So I'm being eaten alive by mosquitos this summer, and the stuff we can buy that's supposed to repel them smells nasty but has no effect at all. So does anyone use homemade stuff? Or know of any natural repellants?
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Re: Mosquito repellant
Originally posted by Munin-Hugin View PostThe perfect mosquito repellant: Don't go outsideYou remind me of the babe
What babe?
The babe with the power
What power?
The Power of voodoo
Who do?
You do!
Do what?
Remind me of the babe!
Army of Darkness: Guardians of the Chat
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Re: Mosquito repellant
There is a belief(perhaps based on science) that diet effects how they go after people(eating certain foods attracts them,other foods put out a bad scent I guess to them)
See here.
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/hea...mosquito-bites
As I said,maybe science,maybe not.MAGIC is MAGIC,black OR white or even blood RED
all i ever wanted was a normal life and love.
NO TERF EVER WE belong Too.
don't stop the tears.let them flood your soul.
sigpic
my new page here,let me know what you think.
nothing but the shadow of what was
witchvox
http://www.witchvox.com/vu/vxposts.html
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sea witch
- Oct 2005
- 11651
- relational theophysis and bioregional witchery
- coastal Georgia
- *a little bad taste is like a nice dash of paprika*
Re: Mosquito repellant
So...keeping away mosquitos sort of depends on where you want to keep them away from..also, which mosquitoes you are trying to keep away (DEET for example is great at detering the mosquito that spreads yellow fever, and less so with other species)..and your own personal specialness. TBH, natural repellents are problematic (this article explains why, though its incredibly unhelpful in letting you actually read studies on the issue)--for example, people swear by garlic (for a legit reason), but in practice for an individual, the amount or concentration of garlic oil someone would have to actually ingest would pretty much be toxic. Lemon eucalyptus oil is used in most "natural" commercial products, and will work for extended periods of time because they are formulated with different additives and concentrations than you could ever get at home.
But generally speaking. I've had success (and by success I mean less bites than I'd normally get, not none at all) with citronella or lemongrass with lavender or rosemary essential oils, in a carrier (either a carrier oil for something to rub in or alcohol for a room/fabric spray) will do the job for less than an hour (before needing to reapply/respray)....you could also put this in a diffuser and have it longer too. You could also try planting these plants, along with catnip either in pots by your window or outside the window (or whatever area where you want to deter them). Neem oil is also supposed to work (you can burn it or wear it), along with lemon eucalyptus, and (not terribly natural) Listerine (not sure if you have it as a product there)...which also works for sunburns. Fresh sassafras leaves work too, but I'm pretty certain you don't have that there.
Better than a repellent is actually getting rid of them or preventing them from coming in physically. There are mosquito traps (good commercial ones are expensive and homemade ones have mixed results (and shouldn't be used close to the area you want to keep the from because they rely on attracting mosquitos to the trap, which might actually bring extra mosquitos to the area) ; but mosquito traps are what scientists use to catch mosquitoes for mosquito counts and studies), also barrier clothing, etc. There are mosquito bite-proof clothes (don't get repellent clothes, they actually are reated with pesticide), and there's mosquito netting--make some mosquito netting "curtains" for your windows, or bed canopy (you can even do this in a way that is pretty).
ETA: From what I understand (having read a lot of the scientific literature on the subject) there are no systemic mosquito repellents that bear up to clinical investigation. Not that some of the things aren't unappealing to mosquitoes, but that either the amount needed is so high as to be toxic or that the active ingredient just isn't transmitted through the body that way. Which brings me to remind everyone that herbs are medicine too--they have side effects, they have contraindications...they aren't "safe" just because they are "natural" (okay pet peeve over).
some stuff worth reading:
info about insect pepellents (its a good read)
jama article summary about mosquito repellents
article about the toxicity of certain repellentsLast edited by thalassa; 17 Jun 2015, 09:07.Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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Re: Mosquito repellant
I've heard Quinine is a natural mosquito repellent. A friend of mine used to swear by it, but I never did follow up on how "well" it works. Anyway, for about $2 spent at your local liquor or grocery store, you can pick up a bottle of it.
It's in tonic water that you mix with drinks, it's what makes it bitter. You just drink it, the scent drifts through your pores and repels mosquitos because it's toxic to them.
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Re: Mosquito repellant
The garlic thing doesn't work tried it years ago. Eucalyptus! I remember something that worked that I bought in spain years ago, that was what it smelled of. I should be able to find that here. I'll try some other essential oils too, can't be less effective than the stuff stores sell... there was something really good when I was a kid, but that's illegal now. Apparently it was poisonous.
Thanks guysYou remind me of the babe
What babe?
The babe with the power
What power?
The Power of voodoo
Who do?
You do!
Do what?
Remind me of the babe!
Army of Darkness: Guardians of the Chat
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Re: Mosquito repellant
I've had great success in the past with the consumption of large amounts of vitamin B. One year I was guzzling energy drinks as if they were water, and I made the discovery that while folks around me were being devoured by those little bloodsuckers, I wasn't. So I did a little research into it (http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2011/...s-from-biting/) and found a number of sources that confirmed it, but equally as many that bedunked it. In my experience, it seemed to do the trick!
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Re: Mosquito repellant
When I was working in a warehouse with the loading doors always open,we had those electronic(Electric) bug zappers(the ones with the blue lights and the electric grid) They did keep the bug population down,and also you heard the Zaaap sound all day as the bugs got fried...MAGIC is MAGIC,black OR white or even blood RED
all i ever wanted was a normal life and love.
NO TERF EVER WE belong Too.
don't stop the tears.let them flood your soul.
sigpic
my new page here,let me know what you think.
nothing but the shadow of what was
witchvox
http://www.witchvox.com/vu/vxposts.html
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Re: Mosquito repellant
The noise would drive me crazy and I spend a lot of time down by the lake, can't zap them all.You remind me of the babe
What babe?
The babe with the power
What power?
The Power of voodoo
Who do?
You do!
Do what?
Remind me of the babe!
Army of Darkness: Guardians of the Chat
Comment
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Re: Mosquito repellant
There is,but I have not actually used them these clip on things that repel bugs. Consumer reports did not rate them all that well,so maybe not.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/m...view/index.htmMAGIC is MAGIC,black OR white or even blood RED
all i ever wanted was a normal life and love.
NO TERF EVER WE belong Too.
don't stop the tears.let them flood your soul.
sigpic
my new page here,let me know what you think.
nothing but the shadow of what was
witchvox
http://www.witchvox.com/vu/vxposts.html
Comment
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