Bug Spray | Fatal Conveniences™

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We’re outnumbered, folks! The estimated number of insects to humans is 200 million to one. This is a battle we will most definitely lose. Yet, we try in vain. In this hive of insect activity, repellents can help you steer clear of nasty stings and bites. But is our reliance on bug sprays harming our health?

Welcome to Fatal Conveniences™

This is a bite-sized segment that parallels The Darin Olien Show. In these segments, we get into society’s Fatal Conveniences™. I define these as the things we may be doing because the world we live in makes us believe we have to. These things save us time and trick us into thinking they’re actually good for us. But it’s those same things that are breaking down our health and the health of the environment around us.

I’ve spent most of my adult life obsessively researching these “conveniences.” On every show, I pick one topic, and we dive into it. My goal is to make you more aware of these traps so that you can push back on them. Remember, it starts with you and the choices you make. So, if you’re willing to look at your world from a different perspective and make little tweaks that amount to big changes, then this segment is for you.

Mosquitos are a pest!

Every year, a third of us will cover ourselves with almost five pounds of bug repellent to keep those blood-thirsty bugs at bay. Okay, so there is a good reason to do so. After all, there are many mosquito and tick-transmitted diseases to ward-off; West Nile virus, malaria, and Lyme Disease, to name a couple. So, I’m not here to tell you that protecting yourself from bites isn’t important. But, if the repellent you’re using can fend off mosquitoes, maybe what it’s doing to you isn’t so great either.

In this Fatal Conveniences™, I break down the most common toxic chemicals that lurk in insect repellents, such as DEET (N, N-Diethyl-3-methylbenzamide), which is the granddaddy of them all. I also break down how these repellents affect children, and the simple things you can do today to keep insects away without sacrificing your health.

Bugs, insects, Insecta or insectum- whatever you call our hexapod invertebrates, these creepy critters are vital for our ecosystems. So, finding non-harmful, preventative alternatives is crucial for the survival of not only us as a species, but also this incredible planet that we live on.