Fort Morgan, Ala. – (OBA) – In her quest to be bug-bite free, Gail Cole has become a home chemist, businesswoman, shipping company, marketing firm and financial advisor. 

But first, she was a very itchy test subject. 

“Being your own guinea pig for a bug repellent – I wouldn't advise it,” she said with a laugh.

Uncomfortable? Yes. 

Worth it? Definitely. 

Cole has created what she believes to be the most effective bug repellent on the market, after a life of itching and scratching and finally deciding she had had enough. 

“Sometimes you have to go through a storm to come out on the other side better,” Cole said. “It was a personal journey for me, and I was just sharing what I created with my friends.”

Cole is the creator and co-owner of Bay Dream Treasures with her husband, Greg, which creates all-natural, chemical-free and DEET-free bug repellent lotion bars. 

Her inspiration was the simple wish to go fishing without itching.

Cole said she has spent her life bathed in DEET as the target of any and all biting bugs. No spray, soap, lotion or wristband has ever kept their assaults at bay. 

Then, in 2016, a simple walk across an empty lot of tall grass near her friend’s home resulted in a single mosquito bite on her arm. Her entire arm swelled from elbow to wrist. The bite grew to the size of a ping pong ball. 

She was diagnosed with Zika virus, a mosquito-borne disease that causes fever, rash, headache, joint and muscle pain, and red eyes. There is no cure. 

Four years later, when Hurricane Sally barreled through her Fort Morgan neighborhood, Cole and her husband Greg were left essentially camping on their property like so many others while they cleaned up the mess. 

At the end of each workday, Cole was covered in bites, no matter how much repellent she used. 

“We were sitting there one evening and Greg said, ‘You look like you’ve been ate up by chicken pox’. I was absolutely itching to death.”

It was time to do something. 

Cole began researching each of her flying nemesis, learning the scents they didn’t like. She made a list, she compared notes. 

She knew she wanted something natural but not a spray. She felt like the sprays were too watered down to be effective. 

One night she happened upon a recipe for holiday lotion bars made with vanilla. 

It was her aha moment. 

What if she didn’t spray, but rather rubbed on her repellent?

Cole said she turned her kitchen into “Dexter’s laboratory.”

She mixed oils and scents and ingredients. She tried them each in turn. 

She got bit - a lot. 

She went back to the drawing board, a lot. 

One night, she walked out to the pier near her home to go fishing. After a few minutes, Greg noticed she wasn’t swatting and scratching as usual.

“Are you not getting eat up,” he asked. 

No. No, she wasn’t. 

And they both realized she had done it. 

 “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I found it,” she said. 

Since then, Cole has dutifully worn the concoction and not suffered a bite. She shared with friends at the Fort Morgan Fire Department’s Ladies Auxiliary. 

It worked for them too. 

They told their friends, who Cole happily gave bars to. 

It worked for them as well. 

“Then they started telling their friends and their friends were coming to me,” Cole said, “and asking, ‘You got any of that soap?’”

Her growing gaggle of fans suggested she sell it. Cole scoffed. No one would buy it. They encouraged her to simply post it on a local Facebook page. So, she did. It sold out. People began appearing in her driveway with money in hand. Cole made the bars as fast as she could and every one was bought.

It worked for all of those customers too. 

Now, Cole and her husband have shipped the bars to 32 states across the nation. Online consumers loved it and suggested she craft a deodorant-type roll or candle. Cole now offers both. 

Today, Cole can head outside anytime she likes, without fearing a bug assault. The best part, she said, is that others can too. 

“When somebody tells me this stuff is great, honestly, I can't tell you how much I blush,” Cole said. “I never had any intention of selling this. It was just a personal journey for me because I love being outside.”

After word spread and sales grew, Cole and her husband donated a chunk of last year’s profits to the Fort Morgan Fire Department, Fort Morgan Civic Association and Share the Beach. After Hurricane Helene hit, the couple donated the rest of their profits for the year to Samaritan’s Purse in N.C. to help with the recovery efforts there. 

“My community helped me get here, so we decided to do something to help somebody else,” she said.

The repellent can be ordered online at baydreamtreasures.com or found locally at Emporium at C in Orange Beach, A Specialty Bakery in Gulf Shores, Fresh Market Seafood on Fort Morgan Road, Collective Alabama in Foley and Broedie’s Cream and Bean in Silverhill.