Mosquitos - and how to 'defeat' them!
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| Wed, 06-04-2003 - 3:36pm |
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Fight Mosquitos Don't give the West Nile virus a chance!
OK, mosquitos...prepare to be repelled!!!!!
Use Bounce Fabric Softener Sheets...Best thing ever used in Minnesota..just wipe on & go...Great for Babies. Or hang one from your belt loop! The ones with "Gain" really stink LOL!
As a fisherman and one that is outdoors at the worst time of day for the critters I take one vitamin B-1 tablet a day April through October. It works. The odor the tablet gives out through your skin (YOU cannot smell it) repels mosquitoes, black flies, no seeum's, and knat's. It does not work on stinging insects. Have had very few mosquito bites in years. Try it. Every one I have talked into trying it works on them. Vitamin B-1 (Thiamin Hydrochloride 100 mg.)
NPR reports that if you eat bananas, the mosquitos like you, something about the banana oil as your body processes it. (Maybe they need the potassium too-lol) Stop eating bananas for the summer and the mosquitos will be much less interested.
This is going to floor you, but one of the best insect repellents someone found (who is in the woods every day), is Vick's Vaporub.
Plant marigolds around the yard, the flowers give off a smell that bugs do not like, so plant some in that garden also to help ward off bugs without using insecticides.
"Tough guy" Marines who spend a great deal of time "camping out" say that the very best mosquito repellent you can use is Avon Skin-So-Soft bath oil mixed about half and half with alcohol.
Mix your own:
20 drops Eucalyptus oil
20 drops Cedarwood oil
10 drops Tea Tree oil
10 drops Geranium oil
2 oz. carrier oil (such as Jojoba )
Mix together in a 4 oz. container. Apply to skin as needed avoiding the eye area. Keep out of reach of children. Test on a small area of skin for sensitivities. Experiment with different percentages of essential oil
Avon now makes a product that is SO much better than the regular SSS bath oil now. It's called Bug Guard.
One of the best natural insect repellents that I've discovered is made from the clear real vanilla (not the grocery store vanilla extract which is mostly alcohol). This is the pure vanilla that is sold in Mexico. It's cheap there if you know of someonethat lives there or in the US close to the border. If not, health food stores usually carry it or can order it for you. I use it half vanilla and half water and find that it works great for mosquitoes and ticks, don't know about other insects.
Like to sit outdoors in summer, but those pesky Mosquitoes drive you nuts? Well, here's a very simple and inexpensive solution that really works. Get a white plate, put some water in it, and then add a couple of drops of LEMON Joy dishwashing soap. Then place the plate near where you'll be sitting outside. The mosquitoes will be attracted right to the plate, and will drop dead in the plate or nearby. How cheap and easy was that, and no yucky chemicals!
When all else fails--get a frog

Insect repellanta like hand lotion and sun screen make me feel yucky like I have run through a sugar spray....I can put them on and go wash....just can't stand the gunky feeling. lol
The worst time camping I will never forget this and I feel bad now......Skin so soft was all the rage to repell the gnats. So I slathered the kids and the 2 girls one one of the boys came back sometime later along with 3 of my SIL kids with this rash under their arms and in the crease of the neck and other creases....we got after them because they went back in the trees......" No we didn't" they were telling us but WE knew better. Well at home I had used the SSS and felt really greasy after. But thought it might soften up the kids a bit......I had 3 kids with a burning red rash all over their bodies....and dumb me didn't thing that it could be the SSS so gave them a bath AGAIN. Then when I found out what it was I felt guilty.. what a poor mother I was. Besides Tide laundry soap I think that for the kids was all that got them when they were little.
They found that if they were out to ride their bikes fast and not get bit.....lol....me I stayed inside...it was probably hot out then anyway and I hate hot......lol.....
Janet
Hey, DH and I had a great time camping in Canada over the July 4, 1976, big holiday weekend. We had the most beautiful spot, wondered why more people weren't camping there. Well, we got eaten up bad, and only the next day did we realize the name of the creek where we were camping was: Mosquito Creek...duh!! But it was so beautiful...We were young then, we survived it. Seren