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question

Natural Ways To Repel Mosquitoes

Q. What are some natural ways to repel mosquitoes?

A. It's not for everyone but as an avid hiker i swear by rubbing a garlic clove pinched to get the juiceflowing all over exposed skin. this is better, and cheaper than dangerous deet products. also avoid perfumed soaps, cosmetics, hair goop or anything that smells even like deodorant

A. I have been making a tea out of herbs from my herb garden of cat mint and rosemary and it is working for me! I just cut the leaves and stems up in a cup and pour in a cup of boiling water and let it steep for an hour or so, then keep it in spray bottle in the fridge. Also, tea tree oil works.

A. When we lived in Malaysia, the locals swore that eating lots of bananas provided the best protection against mosquitoes. The only rider was that they had to be the small bananas (lady fingers, we called them). Don't know how you feel about bananas, but it seemed to work for us :) Cheers - Hush

A. I like these two:  Rub citronella oil on exposed areas or burn citronella candles.
Tansy or basil planted near a door will repel mosquitoes

A. We have plenty here too. We apply Avon Skin so Soft liberally before going outside. It really works, it's a little oily but washes off with soap when we come back in and shower. I have read where rubbing a Bounce (fabric softener) sheet on arms, legs and face deters them. Golfers hang a sheet from their belts, but I haven't tried this. Hope this info. helps you, God Bless you and yours. - Shirley

A. I, also, live in the Blue Ridge Mountains and mosquitoes can be a problem here. First I don't wear perfume of any kind: shower gel, deodorant, shampoos all without perfumes. No attractants. Next, when I know I'll be outside I take garlic supplements or eat foods with garlic. An excellent repellent. Also, I use Skin So Soft Original Scent products. I have, also, used pennyroyal and mint crushed and wrapped in a bandana wore around my neck. Don't forget the pets. They can be wiped down with Skin So Soft and wear an herbal necklace, too. Lastly, if bitten I never scratch the biten area but I will slap it to bring blood and antihistamines to the area.

A. Bob, a fisherman, takes one vitamin B-1 tablet a day April through October . He said it works. He was right. The odor the tablet gives out through your skin (YOU can not smell it) repels mosquitos, black flies, no seeum's, and gnats. It does not work on stinging insects. Hasn't had a mosquito bite in 33 years. Try it. Every one he has talked into trying it works on them. Vitamin B-1( Thiamine Hydrochloride 100 mg.) Kenn said NPR reports that if you eat bananas, the mosquitoes 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 mosquitoes 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 repellant 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 One of the best natural insect repellants 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 someone that 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. when all else fails--get a frog - JoAnne

A. grow rosemary in your backyard. Mosquitoes hate it and you can use it for cooking all year round. BB

Please Note: Caution should be used with cats

Comments (12)

You know what works best? A rolled up magazine you can whack them with! AND WHACK THEM GOOD!
#1 - ICYNDICEY - 09/18/2010 - 07:37
close all windows doors during summer and dont go outside for the rst of your life!
#2 - j - 11/01/2010 - 23:14
Try burning sandalwood.
#3 - Talvin - 12/10/2010 - 21:27
Go to SNOPES.COM....they pretty much scientifically debunked 90% of these "remedies"...Most people just think stuff works, but it's a placebo effect. But if you want to know MY secret for repelling them, I'll tell you. Take one shot of whiskey 2 hours before going outdoors, then take one shot one hour before going out. Finally, take one shot every 2 hours while outdoors. Then, whether you're bitten or not won't matter because you'll be sleeping like a baby. And the increased blood flow will help heal the bites faster.
#4 - MooseMan - 01/14/2011 - 12:51
Backyard swamp woman
I have 2 acres to cut and I cannot get out of my house because these bugs swarm me . I am a cancer survior and try to keep active, but due to the mosquitoes eating on me, I have trouble going outside at all. Some one toild me to spray listerine mouth wash on me. I have been trying to stop the itching by dadding on pure alcohol on the whelps on my neck where they like me best ... Thanks for any help !
#5 - Ro Cook - 06/06/2011 - 14:59
Hey mooseman when you said "Go to SNOPES.COM....they pretty much scientifically debunked 90% of these "remedies".."

you are wrong. Why? Because I was on that site. Their so called "sources" are not scientific journals. They are just newspaper articles. I have actually found a couple SCIENTIFIC peer reviewed journal articles that say some of these non-deet things ARE effective. But I guess Snopes can't afford a subscription to proper scientific journals even though they have millions of devotes the world wide and go on and on about their supposed intellectual superiority.

Snopes is the stupidest site I have every been on. Just defenders of the status quo. But what's worse is that they are trying to pass it off as "Scientific".

Science is not that difficult. It involves the Scientific Method. A controlled experiment with only one variable is the main idea here. So when I try citronella oil on one arm and nothing on the other - and the arm not in citronella comes back bitten and the one in citronella comes back not as bitten - that is a pretty good start. If I did it a hundred or a thousand more times it would be more reliable yes - but probably tell me the exact same thing as I already suspected after the first couple times I did the experiment.

In fact Science is not that difficult. Although the big chemical companies and pharmaceutical companies would like you to believe that billion dollar double blind placebo tests are required for all proper science. Actually they are not. Those types of extensive tests are required for government regulations of "health and safety" and are actually lobbied for BY the pharmaceutical companies so that small companies can not afford to compete with them (because they can't afford the excessive scale double-blind tests) .

But ANY and I mean ANY test that uses proper scientific method IS a scientific test. There are no "proofs" in science. Proof is a logic and math term. In Science there are hypothesis - scientific methods and then theories. Theory is a loose term that is gained mostly by popular opinion of scientists of the day. A theory is NOT proof - it's a loose consensus that is supposed to be gained by careful observation of ALL variables and results of properly conducted experiments.

Doing the experiment a million times produces more reliable results of course, but anyone on a small scale can carry out a proper SCIENTIFIC experiment simply by following scientific method. That's science - the scientific method. I don't need a billion people double blind placebo test to prove that when I* wear citronella I* get bit significantly less than when I* don't. Knowing from experience and empirical evidence IS indeed Science. Science IS observation of empirical evidence. Scientific method is the narrowing down of variables to one so that direct cause can be more accurately (but not always) predicted.

Of course the human MAY be a variable in itself, so when safety is concerned - new drugs have to be tested on thousands of people (as each person is him/herself a variable) (unless it's a flu vaccine then apparently it does not have to go through this process for safety).

But when matters of my OWN PERSONAL bug deterrence is the question, my OWN scientific experiment is quite good enough. You can do your own if you aren't too cheap to buy some harmless herbs and essential oils to give it a try.

NO people like you need "hard" scientific evidence (even though you and snopes apparently don't have a clue about what even constitutes "hard" scientific evidence (i.e. not newsstand articles)) I guess that makes you better and smarter than those of us who do our own scientific experiments following proper scientific method to see for ourselves.

By the way: Science was never meant to be dogma. So only relying on "hard" scientific data and literature is not really in the TRUE spirit of science at all anyway. Scientific literature is the taken as the dogma for science - but it shouldn't be - because science has no dogma.

To PRACTICE science, to be A scientist - one must be a PRACTITIONER of the scientific method itself. Not just read and believe the scientific literature of what other scientists found out when they practiced science.

Since each person is a variable - then no scientific test done on people can really have ONLY one variable. There will always be two variables. Therefore the scientific method the big drug companies do is done on thousands of people so that statistics can be done to show what 'most' people have happen to them. Still it really means sweet nothing if it doesn't work that way on you. The only way to know if something works for you in a scientific way - is to conduct the test on yourself.

So go buy some harmless cheap citronella oil, test it in a scientific experiment and stop being a holier than thou (CHEAP) Snopes thumper.
#6 - Hey MooseMan... - 06/10/2011 - 02:42
your idea about drinking whiskey... since alcohol is metabolized into CO2 during clearance - won't that exhaled CO2 attract even more mosquitoes?
#7 - Hey MooseMan... - 06/10/2011 - 02:51
amazing
Here in SC, the moquitos can be vicious. Everday, I would get bites all over my legs and forearms. I was avoiding my yard as much as I could, but there was work to be done. I started, last week, to take a high quality B1 tablet every morning. I have not had a single bite. I am just thrilled.
#8 - allison gilliam - 06/17/2011 - 13:01
The Avon Skin So Soft really works, I live in Florida and the mosquitoes are aggressive and thirsty here, however I smooth on the bath oil by Avon and I can stay outside all day without re-applying for many hours....
#9 - LP - 07/14/2011 - 11:47
Hope this helps
The Avon Skin So Soft product really works, I live in Florida and we all know the weather here is moist and humid, just perfect for mosquitoes. So if I plan on doing yard work or just intertaining outside I apply Skin So Soft by Avon and Im protected for hours without having to re-apply. No Im not and Avon Rep just a long time user of their Skin So Soft, and like i said it really works.....
#10 - LP - 07/14/2011 - 11:53
I have a 7 year old son whom is always geting eat up by them. Last night he was outside and this monring I looked and seen he is covered head to toe in bites. They are really big and red, what would be the best thing for a child to put on and is any of the things above not good for kids?
#11 - justmommy85 - 09/26/2011 - 16:51
I use 100% pure vegetable glycerine on my skin, and am never bothered by mosquitos or other pests. It also serves as my skin lotion and is excellent in the winter time for dryness. It can be found at any health food store.

gigi
#12 - jennyg - 12/23/2011 - 08:00
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