have been numerous scientific studies proving that mosquito traps, in general, attract and collect mosquitoes.   The jury is still out on how well those same traps work to ‘control’ the mosquitoes.

Spatial repellents have also been around for a very long time–  first being noted in the late 1940’s as “vapour repellents” that work ‘at a distance’.   Spatial repellents are chemicals that are released into an environment to repel mosquitoes from that area.   If the concentration of the chemical is at the right level, mosquitoes will be ‘discouraged’ from searching for food in that area. Dr. Dan Strickman of the USDA defines spatial repellents as, “a repellent product applied between the human and the immediate source of pests…” in his 2009 presentation about spatial repellents to the Human Subjects Review Board of the US EPA.   According to Dr. Strickman, spatial repellents can be delivered either passively or actively. Passive delivery would be through natural evaporation of materials that have been either sprayed onto an area or impregnated into things like plastic strips that hang in an area.

The most common methods of delivering spatial repellents, at this time, are through active transmission, which is something that most of us are more familiar with:  candles, torches, coils and electronic mats and more recently things like butane powered heating cells. In the past, these types of repelling systems have been lumped into a category of materials that had minimal efficacy, and while it is true that a lot of the materials that are currently found on the retail shelves are not very effective, new chemistries have been discovered and are being discovered that are improving the reputation of this category.   Recently, the Gates Foundation awarded a 23 million dollar grant to a group at Notre Dame University to investigate the efficacy and feasibility of adding Spatial Repellents into the recommendations for malaria control and prevention.

Bite-Lite® Natural Mosquito Repellent Candles contain ingredients that are relatively ‘new chemistries’ based on discoveries by research zoologist Dr. Paul Weldon  with the help of organic chemists at Bedoukian Research, Inc. in Danbury, CT, while investigating the anointing behavior of capuchin monkeys.   When natural essential oils were mixed in the Bite-Lite® repellent candle formulation, testing showed an 84% reduction in the number of mosquitoes

Both traps and candles have limitations, as do personal repellents, such as DEET.   If not used correctly or applied correctly, they will not be as efficacious.   DEET should be applied according to the label of the particular product that has been purchased.   Traps should be placed between mosquito emergence sites and the area where humans will be gathered and run for long periods of time to reduce mosquito populations. Mosquito Candles should be placed near and around the area where humans will gather, and burned for a long enough period of time to allow the wax to melt and the repellents to evaporate before going outdoors. Depending on the size of the area that you are trying to protect, one device, be that candle or trap, may not be enough.

 

Click Here to read more blog articles.

Click Here if you questions for our entomologist.

Ask the Entomologist

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Please submit your questions about biting and stinging insects to [email protected].  As a result of some of your customer questions so far, we have updated our FAQs, and will continue to do so.

How effective are mosquito misting systems? (3/2/2015)

There are plenty of misting systems out there. Most use permethrin and are not recommended by mosquito control professionals (scientists/government control agencies) because they promote resistance. This means that the spray is put out at set times, and may not be applied when needed.  As a result, mosquitoes are not necessarily exposed to the chemicals at the right time and by the right method, allowing them to develop resistance.

For more information about misting systems, go to: http://www2.epa.gov/mosquitocontrol/mosquito-misting-systems#effective.

Some manufacturers are advertising DEET free repellent mosquito candles.  Are those the best to buy to prevent mosquitoes from biting?  (6/17/2014)

The extremely, short answer to your question is, “Yes, DEET free repellent mosquito candles are ‘the best.’”

Now for the more in depth and scientific answer.   Buyer Beware!   All mosquito repellent candles are DEET free!    DEET is not found in repellent candles or vaporizers at this time.   Advertising that a mosquito repelling candle is “DEET free” is misleading and is an attempt to take advantage of consumer concerns about the safety of DEET.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), DEET or N,N –Diethyl–meta–toluamide is the active ingredient in many insect repellent products (http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/chemicals/deet.htm).    It is widely used in many forms that are directly applied to human skin.   DEET is, currently, the most effective skin repellent that is used to prevent mosquito bites.   It is topically applied in many forms, including lotions, dry sprays, liquid sprays and even towelettes.    Even though there have been a small number of reports of neurologic effects linked to the use of this chemical, in 2014 the EPA has re-reviewed all of the toxicology data that has been submitted and has stated that DEET is safe to use.

Looking for Natural Mosquito Control?

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Danbury, CT -July 12, 2013 . . . Local family business Bite-Lite, LLC began its mission in 2010 to create natural mosquito repellent candle products that smell good, look great, and actually work!

The Bite-Lite® Candle Collection includes four styles that you can use anywhere!

While observing monkeys at the Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary in Florida, a research zoologist noted that monkeys, when presented with lemons or limes, will immediately rub the fruit on their fur, presumably to repel biting insects. Bite-Lite’s scientists further studied this phenomenon called “anointing” behavior and determined that these citrus materials represented a potential source of new mosquito repellents.

Through field testing of its candles in the Florida swamps in 2011, Bite-Lite’s active ingredients using Cloak and Scatter® technology, proved to be an effective, natural alternative to the typical candle repellents made from synthetic chemicals or only  Citronella oil, the latter method repelling mosquitoes by unwanted smoke and soot.

Dress up your Bite-Lite® Natural Mosquito Repellent Candles for an elegant look when dining outdoors

During the past three years, Bite-Lite® continues to blend, source, quality test, and improve its proprietary formula in Danbury, CT. Four stylish mosquito-repelling candles are available to fit every occasion whether it is camping, hiking, barbecuing, dining al fresco, outdoor events and elegant weddings.   The lemongrass and mint scent released from the candles is safe for children, adults, and pets.

Go to our Retailers page and find these exceptional candles at your favorite garden center, hardware store, and grocer.    Or shop now on our Products page.   To learn more about Bite-Lite® Natural Mosquito Repellent Candles and the monkeys that inspired the formula, please explore our website and also view the Monkey Video (https://bite-lite.com/monkey-business).

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