A couple months ago the folks at Proven sent me a sample of their Proven Insect Repellent to test out in my garden and report back my opinion. Since I’m out in the garden frequently and often exploring our land to seek out pawpaws I encounter plenty of human devouring insects to give Proven a good test. Among the most notable insect pests I generally encounter are ticks, chiggers, and mosquitoes. While chiggers tend to be merely annoying, ticks and mosquitoes have been known to carry diseases that can be very debilitating. Keeping those insects away when you are out in the garden is very important to think about.
(Ye Ole Disclaimer: I did not get paid for this review but the product was sent for me to test and keep. All opinions expressed in this review are 100% based on my own based on my experience with the product.)
First a little about Proven Insect Repellent
According to Proven:
PROVEN repellents that contain 20% Saltidin will protect against mosquitos for 12-14 hours, while DEET only offers six hours of defense. DEET is even less effective at repelling ticks, protecting for less than two hours, while PROVEN again keeps ticks away for 12-14 hours. Saltidin, which is recommended by the EPA, CDA and the World Health Organization as an effective insect repellent, is safe to use on women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, and for children and babies two months of age or older.
PROVEN repellents have been tested to effectively repel mosquitos, ticks, black flies, biting flies, stable flies, ants, gnats, chiggers, sand flies and no-see-ums. Recently there has been warranted concern about certain varieties of ticks and mosquitos known to carry voracious diseases. PROVEN repellents protect from species carrying Zika, Dengue, Lyme disease, Chikungunya and West Nile virus.
All that sounds really good. Ticks are a huge concern in Tennessee with Lyme disease a major source of that concern. Mosquitoes are bad too. In fact I think this year mosquitoes are worse then they have been in previous years. In Tennessee we live in land a bit from the coasts but often see the rain and other effects of hurricanes. I suspect some of the recent weather along the coastal areas has pushed more mosquitoes into our area. (That’s just a theory I have and not based on any other scientific data other than this gardener becoming a human pincushion for bloodsucking vampiric insects this summer!)
Chief in my insect pest concerns are ticks because of their disease carrying tendencies but also chiggers due to how annoying a bought of chigger bites can be!
The question is does Proven actually work?
I tested Proven on several occasions and my children did as well when they went out to play. The smell isn’t terrible. I’m not a big fan of fragrant stuff so having a repellent that isn’t overwhelming is good. I found it to work fairly well against common mosquitoes.
On our land I sprayed my ankles, top of my boots, and socks as well as any other exposed areas with it before I went exploring. I used it on two trips through the tall grass and woods without any issues of ticks or chiggers to bother me.
In The Woods Without Proven
I went out to the land for a third time I made a short trip to a wildlife camera we have there. I didn’t have the repellent with me as I was just planning to dash to the camera and get the photos off of it. When I got back to my truck chiggers were climbing all over me. (If you’ve never experienced chiggers then imagine itching for 5-7 days in all the most uncomfortable places!) I spent several minutes knocking off all of the chiggers I could see then dashed home to get showered in case I missed any.
I don’t doubt the effectiveness one bit!
My Overall Opinion of Proven
Proven, in my experience, functioned as advertised. It prevented ticks and chiggers from bothering me while I worked on our property and in the garden. If you are looking for an alternative product that is DEET free to protect you when you are in the garden or enjoying the outdoors then this would be one I would recommend testing out for yourself.
Where Can you Find Proven Insect Repellent?
You can find Proven Insect Repellent on Amazon (Affiliate Link Below)