The Dish by Darcie

May 22, 2010

Before I forget to answer some of your questions, here you go. (Keep reading past all the legalese for the new shoo!Tag info pertaining to the testing that we’re doing. A new Tag has been made and sent to me for testing, no not by the maker.)

The maker of shoo!tag is Energetic Solutions, LLC. The dog shoo!Tag sells for $29.95 at the maker’s site. That’s a chunk of change if it doesn’t work. Not so much if it does. (shoo!tag failed in our tick testing.) The maker’s site claims to have a 30 day money back warranty, guarantee, with caveats. Depending on where you live, the return will cost you about $6-$10 for shipping cost if you want insurance that it will deliver.

Instead of copying everything the maker posts on their site here, I’ll sum up.

You must return the entire package of Tags along with the original receipt and barcode to the maker with a note explaining why you want your money back. It could take 2-3 weeks for the refund, they say. I’m not sure why this should take so long. (For comparison, SitStay.com refunds for all returns within a day or two of the return, we post 5-7 days.)

For a list of shoo!tag retailers, click here (the shoo!tag site is live and is working as of this minute.) I wonder if any of the stores tested the Tags with video and will offer that info to you. It would be an interesting question.

Returns for a refund in US or Canada must ship to:

Energetic Solutions, LLC
11101 Hwy. 290 West
Austin, TX 78737

Here’s a kicker. If you bought more than one shoo!Tag for your family or dogs, you will not get all of your money back, they’ll refund for one package. They must have wanted you to use it first to make sure it worked, then you could protect the rest of your family. You must send a note along to say why you want your money back. The maker refers to the refund as both “guarantee” and “warranty”. The legal disclaimer is substantial but those usually are.

I found it interesting that in the US and Canada, all refunds must be requested directly from the maker, address Austin, Texas. For all other countries, the retailer can give the money back. That means that if you buy it local to you, you have to pay to return it to the maker to get your refund. That’s good if you live in Austin, Texas, not so good if you live anywhere else. If you want to insure that your package is delivered to the correct address, you’ll need to use a package shipper like UPS or FEDEX, they both use tracking numbers. Minimum shipping costs will be around $6.92 if you live close by.

One online pet store that sells the Tag says if you return your Tag to the maker, you get a replacement, not a refund. Well, perhaps that’s just for the warranty and not for the guarantee. I don’t find that info posted at the maker’s site, shoo!tag.com.

Okay, back to the testing. A distributor who has been very interested in our testing of the shoo!Tags (the same one who sent the first shoo!Tags which failed our tick testing) has been following this blog. He sent me a new shoo!Tag mosquito Tag made for human use. I received it yesterday and I’ve been wearing it.

I’d guess the makers wouldn’t have made a new one if it wasn’t better and stronger than the old one. If it was only to make it smaller, it would still have only one strip on the back, logically speaking. I’ve set the older Tag aside, the one that looked like a credit card, and glad to be rid of it. It was big and, aside from all the questions about what it was, it was hard to work around. Making a smaller version was a good idea.

This new Tag is a newer version of the old Tag, apparently so new that it hasn’t been updated in any online store that I could find as of today’s date, not even at the maker’s site. The only info I have is what the distributor told me.

According to this distributor of shoo!Tag, this “smaller Tag has two strips on the back which will make it stronger”. Also according to him, he has been selling this Tag for some time and personally using it, too. He says that mosquitoes might land but they don’t bite while he has the Tag on. He offers no video proof and even though I’ve asked him for video, he won’t say that he will make the video. Don’t we all have cameras now? How hard could it be? I’m going to do it.

This new human mosquito Tag is smaller (approximately 1 3/4″ X 2 1/4″), the same size as the cat Tag seen at Tetherdcow.com. You can see the backs of the old Tags there, with at least some of the coding on the back strips decoded.

It’s finally stopped raining and it’s hot out today, well, it’s 87 degrees F. We should have mosquitoes tonight! Get the video camera, I’m ready! – Darcie

May 18, 2010

It’s still too cold for mosquitoes, jacket weather at night. This is the coolest spring I can remember for a long time and it continues to rain on and off. The good news is, the grass is green and gorgeous. This would be the first time in my whole life that I was looking forward to having mosquitoes. Perhaps they’ll help with this test and then go away again? LOL!

I’m still wearing the shoo!Tag and sleeping with it under my sheets just like the maker says I have to do. This Tag is on or against my body constantly. One thing I really don’t like about it is the size. It’s cumbersome. I’ve been told they’re coming out with a smaller size which would be better…if it works. The shoo!Tag didn’t work against ticks. When the mosquitoes finally get here, and they will, we’ll see if it keeps them off.

Click here to see final results with video for human and dog shoo!Tag against ticks. Didn’t go so well.

Thanks. – Darcie

May 15, 2010

I’m still waiting for mosquitoes. It’s been a strangely cool spring here, lots of rain and some storms with wind and hail. We had a few days of 80 degrees a few weeks ago and the mosquitoes were out just as we started the shoo!Tag tick test but they have gone into hiding for now.

Still wearing the shoo!Tags around my neck. I sleep with them under my sheet just like the maker says to do. It’s been over 48 hours and I’m still following all directions so when the temps warm up, we’ll be ready.

Can’t wait to complete this test. The tags are big and often seem like they are in my way. Like wearing two credit cards around my neck on a lanyard. If it works I might have to get some pockets sewn into my shirts. If it doesn’t work, I won’t have to consider that at all.

It’s not raining right now, maybe I’ll go fishing. Maybe there are some mosquitoes on the lake. Yummy. – Darcie

May 14, 2010

I sat outside until the sun went down, it just kept getting cooler and cooler. Bugs were biting me but there were no mosquitoes tonight. It’s supposed to rain again tomorrow. We almost have the Ark finished…. Darcie

May 13, 2010 Thursday

shoo!Tag human mosquito test starts now

We’re starting another test just like I promised you that I would. Yummy. I don’t like mosquito bites much better than I like ticks. My control human, who is allergic to mosquito bites, isn’t going to be very happy about this but he’ll still be happy to be my film director and help with the video testing. “Stand over there. Sit over there. Go to the water, get into the boat. Stand in the deep grass.” To pass the test, the shoo!Tag must protect me from bites and my human control should be fighting off mosquitoes. He will not be wearing any natural or chemical remedies used to ward off pests.

I have just hung the shoo!Tags around my neck, both the Ticks and the Mosquito Tags. The strip on the back is to my body.

I am well and happy. Again, I won’t do anything that I don’t normally do. I will not use any natural remedies or chemical remedies or anything at all used to repel pests or mosquitoes. I won’t use any lotions, shampoos, soaps, or scents that I don’t normally use. I will continue to eat the same way I always do. We do not use poisons or natural remedies to kill mosquitoes on or around our grass, lake, ponds, or property.

The Tag is in perfect shape, it looks the same as when it first arrived. No dents, cuts, smears, folds, dirt…it looks just like when I took it out of this anti static storage package originally.

This time we’re testing it against mosquitoes biting a human. Yes, I’m putting myself out there to get bitten by mosquitoes for this test. I’m not allergic, a little itching for a few days then it goes away.

shoo!Tag FAQ: “Do I have to wear the tags all the time? For the tags to work when you need them to, 24 hour use is required. However, you can take them off for brief periods of time for comfort such as during swimming or showering (though they are waterproof). At night, you can place the tag under your sheet with the magnetic strip facing the body. When you wake up, just put it back on in the way that suits you best. If you only want to wear them for short periods of time, such as while on vacation, you must place the tags back in the anti-static bag during non-use. Be sure to put the tags on a couple of days before you need them.”

The science as posted on the shoo!Tag website:

“The Science Behind shoo!TAG™:

shoo!TAG™ represents a paradigm shift in the pest management industry. shoo!TAG™ utilizes Nature’s energetic principles in combination with physics, quantum physics and advanced computer software technology. The key to shoo!TAG™ is the three dimensional electromagnetic field embedded in the magnetic strip.

shoo!TAG™ when used as instructed, utilizes the power of the bio-energetic field which surrounds all living things to create a frequency barrier for up to four months.

shoo!TAG™’s magnetic strip is encoded with beneficial frequencies and resonances and an electromagnetic charge bearing a polarized energy signature, which when introduced into the bio-energetic field of the wearer produces results.

shoo!TAG™ is calibrated to specific animals and specific insects to repel targeted pests. This is possible because various insects and pests react to frequencies. These frequencies are introduced into the bio-energetic field of the wearer. These specific frequencies and resonances have proven to disturb targeted pests and create a barrier.”

“As a founder and co-developer of the Shoo!TAG™ I was looking for a non-toxic “green” alternative for controlling fleas and ticks on our dogs and cats and flies and mosquitoes on my horses and milk cow. When the finished prototypes were ready, I picked two dogs and one horse and cow for the first trials and put a Shoo!TAG™ on them. Within 36 hours, the dogs wearing a Shoo!TAG™ had a noticeable reduction in fleas and ticks. In addition, those pests still on the dogs were staying on top of the hair, moving slowly and easily picked off. I also observed that the dogs with a Shoo!TAG™ did not scratch or bite at themselves, unlike the two dogs not wearing a Shoo!TAG™ . The horse and cow wearing a Shoo!TAG™ had a dramatic reduction in flies. After two weeks observation, I tagged the other animals so they could receive the same comfort and benefit. Again, after 36 hours, all newly tagged dogs, horse and cow demonstrated the same reduction in pest problems as the test group did. I knew then we had a winner!
-Kathy M. Heiney, Wimberley, TX
Developer and Founder of Energetic Solutions, Ltd. and Shoo!TAG™

My best guess is that this is the only testing that was done on the shoo!Tags by the makers. I don’t find anything else on their site that shows that they did more than this and certainly it would be there if they did, wouldn’t it? I don’t find any reference on their site about testing on humans.

We’re still having rainy days and it’s cool. Friday 14th is supposed to warm up to 70s, mosquitoes around here are not scared off by that temperature so it will be a good day for testing.

I have to wear the shoo!Tag for 24 hours before we start the test. shoo!Tag says it will reach it’s full “potency” to create a “barrier” around my body in 24 to 36 hours. The barrier, if I understand this right, is to keep mosquitoes from coming inside the barrier and or biting me.

Let’s get started!

(P.S. I will post all comments to this testing as long as they are courteous and helpful. Pro or con doesn’t matter. – Darcie)