Jewelry Keeps Bugs Away

E D I N A, Minn., Sept. 2, 2000 -- Soldiers in ancient Egypt wore scarabbeetles into battle, hoping the magical powers of the dung beetleswould protect them.

Today, the scarab is still a popular jewelry motif, along withdragonflies, butterflies and other insects.

But Jill Johnson has taken the idea back to its roots.

Jilco Inc., Johnson’s 10-year-old wholesale jewelry importingand manufacturing company, has created a line of sterling silverjewelry — some in bug designs — to provide natural protection frominsect bites without lotions or sprays touching the skin.

Citronella, Lemongrass and Mint

The Bugs-B-Wear earrings, necklaces, pins and ankle braceletscontain a filter that absorbs a repellent mixture containing 100percent essential oils of citronella, mint and lemongrass mixedwith sesame oil.

The repellent, put into the jewelry with a curved dropper, isintended to provide hours of protection against mosquitoes,no-see-ums, stinging flies and other annoying insects.

Insects are attracted to body warmth, odor, moisture and carbondioxide emissions in a person’s breath, Johnson said. The repellentworks by creating an aroma shield that interferes with a bug’sability to locate its target.

Jewelry worn near the neck or head should protect the upper halfof the body, she said.

In a test, a Bugs-B-Wear dragonfly pin worn on a collar keptmost bugs off the head and neck during 90 minutes of sweaty gardenwork at dusk — prime bug time — but one pest permeated the shieldand left a nasty sting on the gardener’s ear. In a similar test,Cutter Skinsations, a non-greasy, fresh-scented repellent with aloeand Vitamin E, was 100 percent effective when sprayed on exposedskin.

“The thing about Bugs-B-Wear that’s so exciting is that itdoesn’t touch your skin,” Johnson said.

“When you go to a barbecue, you’re dressed up to go to a party.You don’t want to spray yourself with insect repellent,” she said.“The jewelry is attractive and you can easily take it off. Youdon’t have to come home and shower afterward.”

Sweat All You Want

Because the repellent isn’t on the skin, perspiration doesn’talter its effectiveness, it won’t cause skin irritation and itdoesn’t interfere with sunscreens or moisturizers.

The idea started as a joke.

Jilco began manufacturing aroma diffuser jewelry in themid-1990s and had great success with the perfume jewelry, Johnsonsaid. One day when her brother-in-law needed insect repellent, hesaid he should have a pin to put it in.

They laughed — and got to work.

“We took the same [perfume] jewelry concept and repackagedit,” Johnson said. “The beauty of it is you can take it off. Youdon’t smell like insect repellent.”

Jilco has 11 sales representatives selling Bugs-B-Wear to golfand tennis shops, country clubs, resorts and gift shops around thecountry. The jewelry also is available on the company’s Web site(http://www.bugsbwear.com).

“We have sold close to 20,000 packages or units of Bugs-B-Wearjewelry,” Johnson said. Each piece — there are 36 designs — comeswith a small vial of repellent good for about 50 applications and acarrying pouch. The jewelry sells for $28, and repellent refillsare $5.

The jewelry designs include dragonflies, beetles, ladybugs,bumblebees, frogs, turtles and a variety of simple geometricshapes.

So far, Bugs-B-Wear has been most popular in Florida, theCarolinas, Georgia, West Virginia and other Southeastern states,Johnson said.

“I think there are more bugs, and I think their season is so muchlonger,” she said.

Company Relies on Other Business

Marianne Seuferling, of Lawrence, Kan., ordered ladybug anddragonfly jewelry early this summer after reading about Bugs-B-Wearin Family Circle magazine. She has since ordered bee and turtledesigns.

“There’s a lot of humidity and a lot of heat here. We havemosquitoes and biting flies. It did keep the children from gettingbitten,” Seuferling said.

In early July, Seuferling’s 9-year-old daughter, Marcy, wore herbutterfly on a lake fishing outing. “The bugs were there for sureand she was fine. She didn’t come back with a bite. My youngest is5 and she’s used it too.”

Seuferling said she likes the designs and has worn the jewelryeven without putting in the repellent. “They have quite an agerange for their product,” she said.

Sandra Evans, of Eureka, Utah, ordered the jewelry for hersister in Tennessee after reading about it.

“She’s allergic to almost everything and she’s an all-naturalperson. She raves about it, says it keeps the mosquitoes and thegnats away really well,” Evans said.

“Barbara’s 13-year-old daughter loves it too. She wore it atchurch camp and was the only one that didn’t have mosquito bitesall over her face and neck,” Evans said.

“Our target market is any active people. We have products forchildren. We have products for active women. We have some greatpins for men to wear on their hats,” Johnson said.

Bugs-B-Wear jewelry was first introduced at a trade show inMarch 1999. Last October, the insect repellent jewelry was namedone of the best new beauty innovations of the year by Glamourmagazine.

The mainstay of Jilco’s business is still importing gold chainsfrom Italy and diamonds from Israel, Belgium and India, Johnsonsaid.

“Bugs-B-Ware is a small part of the business, but it’s a reallyfun part of the business,” she said. “We would like it to becomea bigger part.”