About Us

Our New Factory

Located in the Beautiful Smoky Mountains of North Carolina!
Text Box: How Whup-A-Bug Began! This story is about us and the kids.  That is how Whup-A-Bug got started and what it is all about.  We are not a hype company but honest, God fearing people that truly want to make a difference.  This text is a re-print of an article written about us and our "Cases For Kids" Initiative.  We truly hope you enjoy the products and stay safe.  God Bless all of you. In a previous special article, the Mountaineer Newspaper featured Santa in the Swamp  It was the story about a Waynesville resident who works in Nigeria.  He spent the Christmas holidays traveling to the villages of the Niger Delta in Nigeria, West Africa as Father Christmas...flannel Santa suit and all.  The story is not fully told.  We interviewed Carl Hughes (The Founder, Inventor, CEO and President of Whup-A-Bug, Inc.) to find out more about his efforts to protect children around the world from chemical insect repellents and pesticides and to assist in the prevention of Malaria.  This is that interview. Jeff: Carl, what exactly is Whup-A-Bug and The Cases For Kids Initiative? Carl: Jeff, about four years ago, I started developing an alternative to DEET based insect repellents.  We tested many existing all-natural products and were very disillusioned by their ineffectiveness.  It was evident I would have to develop my own formula.  Mosquito bites in that part of the world kill thousands of children each year.  So, over the next four years of research and testing, I gave  birth to Whup-A-Bug.  One of the reasons most all-natural products do not work is because they are not formulated strong enough to be truly effective.  This occurs for many reasons but the primary one is that some companies take advantage of the general publics desire for all-natural products and put just enough natural ingredients in their product to be able to advertise them as all-natural.  They simply are not strong enough to do the job.  Essential oils are very expensive and cost cutting is the primary goal in most companies.  Our products contain 100% of the most powerful essential insect deterring oils and skin conditioners available.  When we make the statement that our product is the strongest on the market, we mean it.  Every ingredient in Whup-A-Bug is an active insect repellent and skin protector.  Even with the expense of true essential oils, we have kept the price on par with the chemical based repellents.  In some cases, we are less than half the cost of other all-naturals and far more effective as an insect repellent and skin protector.  You can read the testimonials on our web site.  These are real testimonials from real people. Last year we became involved in supplying this all-natural product to the Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, North Carolina.  The camp specializes in providing a nature camp experience to medically challenged children.  The camp is affiliated with the Paul Newman's Hole-In-The-Wall-Gang camp. We donated the product at our own expense to the camp because it is our strong belief that a medically challenged child should not have to put a chemical based repellent product on their skin.  They have enough problems without introducing more poison into their bloodstream. A friend of our neighbor asked us to send some Whup-A-Bug to her son who is serving in Iraq.  He stated that the military stopped giving them insect repellent.  Jeff, I have lived in the deserts of the Middle East and the insects there are as bad as any swamp area. Jeff: Why do the insect repellent companies not specialize in the all-natural products if it is better than the chemical based repellents. Carl: That is an easy one.  The chemical and cosmetic companies cannot patent or own the essential oils that God gave us.  In order to make the most profit and own the rights to the chemical compounds, they have to develop something that nature does not already provide us.  That is the reason there is not more research and development of all-natural products.  There are all-natural solutions being withheld (not publicized) from the public every day simply because the profit margin is not there for the large companies. The premise is; some companies operate on a philosophy of Acceptable Risk. This means that even though they know about the potential side effects of chemical repellents, it is cheap to produce and its danger to the public is within Acceptable Risk.  They can put some warnings on the label and hold themselves harmless from law suits.  We are consuming poison every day in many products and the huge conglomerates are able to formulate these products based on acceptable Risk.  Tell me one person that has used a chemical based product and has not felt the burning sensation or smelled the offensive odor.  This will continue until the general public finally says, Enough is Enough.  Acceptable Risk can be described as; 'If only 10% to 15% of the public gets sick then we have protected 85% to 90% of the public...lets hope neither you nor your children fall into that 10% to 15% range. Jeff: How does the Cases For Kids Initiative work? Carl: The Initiative's aim is to provide this all-natural repellent, free of charge, to the medically challenged children's camps throughout the United States.  There are over 350 locations that specialize in bringing these kids to their camp every year.  The camps have a multitude of sponsors such as; the Lions Club, the Y.M.C.A. and the Easter Seal foundation.  There are more than 250,000 kids going to these camps every year.  The volunteers at the camps are truly some of the unsung heroes of this nation and the foundation of the American doctrine.  It is our intent that every single one of the children and the volunteers has a bottle of Whup-A-Bug to use the day they arrive.  It is a huge effort but we feel it is worth every minute of our time. Here is how it works.  We are asking individuals and especially companies to make a 100% tax deductible donation that will pay the costs of supplying the product to the kids.  The individuals or companies name will be placed on the bottle as the donator.  They will receive a certificate to place in their business or home and a tax deduction receipt for Uncle Sam.  We intend to do this every year to supply the camps with free all-natural insect repellent product.  We are hoping companies will donate a minimum of 20 cases each year.  This is but a drop in the bucket for most companies charitable and advertising budget  but a huge step toward protecting medically challenged children...naturally.  If every business in Waynesville donated 20 cases, our goal would be met and the pride of doing this as a city would be immense.  However, any contribution will be welcome. Jeff: How do the people and companies contribute? Carl: All they have to do is go to our companies web site.  The url is www.whup-a-bug.com. From the product page, they will click on The Cases For Kids Initiative link.  This will take them to the page that allows them to contribute.  They can then indicate how many cases they wish to sponsor. When they are asked for the shipping address, they need to type in their home / business address.  We will ship the cases to the kids camps and the certificate and tax deduction receipt will be mailed to their home / business address.  As a special incentive, they will be supplied with a code that will allow them to purchase any of our products for their family at a very special discount.  If they would prefer to use a check, they should mail the check to us at;  Whup-A-Bug, 135 Sesame Street, Waynesville, NC 28785.  They should indicate on the check that it is for the Cases For Kids initiative. Jeff, the things to remember are these; the purchase is 100% tax deductible, they are helping medically challenged children and they get a continuous discount for their own family.  If your readers know of another special need for this product, all they have to do is let us know and we will add the charity to our distribution.  I think Helen Keller said it best.  The best and most beautiful things cannot be seen or touched...they must be felt with the heart. Whup-A-Bug is the registered trademark of the Whup-A-Bug Corporation

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Whup-A-Bug, Inc.

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