FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
Citronella: Is That The Stuff They Use In Those Mosquito Candles?
How is Gnat Armor Superior To Other Repellents?
Should I Be Concerned About The Chemicals Used In Other Repellents?
Why Do No See Ums / Gnats Bite?
Why Do Such Little Bites Hurt So Much?
What Are "No See Um's" Or "Biting Gnats?" Where Do They Come From?
Gnat Armor Is EPA Exempted. What Does That Mean?
Citronella: Is That The Stuff They Use In Those Mosquito Candles?
Answer: Probably not. Our formula smells great! In fact you probably have never smelled real high quality citronella oil.
Why? Quite simply because the good stuff isn't cheap. real high quality Citronella is used as a scent in many perfumes and has a pleasant citrus odor that includes hints of lemon and orange.
Sadly, most of your store bought "Citronella" products (including the well known candles) are made from either the cheapest Citronella available or include other cheaper ingredients that attempt to simulate Citronella's natural repellent effect. This mixture of cheap junk can cause a strange odor that many people find very unpleasant.
Wikipedia states... "Citronella oil is also a renowned plant-based insect repellent, and has been registered for this use in the United States since 1948. The United States Environmental Protection Agency? considers oil of citronella as a biopesticide with a non-toxic mode of action. Research also shows that citronella oil has strong antifungal properties, and is effective in calming barking dogs."
...and "Citronella oil is popular as a 'natural' insect repellent. Its mosquito repellent qualities have been verified by research, including effectiveness in repelling Aedes aegypti (dengue fever mosquito). To be continually effective most citronella repellent formulas need to be reapplied to the skin every 30–60 minutes. (* Note: This is the part we fixed in our formula. The Gnat Armor formula allows the Citronella oils to retain their effectiveness for a greatly extended period of time.) Research also indicates that citronella oil is an effective repellent for body louse and head louse."
How is Gnat Armor Superior To Other Repellents?
1) Gnat Armor contains no DEET or other harsh chemical ingredients. We use natural Citronella oil as Gnat Armor's active ingredient. Citronella oil is used in perfumes, cosmetics, and as an insect repellent in many parts of the world. In 60 years there have been no reports of serious side effects or poisoning from Citronella use. Citronella smells great too!
The other inactive ingredients (White Mineral Oil & Isopropyl Myristate) are also common ingredients in a wide variety of lotions, cosmetics and other products that are applied to the skin. These materials also have a long history of use without toxicity dangers when used according to the product label.
2) Gnat Armor is more powerful and effective because of a unique blending process that gives the Citronella oil maximum repelling power, while making it easy to safely apply!
Should I Be Concerned About The Chemicals Used In Traditional Insect Repellents?
The primary active ingredient in traditional insect repellents is a chemical caled DEET. Note the following taken from the MedlinePlus.com Medical Reference:
"Persons applying DEET to their skin may get hives or have mild redness and irritation. These symptoms are usually mild and will go away when the product is removed from the skin.
Persons who use very high concentrations of DEET on their skin over a long period of time (such as military personnel or game wardens) may have more severe skin reactions that include blistering, burning, and permanent scars of the skin. Other symptoms associated with long-term use of high amounts of DEET (over 50% concentration) include insomnia and mood changes."
"By far, the most serious and devastating complication of large DEET poisonings is neurological damage. Patients may have disorientation, clumsiness when walking, seizures, or coma. Death is possible in these cases.
DEET is especially dangerous for small children. Seizures may occur in small children that are consistently exposed to DEET on their skin for long periods of time. Care should be taken to only apply lower concentrations of DEET to children for short periods of time. Products containing DEET probably should not be used on infants."
In the end each person has to decide for themselves how comfortable they are with the use of DEET.
Why Do No See Ums / Gnats Bite?
Biting Gnats (Technically known as "Midges") feed on humans and animals for a blood meal. The female midges require this meal to reproduce and lay more eggs. So every bite you feel equals 50 to 100 more Gnats!
Why Do Such Little Bites Hurt So Much?
Gnat's bite in a particularly nasty way. They do not puncture your skin like a mosquito, instead they rip into you with sharp teeth. They first insert two sword like blades that anchor them to your skin, then they use their cutting teeth to tear your skin and get the blood flowing.
The gnat then follows up by squirting a chemical into the wound so your blood won't clot too quickly and sucks up the resulting pool of blood through a straw like proboscis. The anti-clotting protien that is sprayed into the wound causes an allergic reaction in many people, leaving itchy red spots or welts that are many times the size of the 1/8" nearly invisible gnat.
What Are "No See Um's" Or "Biting Gnats?" Where Do They Come From?
Often referred to in the south as "No See Um's" biting midges can be a nuisance to anyone outdoors during early morning and evenings, and even during the daytime on still, cloudy days.
Midges readily bite humans; the bites are irritating, painful, and can cause long-lasting painful lesions for some people.
47 different species are known to occur in Florida. Breeding areas can be very varied depending on the particular species. Areas with substantial salt marsh habitat are major producers of many biting midge species. Additional sources for some species, include highly organic soil that is wet such as those found with high manure loads in swine, sheep and cattle farming operations. The larvae cannot develop without moisture. The larval habitat of many species is in rotting fruit, bromeliads, and other water-holding plants. Other larval habitats include mud, sand, and debris at edges of ponds, lakes and springs, treeholes, and slime-covered bark.
Some species can lay up to 450 eggs per batch and as many as seven batches in a lifespan.
The adult no-see-ums are gray and less than 1/8 inch long. The mouthparts are well-developed with cutting teeth on elongated mandibles in the proboscis, adapted for blood-sucking in females, but not in males. The thorax extends slightly over the head, and the abdomen is nine-segmented and tapered at the end.
Males and females feed on nectar, but the females require blood for their eggs to mature. The females will blood-feed primarily around dawn and dusk; however, there are some species that prefer to feed during the day.
The number of eggs produced varies among species and size of bloodmeal. For example, Culicoides furens (Poey) can lay 50 to 110 eggs per bloodmeal, and C. mississippiensis Hoffman, 25 to 50 eggs per bloodmeal. The adults live only a few weeks under natural conditions.
Medical Significance In the U.S., biting midges are primarily a nuisance and the major issue associated is allergic reactions to the bites. However, some species can carry pathogens that cause disease in humans and animals. In Central and South America, western and central Africa, and some Caribbean islands, biting midges are the vectors of filarial worms in the genus Mansonella. These parasites cause infection in humans that produces dermatitis and skin lesions because the adult worms are located in the skin.
Some species of biting midges, are responsible for transmission of bluetongue virus to sheep and cattle in the U.S. Bluetongue is a serious disease of ruminants. Many countries that are bluetongue free prohibit the movement of livestock from bluetongue endemic regions. The annual economic damage in lost trade is in the millions of dollars.
Other animal disease transmitted by the bite of infected biting midges include African Horsesickness virus in equines that is confined primarily to Africa and Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease virus in ruminants found in North America and principally having lethal effects on deer. Some equines experience allergic reactions to the bites, resulting in equine allergic dermatitis, affecting the withers, mane, tail and ears of the animal.
Unfortunately applications of insecticides targeting the adult stage are not efficient. While this type of application may kill biting midges active on a given night, they are continually dispersing from the larval habitat and entering areas of human activity. It would require insecticide applications on a daily basis in some areas, and this is not efficient or environmentally sound.
Government agencies that provide mosquito control services often receive complaint calls about biting midges. However, most of the programs are not allowed to respond by providing control measures.
Homeowners can install proper screening for windows and patios to prevent no-see-ums from entering residences and outdoor areas used for leisure and entertaining. Most biting midges can pass through 16-mesh insect wire screen and netting, so a smaller mesh size is required. The small mesh size does limit air flow through the screens, and an alternative is to treat screens with a long-lasting insecticide that will be fatal to the no-see-ums that land on the screen. Additionally, because no-see-ums are so small and are weak fliers, ceiling and window fans can be used at high speeds to keep no-see-ums out of small areas.
Gnat Armor Is EPA Exempted. What Does That Mean?
Gnat Armor is such a safe natural product that it qualifies as an EPA exempted product. How is this different than other Insect Repellents? Normally, all Pesticides must be registered by the EPA before they can be sold or distributed. One such exception to the registration requirement is for those pesticides that the administrator, under section 25(b) of FIFRA, has determined "to be of a character which is unnecessary to be subject to this act," and that have been exempted from the requirements of FIFRA by regulation.
EPA exempted products are described as: "posing little or no risk."
Created and tested in the bug infested marshes and swamps of Florida & Georgia, Gnat Armor was designed by an avid outdoorsman that hated soaking himself with the chemicals and pesticides used in most mainstream products. He tried the non-chemical "insect repellents" too... but they didn't stop the "No-See Ums"and other bloodthirsty bugs of the southeast.
Finally he decided to test and develop his own solution, and Gnat Armor was born.
During this testing phase Gnat Armor was also found to be an exceptional tick and flea repellent.
The inventor also found that it repelled ants and seemed to "confuse" them creating a break in their "trails" and often keeping them from re-entering his home around doors and windows.
Gnat Armor 2 Pack
Ready to try our extraordinary natural insect repellent?
Purchase our 2 pack of Gnat Armor 2oz. bottles. This perfectly sized bottle fits easily in shirt and pants pockets, and purchasing 2 lets you share it with friends and family.
2 Pack $9.47 Shipping Included!
"Dear Gnat Armor,
I just wanted to let you know that we tried your product during July 4th weekend, and we were amazed. It smells great and keeps the bugs away without chemicals. Definitely the best natural repellant I have ever tried. Thanks a million...
Travis S. - Fernandina Beach, FL