Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Kill Bugs, Not your Brain Cells, With This Natural Bug Killer...Review and Giveaway Courtesy of EcoSMART!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED!

Recently I was contacted by a lovely company called EcoSMART, and they kindly sent me their products to review AND offered a giveaway for all you lovely readers...isn't that...lovely? Why yes, it is, and it is lovely because...

YOU GET TO KILL BUGS!

SAFELY!

So, let's talk about it shall we? Then I will offer you many chances to win these products and try them yourself mmmkay? Yay!

I received the Safe Picnic Value Bundle to review for organic home pest control. This included a 24oz home pest control spray, two 6 oz insect repellents, and a 14 oz can of flying insect spray.

I had read the long list of positive testimonials on their website, and about their commitment to safety and using natural, organic pesticides, so I was eager to try the the sprays out in the summer, and as soon as the mosquitoes started ganging up and mercilessly attacking my son, I knew it was time!

The insect repellent had, to me, a rather strong alcohol smell at first, but that quickly evaporated and what was left was a mild lemongrass scent that beats the smell of DEET any day! It is not greasy or overpowering, which is important, and it is especially nice that I am not spraying my kids with chemicals! You do have to use quite a bit of it; I found that a general spray around the body still allowed those skeeters to do some damage. However, a full spray on all parts of skin exposed seemed to do the trick. I would give this product an 9/10 and would recommend it for days when you're at a picnic or BBQ.

The home pest control did not fare so well for me, and that would mostly be due to the scent. The testimonials on their website were full of positive comments regarding the scent, but, for me, it was way too strong. The oil that I didn't care for is listed as peppermint, but smells more like a wintergreen scent to my nose. Because of this, I couldn't even spray it inside my house and instead used it outside. I sprayed this around some ants that were invading my patio, and while it deterred them for a while, they soon walked right over the barrier. Then I sprayed it right onto the ants. This seemed to irritate them more than anything, and did not kill them. In fact, they seemed to clean themselves off and went on their merry way! I was a little shocked by this, since many testimonials said this product worked great for them. Needless to say I am now scared of the ants on my patio, and I sleep with one eye open. It could very well be I needed to spray more but, again, the scent was too strong for me, and I didn't care for it lingering, even outside. I would give this product a 6/10, based on my aversion to the scent and the ants not being affected by it, as far as I could tell. (They could have wandered off and died, but, I didn't stay outside to verify that.)

The flying insect killer faired better, and I found that it kills flying creatures, of all kinds, on contact; the spray killed the huge nasty houseflies that are nearly impossible to swat or catch or spray, which is nice because then I am not screaming my head off as a huge fly zooms from one end of the house to another, trying to take me down along the way. I also had a strange bug infestation in a plant outside, so I sprayed the snot out of the plant and bugs. While it killed the bugs I saw, they kept coming back the next day, but the daily spraying didn't seem to affect my plant too much, so I at least felt like I was keeping tabs on the crazy critters. I also sprayed it on a wall of gnat-like pests impeding on my kids' play area. This got rid of them, but of course being outside they just showed up again once the spray dissipated. But again, the scent, which is key to it's power, was not my thing. I am more of an autumn, warm, apple-cinnamon type girl, so this scent is pretty much the opposite of what I enjoy, and so I couldn't even bring myself to use it in my house. If you love wintergreen scents you will like this I am sure. I would give this a 7/10, since I am pretty convinced this product will kill smaller, soft-bodied flying insects easily.

Overall: I am impressed that EcoSMART uses natural oils to repel and kill bugs, which is a great alternative to the dangerous chemicals out there, affecting the health and safety of our young children and pets. I like the thorough explanations of the products on their website and the history of the company, and it seems to be that they are on to a very good thing! I would use the insect repellent again, because I feel it did the job, it had a pleasant scent that didn't linger or leave a residue, and it is much safer than the chemical products out on the market. Thank you to EcoSMART for this opportunity and for their concern for our young ones and healthier living for all!

And now, it's your turn!

You get a chance to try these same products from the Safe Picnic Value Bundle yourself! Here's what to do:

1. Visit EcoSMART and then come back here to comment on what you like about the company and which product interests you most.

2. You may tweet this giveaway, ONE PER DAY, through the length of the giveaway (equaling 10 entries) say, "visit @insanitykim and win this giveaway and kill bugs naturally with EcoSMART " with a link to this post. Come back here with the tweet link for each day you tweet it.

3. Blog about this giveaway, with a link to EcoSMART and to this post. Come back here with the link to your post and receive 5 entries. You may blog about this once.

4. Please leave me a safe way to contact you in your comment.

NOTE: This giveaway is open to the continental US only...but hey, I lived in Alaska, so I know there's nothing there to scream about and kill, and Hawaii, sorry y'all...

Otherwise, wooohooo!

This giveaway begins TODAY, Wednesday, July 7, 2010 and ends Saturday, July 17th, 2010 at 12pm EST. At that time I will use the trusty ol' Random Number Generator (RGN) to choose a winner. The winner will have 3 days to contact me, and if they do not, I will use the RGN to choose a new winner.

So get to it y'all! I SO hope you win! Yeah, you, reading this, right now... I hope you win!


I provide reviews and giveaways as a packaged deal, I do not provide review only or giveaway only posts. This blog requires compensation, and all shipping costs paid, for review/giveaway packages in the form of receiving the review product for me and/or my family, not to be returned. I give exception to any independent business owners of handmade items, as found on Etsy, and I will host giveaways for such business owners without the need for review and/or compensation.

I am not monetarily compensated to provide my opinion on products I review and/or giveaway. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. If I claim or appear to be well-informed and versed on a certain topic or product or service area, I will do so only endorsing products or services that I believe, based on my expertise, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider.

I will always be honest and forthcoming with my readers and the businesses I work with, providing the best review/giveaway posts that I can.

And lastly, I reserve the right to change or amend any part of this disclosure as needed on a case-by-case basis.

19 comments:

w said...

i like the insect repellent. it's perfect for the running in the mosquito infested summer.

debbie said...

I like that they targeted their products to target systems which exist in insects only. I would like to try the ant and roach killer, because I have ants in my garden that seem to be immune to everything.
twoofakind12@yahoo.com

Annie Lee said...

I love the fact that their products are made from all organic plant materials! That is a huge thing for me right now, because I am pregnant and am limited to the products I am able to use and be around. I would especially love to try the ant and roach killer as we have had the worse ant problem this year and nothing seems to be helping!

mrs_alee@yahoo.com

Vanessa said...

I like how and why they started. I would be interested to try the insect repellent, living in sunny and buggy Florida. :-)

Unknown said...

I would have to go for the insect repellent...although the repellent I use right now is BO...harg...

Patricia N said...

I like that I can buy the products at my local Harris Teeter store. I could use the ant and roach killer. We have ant problems from time to time.

The NEW Mommiez Blend said...

I would luv to try their Insect Repellent. I love that it's organic. You find a lot of 'natural' repellents, but what does natural mean anymore anyway? I really enjoyed your review too. :)

-Chelle

newmommiez at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

Hey there Kim. Just wanted to say hi and see how you're doing? You seem uber busy with all your reviews... I'm always looking for natural solutions, so I'll give your buggy stuff a try.

The NEW Mommiez Blend said...

I blogged here:

http://thenewmommiezblend.blogspot.com/2010/07/feeling-lucky_12.html

-Chelle

newmommiez at gmail dot com

The NEW Mommiez Blend said...

I blogged here:

http://thenewmommiezblend.blogspot.com/2010/07/feeling-lucky_12.html

-Chelle

2

newmommiez at gmail dot com

The NEW Mommiez Blend said...

I blogged here:

http://thenewmommiezblend.blogspot.com/2010/07/feeling-lucky_12.html

-Chelle

3

newmommiez at gmail dot com

The NEW Mommiez Blend said...

I blogged here:

http://thenewmommiezblend.blogspot.com/2010/07/feeling-lucky_12.html

-Chelle

4

newmommiez at gmail dot com

The NEW Mommiez Blend said...

I blogged here:

http://thenewmommiezblend.blogspot.com/2010/07/feeling-lucky_12.html

-Chelle

5

newmommiez at gmail dot com

bison61 said...

I like that the products have a unique mode of action that targets systems which exist in insects only. That means that their active ingredients which work on insects are harmless to mammals, birds and fish. I'm interested in the wasp & hornet killer

tiramisu392 (at) yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

i would love to try the insect repellant - we have mosquitos the size of small pets here in FL! I love that this product is all natural with no chemicals.

dpan1204 at tampabay .rr .com

Unknown said...

I love that their products have a unique mode of action that targets systems which exist in insects only, so other animals are not harmed.
The organic insect repellent sounds great!
veniceangel@hotmail.com

FranticMommy said...

Since we are being carried off around here by mosquitos the size of Teradakryls..I'm all for the insect replellant!
Popping by from Wendiwinn and her potato poop :)

Insanitykim said...

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED!

Anonymous said...

How long does it work? I want to buy bug repellents that work for almost 16 hours. This product might work but I need to know how long it will work after spraying.

Pest Exterminator

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