HEALTH-FITNESS

New Product: Murphy’s Naturals mosquito repellent incense sticks

Staff Writer
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
[COURTESY PHOTO]

Murphy’s Naturals mosquito repellent incense sticks

The summer afternoon rains have started, so Florida Department of Health warnings about mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile virus, Zika, encephalitis and Chikungunya can't be far behind. The official advice is basically to run inside as fast as you can and stay there.

But nothing says summer to me like reading and sipping a cold drink on a breezy porch, so generally I apply repellents according to instructions from an entomologist at the University of Florida: Spray it in the palms of your hands and pat it on any exposed areas. DEET works, of course, but I've also had pretty good luck with a eucalyptus-based product called Repel. When the folks who make these incense sticks offered me a sample box, I was skeptical — I've tried every kind of citronella candle on the market, and all of them had me sighing and reaching for the repellent.

But I can report that this incense works very well, even at dusk. And it's a pleasant aroma, if you don't mind incense. I place it under my porch ceiling fan so the smoke drifts downward, and it really seems to do the trick. Proof: As soon as the stick burns out, the air is full of thirsty little critters. But it easily lasts more than a couple of hours, which makes for a pleasant, itch-free cocktail time.

12 sticks for $12 at thegrommet.com.

— Barbara Peters Smith